Every Article We’ve Ever Written – by Date

Pentax K1000 – Camera Review

1280 720 Josh Solomon

A plump, chunky camera stares at me from across the room. I avert my eyes and glance back at the computer screen, my stomach growing queasy…

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Fuji GW690 – Medium Format Camera Review

1280 720 James Tocchio

After nearly three years of running this website, I’ve finally discerned the characteristics that make up my ideal camera. I like versatility and affordability, so interchangeable…

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Featured Photophile No. 003 – La Fille Renne, France

1161 653 James Tocchio

We’re back and spotlighting another excellent, non-professional shooter in our latest Featured Photophile. I can’t remember where I first came across the photos made by La Fille…

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MeFoto Globetrotter Air Review – a Travel Tripod That Actually Works?

1280 720 James Tocchio

Travel tripods are notoriously bad. Flimsy and cheap, they’re disposable products destined to be discarded and replaced by something better. Or at least, that’s the perception.…

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Remember the ’90s – Camera Edition

1280 853 Josh Solomon

The decade that brought us Dunkaroos and the Macarena also brought with it a scourge in the form of plastic-fantastic, homogeneous camera design that manufacturers would…

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How to Buy a Used Lens Without Getting Burned

1280 720 James Tocchio

Lenses are expensive. But used lenses are cheap. And thanks to their adaptability to today’s amazing mirror-less cameras, legacy lenses are becoming an ever more popular…

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Olympus Trip 35 – Camera Review

1280 720 Josh Solomon

As enthralling as photography can be, long days, months, and years spent shooting can wear you out. In the worst case, it can lead to a…

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Featured Photophile No. 002 – Alex Denault, Canada

1280 720 James Tocchio

Featured Photophile, our recurring segment showcasing talented amateur photographers, is back. Today we’re spotlighting a nice guy named Alex who’s managed to create some amazing photos in a…

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Relive the Past With Eleven Minutes of Nikon Commercials

1831 1030 James Tocchio

Are you at work? Do you hate your job? Then why not stick it to your awful boss by spending eleven minutes watching vintage Nikon commercials? We’ve scoured…

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Leica Store Boston Opening Weekend, Sneak Peak at Leica’s Sofort Instax Camera, and My First Instameet

1600 900 James Tocchio

I walk east down Boylston Street as the early morning sun continues its slow ascent ahead of me. Knife-edged shadows cut into the gleaming, white marble of the…

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Cinestill 800T Film Profile – Shoot Like Abrams, Allen and Tarantino

1600 900 Josh Solomon

Living in Los Angeles is a bit different than outsiders think. In the popular imagination, LA is a sprawling, steamy city teeming with lawyers, writers, and…

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Featured Photophile No. 001 – Luca Ellena, Switzerland

1280 720 James Tocchio

Today is the beginning of a new Feature here on CP. It’s called Featured Photophile, and here we’ll showcase the photography of a talented amateur shooter, and give…

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Mint InstantFlex TL70 – Instant Camera Review

1280 720 James Tocchio

I spent this past weekend shooting an instant camera like no other. Mint’s InstantFlex TL70 is a twin lens reflex in the vein of Rollei and…

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Nikon S2 – Camera Review

1600 900 Josh Solomon

Every photo geek has their Holy Grail. We all dream of having the perfect machine, and more than most of us spend lots of time and cash…

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Voigtlander Super Wide Heliar 15mm F/4.5 Aspherical III – M and E Mount Lens Review

1280 720 James Tocchio

Super wide-angle lenses are unique. By their very nature, they’re specialized, uncommon, and expensive. So to go searching for a capable, versatile, and inexpensive super-wide seems…

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Five Books Every Photo Geek Should Own

1280 720 Josh Solomon

Documentarian and filmmaker Werner Herzog once said, “If you don’t read, you will never be a filmmaker.” The same is true for any aspiring creator, whether…

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Minolta XK – Camera Review

1280 720 James Tocchio

It was after climbing 2,000 feet above sea level, with several hundred more to hike, that I decided to hate Minolta’s XK. I stood hunched and…

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Nikon FG – Camera Review

1280 720 Josh Solomon

In my last article, I mentioned a shiny, little Nikon FG. The FG happened to be my very first 35mm film camera and remains one of my…

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Why Fujifilm Superia 400 Should be Every Shooters First Film

1280 806 Josh Solomon

[Editor’s Note : One of the most common questions I’m asked is one that’s very difficult to answer. People who’ve never shot film want to know where…

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Five Tips for Building a Full Film Camera Kit for Under $100

1600 900 Josh Solomon

We’ve all been there; spent too long staring at a famous photograph shot on film, handled a friend or relative’s classic camera a little too covetously,…

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Minolta M-Rokkor 40mm F/2 – Lens Review

1212 682 James Tocchio

I shoot a lot of old cameras, archaic machines that in some cases recall a time when the United States was comprised of only forty-eight such…

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Five Famous Photographers and the Cameras They Used

1280 720 Josh Solomon

It’s no secret that we love our gear here at Casual Photophile. A quick glance through the archives is enough to illustrate our undying love for…

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Nikon FE – Camera Review

1280 720 James Tocchio

My eyes flitted from one glittering storefront to the next, unsure of which to enter. For weeks I’d been craving a cannolo, a Sicilian pastry with a…

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Pentax SV – Camera Review

1280 720 Josh Solomon

Life has a way of giving you exactly what you need when you least expect it to. So when I came across a Pentax SV for…

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Minolta M Rokkor 28mm F/2.8 – Lens Review

