Episodes

  • “Four more years! Four more years!” Could you have ever imagined, when these two miscreants launched I Dream of Cameras on 11/20/20, that four years later the show would be an unstoppable juggernaut and the toast of seven continents? Neither could we! In this epic-sode, Gabe dons a dopey hat and Jeff a dopey visage to reflect upon IDOC’s journey from to zygote to Smash Hit. There’s a quiz! A truce! A song! A rundown of panoramic aspect ratios! Tune in for all the persiflage and badinage, which is NEVER, EVER BORING!

    It’s our fourth anniversary show, and Gabe wore a stupid hat! Celebrate four years of our Smash Hit Podcast™ by giving us notes!

    Gabe went to a Beers and Cameras meetup at Canyon Coffee in Echo Park…

    … and William Piper let him try his Plaubel Makina 67 - but Gabe has an issue with it!

    Gabe quizzes Jeff about how well he knows his podpartner

    Jeff bought himself a birthday present, the rare and coveted 24mm Angenieux for the Alpa… waited all day for it to arrive… and the mailman passed him by! We invite you to share your own maddening “waiting for new equipment” stories

    Jeff embarks on an ill-advised and deeply nerdy rundown of panoramic aspect ratios (XPan, Minolta P’s, Widelux) vs. various cinema formats

    No more animosity with Camerosity! we love those guys, and not just ‘cause they wanna collaborate on an Alpa episode

    Gabe went to a Catalina wine mixer, POW! - USC’s Distinguished Leaders Program - and led the participating CEOs through a cool photography exercise

    finally, we take a relaxing dip in our prestigious and Prodigious Mailbag™, perhaps our best yet! prepare to be moved!

  • Like “Man in Black” Johnny Cash, Gabe Sachs is never seen without his signature ebon apparel. So what could coax him into donning a white dress shirt? And while we’re asking questions: who’s shooting 220 film, what’s a Zunow, and can Jeff actually perform Tom Lehrer’s “The Elements” on command? Find out in the latest obsidian-dark episode of I Dream of Cameras!

    Gabe was plied with birthday gifts!

    a camera-print shirt from a Paris boutique

    Eyes Wide Open! 100 Years of Leica Photography

    a Polaroid Big Swinger and three precious packs of Fujifilm FP-3000b

    Jeff made a world-wind trip to LA, where he and Gabe dined with Jeff’s friend and Renaissance-woman Cathy Rogers of indiepop legends Heavenly and Junkyard Wars a.k.a. Scrapheap Challenge

    Today is Jeff’s 12th Alpaversary, yet his cherished 11si does not exist!

    to celebrate, he replaced the mirror foam in his Alpa 10s, and has a sexy how-to tip!

    Gabe bought a thrashed Rolleicord with Rolleinar close-up attachment and is wracked with regret

    Jeff shot the Heavenly show with a Pentax 6x7 and 45mm lens and does not recommend

    yet he was quite pleased with his wedding shots from the XPan and Olympus XA4

    Gabe loved the documentary Uncropped, produced by Wes Anderson, about photographer James Hamilton

    also take note of Glen E. Friedman, seminal skateboard, punk and hip-hop shooter whose work is all over Dogtown and Z-Boys

    now some questions! ever tried Shanghai 220 film?

    ever heard of the fascinating and ultra-rare Zunow SLR?

    did you know Tom Lehrer did a version of “The Elements” for a Polaroid sales meeting?

    and finally, our Prodigious Mailbag™, featuring a truly devastating missive from John Kelly, late of the Washington Post, in which he compares IDOC to the obscure and little-heard Camerosity podcast

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  • Our blockbuster eightieth episode includes talk of wedding shoots and model shoots, German Rolleis and Swiss Alpas, plastic Pentaxes and Pano Portrait Snobs. Tune in for all the badinage!

    Eighty episodes — even the hosts can’t remember the highlights! So which three episodes would you recommend to the uninitiated?

