Analogue (and analogue inspired) News and Tittle-Tattle – Newsletter July 2025

Welcome to the July Analogue (and analogue inspired) News and Tittle-Tattle.

I hope everyone is having a lovely Summer, Mid-summer has come and gone and how time flies? It’s been 30 years this July since Canon released its first DSLR – the Canon EOS DCS 3. 

Based on the top-of-the-line EOS-1N, the EOS・DCS 3 digital camera was developed with a high density area CCD containing 1.3 megapixels. The large, 16 MB buffer memory enables high-speed continuous shooting at 2.7 fps in 12-frame bursts. Also, by using the camera’s 260 MB hard disk card, about 189 large size frames can be filed.

The equivalent film speed sensitivity range is ISO 200 to 1600. This expands to ISO 400 to 6400 with black-and-white and infrared versions. The camera is therefore well prepared for low-light conditions.

Canon had a hand in an earlier version, which was branded as a Kodak four months earlier, the Kodak EOS DCS 5.

These were based on the 35mm EOS 1N model, modified and Digitalized. In December of ’95 they upped the Mega Pixel count to 6!

It would’ve set you back, at the current rate, approximately $16,000! God damn!
And, in 1995 a roll of Colour Film from Kodak would’ve cost about £1.99. The cost of DSLR did fall quite rapidly, while Film has risen sharply.

Imagine carrying that beast around with you! Hehe! Would need a suitcase to store it in, the type with wheels you roll onto aircraft !

Canon have gone from strength to strength, if anyone can, Canon can… Remember that marketing slogan? Whereas Kodak is languishing somewhere as a Company which doesn’t know what it is anymore.

Photographers Gallery – Dennis Morris Exhibition

The Photographers Gallery has a very good exhibition, featuring the renowned British-Jamaican Documentary Photographer Dennis Morris, famous for the photographs he made of Stars such as Bob Marley and The Sex Pistols.

It’s showing from Fri 27 Jun 2025 – Sun 28 Sep 2025 called Music + Life. Be sure to visit if around London this Summer and Autumn.

The Photographers Gallery is a great place to visit and re-visit (and with a great shop offering lots of different Film in different Formats along with books, prints and a wealth of other stuff) also offers some Photographic courses for those interested, personally if it doesn’t involve printing  I wouldn’t be interested, not that I’m an expert, but when you’ve been taking pictures for 30 odd years and stuck in your ways, there’s only so much tricks an old dog can be taught.

Youtube

Ah YouTube, the Fountain of all Photographic knowledge (!?) Hours can be killed off of your life scrolling, browsing and watching, but if you’re bored of narcissists and the self obsessed, of crackly vinyl music and perving over señor Leica photos of gorgeous half dressed girls, a little sifting reveals some true gems such as Martin Henson. A softly spoken and humble Yorkshireman with decades of experience and the ability to make works of wall art with anything from home made pin-hole cameras using paper negatives, to Large Format fine Darkroom prints.

His Youtube page is wonderful; having everything from tricks old dogs can be taught to photo walks and just brilliant Photographic things you can immerse yourself in and come out enlightened and full of enthusiasm.

He has a Website and is also one of the founders of the popular Black and White Photography Forum; another refreshing (along with 35mmc and the realphotographersforum.com) a refreshing old school independent Internet Forum well away from anything Social Media which has killed the Internet and driven the www into something resembling a Brave New World Reserve.

I wrote to Martin a few times and sent him a Balda 6×9 Folder I’m hoping he’ll review and hoping he’ll contribute to 35mmc soon, which he says he will when he returns from his Summer holiday. be sure to check out his Youtube if you haven’t already.

Check your closets!

The Daily Express, the bastion of liberal thought and anti-war progressive ideals has an article about old Film cameras which could be worth a fortune. Be sure to check your closets for some, I mean being 35mmc readers you’ll never know what to do with them, but you can flog them for some coin and get yourself a new Camera Phone!

Film Releases and Leica 100 Years

In more News, Eastman Kodak has removed the Remjet Layer from its latest Vision 3 Cine Film.

This is good news for still Photographers as you can, I assume, have the Film developed with regular C41 chemistry. I wonder if this will drive down the price of re-spooled Vision 3 Film? I’ve never used Cine Film (well, apart from Double X) As I don’t think I’d ever be able to get the look, if you know what I mean. I may well give it a go one day.

