Classic Camera Revival

It's been a hot minute since we've talked about our own personal GAS. So the team sits down to share some of their new toys, lenses, cameras, film, and apps they've picked up so far this year. Cameras, Lenses, Plates, Films, Apps nothing is off the table. And of course, even with some lower GAS...it's always for now.

With everyone settled back in school, we decided it was time to hand out a bit of homework and have them do a summer book report. No, we didn't assign this task before the summer 'break', but let's go with the theme! On this episode, the team sits down and shares some of their favourite photo books (two each, since we love to talk). These books could be anything from pure photography and technical...

We're back on the topic of Infrared, this time with James, Alex, John and Bill! Infrared light is part of the electromagnetic spectrum, which includes the visible light spectrum, ranging from 380nm to 700nm, or violet to red. Most infrared photography uses specialised film and filters to capture light in the 700-900nm range. Today, we don't have dedicated IR films being newly produced like Kodak H...

Alex is back for one last solo episode before getting back to our regular episodes, and this time he's live on location at Brock University. Alex recounts photographing the Collective2026 youth event hosted by the Presbyterian and United Churches of Canada back in August. During the event, Alex used a hybrid approach, combining his Nikon F5 and Rolleiflex 2.8F with the D750. He brought and used th...

We love our advanced, top-of-the-line, high-quality cameras here on CCR. The Nikon F5 and F6, Rolleiflex, Hasselblad, and large-format cameras with multi-element lenses. But recently Alex has been digging into cameras that often are not what he typically uses and is loving the experience of keeping things simple and a bit of a juxtaposition from his usual kit. In today's episode, Alex sits down to...

Jess Beaudin first came to our attention when  CBC posted an article about her use of natural materials to develop and print her photographs. So, of course, we wanted to get her on the show to talk about her work! Jess agreed and sat down with Alex to talk about anything and everything! You can find more of Jess' work online: Web: jessbeaudin.ca Facebook: facebook.com/profile.php?id=61570628757496...

And we've made it to the end of the tetralogy, and we're going beyond the portrait length to talk about telephotos, which, for our purposes, are lenses that are 200mm and longer. These might not always be the first lens you reach for in your regular photography, but they are still powerful tools for events, nature, and even getting close when you can't do so safely. The lenses featured in today's...

Before we get to long lenses, we're going into lenses that are designed for portraits, it doesn't matter if you're talking headshots, couples, quarter length, these are amazing lenses that are far more versatile than what they're called. Today's criteria are focal lengths between 70mm and 200mm, although 200mm is pushing it for some photographers, but it's our show, and we set the rules. The lense...

While everyone always associates the term "normal lens" with the 50mm focal length, here at CCR, we're going with more of a range between 28mm and 60mm. In reality, normal human vision ranges from 31mm to 43mm, which can be difficult to replicate with readily available lenses. So on today's episode, we're featuring the Pentax-M 40mm, AF Nikkor 35mm, Leica Summicron 50mm, AI-S Nikkor 28mm, Zuiko 35...

We're finally doing it, a full set of four episodes, a "tetralogy" all about lenses. In this first part, we're covering ultra-wide lenses. To help keep things ultra-wide, we're using the same criteria as Matt (from Matt Loves Cameras) and going with lenses that are 25mm or wider. Each host picked three ultra-wide lenses from their own kit. And we ended up with a fantastic set of optics, including...

In today's episode, Alex sits down with Kevin Ealaín, the founder of Darkroast Arts, a name he chose after discovering the joys of working with Caffenol. Since then, he's expanded into photographing local events and protests, and into promoting the art of working in the traditional darkroom. The conversation goes from camera gear, darkroom practices, coffee, some politics, and a little bit of subj...

We love hearing from members of the community as a whole, especially when they reach out to us to talk about life, photography, film and more. So in today's episode, join Alex as he sits down with Raf to talk about his journey from starting with photography to developing his own film at home. From Brazil to New York City, it's a couple of nerds just enjoying life, the process and more. And almost...

