Shooting: Kodak Tri-X And An Olympus Stylus Epic.
After my last article, I realized that I need to spend more quality time with the Stylus Epic. I feel that a lot of my issues with the camera are simply due to a lack of familiarity. Having taken some nice pictures with the Epic, I can see why it’s such a favorite among the film community. After comparing it to the Minolta Big Finder, it really made me want to take out the Epic and shoot it more often.
Not only is it the camera that I’m trying to get the hang of, but also the film of choice. As I’ve meantioned in past articles, I’ve really only shot 3 black and white films; Kodak Tri-X, Ilford HP5, and Fomapan 400.
Of all of these films, the one that has been the most bullet proof for me has been HP5. Fomapan 400 is still a work in progress to find the right way to shoot it, and Tri-x has been giving me problems in developing (we’ll discuss this more later). So I loaded Tri-x into the Olympus Stylus Epic, threw it into my lunch kit and shot the roll over a couple days.
The Shoot
Using a little point and shoot camera like the Epic is so freeing. Having so little control over anything, it takes your mind off the camera itself and allows you to just be more present in your surroundings. I have enough distractions as it is, so shooting with a camera that’s as simple as this one is a ton of fun.
Going out with the Epic has really helped me fall in love with it. The 35mm is a great focal length for me in a compact camera. The more I use it, the less issue I have with the near pin-hole type viewfinder. Being spoiled in using the Minolta Big Finder for a while, the viewfinder on the Epic seemed almost impossible to use. While it’s still not my favorite, it’s not as difficult as I found it before. I guess it just takes a bit of getting use to.
With the camera in my lunch kit, I took a walk after work a couple days, exploring the neighborhoods I was working in. With the weather finally warming up, going for a walk made me feel like a new man. It’s been so difficult mustering up the courage to brave the extended winter we’ve had here in Canada. It’s quite unpleasant going for walks in these conditions. Not only is it hard on the human body, but I worry about my cameras in sub-zero temperatures. I dont trust the light meters or shutterspeeds, having had issues with a camera in cold temperatures before. So with this new found life in my veins, I got out and shot some pictures.
The Results
Overall, I’m pretty happy with the results from this roll. The camera preformed great and the developing wasn’t too bad. I don’t think I’ve ever shot black and white through a point and shoot camera before. Usually I load them with Kodak Gold or something cheap. However I really enjoyed Tri-x in the Epic and certainly plan on using this combination more in the future.
As far as the developing goes, it still needs some work. I know what you’re probably thinking. “How much work can a monobath need?” Well stay tuned for that in a later article. I’ve had beautiful and terrible results with Tri-x in Cinestill Df96, so I’m really trying to find the right process. I’m pretty happy with how this roll turned out, but it’s still not as nice as I’ve had in the past. So here’s the results from this shoot!
Hope you enjoyed this quick little article! Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! Thanks for reading.
The sharpness of the Stylus Epic’s lens really lends itself well to black and white film. I use it as my second camera when I go out on shoots. I’ll load a roll of color film for my main subject and snap a few “b-roll” shots with the Epic. Plus, it’s so small that you don’t even notice that you are carrying two cameras!