Leica M6 TTL Millennium Photos From Flushing Queens:
Hey everyone. I actually started getting back into some film the last month or so. It started with my dad buying himself a Leica MP. Truthfully, I thought he was a bit crazy at first haha. Nothing against film but he hasn’t been in the Leica game in years, and I just thought the first one he was going to buy after like 20 years or so would’ve been a digital one :). But he says he misses going to the 1 hour photo lab, and just getting prints as opposed to looking at all his images on a computer. He has a point: I’ve shot thousands of images, and while I can print them all, how many do I really print these days? Well, after going with him to buy the MP, he kind of slowly got me hooked again. In fact, I even ended up buying a film scanner haha, and I have some scans from a recent trip I made to Flushing, Queens.
Truthfully, while film and digital have their own unique strengths and weaknesses, in the end, I prefer the latter. One reason I prefer digital is having a good lab process, and scan my stuff just gets expensive. I did the math, and if my dad is going to shoot film, and if I go with him to shoot film myself, it just made sense to purchase a good scanner. Plus, while I went to great labs that do amazing stuff, and will custom the “look” to my needs, I still don’t have full control like I would, if I just scan it myself. So, the scanner just made sense to me.
Camera wise, I still have my M6 Wetzlar, my M3, and my M6 TTL Millennium. I had an M6 TTL 0.85x, which was in perfect condition. Absolute mint. I sold it a while ago, and regretted since, especially now that prices are higher for the M6s. Goes to show you, don’t sell your Leica gear haha.
So, the camera I’ve been using lately is my M6 TTL Millennium. I’ve been reviewing the Voigtlander APO-LANTHAR 35mm f2 ASPH, and so I’ve been using that lens mostly along with my trusty Summicron-M 50mm f2. For those who follow my Instagram, you know I’m definitely more of a Lux fan, and while I still have my Lux for the M, it’s been a while since I’ve focused with a rangefinder. I think I need some practice before I try that f1.4 aperture ;). I shot two rolls so far. One came out terribly haha but that’s a story for another time.
The pictures that I have for you today are from a second roll I shot. It was a test roll for me to make sure my camera was working properly, etc, so they’re just a bunch of snap shots. The film here is Kodak Portra 400. As I said before, I went to Flushing Queens to shoot these photos, which were all taken around Main Street. I’m rarely in Flushing but I heard of a good dumpling place, and decided to take a trip out there to try it :).
The scans were done by me, and were basically the first set of real scans that I ever did. It took a while to get the hang of things but unfortunately, after spending like half a day doing this, I found out that my new scanner was not working properly. Lines appear on my scans and no, they aren’t from scratched negatives. I scanned my dad’s film from his Leica MP as well. Same issue. Luckily, I bought it at B&H Photo, which has a great return policy, and I was in the time frame for a return.
As for any editing or processing, after scanning, I ran them through Negative Lab Pro but I didn’t really make any adjustments. Once I saw the lines in the photos, and after spending a long time figuring everything out, I was just not motivated anymore to make any corrections haha. I wasn’t even going to post this article but I figured, I might as well because this write up for me is more about my journey back into shooting film more regularly than just posting good photos.
Anyway, besides reviewing new stuff, that’s what I’ve been doing recently. I’ll write up another post once I get the new scanner…still can’t decide if I want to try the same one again or go with another manufacturer. I have another roll of film that is almost finished, and it’s from a trip I took to the Bronx Botanical Garden. Stay tuned for some new gear reviews that are coming up. For L mount users, I have the Sigma fp L, the Sigma 24-70mm, Sigma 28-70mm, and Panasonic S1 reviews that I’ll be writing. The Voigtlander 35mm APO for M users will be up soon. Hopefully, I’ll get some Fujifilm related stuff as well soon. Take care, and thanks for stopping by!
Nice street snap shoots. There seems to be a bit of a cyan cast to the images. My display is calibrated and tends to skew red so the cyan cast is maybe real and not my display.
Where does one even get color film developed in 2021?
Hi Gary,
Apologies for the late reply! Been so busy lately.
Thanks, and I didn’t do any sort of correction with these files. I lost all motivation after spending hours figuring out how to scan them the way I wanted only to find out my scanner wasn’t working properly. So, originally, I wasn’t going to post these but I thought I’d just do it last minute.
As for developing, there are a lot of places that still do it around NYC. I don’t even go to a professional lab; I just go to my 1 hour photo place in my neighborhood :). They still have them, which is nice. Also, I believe a lot of pharmacy chains still will develop your film or at least, send it out for you.
Have a great day!
Best,
Patrick
I hear film prices have skyrocketed. Who makes the Kodak films?
I used to own a M4-P and now regret selling it. I am now thinking about an M6, of some flavour, due to you. Eek. I am going to scan my slides and negs from the distant past with my SL2 and a Sigma 105 macro lens when I purchase the macro.
Hi Brian,
Apologies for the late reply! I’ve been so busy lately.
I’m not sure who makes Kodak films right now haha. The film still seems to be good though ;).
You should get an M6 haha! But it’s crazy because even film camera prices are going up these days. I sold a mint M6 TTL 0.85x for a price that I thought was good a while back…now I totally regret it because I can get twice or even three times that amount. I’m just glad I still have my film cameras now. I do regret selling my medium format stuff as well.
Scanning with the SL2 and 105 will probably give better results than me scanning with my scanner. That’s a great idea. Let me know how that works out. Right now, I am waiting for my new scanner to finally be in stock.
Have a great day, Brian!
Best,
Patrick
I forgot to mention, I figure the M6 value can only go up an up and up.
Yes, M6 prices are crazy now but if you look hard enough, you can still maybe find some great one for a decent price. You know what I am looking at now? I’m tempted to buy a Nikon F4s. Always wanted one in the past just to try. Right now, the prices are really decent :).
Patrick,
I appreciated seeing this article as just this morning I had read an online discussion in the Fuji X Forum about efforts to create a digital film simulation for the Kodak Porta 400. It is not a film that I recall using so not very familiar with it. But your images give me a much better idea of what it produces – a quite nice color film for landscape certainly. Good luck getting back into using this along with a replaced scanner. Probably too expensive & too much work for old retired guys like me, but enjoy!
Jed
Hi Jed!
Apologies for the late reply! Been so busy lately.
Thanks for taking the time to read my article! I’m glad you liked it, and the images but keep in mind these scans were done very quickly haha. Thanks for the well wishes with the scanner. B&H already refunded me, and all I am waiting for is my scanner to finally be in stock. I decided to try another brand. You should consider trying some film; you can get decent results these days without spending a ton of money. Hmm…maybe I should write an article about that one day haha. Take care my friend!
Best,
Patrick