The Effect Of Colour

We all know the theories of colour as it is used in flat art work - warm colours advance, cool colours recede. Purple indicates distance in landscapes. Pink is reserved for Mme. Pompadour and Jayne Mansfield. Yellow is the colour of insanity, etc. etc. Whole semesters at Art School are given up to trying to define terms like "Puce" or "Taupe".

For that matter, some of the best brains in the country are kidnapped each year and chained to desks in advertising agencies where they are compelled to invent new names for spray paint colours. "Boogalicious Burgundy" and "Semipalatinsk Sludge " were two that won awards.

Colour is used to sell cameras...even when the absence of it is the only thing on offer. First it was generations of photographers who saved all their pennies for colour slide film...and watched the colour slide right off it as time went on - and then it was digital shooters who paid extraordinary amounts of money to buy cameras that could only shoot in black and white. I'll bet a few of them have since spent their evenings hand colouring in the files from the black and white camera...

The Fujifilm company has had a distinct advantage with their penetration of the instant-camera market; most of their offerings have been budget targeted and have been moulded in various plastics. They have been able to incorporate colours right into the basic body. Colour experimentation is certainly possible - thus our two star cameras today:

The Pink Surprise. Those of you who have seen Peppa Pig on television cartoons may well be struck by the resemblance of the camera to her. The Japanese makers might find this an awkward comparison, but Japan loves animé and kid's cartoon characters anyway so they won't mind selling cameras on this basis.

The Grape. This is one of the richest colours in the Fujifilm Instax range. It suggests luxury and imperial splendour, inasfar as a plastic camera can be either imperial or splendid. It has all the basic Instax features of 10-pack film loading, automatic exposure, adjustable focusing, and in-built flash. It pumps out colourful and sharp little hand-sized instant prints. And you can be darn sure that you are the only person in the firing line at the international press conference for Mr. Trump or Mrs. Clinton with a deep purple camera.

See the Instax Mini 8 in store at 230 Stirling St or online.

New Leica Camera Announced - Monochrom Typ 246 - Read It In Black And White

 

Shoot it in black and white as well - the new camera from Leica is a Monochrome model. The new Leica Monochrom Typ 246 is coming, and quite soon.

Leica enthusiasts will remember some of the past evocations of the black and white camera - the Ur Leica, the Leica "0", and the previous digital M Monochrom amongst them. The world seen in black, white, and innumerable shades of grey - and seen very sharply.

The new Leica M Monochrom Typ 246 will have a number of improved features:

* 24 megapixel monochrome CMOS sensor
* 2 GB buffer memory and Leica Maestro processor
* Sapphire Crystal Glass as cover plate for the LCD screen
* Low noise p to ISO 25,000
* Live View and Focus Peaking
* 3" LCD monitor screen with 921,600 pixels
* High-quality full HD video function
* New filters ( yellow, green, and orange ) available in July

Of course you'll realise that the monochrome approach means that Leica have been able to remove the coloured filter that normally overlays the sensor surface - and as a result there are very much sharper images with detail contrast that far exceeds what can be done with colour photography.

The processor means that the camera captures sequences far faster than its predecessor.

There is a low-vibration shutter release to help with he pictures taken at extremes of ISO - again sharper shots.

The focus peaking circuit for the live view is particularly effective as it draws the edges of subjects as colour on the lcd set against the black and white. You can see precisely what your Leica lenses see and there is no sharper view of the world.

Happily, all the superb leather and other accessories that serve on the Leica M ( Typ 240 ) are also compatible so you can carry this camera in style.

Monochrome thinking and seeing is often said to be the purest form of photography. Perhaps you should let this colour your plans for your next Leica experience...

Full specs and purchase options here

See our friend Thorsten's post click here

Just Announced - Flapoflex Rangefinder Range Increased

Just in via the Flapoflex Rumours website:

Flapoflex Corporation, makers of the famous Flapoflex D, are set to announce a distinctive range of retro-boutique cameras that take the discerning purchaser back a century. These are fully functional digital cameras using the latest pixels but they have been configured to yield results that make you turn the page.

To see more, we hasten to add. Drawing upon the sort of image quality that made Fox-Talbot famous and Nadar drink heavily, the new Flapoflex Retro Rangefinder cameras feature sensors that disregard most of the optical information and concentrate on the nostalgic emotions of the photographer's great granny.

The Flapoflex Retro S only produces sepia-toned images. The on-board noise generator  and the patented Vignett-O-Matic assure an image that never gives too much away. You can hide an entire chorus line of Tilley Girls in the bokeh. It has been described as round and brown.

But it doesn't stop there. It never does. Internet rumour mills are like that. You will also be able to purchase the Flapoflex Retro C and the Retro F for blue or green-tinted images. Apparently the files are all recorded with roughly brushed edges and peeling emulsion.

You may want to look at a tripod with these new cameras as the shutters are limited to B and 1/4 of a second. Don't be too worried about the sunshine as the ISO is .06 and the maximum aperture is f:22. You may want to avoid using the cameras at basketball games.

Best news of all is the price of the new Retro range: 150 Guineas in the US, 700 Reichsmarks in the UK, and 25 US Golden Eagles in Europe. No sense having a retro camera that you have to buy with modern money.