These film cameras are so good! Developing Film and Making Prints from the Franka Solida II

[@SuperLemonAdam]

"When the horizon's at the bottom, it's interesting. When the horizon's at the top, it's interesting. When the horizon's in the middle, it's boring as shit." ~John Ford Great work, as always! Love watching the enlargement process...good stuff! Cheers!

[@trix-4656]

You are not just a great photographer but an excellent printer. I enjoy your videos immensely.

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

Thanks very much!

[@SuperBabel2]

Que de souvenirs...

[@johnosborn720]

I have had a Franka solida for a long time and used it. yes it is a very good camera. | now have most of the franca folder range. The Ensigns are also a very good range of cameras

[@Readbetweenthelines1]

Love these old cameras, leather n' glass, and some gorgeous shots if you get creative. It still beats the complex electronic kits.

[@philipwebb1883]

Appreciate your channel Roger, just to say have you, or anyone else reading this, tried 'spotting' your prints. Basically it's retouching with a fine paintbrush to eliminate the imperfections like on yollllB&W it's easy, and very satisfying no will notice.

[@tadwolujewicz3923]

You’re the only one out there, Rog, who takes the photographer on the whole journey. We’re with you for the gear review, join you on location and you take us into your darkroom. Keep up the good work!

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

Thanks Tad, have a great Christmas wherever you are in the world and stay safe.

[@rossmansell5877]

I bought a Solida a couple of months ago..Excellent condition £30. Scchneider 2.9/80 . NO rangefinder. Made in Germany (US ZONE) on the back! Back to the old days of using your head to do the job!!

[@chriscard6544]

it should be very sharp

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

Definitely.

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

Thats a good price Ross. Enjoy!

[@prla5400]

Scored a Schneider you spider

[@dan.allen.digital]

I always appreciate the detailed dark room commentary. It helps those of us that are just getting started making prints.

[@mikesmith-po8nd]

And he explains it so easily. It's one of the best things about his channel. Back when I started out, literally a lifetime ago, I learned so much from the more experienced people. I'm a big believer in passing that knowledge along, and Roger does it very well.

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

Glad it helps you Dan. Just keep it simple and pretty is the best way.

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

Cheers Mike.

[@VictorReynolds]

The Franka looks like an excellent addition to my toolkit. I always enjoy how you show us the whole photographic process from loading the camera to printing. We feel as if we’re right on the location with you. Your channel makes film photography relevant and enjoyable! Happy New Year!

[@marckruszewski4873]

Thanks!

[@hrl3113]

Very nice fine art. Thanks a lot. Many greetings from Austria.

[@Ybalrid]

My TLR, a Czechoslovak Meopta Flexaret V, has the same Prontor SVS shutter (on a 75mm f/3.5 tessar design lens) with that coupling lever for the shutter speed and aperture. The red numbers are in EV, and I often actually set my meter reading by looking at the EV dial on my Sekonic. Works great!

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

I've never used the EV on the meter. I should give it a go really with these EV coupled cameras. Cheers.

[@MrMartinsla]

Should buy you a couple of new sheets hopefully. Keep up the good work 👍

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

Thats very kind of you! Thanks! 🙏

[@WintherKl]

Thanks

[@earlspiece9403]

Thoroughly enjoyed watching this vid Christmas eve waiting to put the presents out!!!!! ... Great photos too!!! Merry Christmas!!!!

[@davegeraghty2187]

Your visuals about finding middle grey in the sky and increasing a couple stops are the best I've seen explaining exposure and spot metering

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

Thanks Dave. It's not easy to illustrate something hoping it's understandable. Thanks.

[@erichstocker8358]

As always I really love your photos and your entire presentation and style of presentation (I label it "having fun with photography"). When I was learning to print, I was taught that one thing that can be done with clear spots on negative is to use a very soft pencil and color in the spot to be as close to surrounding area as possible. Sometimes put it on a bit thicker and then brush away until match. In many cases that works really well.

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

Cheers Erich. That makes sense. Just filling it in. I did actually wonder if they were birds! But no such luck. I can't figure out even how that happened. My friend used to work in a printing lab and he said they would get the sack for nose greasing a negative!

[@andrewkay4360]

Yet another excellent video Roger. Thanks for all the advice you've given over the last year. Merry Christmas and Happy New year Roger, take care.

