Sturm and the Flexaret

7-November-2019

Tags: #6x6 #analog #flexaret #medium format

It's been a long time since I shot with the Flexaret, a Czech made twin lens reflex camera I picked up for a few bucks a few years ago. The only roll of colour film I had when we decided spontaneously to go for a hike was a very expired (2009) Fuji Superia 100, but I loaded it, made sure I had my meter app on my phone and went for it. It was such a beautiful day and I didn't want to shoot back and white in South Steiermark in the Autumn.

I'm surprised how well the expired film held up. The colours are a bit washed out, and I overexposed it by about a stop. The highlights have a nice warm glow to them. The Flexaret IV was built in the early 1950s, right at the birth of commercial colour photography for home use. I don't think the lens is particularly well suited to colour film. I get much better results shooting black and white on this camera.