    Gabe went to a Cameras & Coffee meetup at the Culver Steps…

    …where he drooled over an Olympus OM-4Ti and a Mamiyaflex

    He also brought five cameras to a shoot with Claire Hinkley:

    the rare and coveted Tele-Rolleiflex lent to him by the sainted John-Michael Mendizza

    the old faithfuls: Rolleiflex 2.8E2 and Leica M4

    the mighty Nikon FM3a

    and a long-languishing Hasselblad 500C

    When Jeff and his siblings met up in Philadelphia for their yearly Fourphans™ Weekend, the Canon EOS Rebel 2000 with 40mm lens was his faithful plastic companion

    He also went to Unique Photo and gaped at some rare Alpas, including the freakish 8b, which is both an SLR and a rangefinder

    Which cameras did he use to cover his girlfriend’s son’s wedding?

    Canon EOS Rebel 2000 for pre-wedding prep

    Olympus XA4 with A11 flash for the rehearsal dinner

    and of course the Hasselblad XPan for rooftop beauty shots of the betrothed

    Yearning to get some new gear, Jeff grabbed an 24mm Angenieux lens for the Alpa at KEH… only to return it because it was not Alpa mount, but Exakta

    He also handled a Pentax 17 and recoiled from its icky extruded body

    And despite his devotion to the XPan, he bombed at the Epson Pano Awards — could he be a victim of the pano portrait snobs?

    As requested by faithful listener Gaetan Cormier, may we present the “So good” t-shirt, a loving tribute to Gabe’s catchphrase

    And finally: a deep dive into our Prodigious Mailbag™

  • Gabe Sachs, 25 years after Freaks and Geeks, is the Astrid Kirchherr of American comedy; Jeff Greenstein, 25 hours after Paris Fashion Week, is the Derek Zoolander of European modeling. Tune in for their rollicking adventures!

    Jeff’s just back from a wild trip to Paris! Including:

    P did a runway gig for Balmain for Fashion Week…

    while Jeff modeled for renowned photographer Leslie Kee of Super magazine…

    suffered hand-check travails at Orly Airport…

    and browsed overpriced gear at Euro-Photo

    our friend Chloe Kissner now has a photo business

    Gabe did a photo shoot with Raven-SymonĂŠ

    mysterious lightning marks on film - could it be static electricity?

    Freaks and Geeks just turned 25, and Gabe Sachs is the Astrid Kirchherr of contemporary comedy

    Gabe did a lightning-fast photo session with new dad Eoin Macken

    is the Wandrd Prvke Lite the platonic ideal of camera bags?

    our Prodigious Mailbag™, including a passing mention of lost folksinger Connie Converse, whose music and new biography you should investigate

  • Hear the crushing steel, feel the steering wheel! Gabe lingers in NYC for more photographic and culinary adventures, while Jeff sees his reflection in the luminescent dash of his newly beloved Alpa 10s. But what will happen when he gently caresses its warm leatherette? Tune in and find out!

    presenting… our bad-review mug! however, you gotta listen to the episode to find out where to get it, ‘cause it’s not on our merch page

    Gabe recounts further New York exploits with Sissi Lu, Chris Chu and Chris Lowell

    Sissi gave each of the boys one of her super-cool DO NOT X-RAY film travel bags

    Gabe test-drove the Pentax 17 and had some criticisms - pictures came out great, though!

    Gabe’s palate was enslaved by Xi’an Famous Foods

    he visited the new Leica Store in the Meatpacking District - turns out they are still carrying used equipment

    his only dud of the entire trip: three rolls of film purchased from Willoughby’s turned out to be both expensive and expired

    erratum! apologia! mea culpa! we found Louis Mendes, namesake of our last episode (oops), and he’s a national treasure

    Jeff has been finding the Alpa 10s an utter joy to shoot with

    but beware of dry (ba-dum-bump-bump, ba-dum-bump) leatherette - Jeff did a quick fix with a replacement strip from cameraleather.com (and also procured a replacement sheet from Polar Bear Camera)

    Jeff bought a tiny Reveni light meter Mk. 1 on eBay and it is nice

    Ausgeknipst

    (“switched off”), makers of the charger to replace the PX625 with the rechargeable Varta V80H, make their own version of The Thingy and so much more - check ‘em out

    Mint’s new Rollei 35AF will cost $800, making the Pentax 17 seem like a bargain

    we urge you to learn the story of the Salmon of Knowledge so you will be spared Jeff’s Irish accent

    P

    dusted off her old Nikon F5 and 85mm f1.8 Nikkor to shoot a newly engaged couple, burning through two rolls of FPP Color 125 in fifteen minutes

    exciting news! John-Michael Mendizza plans to lend Gabe his new Tele-Rolleiflex

    we take a shallow dive into our Prodigious Mailbag™

    and finally, our art director Keith Greenstein wrote and illustrated a new children’s book - it’s called Why Don’t You Marry It? and you should buy it!

