Wednesday, January 8, 2025, 8:11 a.m. PST. Text from Gabe Sachs:

“Well, all I can say is… I bet I have culled my camera collection faster than anyone else in history.”

In this episode, Gabe recounts his experience during the Palisades Fire, which destroyed over a hundred Rolleiflex TLRs.

Tune in for all the details.

I Dream of Cameras kicks off the new year with another blockbuster XL episode! Jeff chillingly limns the hundred-degree delta between Jamaica and Iceland, and how the Fuji GA645 and Hasselblad XPan fared in each. Gabe exhumes some old warhorses from the back of the camera cabinet. And they top it all off with some STRONG OPINIONS about a new film-camera book. Tune in for all the fireworks!

a scant 13 days after returning from a beach vacation in Jamaica, Jeff jetted off to Iceland for New Year’s, toting along the Fujifilm GA645 Professional and the Hasselblad XPan — how did they fare?

Gabe recounts a recent photo shoot with the lovely Lyliana Wray, featuring the Nikon D700, Canon Sure Shot Owl and Jeff’s beloved Olympus 35 RC

in the course of reorganizing, Gabe unearthed a few long-neglected cameras he wants to shoot with:

Exakta VX IIa

Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta

Pentacon Six TL

and the mighty Graflex Super D

at Jeff’s behest, the heroes at Ausgeknipst made a PX450 adapter for the Alpa 10 series

welcome to another edition of Jeff’s deeply nerdy “Nobody Cares” Corner! this time he does a lengthy exegesis of camera serial numbers — there’s so much you can learn! some examples:

Fujifilm

Hasselblad, using the VHPICTURES code

Kodak, using the CAMEROSITY code

Konica, using the MY BEST KONICA code

Leica

Polaroid SX-70

Rollei 35

Jeff reviews Ralph Bellamy a.k.a. Bellamy Hunt a.k.a. Japan Camera Hunter's new book Film Camera Zen. shots fired!! come at me, Ralph!

and finally, we take a graceful swan-dive into our Prodigious Mailbag™

Episode № 84 is a special rush-released super-sized Christmas / Hanukkah episode — unwrap it and enjoy!

Gabe’s been shooting with the Polaroid Big Swinger, Rolleiflex 2.8E2, Nikon F2, Leica M4…

he had a lab mishap! they made it right, but it still shakes your confidence

Polaroid peel-apart camera rollers vs. blades

Gabe went to Alcove Café with Rafael Hernandez and Dave Tada, members of the elite Fuji X100VI club, and now he's lusting for one

submitted for your approval: the mighty Fujifilm GF670 Professional

when was the last time Jeff shot with the Leica M6 TTL? August 2021… so we’re both culling our collections! message us!

is there a camera that’s too perfect? that you shoot too quickly with? like the Canon EOS Rebel 2000 or Canon 5D?

Jeff didn’t shoot much in Jamaica, and here’s why: he wanted no barriers between him and the experience - do you sympathize?

the Fujifilm GA645 Professional gave Jeff a scare - as with the XPan, Fuji’s battery indicators are wildly deceptive

are CR123 and CR123a the same battery? maybe!

final reckoning: which cameras will Jeff bring to Iceland? meanwhile, Ollie’s bringing a Kodak Medalist!

expired 220 film is super-intriguing!

Gabe feels he can always count on his Rolleiflex - what are the cameras you rely on?

our Prodigious Mailbag™ is bigger than Santa’s bag of toys

next episode, Jeff reviews Bellamy Hunt a.k.a. Japan Camera Hunter's new book Film Camera Zen - tune in for the tea!