[@FrukostDags-c6s]

Merry Christmas from Sweden, Great shooting. Happy new year soon. 🎉

[@stevemitchell8839]

thanks Roger another great video, as much as I've seen you in the darkroom I always like it when you show the shoot right through developing and printing, I always pick up a few points.

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

Thanks Steve. It can become repetitive but I also figure if something can be taken away however small it will help someone. Not to mention new starters. I'm pleased.

[@truthsayers8725]

speaking of folders, i picked up a pair of Zeiss Ikonta Supers. one in 6x4.5 and one in 6x9 but ive been really busy to get out and shoot them. ive run some film through my yashicamat 124s and a 2x3 roll back on my 4x5 graflex., i love big negatives

[@pietro-viecelli]

Hey Roger! Glad to see the camera being used! I saw that bloody fibre on the top left corner on a few of my negs too but couldn't find where the heck it's hiding in the camera! 😅 Ryde beach is quite pretty, took some lovely photos there when I visited during the summer.

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

Ha Ha thanks Pietro. I found it! It's on the bottom right of the bellows about 3 steps in. A minute hair. I have sent it off for analysis. 🧐 (I gave it a good clean out). Thanks again!

[@ianlainchbury]

After watching your Zeiss Ikon video Roger, I bought one and it's superb. But looking around some time later, I bought an Ensign Ranger Special... 6x9. It's also a superb camera. Love shooting these old ones. I don't have spot metering kit, so I use a Sekonic L208 which was about £100, and it does the job :) Great video again. Ta

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

To be honest Ian I would probably have had similar readings from incident. Nice camera and BIG negs!

[@ianthomas465]

Hello Roger. I really like your channel. Awesome videos always and very inspiring. A big thank you from Germany. Take care and a merry Christmas for you and your beloved ones, Greg PS: I am using the Franka Solida and the Zeiss Ikon Nettar too. Also the old Mamyia Six folding camera. Took some of my best pictures with these cameras

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

Thanks Greg. Continue taking great photos!

[@lensman5762]

I still have all my folders including two Solida III, one with exposure meter and the other with the rangefinder. I have to give it a go, and I have the perfect film for it, some Lomo CN 400. Ah, joy of fully manual film photography.

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

My solida III lens shutter is getting stuck now :(. It's a fantastic lens too! I'll send it away at some point.

[@lensman5762]

@@ShootFilmLikeaBoss It probably needs a good soaking in lighter fluid. Its a DIY job, but resetting the focus is a pain.

[@Readbetweenthelines1]

"I've double exposed on that shot!" Story of my life, Man!

[@rick-fstop-lewis]

I took my holga out for a winter walk today and my first frame I double exposed....lol. Then I watched this video and had to chuckle when you had done the same. Great vid, Roger, as always! Cheers, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and the family!! ( I saw you using scissors on the negs....tsk tsk...LOL )

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

Cheers Rick. I didn't use scissors. I used precise scissors specially made for negatives... I lie. LOL. I do have a neg cutter actually and never use it! You know sometimes with double exposure. You may get one thats a perfect accident.

[@rick-fstop-lewis]

@@ShootFilmLikeaBoss I have tried a couple double exposures before but I haven't had anything decent turn out. So far I have accidently double exposed on my holga twice before and did the first three shots on a roll with the lens cap on. But it's in the fun and adventure of it all that keeps us shooting along!! Oh, and that negative cutter is great for 35mm where the frame separations are so thin. I use it for both 120 and 35mm just because I am tired of cutting into the frames...lol. ( I'm the one who recommended it to you. That's why I had to poke fun at ya, mate! )

[@RoseLaCroix]

My pocket 120 folder? Zeiss Ikon Nettar! The Mighty Zeiss! There's a few shots from that camera on my channel. Some might say the $125 price I paid for a model that'd had its shutter serviced was too steep but I think it's the best $125 I ever spent on a camera. The aesthetic on this thing! I play into its flaws, its shallow depth of field even at narrower apertures, its center-only sharpness, its tendency to produce vignettes. It produces photos that feel old, Gothic, and melancholy like photos from the turn of the 20th Century. When I shoot color, the chromatic aberrations that lens produces are clearly more modern, those of a camera from the 30s to the 50s; but load it with some orthochromatic film and you can produce something that looks like it was shot between 1900 and 1920.