  • It’s Talking Heads: 77 as the boys convene in New York City for a pilgrimage to B&H Photo, where they ambush veteran camera guru Michael Armato at the used counter for what proves to to be a truly phenomenal interview. Then it’s off to Fotografiska for the long-promised visit to the Vivian Maier and Bruce Gilden shows. Who will emerge victorious when Jeff confronts his photographic nemesis? Tune in and find out!

  • Hurricane Debby brings a downpour of camera gear! Gabe’s out with his Leica III and Mamiya C330, while Jeff samples some digital Leicas. Gabe chats with Toronto photographer Jessica Devic, and Jeff recounts his acquisition of a rare Alpa 10s from a seller in Alaska. Tune in for all the fish stories!

    It’s raining cameras! So much to report…

    Gabe figured out how to adjust his Leica III rangefinder

    and he’s acquired a Metz 45 CT-1 flash, the Bruce Gilden Special

    and he’s been shooting his Mamiya C330 with the chimney finder

    Jeff wanted to shoot portraits with a Leica M Typ 240, but the charger was missing…

    …so he tried a Leica V-Lux 4 and did not enjoy it

    meanwhile, his girlfriend’s Nikon F5 turned up under a pile of winter clothes and ski boots

    his “poor condition” Petri Color 35 Custom turned out to be perfect

    but most improbably, he found an insanely rare Alpa 10s on craigslist… with Schneider-Kreuznach lens and tons of accessories… from the original owner in Alaska… for only $400! However…

    it was missing the takeup spool — thank goodness for eBay

    and there’s a tricky battery problem, for which he MacGyvered together a neat solution

    speaking of batteries, there’s a new thingy in town! Could KaptainKugelkopf’s rechargeable Varta V80H + this inexpensive charger be the ideal replacement for the long-discontinued PX625 battery? Jeff ordered one to find out!

    Gabe’s bookstore recommendation: Untitled Books in Echo Park, Los Angeles

    Fred Coury

    is loving his Leica Q2

    turns out Gabe does know who Vincent Peters is

    Gabe’s interview with Toronto photographer Jessica Devic

    Gabe’s friend is a descendant of (and dead ringer for) the mighty Ernst Leitz!

    finally, a dog-paddle around our Prodigious Mailbag™, including how Jeff’s Strong Opinions about Vivian Maier cost his brother Steven a chance at love

  • One of the Best Photography Podcasts To Listen To In 2024 (per Amateur Photographer magazine) returns to bask in some praise for a change! In this blockbuster XL episode, we run down our travels in Europe and Canada, recap recent celebrity photo shoots, exult over exotic gear acquisitions, and dive to the bottom of our Prodigious and Informative Mailbag™! Tune in to see what the fuss is about!

    THE BIGGEST NEWS: our smash hit podcast earned global acclaim, as Amateur Photographer named us one of the best photography podcasts of 2024! Thanks, Jess Miller!

    you’d be wise to consult Lina Bessonova’s invaluable hand check guide before traveling

    Jeff once again experienced sudden XPan battery death after less than a month (= 30 rolls), so mock his spreadsheet at your peril

    a Czech photographer picked on Jeff for daring to do portraits with a pano camera - also, he failed to make the cut for Brooklyn Film Camera’s photo show - the shame!

    finding film in far-flung locations is HARD, so stock up

    Jeff recounts an extremely bad experience with a Rome photo lab

    not to be out-traveled, Gabe went to Canada with his Leica M10 and Noctilux - what’s more, he:

    …visited Leitz Road in Midland, Ontario so his lens could see its birthplace

    …hung out with Jessica Devic at Youthful Vengeance Coffee in Toronto - she’s a tremendous photographer, check her out

