New Film to try
Film photography has continued to be an active part of my work for a little over a year now, and I personally see it continuing to grow over the next few years. New film stocks are starting to appear, and older stocks are making a resurgence. One of those being Yashica, which funny enough is the maker of the film camera I currently use. Yashica recently reached out to me to try out one of their film stocks, Ruby 60s. Before they reached out, I actually never knew that Yashica made film, so I was very flattered when they sent me two rolls to take for a spin.
History of Yashica
Yashica is a well known Japanese company, it started out making clock parts in 1949. They grew quickly after World War II, similar to Pentax. It unfortunately suffered decline as the big 3 grew and pushed out the other companies. It was then acquired by Kyocera in the 1980s, and focused more on point-and-shoot cameras, until 2008 when Kyocera sold it to MF Jebsen Group based out of Hong Kong.
Recently Yashica has made a resurgence, with the growing popularity of film photography, the company decided to bring back film stocks and introduce new cameras.
Ruby 60s Film
Yashica has a few different stocks in their store, and according to their website, this film is a limited edition stock. One of the promising things is that the canister is metal, giving a more sturdy feel. The number of exposures is at 27, a little odd, but nothing out of the ordinary.
The film is 400 ISO, so it is a good mid-range flexible film. Now if I can finally master shooting low light with this speed film, I can finally die happy.
Lone Star Roads
Initial Thoughts
Upon first look of the film, I thought Lomo Metropolis, which is by no means a bad thing. I like the warm color of the images, especially at sunrise and sunset. The warm light gives some very romantic vibes to the images. In harsh light however, I think the film absorbs more light than the typical 400 speed film, as evident with how some images are almost blown out. I put that more on me than the film itself, since I'm used to working more in shade and low light. Latitude is okay, more on the shallower side than most other stocks.
Full Review
With both rolls back in, here's my thoughts on this film. I think this film is a bit more light hungry than typical 400 ISO film. In lower light settings (sunset, shade, etc.) are better lighting settings for this film. Shots in direct sunlight just get obliterated, so bringing your exposure down a stop would be recommended to get the results you want. As for the colors, they aren't bad, similar to kodak gold if it was blended with Lomo Metropolis, creating an overall warm feel to your images. The dynamic range is low in my opinion, but in the right setting like I mentioned above, and with the proper understanding of what this film is capable of, you can get some really good images out of it. My recommendation on this film is that its a good film in the right setting. This film excels in sunlight, but in darker and super low light settings, it does struggle a hair. Again, I would blame 80 percent of that on my ability to judge exposure.
Get in touch
PO Box 1301
Hilltop Lakes, Texas 77871
zmorrisphoto@gmail.com
469.853.7723
You Made it to the End
Thank you for reading this far. I am wanting to do more shoots this year, and if you would like to be part of it, please reach out. I would love to get to know you and create something awesome, whether its on film, digital, or even on video. Also, check out my print gallery, and order a print. Thank you again for all of your support.
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