Join John and Bill with special guest Jeff Greenstein of the smash hit I Dream of Cameras to talk about everything Leicaflex. Everyone connects the names Leitz and Leica with rangefinders, from the classic Barnack to the modern M-Series. And while that is what Leica is known for, they also saw that SLRs were becoming popular in the 1960s and decided to throw their hat into the ring. In 1964, they...

All Fujifilm, All the Time! We've been talking about doing a show dedicated to Fujifilm for a while now, and the time has finally arrived! While Fuji often catches flak for the number of product line cancellations, especially in the film world, they have maintained a core set of worthwhile products. Today's show, we're talking cameras, lenses, film, and chemistry. From the Texas Leica to Acros 100...

There's something to be said about OEM lenses with full compatibility, native mount support, and a high level of quality control. That all comes with a cost attached. Then there are third-party manufacturers: companies that often offer the same level of compatibility, quality control, and multiple lens mount options, but many don't carry a price tag as high as the original manufacturers'. So today...

So, back in December 2025, Alex handed out some expired film to James and Bill, and today we're back revisiting the topic of expired film. And while Bill & James haven't had the chance to shoot their rolls, Alex did shoot his odd duck of a roll. Everything from colour shifts to fog and bad chemical packs, it's all about shooting and using expired film. From developing without any data to best...

Today, Alex is joined by David Smith, a Biology professor and researcher at Western University in London, Ontario. While we mostly talk about cameras on the show, David has something unique: microscopes. As many history nerds know, many camera companies we know and love today began producing optics, including microscopes. Dr Smith came by this affinity for collecting honestly, as his mom is an ant...

Last year, we were so caught up in our own tenth anniversary that we completely forgot about the fifth anniversary of the K-Mount! While the K-Mount is most often associated with Asahi/Pentax, it was a joint invention by Asahi and Zeiss Ikon. Like the M42 mount, the K-Mount was intended to be a universal, open-source lens mount. But the partnership never materialised, and the two companies parted...

Last year, we chatted with James McFarlane about his journey and pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago. What we did not count on was finding a second film photographer who took his own film on his pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago. Today, Tyler Cahoon of the Retro Film Project joins Alex and John to talk about his Camino journey, the reasons behind his pilgrimage, the people, the photos, the cam...

We're back for Season 12! While we wanted to include a Mystery Camera Challenge as part of our 10th anniversary season, it just didn't work out. So James, Alex and Bill head into Toronto to kick off the new season with another Mystery Camera Challenge, our sixth! This time around, we each drew a name and used that person's camera, and then grabbed a roll of film from the other person! The cameras...

Well, we all made it through another season, and not much worse for wear. The team had a relaxing time sitting around the table and discussing everything they did this year, the gear they acquired, the films they tried, and the developers they worked with. Plus a brief discussion of social media, AI, and more. Just some middle-aged guys chatting about photography. It's a little bit of everything t...

The one thing that will always keep a photographer humble is that we all make mistakes, some big, some small, some fixable. So join the gang as they talk about foul gear, forgotten steps, chemical mix-ups, and general issues that keep us humble. Yes, mistakes were made.

It's been a while since we've done one of these shows. It was back with the Nikon FA, and in that case, we just passed the camera around the table. But today we have something special, the Pentax MZ-S, the last professional camera from Pentax/Asahi with a rich history. The camera was provided by John Roberts (who is back on the show today). It was used by Alex, James, and Bill, along with the thre...

It's still 2025, and it's still Leica's 100th birthday. And as part of the global celebration, they recently released their first Leica-branded film, Monopan 50. And the Internet was abuzz with speculation about what the film was under the cover. Well, all signs point to Adox HR-50, which makes sense. HR-50 is sharp, fine-grained, and high-resolution. That got us thinking: why not discuss other AS...

Our co-host Chrissie did something to push themselves out of their comfort zone and decided to take a solo trip to Iceland. Armed with a Samsung phone, Sony A7 and a Polaroid I-2 in an effort to rekindle a passion for photography. Join Chrissie and Alex as they discuss the trip, including the reasons, gear, and of course, the photos.