    …toured Memento Film Lab in Toronto

    …shot Claire Hinkley with the peerless Olympus 35 RC and monstrous Mamiya C330

    …and had a Fred Coury rock ’n’ roll idyll at the Rainbow and Whisky a Go Go with Taime Downe of Faster Pussycat

    Jeff harpooned a long-sought white whale you’ve never heard of: the Petri Color 35 Custom

    Gabe bonded with a TSA agent at Toronto Airport who turned out to be a film shooter

    behold the B&H Lego set!

    check out the Half Frame List of half-cookie cameras in current production

    we’ll be at the Bruce Gilden and Vivian Maier shows at Fotografiska in August

    and finally, our Prodigious and Informative Mailbag™, featuring plenty of fierce clapback about the Pentax 17

  • Two glasses of white wine reduces Jeff to drunkenly raving about travel cameras, airport hand-check injustices and (predictably) his usual cast of bĂŞtes noires. Meanwhile, stone-cold-sober Gabe offers sharp, reasoned takes on the new Pentax 17 and the cameras of 1955. Tune in to Episode № 74 (not 75) for all the mayhem!

    Jeff recorded this episode from Rome after imbibing two glasses of cheap white wine, which is why he keeps calling it Episode 75

    Why the two cameras Jeff picked for his extended European trip — Olympus XA4 and Hasselblad XPan — have been ideal

    Lisbon Airport is the worst — they abjectly refused to hand-check Jeff’s film!

    Jeff had 18 rolls developed at Ars Imago in Rome, and here’s what he learned: Kodak Portra 160 needs tons of light

    Gabe unexpectedly presents: Cameras in Focus 1955!

    Miranda T

    Canon IIs2

    A $200,000 Leica accessory the Leica UW underwater housing

    Olympus Wide

    Gabe visited our lovely friends at LA Film Camera and you should too

    The boys drop some Strong Opinions™ about the new Pentax 17 half-frame film camera

    Gabe considered trading his Rolleiflex 2.8F for a Plaubel Makina and finally opted not to…

    …but because he’s Gabe, he stumbled across a garage sale in Pacific Palisades and came away with all this for only $200:

    Olympus 35RC

    Topcon RE Super with three lenses

    Leica V-Lux 3

    Gabe revisits his chronic bouts of which-camera-to-bring anxiety

    We drop a small I Dream of Pizzas travel tip: the best pizza Jeff’s girlfriend has ever had was at Ai Marmi in Rome

    A dip into our paltry yet Prodigious Mailbag™ 

    Gabe reacts to the NY Times article about film shooters trashing their negatives

    And Jeff offers one more shout for the RitchieCam,  an iPhone app that can emulate the XPan

  • “I am sitting in the smallest room of my house. I have your review before me. In a moment it will be behind me.”

    — Max Reger, German composer (1873–1916), responding to a savage review

    Jeff’s in Lisbon at the start of a month-long European trip; Gabe’s in LA developing his own film for the first time in years. But what’s obsessing them the most? Their first rotten review! Tune in for all the merriment and NO PRAISE!

    Jeff’s choice of cameras and film for a month-long European trip:

    the Hasselblad XPan with both the 45mm and 90mm lenses

    the mighty Olympus XA4 macro

    24 rolls of Kodak Portra 400 and Portra 160

    Gabe’s eBay misadventure in pursuit of the Pentax 50mm 1.7: 

    the “as-is” Pentax ME Super and S1 turned out to be nonfunctional, the lens was dented…

    …but he did get a Watson bulk loader!

    He lent his Canon EOS 3 to Martin Starr… so he had to buy a replacement: the EOS Elan 7NE. Which was perfect — even better than our beloved Rebel 2000!

    More eBaying: Gabe also got the Nikon 85mm f1.4D

    and he got his beloved Leica M3 repaired by our trusty dusty camera repair guy! whom he interviewed! and who may finally be unmasked in an upcoming episode!

    Jeff was on the cusp of buying an Olympus OM-3 when his cherished 12” Retina MacBook dropped dead… hence no OM-3

    Gabe went shooting with the Elan and his Rolleiflex and processed the film himself — it’s a new era!

    In Lisbon, Jeff visited Vintage Dream Cameras and took a hard, hard look at a Snoopy 110 camera and a rare Leica IIIc with sharkskin leatherette

    We got a terrible review!

