Old vs New

When I was a relatively young child, around the time I was leaving elementary school, my grandfather gave me one of his old twin lens reflex cameras.  I had just begun to show an interest in photography and was about to take a class in photography in my new school.  This was still the era of slow and deliberate shooting in photography.  Capturing a single good photo took time and careful planning.  Everything was done manually and deliberately.  These twin lens reflex cameras were from an era before my time and thus were all manual as well.

My original Bioflex, left, and my new Mint. 

The older I grew, the more I realized that Gramps and I shared a lot of the same interests and photography was one of them.  That being said, my father also seemed to have one camera or another in his hands throughout my childhood.  This old twin lens reflex camera (TLR camera), although non-operable, was the first camera that I could call my own.

This camera was in terrible shape when I received it.  Nothing seemed to work correctly on it but I was mechanically inclined enough and knew enough about photography to figure out how it was supposed to work plus Gramps gave me a quick lesson in how it was supposed to work.  It was old, it was filthy, none of the controls worked on it, it was literally falling apart but it was a classic and it was mine.  Even back then, although it was an antique, it was probably considered junk because of its irreparable condition.  

When I was in college, I bought my first operable camera which was a 35mm rangefinder (which is a highly sought-after collectible today) and enjoyed shooting with it but that classic medium format TLR camera was always in the back of my mind.  I knew that someday I would want to restore it or purchase a working model just like it.  Every few years, I would pick up this old camera to see if I could somehow restore it but I would always put it back on the shelf disappointed that it was beyond repair.  Still, I would remind myself that it was once Gramps' camera and that it was a gift from him and that was enough for me.

Almost 50 years have passed since that camera was gifted to me and it still resides on a shelf proudly on display.  Every now and then, I search the used camera market for this same camera model in the hopes of finding one that works.  I've never seen this model in any of my used camera research though.  The only info I've been able to find is that "Bioflex" is a name used by a French camera maker (maybe he purchased it at a market during my grandparents' trip to Europe in the early 1970s?).  So, for many years, I've been on the lookout for a new operational twin lens reflex camera just so I can experience what Gramps once experienced in photography.

Recently, in one of my many photography groups, I saw an article written about a fairly new camera manufacturer, Mint Camera.  They started their camera business by fixing old Polaroid cameras and then began building new Polaroid replicas.  Most recently, they have added a medium format twin lens reflex camera and a large format camera to their camera design portfolio.  Both of these new cameras are replicas of antique cameras but they record the images using the relatively new Fuji Instax instant film.  

Upon reading about this camera, I immediately thought two things.  First, I've been looking for a twin lens reflex camera for years!  And second, using Fuji Instax instant film is a brilliant and practical idea since Fuji's instant cameras have become so popular in recent years.  Instant gratification is a plus in today's world.

After a lot of research, I decided to give the Mint TLR camera a shot.  Worst case, it could sit on a shelf next to Gramps' old TLR camera contrasting old versus new using the same design.  

I was excited to get this new camera in my hands, however, my camera kit seemed to be shipped on a slow boat directly from Hong Kong.  It couldn't get here soon enough and I had to wait weeks before it finally arrived at my door.

The first night that I had it in my hands, I think I simply played around with it without film loaded so I could get a feel for it and for how it works.  Although it is the same type of twin lens reflex camera like the one Gramps gave me, there are some significant differences in how it operates.  Truth be told, I prefer all the old manual controls that I have on my antique Bioflex TLR camera.  This new Mint camera lacked some control (it has auto exposure/shutter speed rather than providing control over the shutter speed) yet, in other ways, seems rather rudimentary by comparison.  

The first thing I wanted to do when I had this camera in my hands was to peer through the big top waist-level viewfinder.  This is one of the things that made cameras from this era so unique...  a live image projected through the top lens of the twin lenses onto a ground glass screen.  You view this screen from the top looking down.  The bottom lens projects the image onto the film.  It was exciting to be peering down at an old ground glass viewfinder!  The view it provides can be described as three dimensional.

This new Mint camera is a sort of quasi-automatic exposure camera.  You can control the aperture but the shutter speed is supposedly automatic.  You have absolutely no control over the shutter speed unless you choose the Bulb mode.  In Bulb mode, you can hold the shutter open from 1 second to 10 seconds.  For shutter speeds from 1 second to 1/500th of a second, you have no control...  the camera is supposed to choose an appropriate shutter speed.  Normally, I would have no problem with the camera choosing the shutter speed (my old 35mm rangefinder did that exceptionally well) but I am finding that this camera seems to have some difficulty in choosing the correct shutter speed in various situations yet the exposure warning meter will always illuminate "green" indicating all is exposed properly.

In the photo below, you can see the waist-level viewfinder.  Do you see that little green light to the left of the viewfinder?  That green light is telling me that the exposure is "good" and I can go ahead and shoot a photo.  If the light is orange, then I am either over-exposed or under-exposed.  Unfortunately, I'm finding that when shooting outdoors, this exposure light is completely unreliable.  The solution, apparently, is to use a set of neutral density filters to cut the light regardless of what the exposure lights are showing me.  Knowing which density of neutral density filter to use takes some experience (which I happen to have) but you really need to also use an external light meter to accurately choose the right strength of neutral density filter.  Fortunately, I have an app on my cellphone for this which is accurate enough but it is another tool to carry around when using this camera and I really despise having to carry around a cellphone.

