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,…
read moreWe’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…
read moreI 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…
read moreI 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…
read moreThere’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…
read moreThere’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…
read moreAfter 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…
read moreI 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…
read moreThe 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…
read moreI 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…
read moreNot 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…
read moreA 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…
read morePolaroid 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…
read moreOne 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,…
read moreI’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…
read moreWell, 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,…
read morePrime lenses are lenses that use a single fixed focal length, as opposed to zoom lenses which offer a range of variable focal lengths. It’s simple,…
read moreIt’s one of the questions we’re asked most often here at CP, across our social media accounts, and through our online shop. Every day, new shooters and…
read moreToday’s product spotlight is firmly fixed on the exquisitely crafted hot shoe covers and shutter release buttons made by Jay Tsujimura. Based in Japan, Jay meticulously carves, shapes, and…
read moreIf it ain’t broken, don’t fix it. A good philosophy, and one that Canon kept in mind when designing the follow-up to their massively successful AE-1…
read moreAlong with the runaway success of today’s mirrorless digital cameras, another segment of the photo gear market has seen a big rise. And while the products…
read moreThere are few cameras that elicit the kind of lustful ogling as those made by Leica. For many photophiles, Leica’s machines are the holy grail of…
read moreWe’re back with another film profile to help you decide which film is right for you. In the past we’ve profiled two Kodak films that are still…
read moreWe field a lot of questions here at CP. Whether they come by way of post comments, our online shop, our social networks, or via direct…
read moreA while back, we published a rather popular list of some of our favorite point-and-shoot film cameras. We made it pretty clear that our list was just a…
read moreWe’re back with another lens review, and this time we’re taking a look at a sleeper lens from Olympus. The OM-System Zuiko Auto-W 28mm F/2.8 doesn’t…
read moreI’ve long been a fan of Minolta’s cameras and lenses. The boys and girls working in Osaka were always among the most innovative, forward-thinking, and truly…
read moreWe’re back with another film profile to help you decide which film is right for you. Last time, we talked about Kodak’s Portra 400, a warm and…
read moreWe’re back with another Exploded View, and this time we’ve dissected a fan-favorite SLR. It’s Olympus’ OM-2, one of the smallest and most technologically advanced cameras of the film…
read moreWe’re back with another noteworthy lens, and this one’s a real legend for Nikon photographers of a certain age. If you were shooting film during the…
read moreWhen shooting vintage cameras there exists something of a sweet spot- a kind of “Goldilocks zone” that only a certain number of cameras occupy. For most photo geeks,…
read moreWe’re back with more photography tips to help new (and experienced) shooters better understand this fantastic hobby of ours. In the past we’ve covered things like ISO, zone…
read moreIt’s my belief that a writer’s job is to ask questions. As the owner of a camera shop and the founder of CP, I spend a lot…
read moreThere’s no such thing as a “perfect” film. Let’s just get that out of the way. Every shooter has different tastes regarding tone, color, grain, etc.,…
read moreShooting classic cameras often brings compromise. Sometimes your camera lacks auto-focus, other times it’s got no light meter, or maybe your camera can’t auto-expose. I love…
read moreThe last time we compiled a “Top Five” list we were focused on the simple joy of point-and-shoot cameras. The automated nature of the five cameras we…
read moreThe Minolta MC Macro Rokkor QF 50mm F/3.5 is a truly versatile lens. It provides one of the easiest and most affordable ways to get into macro photography…
read moreThere are few pleasures as easy to attain as the simple act of sitting and relaxing for a few moments with a good book. And for…
read moreTo Our Readers, For those of you who follow CASUAL PHOTOPHILE’s social media pages (Ello, Facebook, and Instagram, specifically), you’ll have already seen my post regarding the noted absence…
read moreIt seems we’ve been on something of a Canon binge lately. We’ve reviewed the classic A-1, put a wide FD lens through its paces, and just…
read moreFor a lens to be remarkable it doesn’t always have to be exceptionally gorgeous, have the highest specification, or cost as much as a small, used…
read moreWere CP the kind of website to give our reviews catchy taglines, the Canon A-1’s review might pose a problem. I could title it The Forgotten…
read more[Editor’s Note : Someone read this article and sent me a message that, in part, told me to kill myself. Pretty ridiculous, but I wanted to clarify…
read moreHere are five excellent point and shoot film cameras organized by price and capability. Find your best fit and have fun shooting!
read moreHere’s another installment in our Exploded Views feature. Last time we featured the Canon AE-1, and this week we’re showcasing something that’s admittedly simpler, less jaw-dropping,…
read moreI’ve had a Leica M2 with cracked and missing vulcanite sitting on a shelf for over two months. It was sad, ugly, and wasting away. So this…
read moreCasual Photophile was born from an appreciation that cameras are amazing, tiny machines. What better way to illustrate the intricacy and wonder of these little devices than…
read moreThe Olympus OM system has a long history of both exceptional and under appreciated machines. While the OM1 was received by professional photogs, the press, and…
read moreQuick Tips, our continuing series explaining elements of photography in simple terms, is back. In past articles we’ve explained things like ISO, how to load film, and unraveled…
read moreMuch has been written about the technical benefits of shooting in Manual mode, and while these articles do well to explain why shooting this way can…
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