    Gabe compared Rolleiflex TLRs with Dave Tada, but it turns out there are lots of differences between the 2.8E and the 2.8E2! Also, Dave’s has an RZ67 finder!

    Our friend Oliver’s exotic Chinese Pearl River SLR

    Jeff experienced sudden XPan battery death

    We empty out our Prodigious Mailbag™ 

    Some notes on our composer Fred Coury: his former band Cinderella’s Night Songs was released on this day in 1986; also, Fred just won his 6th Emmy!

  • A transformational live-on-locational supersensational IDOCstravaganza! First we go to a Los Angeles Photography Club Cameras and Coffee meetup in Koreatown to talk to folks about their cameras and dogs. Then we SPAN THE GLOBE to interview Jo Geier, proprietor of Mint and Rare, a phenomenal camera shop in Vienna, Austria. You won’t want to miss this one, so TOON IN!

  • Consulting Producer Tucker Sachs, the real brains behind I Dream of Cameras, has long lurked in the shadows with a bone and a chew toy, but in this episode he finally steps into the light. Also discussed: photo books, photo contests, photo walks and photo acquisitions, along with every syllable of your deathless prose from the Prodigious Mailbag™.  It’s a doggie-dog world!

    Daido Moriyama’s ’71 NY is an incredible photo book shot on an Olympus Pen W

    Gabe had a blast at the latest Beers and Cameras feat. Joe Stitt

    Spotted: a Fujica ST 801

    check out Walker Evans' subway photo book, shot with a Contax II: Many Are Called

    Jeff entered an Epson pano competition - any favorite photo contests?

    Gabe really should get a Nikon SP, but in the meantime he finally snagged an ugly black-paint Nikon F from KEH

    our new cult favorite film: FPP Color 125

    bulk-loading and its discontents

    Gabe scored a slew of point-and-shoots at a yard sale for a total of $28:

    Olympus Infinity II

    Fuji Discovery

    Pentax IQ Zoom

    Olympus Infinity Jr.

    Polaroid announced an upgrade to their B&W 600 film - kudos!

    The IDOC gang are planning a Polaroid-peel-apart-film-shooting festival

    check out Sissi Lu's reels and IG live shots

    Jeff is performing at the Ruskin Theatre in Santa Monica on Mother's Day (click See a Show and then look for Library Girl)

    The Prodigious Mailbag™ features the Osmond brothers doing Crazy Horses

    Hank Haddock’s ISO 3200 stickers (designed by Suné Horn) will help you avoid arguments at airport security - find them at tinyurl.com/savemyfilm

    do you make photo books, and if so how?

    and finally, Consulting Producer Tucker Sachs puts in an appearance

  • He wouldn’t…. Now that the long-raging and ill-advisedly-ignited Vivian Maier debate has finally died down, Jeff wouldn’t throw gasoline on those embers by expressing a Strong Opinion about some recent Viv-related news, would he? Well, you’ll just have to tune in to find out. Also discussed: the boys swap cities, Gabe in New York and Jeff in Los Angeles; recent shooting adventures with a slew of cameras both old and new; and the proper way to express your love of our smash hit podcast: through lavish gifts!

    we had a tremendous response to the last episode — clearly 69 is something people really enjoy

    heh heh heh, the folks at Camerosity took the bait — haven’t y’all read The Mouse That Roared?

    Gabe’s adventures in New York shooting his Rolleiflex and Leica M10 with Sissi Lu (shoutout: Katz’s Deli) and Chris Chu (shoutout: Salt’s Cure), plus drive-bys at B&H and picturehouse + the small darkroom

    Jeff sold his Robot Royal 24, but shipping to South Korea was twice as much as what the UPS website originally quoted, so he realized a net profit of $3.32

    however, he still wanted a square-format 35mm, so bring on the Mamiya Sketch… which is delightful and quirky!

    shooting the Canonflex R2000

    shooting the Pentax MF with FPP Color 125 (see Jeff’s article in Casual Photophile)

    a hearty thanks to super-listener Jeffry Pittman, who sent us a Baby Rollei, a Hermes 3000 typewriter, and lots of film

    iPhone iOS 17.4 now includes podcast transcripts so you may enjoy our soaring rhetorical flourishes