I started my testing of this unique instant camera indoors.  I have to say that I was mostly impressed with the indoor shots.  Typically, instant cameras (ie, Polaroids) give a deer-in-headlights look with black unlit backgrounds when shot indoors but this camera is providing some nice indoor shots while also exposing ambient light in the background as you can see in the Instax instant prints below.  The prints are warm in tone, properly saturated and sharp as opposed to the sickly greenish tone lacking saturation of the old Polaroid film.

I was actually quite pleased with these first six shots shown above!  They really look great for an instant camera using instant film.

Overall, I'm liking this new instant camera although I still need to do more practice shooting outdoors.  I'm confident that using the neutral density filters provided in the lens kit will resolve my exposure issues with a little practice.  It is a fairly nice looking camera too if you are okay with a camera being made with quite a bit of plastic.  All the plastic makes it a lightweight camera though.

Although I'd like to leave my opinions on the good side since I really do like the camera, I'll add a few more of my opinions about things I don't particularly like about this unique camera.  First, a few little minor gripes.

The first thing that I found a little perplexing and frustrating is the aperture control does not provide a setting for f11.  We get f5.6, f8, f16 and f22.  I'm finding that I'd really like to have an f11 option too.  

The reason we need neutral density filters when shooting outdoors is because the fastest the shutter speed can go is only 1/500th of a second.  Faster shutter speeds would eliminate most of the need to carry around and use neutral density filters.  That being said, the old cameras of yesteryear only went as fast as 1/300th to 1/400th of a second too so...  perhaps I should just get used to it.  

Again, overall, I like this camera and will continue to use it.  That being said, I do have four fairly big complaints about this camera though that are worth mentioning:

1.  As noted above, the camera's metering system is poor when using the camera outdoors.  The camera's exposure meter should never show a Green light for exposure and then spit out a completely over-exposed photo like I have had happen to me consistently outdoors.  This should never happen but it does.  There is no excuse for this and it wastes film. 

     NOTE:  After looking more carefully at where the light meter is located on the camera, I now see one reason why the camera's metering is a bit inconsistent.  This, however, doesn't change the fact that a camera's auto-exposure meter should never show a Green light and then spit out a completely over-exposed print.  Ideally, the meter should show Orange reminding you that you will need to use one of the neutral density filters included in the lens kit.

2.  Another complaint I have is that the lens isn't all that sharp by today's standards and, at this price point and considering the type of camera this is supposed to be replicating, I expected a fairly sharp lens.  I didn't expect the sharpest of lenses on this camera but I did expect a fairly sharp lens.  I assume the prints come out a bit fuzzy because we're shooting through a rather cheaply made plastic lens.  I know the film is capable of better because I've used this film in other applications so it is not a fault of the film although, admittedly, a film with an ISO of 800 is going to always be a bit grainy.  

The Fuji Instax film is certainly capable of producing sharp prints.  Unfortunately, this lens produces photos more which remind me of the cheap Lomography pinhole cameras which were indeed considered toy-like because of their unsharp prints.  The quality of the lens on what is to be a replica of a medium format camera is quite disappointing.  These antique TLR cameras were once known for their sharp renderings in medium format.   This Instax camera does produce pleasing instant prints but they are not what I would consider sharp.  Without that sharpness, the camera falls short in replicating anything close to medium format.  Even compact digital cameras at the same price point have sharper, more professional looking lenses than this camera.

3.  In my limited use thus far, I've found that the focus wheel is difficult to use and difficult to find just by touch.  The knob is rather small and the adjustment is coarse.  Most of the original TLR cameras had a big focus knob mounted on the side of the camera.  Those old cameras were quite easy to use and it was always easy to find that focus knob even when not looking for it.  Unfortunately, this Mint TLR camera has a tiny recessed wheel for focus and I find it quite difficult to use by comparison.  I found this to be quite disappointing.

4.  Finally, the lightweight, all-plastic body simply feels cheap.  The plastic chrome around the lenses looks tacky and cheap.  The plastic, unmarked lenses look toy-like (until now, camera lenses always included the lens specs printed around the lens) and then that toy-like feeling carries over into the rest of the appearance of the camera.  On the other hand, those who have never even touched an original TLR camera from 50+ years ago might not know what they are missing in this new Mint replica (so this complaint might actually classify as a minor gripe).

I believe there is a market for this camera and I am glad I have one now.  I like it far better than all those Hello Kitty hunks of plastic instant cameras in Easter egg pastel colors that seem to be so popular today.  Fuji, however, makes a nice looking "Neo Classic" instant camera but I like this Mint TLR camera far, far better.  

I now have a VIP membership to Mint Camera which provides me with discounts on all future purchases of Mint cameras and accessories purchased directly from Mint.  I have my sights set on their new large format rangefinder Instax Wide camera.  That camera also has those classic looks from years ago.  I might wait until they come out with a newer refined version though (especially a sharper, improved lens).   I just worry that the tiny rangefinder viewfinder window of that camera will be far too small for my big eye behind eyeglasses.

Overall, in my opinion, this Mint TLR Instax camera is a very nice instant camera with the stylings of a classic TLR camera and I'm excited to use it more.