[@neal3k]

I was using my pre-war Solida this week, testing Foma 100 pushed to 3200. It worked great, I like FOMA films better than Ilford because you can see the frame number so much easier through the red windows. The quality is excellent too. I really enjoyed your Seascape photography today. I can’t wait until your next video comes out.

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

Cheers Neal. I've never got on with Foma 120 having mostly tiny flecks in the emulsion. Hopefully they've got better. Cheaper too!

[@VincentLaPosta]

Happy Christmas, mate! I continue to learn so much from you, especially how to keep dodging and burning simple. See you in the new year. I don’t use a folder but will be taking my Minolta Autocord out for a spin before Xmas.

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

Thanks Vincent. Hoping you get many nice photos with it! Nice camera!!

[@danem2215]

My very first medium format camera was an Agfa Isolette from an antique store. I still have it and like to use it once every couple years. They're so charming. I also just advance immediately - rather have a blank if I advance twice than two wasted frames if I double expose.

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

Thats the main reason I advance before. I've had too many blanks! Can't win can we Dane.

[@65PCH]

I got into medium format cameras through folders. I've got a dozen or more 6x6 folders, coupled and uncoupled rangefinders. Favourites are the Iskra and Certo Six, both of which have fantastic lenses. I've also got several 6x9 folders as well, including a Franka Rolfix II (it has a built in mask to shoot 6x6). I do prefer the square format.

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

There are not many of us "square" shooters that prefer the format. I do too. I haven't any that can change formats inside though. Nice.

[@elwood5699]

What a great video; thank you! Entertaining and equally educational

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

Thanks you !

[@kdj.imagery4317]

I happen to like the one were you shot from just above the shoreline and focused on the background, it adds drama and leads the viewer into the photo. What was the exposure for the one were you dodged the foreground and skyline? It looks like it was very slow, the waves are very smooth. Ya know what, my favorite was the double exposure! Those are always very creative when done properly. Usually done by accident more than intentional. Merry Christmas!

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

The exposure would have been f11 at 1/60th, so yes, slow enough to have a bit of a smooth wave. Thanks and enjoy the holidays!

[@andyvan5692]

Roger, have you tried out a Minolta Spot meter F?, as this does the metering, However you can select your zone 2 subject, but hit the H button (makes the meter ev. compensate between the zone metered, and Z5 )- keeping the metered value for zone 2!! so you get an accurate measure, not over or under, because of the object measured; this works for Shadow areas too, and if you hit the meter button, H/S then memory you can see markers on the ev scale, showing you the dynamic range of the scene, or just take an average of the readings, simple, esp. for learning LF, or for learning how 'hot' the highlights are (so informing you if you desire ND's or a lens shade, saving your shot).

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

Thanks Andy. I did look at this meter years ago! I also saw a guy use it for EV years ago on KZbin. To be honest I don't use spot metering a great deal as you never know if these cameras are running the speeds properly! Apart from my LF camera where those lens shutters are accurate. Thanks for the advice.

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

Also my meter does EV metering but I've never used it...

[@ubeeh]

Franka for the Bavarian region of Frankonia (or even Upper Frankonia, of which Bayreuth is the administrative center). One note on the pronunciation of Bayreuth - Bye-roit or, closer to the dialect version: Bah-ride. And make sure you roll the R like a Scot.

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

Thanks!

[@SloopJohnBeeRockabilly]

Yup I nearly bought a Solida earlier in the year. But tbh I don’t really need anymore cameras at the moment. Still have some I haven’t shot with yet. Thanks for the video Roger. Keep up the good work 👍📸

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

Cheers Sloop! I think we all get to that point with cameras. Unless there is a real bargain! I've been eying up a Minolta Autocord locally on Facebook for £50. Probably an attic find. But I'm on the fence. I have a 6x6 TLR. £50 worth of film instead maybe!

[@SloopJohnBeeRockabilly]

@ new old camera update man: seen a Chinon CA4 in a charity shop today. £10. Seems fine. Need another examination. The f1.9 nifty gotta be worth a tenner anyway. Not that I need another camera as I said 🤷‍♂️🙄🤣📸 Happy Christmas mate 🎄

[@13ahab]

Great video again! I use a ferricyanide crystal to remove dark marks on a print it is a bleach. I also noticed that the camera lenses were a bit dirty. You should not use the red viewer on the back of the camera with a panchromatic film like FP4 you would not load a film onto a spiral with the red safelight on in a darkroom. You are right that most photography is about routine and technique which you must stick to, I would try to find a better place to dry your films maybe an old locker. Keep up the good work.