    Jeff mildly reacts to some recent Vivian Maier news

    Gabe’s planning an all-medium-format film shoot with the Pentax 6x7, the Mamiya RZ67, and the Hasselblad 501CM

    a passing mention of new friend Peter Kagan, about whom you will hear more

    a bold voyage into our Prodigious Mailbag™ 

    and finally, a fond farewell to the great Joe Flaherty

  • Paulina Porizkova joins the boys to offer her unique perspective on the art and business of fashion photography. How’d she get into it? What’s the most important thing a photographer should know about working with models? Why does Paulina call Irving Penn “Mr. Penn”? Does the fact that Jeff has a spreadsheet of when he last changed the batteries in his cameras render him more attractive? All this and much, much more in our sexy Episode № 69 — nice!

    how Paulina got into modeling at age 15, how she learned the craft

    her growing awareness of lighting and cameras

    the dance between photographer and model, and how it’s altered by different types of camera

    how a photographer’s behavior influences a model’s confidence

    how real is the Veruschka scene from Blow-Up?

    do you know if the shot is good?

    how aware are you of camera equipment?

    can what you know about modeling be taught?

    pay attention to lighting! take a selfie when you look great!

    were you ever interested in photography yourself?

    her late husband Ric Ocasek’s interest in photography

    studio vs. location shooting

    the business of modeling is not what you think!

    does the fact that Jeff has a spreadsheet of when he last changed the batteries in his cameras render him more attractive?

    what is the most important thing a photographer should know about working with models?

    is it different working with a female photographer?

    working with Irving Penn and why P always calls him “Mister”

    Bill King

    the one photographer she wishes she’d had a chance to work with: Helmut Newton

    the resurgence of 35mm point-and-shoots in fashion photography, e.g. Marie Tomanova’s shoot for Czech Vogue

    can you get a good shot of a model by being mean to her?

    what’s it like shooting with your boyfriend, former photographer of plants and buildings?

    the portrait by Jeff that P loves

    her Top 5 photographers she enjoyed working with:

    Mr. Penn

    Arthur Elgort (author of Camera Ready and Camera Crazy)

    Patrick Demarchelier

    Marcus Bard

    Marco Glaviano

    what’s it like being constantly confronted with images of your younger self? do you have a favorite?

  • It’s an xlent xlerated xtralarge xtravaganza as Gabe and Jeff hack and slash their way to the bottom of the Prodigious Mailbag™, which features a slew of emails penned by celebrities under the pseudonym “Alan Peres.” Also discussed: cameras of ’55, cameras of ’24, Dune 2, SB2, SL3, FP4, HP5, Number Six and Zippora Seven! Tune in as we run the numbers!

    Cameras in Focus 1955:

    Olympus Wide

    Rolleiflex 2.8D

    the Nikon SP was in development (which prompts a reprise of Jeff’s astonishing SP acquisition story)

    Pentaflex

    Graflex Stereo Graphic

    a 1955 survey of 35mm cameras by price range

    Jeff briefly acquired an Asahi Pentax SB2, rare variant of the H3/S3 sold only on Japanese military bases… but it was broken, so back it went

    Gabe launches the Under $40 Camera Challenge!

    The soon-come Pentax film compact camera will be a half-frame model with zone focusing

    For the third straight time, Leica reports record revenue, plus the new SL3 is out

    Gabe rhapsodizes about the monstrous Gowlandflex

    Dave Tada picked Gabe up a coveted Nikkor 28mm f2.8…

    …but he still yearns for an ugly black Nikon F

    Dune 2 was shot on a $50 Helios-44!

    Nikon is buying RED

    Jeff watched the great Yu Tsai in action at the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue 60th anniversary shoot in Fort Lauderdale

    We go XL to empty out the Prodigious Mailbag™ 

    Our IDOC Discord channel is hoppin’! Join us!

  • “Pablo LarraĂ­n, the film’s Chilean director, felt [Jackie] Kennedy’s love of beauty was so integral to her character that he requested [Natalie] Portman utter ‘I love beauty’ at some point during the shooting of every scene.” This is absurd, but not as absurd as Episode № 67 of I Dream of Cameras, “Your Extra Time and Your Kiss,” in which we discuss cameras called Beauty and Kiss and Super. Tune in for all the mayhem!

