The Alfie Tych launched on Kickstarter a few weeks ago, and has just a few days left. It’s a brand new, extremely compact, half frame film camera with, I hope, a bright future ahead of it. You can find the Kickstarter here, but if you’d like to know about this eccentric little pocket camera from my perspective, then read on!
The Yashica Rapide is a camera I’ve had for a few years. Looking around on the internet, I don’t see a lot of information on it. I’m excited to bring this camera to the forefront for others to be aware of and hopefully renew some interest in this oddball half-frame camera. I do like the design and compactness of this camera as it’s something you can easily stick in your coat pocket and bring along for your weekend getaway or summer holiday.
In 2018, I decided I would once again use film exclusively in my personal projects. When I started with photography, there was only film, I grew up with a photographer father in the 80s and my first camera was a Voigtlander Bessamatic. However, by early 2000 the benefits of digital photography were impossible to ignore.
As any aspiring film photographer (or at least, any I can imagine), with time I found my perfectly fine Minolta Srt-101 lacking for some reason. Collector’s syndrome much? Yeah, I guess. Also, I’m super good at getting bored and finding pseudo-inspiration in new gear. Having used and bought a few (but definitely not enough) cameras, I’ve realized, that it is time to make a change not just in terms of a camera (I figured I couldn’t do much better than my recently bought Nikon FA), but in terms of format.
I had been looking for a cheap 35mm camera that could be used manually without batteries, and manual ISO selection was a must. Selenium meters would not be tolerated either, and it had to be good looking, reasonably priced and take decent photos. After a bit of web research and ebay browsing, I decided to take a chance on a half frame camera. After perusing the range of those available, I settled on a Canon Demi EE17. I quickly found one in Japan on ebay for $60 US. Yet another camera to add to the collection.
