The Matsui

When dad told me over the phone that he had found an old camera at a yard sale for $5 that was "like my others" , I was excited and had no idea what to expect. I thought that maybe it was a classic with worn shutter springs, causing it to seem "broken" when all it needs is a good dry run of all the speeds a dozen or so times. I completely did not expect to find a lomography gem. The camera is a cheap Chinese Matsui Camera "B" . Yes, that's right. The only name I could find on the camera other than the maker was Camera "B" . I have searched and searched for anything about this camera but with absolutely no luck. I can just imagine that it's a company that got into the "toy camera" market far too soon. Before the $20 wonder known as Holga came along.

You see, there is a whole different crowd of photogaphers out there. In fact, they don't even call themselves photographers. These are lomographers. People that see a rough pressure plate as the producer of "creative" scratches on the film. People that see light leaks as neat effects to odd photos. People that cheer when their cheap plastic lens produces harsh vignetting around the corners of the photo. You may think that this would be a collection of junk photos that any child could take. You may be right. But every now and then, a lomographic (or "toy") camera can make even the most mundane subject appear fascinating.

I have loaded a cheap roll of FujiFilm SuperHQ 200, though 200 ISO may be too slow for this camera's f/6.3 "lens" . It's difficult to call this thin piece of plastic a lens. Even better, it came with a huge (and heavy) hotshoe flash! Crazy! I detached it though. It's quite rare that a flash will do anything but ruin a lomo shot (if such a thing is truly possible). The camera takes standard 35mm film, two AA batteries, and is motor driven. Crazy, no? It provides two methods of setting up a frame. Standard rangefinder port on the far left end of the body (way too far, anything midrange will be offset by at least a foot), and a top down mirror view through a circular port directly above the lens. This is a neat feature as this is quite common with medium format cameras. Of course, things appear completely backwards through the top viewfinder. But who cares? Anyone "setting up" a shot on a lomo is doomed to fail from the start. I am really anxious to see this first roll developed. It's bound to be... interesting at least. ;-) I really wish I knew the shutter speed. It's a fixed speed. Usually lomos have a fixed speed of 1/125 sec. Fast enough to avoid handshake blur and slow enough to be versatile.

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Oh, I finished HL2:Ep1. I'm still saying "wow" about the ending. Amazing. Oh yeah, after the credits it shows a preview for HL2:Ep2. :-D Frickin' sweet. There were some amazing HDR effects at the end. Made me pretty glad I purchased my 7800GT.

---I'm still madly in love with Alicia. There are so many new things in this relationship. Things I've never experienced before. It's exciting. I get to see her Friday, Saturday and Sunday! Woohoo!
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And finally, I'm going to bed. I've been up since 3:30 AM this morning. Had to go to Evansville and do a drill day for SRP. They want everyone's records straight before AT and "just in case" we "ever" mobilize. Duh, anyone that joined the Army knew they were going to mob eventually. I'm not excited about it, but I know it's coming sooner or later. I have 4 years left on my contract, do you really think I'll get that lucky? Methinks no.
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Currently Listening To: Prince - When Doves Cry - Purple Rain - 1984