    Jeff made yet another math error! 64 is 2 to the fifth

    Gabe presents… Cameras in Focus, 1956:

    Canon VT

    Pentacon FB / Contax FB

    Mamiyaflex Automat BII

    Beauty 35 Super(“I love beauty”)

    Beier Precisa IIA

    Bolta Photavit 36

    Duplex Super 120

    Flexora III

    Kodak Signet 40

    original Leica MP

    Jeff snagged a Canon EOS New Kiss Panorama (a.k.a. Rebel G, a.k.a. Rebel 500N) for $14.50 and gave it to his brother Steven

    After much equivocation, and after handling the lens at B&H, he concluded he does not need the extravagantly-priced 30mm for the Hasselblad XPan

    Gabe did an all-film photo shoot with Claire Hinkley during the recent L.A. monsoon

    Also shot Kylie Silkman and her sister Danica with the stunning Helios-44 lens

    Jason Schneider's books on camera collecting are amazing

    Perplexity.ai is a useful tool for camera comparisons

    We will try to chat with y’all on Discord - check the #idoc-podcast channel under Sunny 16

    Don Goldberg at DAG helped Gabe fix the broken strap guard on his Leica M6 TTL

    And finally, a deep dive into our Prodigious Mailbag™!

  • It’s a voyage to the bottom of the Prodigious Mailbag™ on our Smash Hit Podcast™, but before that there’s talk of the year in photography 1957, the revived Southern California camera show, Jeff’s trip to the Caribbean with a sexy Swede and also his girlfriend, eBay execs sending pig fetuses to their critics, and so much more!

    Jeff made yet another major math error! 64 is 2 cubed

    Sorry, but Parenting Hell is not a smash hit podcast

    Gabe presents The Year in Focus 1957:

    Nikon SP

    Ilford Sportsman

    Hasselblad 500C

    Kodak Retina Reflex

    Concava Tessina watch camera TLR

    Leica M2 (for real) which when new went for $276, or $2,884.37 in today’s dollars

    Arsenal Salyut

    Asahi came out with the original Pentax

    Olympus Wide E

    Gabe went to the new Huntington Park camera show (very exciting) and nearly bought a Contax T

    Jeff visited 5R Photo Lab in New York and met proprietor Alec

    A trip to St. Barth’s, French West Indies occasioned the return of the XPan, and a love affair was reignited

    Jeff shot with both Portra 400 and 160… and liked 160 better!

    Gabe visited Jeff and P in NYC, went to B&H Photo, bought nothing…

    …but then ordered an Exa 1B and a Helios-44 lens

    Mint unveiled their coming-soon Rollei 35AF — apparently anyone can license the name “Rollei” for a buck fifty — but who needs this thing?

    A bunch of eBay execs were creepy criminals

    Jeff got a cool Minox film slitter from camerhack.it

    Check out RitchieCam, a camera app for iPhone with an XPan emulation mode

    A dive so deep into our Prodigious Mailbag™ that it requires a bathyscaphe

    Gabe wants to hear about online photography websites you love - blogs, magazines, whatever

  • You want more and you want it fast? Tune in to Episode № 65 of I Dream of Cameras, “Rebel Rebel,” in which Gabe and Jeff wax rhapsodic about the trash-table treasure Canon EOS Rebel 2000. How did this grubby chunk of plastic capture the hearts of two men devoted to the cult of Leica? Pluck this pod and find out! Also, we call out great cameras NOT from the big-name brands, recount recent shooting adventures, and take a shallow dip into the deep and prodigious mailbag!

    Jeff made a major math error! 64 is 2^8

    Cameras of ’58:

    Nikon S3

    Leica M2

    Rolleiflex T

    Minolta SR-2

    Mamiya Elca (and from ’59, the fascinating square-format Mamiya Sketch)

    Ricoh 519

    Zeiss Ikon Ikonette

    And now, the long-promised Minority Report (great cameras not from the big-name brands)

    Alpa 11si (of course)

    Pentacon Six

    Petri Color 35

    Plaubel Makina 67 (Gabe’s gonna get one!)