2200 1238 James Tocchio

The end of a tiresome week found me weary, disheartened, and worn out. It also found me stuffed into a small, German sedan with my wife,…

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Leica IIIc – Camera Review

2272 1278 Josh Solomon

What can we say about Leica that hasn’t already been said? The subject of countless articles and blog posts, every inch of every Leica ever made…

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Why I Choose the Minolta CLE Over Any Leica M

1474 830 James Tocchio

The best 35mm film cameras in the world are Leicas. This is a known fact, right? And the best of the best is surely the M series,…

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Kodak Tri-X – Film Profile

2000 1125 Josh Solomon

Guitarists have the Fender Stratocaster, soldiers the AK-47, and handymen the world over have WD-40. These products have become the standard bearers in their fields; tools…

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Should You Buy a Mechanical or Electronic Camera?

1400 788 Josh Solomon

Spend any amount of time on photography forums and you’ll learn pretty quickly that photographers will argue about anything. Analog versus digital, slides versus C-41, Nikon…

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Minolta MD W. Rokkor-X 24mm F/2.8 Ultra Wide Lens Review

1600 900 James Tocchio

The Minolta MD W Rokkor X 25mm F/2.8 is a classic film-era wide angle lens that performs beautifully on today’s mirror-less digital cameras.

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Olympus OM-1 Camera Review

1400 788 James Tocchio

James reviews the Olympus OM1, one of the smallest and greatest all-mechanical meter-assisted 35mm SLR film cameras ever made.

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Nikon F3 – Camera Review

2000 1125 Josh Solomon

There are rare objects in this world that have the power to stop people in their tracks. Works of art so beautiful that they demand a lingering gaze;…

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Fomapan Creative 200 – Film Profile

1800 1013 Josh Solomon

We’re back with another film profile, and since we’re smack in the middle of a series on home-developing black-and-white film we’ve decided to spotlight, you guessed…

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5 Best Medium Format Cameras for Beginners

1600 987 James Tocchio

It happens to the best of us. At some point in the photographic journey, every photo geek is going to run into a wall. Things get stale.…

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Exploded Views – Nikon F3

1200 675 James Tocchio

After an extended hiatus, our Exploded Views feature is back, and I’ve brought to bear my most ambitious effort yet! I’ve chosen a truly legendary camera, Nikon’s F3,…

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How to Develop Black and White Film at Home – Part Two: Developing The Negative + Video Guide

4685 2635 James Tocchio

We’re back with the second installment in our continuing feature on developing black-and-white film at home, and it’s time to get down to business. Are you…

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Contax 139 Quartz – Camera Review

1280 720 James Tocchio

I recently found myself the reluctant owner of a Contax 139 Quartz 35mm SLR, a camera about which I knew little and for which I cared…

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Not Everyone Needs a Leica

1200 675 James Tocchio

I recently overheard a teenage customer asking the clerk of a local camera shop about some gear. He wanted to replace his kit lens, but he…

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How To Process Black and White Film at Home – Part One: What You’ll Need

5985 3351 James Tocchio

There’s no better way to connect with the very essence of the medium than by shooting black-and-white film, and while the C-41 process B&W films are…

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Five Best Cameras for Photography Students

1500 844 James Tocchio

There’s a certain question that I get asked virtually every single day. People need to know what camera they should buy for their upcoming high school or…

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Canon AE-1 – Video Review

2448 1632 James Tocchio

After much filming, lots of trial and error, and countless hours of editing, we’ve finally finished our very first video review. We’ve started with a camera…

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Minolta XE-5 – Camera Review

1280 720 James Tocchio

I began my photographic journey with a Minolta DSLR, the rather fantastic-in-its-day Maxxum 5D, so when I felt the urge to try some film shooting more…

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10 Holiday Gifts for Photo Geeks

1280 720 James Tocchio

The holidays are here, and you’ve got a photographer on your shopping list. At the best of times, this can be a daunting task; camera enthusiasts are seriously picky…

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Argus C3 – Camera Review

1024 576 James Tocchio

I love film cameras. But the idea that film will ever again be the dominant medium in photography is unthinkable. The technical mastery and convenience of today’s…

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Canon FD 24mm F/2.8 S.S.C. – Lens Review

1600 900 James Tocchio

Not long ago, I penned an opinion that every photo geek should own a wide-angle lens. In case you missed it, I talked about the incredible ability of wide-angle lenses…

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Artisan Origin Leather Camera Straps – Product Spotlight

5866 3300 James Tocchio

A few months ago I was contacted by an enterprising photographer, Myron Hensel of Artisan Origin, regarding the possibility of carrying his line of leather camera…

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Polaroid Snap – Camera Review

5894 3315 James Tocchio

Polaroid is back with a brand-new instant film camera. Good stuff! But wait, what year is it? Did we slip backwards through a wormhole? Did the…

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Why Everyone Should Shoot a Wide Angle Lens

2200 1467 James Tocchio

One of the simplest ways to increase the dynamism and visual interest of our images is by using a wide-angle lens. By widening our angle of view,…

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Pentax – A SMC 35mm F/2.8 – Lens Review

5817 3272 James Tocchio

I’m back from a brief vacation and I’ve brought with me a treasure trove of material for my photophile friends! First on the docket is a review of a…

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Pentax ME – Camera Review

5815 3271 James Tocchio

Well, it’s finally happening. We’re reviewing a Pentax. It’s the Pentax ME, an entry-level 35mm film SLR that entices with its promises of creative photographic controls,…

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