Film-Camera Reviews

This camera is very stylish looking but the quality of the photos are mediocre at best. Even using 400 or 800 speed film doesn't help. It takes great close-up shots, but when you get far away....no good. Subjects are hazy and blurry...but like I said close-ups are great.

This camera has everything that you are looking for! I got it in March, and I still havent' had to change the batteries-very good! Also, it's nice and small so it will fit almost anywhere. The shape is cool too!! The cord is VERY nice, so you can put it around your neck when you don't want to hold onto it anymore. You should definately buy this camera.

Ok, this is not your basic point-and shoot, in fact the camera as it is shipped barely works at all- you'll have light leaks, the back will fly off, it shoots in a rectangular rather than square format, blah, blah. But, if you want to really break out of conventional photography and have some fun, this is the way to go.

Do some searching around on the Internet about how to modify one of these babies, though. Mine has no light leaks, can be used in a "bulb" mode, and shoots square format, as a holga should if you want to see the kind of edge distortion and vignetting holgas are famous for. I can also run cheap 35mm through it, for an interesting effect. Email me for more info on how I made my modifications, I'm happy to help.

Also, for relatively inexpensive mail-away 120 processing (both color and BW), Vermont Color is the way to go- look them up.

I love my Holga (been shooting about 3-6 rolls a year). It is the lowest priced medium format camera short of building your own out of plywood. Be cautious removing the film, do it in low light (it tends to unspool slightly, and it's easy to burn the edge of the undeveloped film). I tape all the seems on mine after I load it, helps avoid light leaks, and it is easy. Both black and white as well as color photos can come out well, and medium format gives you the option to blow up pictures to very large sizes (the negative is quite large compared to 35 mm, or APS formats. So, if you want to experiment a little, and you want to shoot some 120 film without spending 350 on a SeaGull, or 1,000+ for a Pentax645 Then a Holga for under 20 or 30 bucks is perfect. I've had mine now for about 4 years.

We used the film with a cheap camera on our last trip and I truely didn't have my expections too high but all pictures came out nicely. Pictures we took in the evening did not come out as clear (greyish), possibly due to the quality of the camera. All in all - Strongly recommend.

Kodak makes great film, and Gold Max is one of their best amature films. This film provides maximum versitility for outdoor sports, and for the decently lighted indoor shots. Grain structure is good, holding well up to an 8"x10" print. Best part about this film is the price...I think Kodak and Amazon.com have a real winner here.

Fuji film's Velvia 50 is that company's finest grain slide film and to many photographers and viewers of images taken with this emulsion, the film became the standards for what colorful could be.

Fuji is the arch-competitor to the grand dame of the film industry - KODAK. While a youngster compared to KODAK, Fuji has come a very long way in their product development, chemistry and the quality of the finished product since they first started competing against KODAK in the North American marketplace.

When I first started using Fuji print films approximately 17 years ago, I did not like them. I found that they had too high a preponderance of green and they would lose detail quickly. Their colors were less natural than KODAK's and less faithful to the color of the subject photographed. After shooting 8-10 rolls of Fuji 100 and 400, I returned to KODAK products.

Years later, when I acquired my first NIKON AF 35 mm SLRs and with much more experience under my belt, I decided to give FUJI another try. I had heard that the company had done much to correct the problems with their chemistry and emulsions and that overall quality of their films had improved dramatically. During this time, FUJI was severely criticized by KODAK and the U.S. government for "dumping" film into the USA below cost in a cheap play to acquire market share. Fuji denied this tactic and continued to use it as a way to win over American professional and enthusiast photographers.

After switching from manual 35 mm cameras to AF, I also started shooting a lot more slide film and I decided to try Fuji slide and print films again. While for most products I remain a KODAK loyalist (I shoot only professional quality/grade film), I will use FUJI when I think the application is right.

When using slides I like Velvia 50 for its exceptionally fine grain and very saturated colors. Many users of this slide film will shoot it at ISO 40 to increase saturation. I have not done that because this is already a slow speed film and I recommend a tripod when using it, this is an excellent slide film for shooting landscapes and other scenic views.

This slide film IS NOT suited for portraiture, either outdoors or inside with flash. Slides taken outdoors of people, especially folks who are Caucasian tend to deliver faces with very "ruddy" coloring. Indoors with flash, complexions tend to take on an eerie greenish cast. Obviously, not very true to life.

For more accurate and faithful colors, more like what was seen through the viewfinder, Kodak slide films, but especially the now extinct KODAKCHROME 25, the still available K64 and the EKTACHROME 64 family of slide films will deliver much more neutral, but true colors. Contrast will also be more accurate.

If realism is not your primary reason for using slide film and you are more interested in the WOW of super-saturated colors, then FUJI Velvia 50, shot outdoors is a good choice.

This is an easy to use basic camera. It takes "ok" photos in a simple way.

My daughter has wanted a camera since she was 2 years old. I bought her this camera (the pink flower edition) just before she turned 3. She loves it. The size is great for little hands. For the most part I don't need to adjust her fingers to keep them away from the lens.

She also has a Chicco Smile Camera. That was is very easy to use, and slightly cheaper since it uses regular 35mm film. However, given a choice she'll go for the Nexia every time. I know she's drawn to the design, but I think she likes the size of it too.

If you have your own little budding photographer let them give this camera a try. I don't think you'll go wrong.

Fuji film is, in general, going to have a much more color saturated look than Kodak. It all depends on what you want! If you want the most realistic color, Fuji probably isn't your best choice. However, Fuji can sometimes look more vibrant or subdued, depending also on the setting. There's nothing wrong with extra color saturation that may not be exactly realistic, if that's what you want!

If you're not really into photography, then this film will be just okay. Maybe use it for your children's cameras but not for really serious photos. The colors are okay, not superior and enlargements really are not that great. It's just not that great of a film and I highly suggest moving up to the 400 or 800 if what you're taking is really important. The colors are more vivid especially in the 800 and you really have nicer photos. This speed is just for playing, I think. But for the serious photographer, move on to something else.

I bought one of these 2 Camera packs a few years ago. They were easy to use, the Flash worked everytime. The results produced nice Colorful Clear shots.
I recommend these to anyone heading out with friends.
Not sure if Kodak still manufacture these camera's though.

The manual that Amazon linked on this page is for the Mamiya 645 Pro, which is a lot more camera than the 645E. Having the 645 Pro manual is misleading here. The 645E is not modular like the 645 Pro, though to be fair the 645AF isn't either.

Anyway, Mamiya makes amazing lenses (including the one that comes with this kit). The 645E lets you mount them for relatively little money. That's what it's worth.