    Rectaflex

    Balda Baldaxette II

    Voigtländer Vitessa L

    Widelux

    The trash-table Canon EOS Rebel 2000 is dirt cheap and packed with features — we both love ours!

    There’s also an even-cheaper EOS Kiss Panorama with a stupid panorama switch!

    The 40mm f2.8 pancake lens is delightful

    Check out Casual Photophile's impassioned defense of “Dorky AF” SLRs of the late ‘90s

    Gabe’s been shooting portraits (?!) with Leica’s 28mm Elmarit

    And finally, a dip into our Prodigious Mailbag™ 

  • The big news in Episode № 64 of I Dream of Cameras is the release of Harman Phoenix, a brand-new experimental color film from the company we insist on calling Ilford ‘cause they didn’t give us free stuff. Also covered: notable cameras of 1959; fun with Lomochrome Turquoise; Gabe’s recent five-camera all-film photo shoot; the growing cult of the Minolta P’s; last-minute holiday gift ideas; and tons of blowback in the Prodigious Mailbag!

    Cameras of 1959:

    Leica M1

    Minolta SR-1

    Tele-Rolleiflex

    debut of the Nikon F

    the original one-lug Olympus Pen (made not by Olympus, but Sanko Shoji)

    Asahi Pentax S2 / H2

    Zeiss Ikon Contaflex Super

    The Russian Mir (a simplified Zorki 4)

    Gabe went to The Darkroom for the exciting debut of Harman Phoenix, a brand-new film from a company we insist on calling Ilford ‘cause they didn’t give us free stuff

    Labs working with this film are running smack into The Scannenberg Uncertainty Principle

    Jeff had a blast shooting Lomochrome Turquoise with his rare and exotic Mamiya/Sekor 2000 DTL

    Meanwhile, Gabe’s been shooting with his cheap ’n’ cheerful Canon Rebel 2000 + 40mm f2.8 pancake lens — the results blew him away!

    He also recently did an all-film shoot with the Contax 645, Rolleiflex 2.8E2, Yashica T4, Leica M6… and Minolta P’s! P's Mania rolls on! 

    Directing NBC’s new sitcom Extended Family, Jeff did some set photography with his beloved Olympus Pen EE-3. 78 shots on a roll!

    Holiday gift ideas! Jeff recently acquired some excellent photo books:

    Apollo VII - XVII

    Hasselblad - The Camera System 50 Years 1948-1998

    New York in Photobooks

    Why not our new Alan Daly t-shirt, or something else from our burgeoning merch page?

    Or Rachel's Brewster-Wright’s Ultimate Film & Darkroom Workbook

    A dip into our Prodigious Mailbag™, featuring:

    More Vivian Maier blowback from our 50th episode - as revenge, Viv will be getting a one-woman show at Fotografiska New York in May 2024

    An excellent photo club, The Slow Camera Exchange

    A wonderful 1942 article from The Atlantic, The Dream Camera

  • It’s our third anniversary episode, featuring celebrations galore and talk of cameras past, present and future. Plus the return of our Prodigious Mailbag™, featuring NO PRAISE! Tune in for all the merriment!

    Cameras of 1960:

    Nikkorex 35

    Nikon S3M

    the original Canonflex

    Pentax Spotmatic shown at Photokina

    Rolleiflex 2.8F

    Rolleiflex Rollei Magic

    Zeiss Contarex Special

    Yashica 35M

    Leica R5

    Gabe and Jeff got great birthday gifts!

    the original Kodak Instamatic

    Kodak Retina IIIC

    Lego Rolleiflex

    Leica IXMOO

    A golden Minolta P’s

    Gabe’s been trawling eBay for early LIFE magazines

    Please tell Jeff he doesn’t need a Nicca IIIL

    He’s also fascinated by the ridiculous Contax Preview

    Gabe’s got some shoots coming up, and plans to use:

    Contax 645

    Minolta P’s

    and the super-cheap Canon Rebel 2000 with the 40mm pancake

    Jeff’s quasi-repaired Pentax ES II is cursed… never again!

    …but he’s loving his rare and delightful Mamiya/Sekor 2000 DTL

    …and will soon be shooting on set with his beloved Olympus Pen EE-3

    A deep dive into our Prodigious Mailbag™ 

    and finally: Gabe throws out the Under $95 Camera Challenge!