my may 12m.o.f.
For May I decided to take a gamble and use a new to me camera, the Chinon Bellami (meaning beautiful friend in French). I picked this camera up in April for roughly $10(?) at a local camera show/market. What attracted me to the camera was the size (compact!) and the barn doors that covered the lens. I am a sucker for cute and quirky point and shoot cameras. Overall, I really like how these images came out. I missed focus with a few. I really love Kodak Ultramax in the summer :)
The Bellami is a a compact 35mm camera from Chinon, introduced in 1980. It has a distinctive "barn door" design. The barn door is opened by pulling out the film advance lever. (It was also sold under the name of Revue 35 CC by a German retailer).
Operation of the camera is pretty simple. Exposure is completely automatic. Once you set your ISO (25 - 400) on the top of the camera, the camera will decide the shutter speed and aperture for you. Shutter speeds range from 1/8 - 1/1000, with no option for long exposures. Aperture-wise, the fixed 35mm f/2.8 lens is pretty fast for a camera this small. A little red light next to the viewfinder will turn on when you half-press the shutter if there is insufficient light for a handheld exposure.The camera is powered by two LR44 type batteries which power the meter and the low light warning light and battery check light
Focusing the Chinon Bellami is by zone focusing, with distances chosen by turning the lens barrel with settings for 1m (3.5″), 1.5m (5″), 2m (7″), 3m (10″), 5m (20″) and infinity.
The viewfinder is basic, with bright lines and no parallax compensation. Film advance and rewind are done manually.
Specifications:
Lens: Chinonex Color 35mm, f/2.8 (4 elements in 3 groups).
Focusing: Manual scale focusing with Zone Focus Marks - 3.3ft/1m - infinity
Shutter: SEIKO Program EE Shutter, Speeds from 1/8 to 1/1000 sec.
Exposure Meter: Cds EE Exposure System, EV6 - 17(ASA 100), ASA25-400 (DIN 15 - 27)
Developed and scanned (Frontier) by theFINDlab.
