Emil Wojcik
1638
Ready to get back into film photograph...
Years ago, before digital, I had various camera systems that I'd use in my career in advertising as well as for pleasure. Prior to that, I had studied photography throughout high school and college.
My favorite camera was a medium format Kowa/SIX SLR.
I bought it when I was in high school in the '70s and used it for years until digital became the norm. At that point my cameras sat unused for years and of course I saw no purpose in keeping them, eventually selling them all. But I always regretted selling the Kowa, even though I believed its only use by then was as a paperweight.
Now, years later, with film photography becoming popular again and one of my daughters showing interest, I mentioned to my wife the regret over selling my Kowa. She obviously listened...
Tomorrow is my 60th birthday and my wife has already given me this thoughtful gift in advance...
For those unfamiliar with the brand, Kowa was Japan's answer to Hasselblad from the late '60s through '70s. Although the brand never found the following of Hasselblad, it was, and is still, considered to be a worthy competitor as far as quality and dependability, using leaf shutter lenses with great optics and with a variety of lenses available. The main disadvantage was the lack or removable film backs. A few years after the SIX, Kowa introduced the 66 with removable film back but that still wasn't enough to sway the pros away from their Swedish competitor which had been around decades longer and was well established in the field.
But for those in the know, these were great cameras, especially considering they were priced well bellow Hasselblad.
Kowa never had as many lens options as Hasselblad and I wonder if they would have expanded their range had they been able to better compete in the professional market. In time, I'll look at purchasing additional lenses. For now, I just plan to get back into film photography along with my daughter who's been interested in learning film and has already taken classes in digital.
I just dug out my Luna-pro light meter that I'm surprised I was actually able to find since it's been packed way for so many years. Now I just need some time to play...
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Ready to get back into film photograph...
Years ago, before digital, I had various camera systems that I'd use in my career in advertising as well as for pleasure. Prior to that, I had studied photography throughout high school and college. My favorite camera was a medium format Kowa/SIX SLR. I b...
興和光器製作所 (Kōwa Kōki Seisakusho), Kowa Optical Works was formed in 1946
Like a number of companies at that time it started out in a different industry, textiles in 1894, turned trading company in 1939 and later optical works. I have never handled their 6x6 camera but as mentioned it follows the Hassy tradition. I have, but do...
I didn't know anything about their early history, only that they introduced their medium format camera in, I think, 1968. Today I believe they still make high quality optics, but not cameras
They also made 35mm SLRs. Never had to opportunity to use a Mamiya but have used a Pentex 67 SLR, another great medium format camera system although rather large.
This is the camera I had in Art School, in 1968
and many years after. I just adored that camera and when compared to f.i. the 500C, the screen was so much better and easier to focus on. Years later Kowa released a version with interchangeable backs, but I never had a chance to try that one out. Enjoy y...
Looks like fun. I used Hasselblad for the 30 or so years before I went digital. In my field, portrait photography I rarely saw a Kowa, almost exclusively Hasselblad and Mamiya RB or RZ.
These Hasselblads I bought in 1976 I used for many years and still have them. ...
Back when I was in school I would have loved to have a Hasselblad but they were way out of reach for a student with only a part-time job. Had to settle for the Kowa and grew to love it.
I've considered getting an old 500c since I like the old school technology. But I'll stick to the Kowa until I'm back into the swing of things, then take it from there. Also depends how seriously my daughter gets into film, or if she decides to stick with...
Lots of Hasselblads on ebay now but for your purposes no real need. I'm not sure the real appeal of film these days if the negs are going to be scanned...
but the magic of watching a print come to life in a darkroom tray is pretty cool. Film has a slightly different look than digital but even that can be manipulated in photoshop. The first thing I did when I moved to digital is spend hours to make my large ...
I've spent many hours in darkrooms over the years, including in my home darkroom, disassembled years ago, manipulating prints the traditional way. I miss that.
I learned the zone system in high school from my art teacher who was heavily into Ansel Adams. Years later, in my career, I worked in Photoshop daily, digitally manipulating images and creating digital illustrations and designs for advertising and marketi...