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

Thanks! Light won't hit that film for the backing paper so the red window is safe to use. Very safe. How does Ferricyanide ( which I use for toning and bleaching too), remove those marks? You can email me if you like. Yes, I need to find a way to make a cabinet for drying now. It's happened a lot recently. And I can't be steaming the room before hanging out. I'm looking for a tall slim CD rack that I can turn into a cabinet.

[@jonglass]

I've got a Perkeo II and some of my best photos in recent years have been shot with it.

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

Very nice!! Voigtlander made some of the best.

[@sophietucker1255]

I have only one 120 folder a Super Fujica-6. The rangefinder is a little iffy so I mostly zone focus with it

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

You can get external rangefinder's, as you're probably aware. But if zone focusing works for your work then great! Nice camera Sophie!!

[@Resgerr]

I always take a picture and advance/wind on right away so I don't forget.

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

I think either way we can still get stumped! Daftest part is I kept thinking as I was chatting "advance, advance, advance" Nope! LOL

[@peterhollander6392]

I have a Franka Solida model one, with no rangefinder, bought on a fleamarket, for €15. Great camera's good sharp images, with Anistigmat 1:5.6 lens.

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

Thats amazing price! I have a couple with no range finder. I use an external rangefinder but it's a pain when I need to convert from feet to meters! I carry a cheat sheet

[@rjbiii]

I find it's better to advance immediately after taking the photo. That way it's always queued up and I don't have to remember to do that while I'm trying to set up the next shot.

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

It's the best way! I got stung here.

[@staryjanek]

Nice wee camera and cracking shots, really enjoy your channel. I have recently got a 1939 Voigtlander Bessa, 6x4.5 and get nice shots with it BUT for one thing. Trying to see the frame numbers when winding on through the "Ruby" window, it's a nightmare I invariably get it wrong or just can't read it and end "eating through" the film and getting HUGE gaps between the frames. I see you camera has a handy "click" mechanism when winding on. If you have used 120 folders which don't have an audible signal for the frame advance, do you have any tips on getting it right? Coz it's driving me bananas :)

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

You're not on your own! Some films backing numbers are fainter than others. I have trouble seeing the numbers sometimes and I use my phone torch if I am in shade or point the camera toward the sun to see the backing paper through the red window. You won't fog the film. The backing paper sees to that. Just don't go crazy with a torch just in case. I also often have to wear my glasses to see the numbers. But mostly I just take my time slowly advancing and counting down the indications before the frame number appears.

[@staryjanek]

@@ShootFilmLikeaBoss I have a Reflekta II TLR and even after cleaning it's like me DIM :) I tried the torch trick, but then I get so much reflection off the Ruby window, bah !!!! Then I tried a red torch light and , it may just be my desperate imagination, but I feel the numbers are a tad easier to see, defo less direct reflection. Photography is meant to be Zen style relaxin innit ? 🤣. Cheers Merry Christmas and a happy new year :) Love your vids and your photography

[@andyvan5692]

Roger, that 'coupling' of the lens controls isn't a new thing, Hasselblad C's and CF's have it to, for EV metering style, you set the EV according to a meter, then all is set, just select aperture then shoot, knowing that whatever f number you choose, it will be exposed correctly.

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

Cheers Andy, I know it's not new, I have it on a couple of other cameras. I never use EV. But this camera is fiddly to change! 😅

[@chasingtheleitz]

Roger, do you find any difference with using contrast filters when printing negs that were developed in 510 Pyro? I understand the staining effect with 510 Pyro can alter the base contrast of the negative.

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

Not at all Chas. I wouldn't be able to tell if it was a 510 negative or a DDX negative under the enlarger. (not without seeing them on a light box). I mostly start with a 2.5 grade and work out from there if I need to start using other grades.

[@chriscard6544]

510 Pyro is very expensive in my area but the results look awesome. Does it really worth it ? I mainly use HC-110 to give an idea.

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

I use a few different developers 510 being one of them. It gives fine grain, finer than the HC-110 and I like the staining of the film which helps with the highlights. Thats why I used it here because of the sky. So I use it for a lot of my scapes. I've never used HC-110 but if I did I would more than likely go to it for street photography, like Rodinal HC-110 doesn't tell fibs. Gives you what the film contains. But if you're happy with your developer stick with it Chris.

