Recently, I have been enjoying shooting with rangefinders, so decided to give this camera a whirl while out in Central London. I wanted to shoot in a variety of different settings and shoot fast to get an idea of what would be possible to create with this camera. Of course the natural choice of film for such conditions is none other than Ilford HP5.
Didn’t quite nail every composition as you can see in the video. It was great shooting in different settings and scenarios. London does allow for so much variation.
A must on film is taking shots in the London Underground. The lights, metal and plethora of people going up and down the escalators gives another opportunity to see how the lens will manage in these very low light conditions.
With these street shots I decided to shoot from the hip so to speak. Getting very close to subjects and shooting. This was a challenge to see how quickly it would be possible to focus along with a general feeling of pot luck perhaps. From these selection of images, I think they convey a good sense of what it is like to be on a busy day in London.
Also shot some narrow alleyways in London, at first I wasn’t sure that the shadows would come out at all but of course I was underestimating Ilford Hp5, even found some Parisian style streets that I never knew existed!
The best shot from my whistle stop shoot with the Canonet and Ilford Hp5 Plus has to be this one I caught of a man on his phone with a man bag in hand. It’s the details, the way he is carrying the bag, the classic watch, glasses, hat and the way he is clearly thinking about something being said over the phone, caught by the concern of his almost clenched left hand. I remember quickly framing this shot as he was about to pass and even more pleased to have caught him almost still with the motion blur of pedestrians in the background.
The runner up shot was the Marcos Mantara LM500. It's a classic British Sports car, I think this one is from the late 1990s. The company went bankrupt in 2002 but it was nice to see this classic car still out on the street. Nice little capture too!
Do you know how Canon came about? Here’s a little bit of trivia for you. Back in the day, Nikon Cameras were very hard to get a hold of in Europe or North America. The main reason for this? Nikon decided that its market was only in Japan.
Canon on the other hand decided to go global, as such, reaching out to a much larger market and reducing its costs in mass production and consequently its retail price. Canon then proliferate however Nikon continued to be regarded as the premium camera for a considerable time to come.
Overall, I was really pleased with most of the shots I took. Considering that there was no functioning light meter or any light metering from my part, these images came out well! You can pick up a Canonet between £75-250 depending on age and wear. If you like to carry something vintage, light and ‘compact’ then this might be what you’re looking for. It’s a great little camera without the bank busting cost of a Leica.
Have you shot with the Canonet QL17 or similar Rangefinder cameras such as Leica? Would you pay £100-250 to shoot with this camera?
Which one was your favourite picture from this video? What do you recommend shooting with or how to use this film for projects! Let me know in the comments below, thank you!
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