And in even more Filmaliciously good News, Leica itself, the Audemars Piguet, the Rolls Royce of Camera manufacturers will start to sell their own Film! Yes, a Red Dot beautifully packaged 35mm Black and White Film.

INTRODUCING LEICA MONOPAN 50 The new black and white 35mm film from Leica.

The Leica I revolutionized photography with its introduction in 1925 and defined the 35mm format as the new standard. The compact format quickly gained popularity at the time – and although the 35mm film cassettes used with the Leica I came from manufacturers such as Kodak, Agfa, and Perutz, dealers and photographers colloquially referred to them simply as “Leica Film.” To mark the centenary of the Leica I and as a tribute to 35mm photography, Leica Camera AG is now introducing a genuine Leica 35mm film for the first time: the MONOPAN 50 black and white film for 36 exposures

Leica MONOPAN 50 Black-and-white 35mm film with ultra-fine grain and super-
panchromatic sensitisation. ISO 50 makes it suitable for shooting with wide-open
apertures—even in daylight— when using Noctilux-M, Summilux-M, or Summicron-M
lenses.

There are rumours that this is simply a repackaged AGFA AVIPHOT-PAN-80, ADOX HR-50 or ROLLEI Retro 80s. But who knows? It may well be based on this sort of Film but with Leica (or is it Leitz?) own input. I don’t care, as I’ll gladly but a roll here and there to give them some encouragement. I’m hoping others do too.

It’ll be available from the 21st of August and their website page is well worth visiting, as they make everything, even Film packaging and canisters look sweet! Though some of the Photographs on the slide show demonstrating this Film have been criticised in Forums for being poorly shot!! Looking at them, they look fine to me.

And yet another Leica related snippet. An interesting article on Art Net for those interested. It’s been 100 Years since the Leica I and the magazine has chosen 7 Defining Images That Reveal How One Camera Revolutionized Photojournalism. Let us know your thoughts!

Gibellini Medium Format Camera

If you’ve never heard of Gibellini Camera, then you’re not alone. I hadn’t either until a few years ago when I bought an Italian Durst camera and looked up Italian Camera manufacturers.

They’re a very high end maker of Large Format View cameras, all lovingly made in Italy. I did write to them, but as is usual never received a response.

But no matter, they’ve just recently released a lovely looking work of Art whcih is their DCG66 medium format camera. Which is ALSO compatible with ANALOGUE Hasselblad backs. It’s a lovely looking thing and features ways to customize the look.

I like it and I also consider it (considering the discounts available) to be pretty decent value. Check out their Website for more, and if anyone has ever used this or even tested it, be sure to let us know. Personally, I’d gladly try this out, but alas as I mentioned earlier, didn’t even receive a response from Gibellini.

Marjolein Martinot

I was going to include my chat with award winning photographer Marjolein Martinot but that’ll have its own article in the next few days.

Books

The Palestinians by Don McCullin and Jonathan Dimbleby

Lastly, Don McCullin and Jonathan Dimbleby have re-released their 1980 book The Palestinians. Used original copies are selling on Amazon and eBay for around the $200 mark more or less. So refreshing to see with the latest world developments that both authors have re-issued it in Hardback. Don McCullin is one of my favourite Photographers and one who has influenced and affected me a lot over the years, so whatever my personal opinions on the matter I’d have bought it anyway. One look at the cover and you know the Photography is going to be exquisite.

In 1980, Jonathan Dimbleby and Don McCullin wrote a seminal book on the plight of the Palestinian people from the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 onwards. It chronicled their struggles and their dreams of a homeland.Through extensive interviews, it gave a voice to the people: to the old men who were children when the Balfour Declaration prepared the way for the exodus from Palestine; to the children who were born in the diaspora and who were then willing to contemplate certain death in a guerilla war rather than surrender the right to their homeland. The Palestinians is about individuals – lawyers, doctors, diplomats, craftsmen, students, labourers, businessmen, politicians, soldiers, fighters and peasants. Through them the book explores the crisis of a people without a land, demonstrating that the ‘Palestinian problem’ is not an abstract issue but an urgent human tragedy. Until this is recognized, Jonathan Dimbleby argues, in an updated foreword, there can be no just or lasting peace in the Middle East.

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