[@chriscard6544]

@@ShootFilmLikeaBoss for portraits fomapan 100 and HC 110 are awesome, bur for landscapes, im not happy. I seek for more grey tones and sharpness, maybe fompan 100 is the issue, not the developer.

[@cameronwilson8561]

Just wondering what fixer you are using? Keen to try out 510 pyro but at the moment I normally use Ilford Rapid Fixer.

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

I use Fotospeed FX30 which is Alkaline fixer. Your rapid fix will work with it but it will strip away 510's stain. Thats also why I stopped with just water. Zone Imaging also sell a fixer for 510.

[@cameronwilson8561]

@ nice one, do you normal mix 1+4?

[@Dwarvenchef]

Folders are also an addiction for me, digging around to put all my folders in the same cabinet

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

At least they " fold-in " saving room ha ha.

[@DJW1959Aus]

I have a Kodak Retina 3c range finder folding camera. Made in West Germany.

[@andyvan5692]

Not quite, for eg. Sinar (in their instructions for the Zoom 120 back) suggests that you wind on IMEDIATELY after shooting, so not having to worry, is it advanced?, it IS, Also I take phone notes (on EXCEL spreadsheet) so can double check there, if a record of shot 2 is down, then Its exposed, a bit akin to the white/black side of LF film holder darkslides, to tell when its shot... but KEEP to a consistent routine, that way if 'all goes up' your muscle memory goes to this basic process, so can't go wrong.

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

Yes Andy. It's what you get used to. Had I had wound on after each shot I wouldn't have missed that one 🤦🏻. Moreover it's sticking to a pattern. I have also days where I have advanced after each shot and then accidentally advanced again missing a frame.

[@davegeraghty2187]

To avoid double exposures, I advance the film just enough to get the number of the exposed frame out of the viewing window. This was to overcome the fact that I would forget if I was advancing straight away, or need to advance just before the next shot 😅 this way, I see a blank window I know to advance. If I see a number in the window that I'm not expecting, I know I forgot to follow my own process, and advance to next number

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

I like that Dave lol.

[@davegeraghty2187]

@ShootFilmLikeaBoss it's relatively foolproof and I'm a fool so it works for me 😁

[@andyvan5692]

at 11:48 that's one reason I shoot Hasselblad v's, as the darkslide LOCKS the shutter, and interlocks inside prevent double exposing (unless on 205fcc you hit the button for multi), or you take the back off, and wind the shutter on. Hasselblad v's also have a white dot index, if its white alright, red, film dead (shot/exposed); so easy to spot the cameras condition, also do a double check before the button gets hit, a mental checkoff list, so you know everything is ready to shoot, STOP...then shoot, for cameras with NO safety interlocks, DON'T rush, take your time, its a WALTZ, not a rap concert!!!

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

This one has a double exposure lock but not with the cable release.

[@Focal_Paradox]

@6:18 That's £2,000 in today's money.

[@digitalrex5]

I sell modern digital cameras and I love showing the customers the shots I’ve gotten with my Konishiroku (later Konica) Pearl II that has “made in occupied Japan” on the leather

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

thats awesome!

[@nicklewis-q3p]

You must be lucky enough to be young enough to not have had much experience of the old Pounds, Shillings and Pence. There were only twenty Shillings in one Pound, so the price is most likely £30 - 12 - 6 (12 Shillings and 6 Pence). I suspect what looks like the first upright stroke of the four is just a continuation of the smudge mark. Sometimes you would see a number of whole shillings such as the "30 Shilling Tailors" a slogan used by gents outfitters Burton's - no suit cost more than 30 Shillings - £1.50 today. Even on the Isle of Wight I don't think you will get a suit at that price!! 😂 I like that you included a grahic of the pre-decimal currency but at the risk of making myself seem even older the Farthing is missing from the picture, as a child, some shopkeepers would give you a couple of those instaed of a Ha'penny in your change. History lesson over, thanks again for another interesting and informative video, especially liked the idea of beach-level shots.

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

As a kid I used to collect foreign coins and remember many were the old decimal coins probably from when it changed over. I can only imagine it was a confusing time changing over.

[@simonwilliams6140]

It’s pronounced “buyroyt”. I used to think Richard Wagner was the guy from Hart to Hart so I’m not here to throw stones…

[@ShootFilmLikeaBoss]

Johnathan Wagner

[@jenspahl8357]

Bayreuth ist pronounced Bairoit