Much as I love using film, the fact is that most available film cameras are old models these days, lovingly repaired and kept going for as long as spare parts are still available. While you can buy cheap plastic 35mm cameras and handmade large format models, there’s been very little in between in the way of new cameras design. A little over a year ago that changed with the launch of the Alfie Tych on Kickstarter; a cute little half frame camera. It comes with two lenses (one specially designed in glass and the other a simple plastic meniscus lens) as well as options to shoot pinhole and zone sieve images. The thought of a really compact camera I could keep in a pocket that gave me so many options really appealed so I backed the campaign and began the long wait.
In October my Tych finally arrived so I loaded up some film and went out snapping! The advantage of a half frame camera is the feeling you can be more spontaneous and playful. A 36 exposure film, if loaded carefully, can be filled with up to about 80 photos so the cost per frame is really quite cheap compared to larger formats.
I began my Alfie Tych journey during a working weekend in Maidenhead where I took some snaps along by the River Thames. I made lots of mistakes - forgetting to change the exposure setting when I’d changed the lens choice, forgetting to wind on and more - but I had fun. The left hand image below is an accidental double exposure of Boulters Weir but I rather like it!
A few days later I took it with me on a walk around Thaxted - nothing I haven’t photographed before but I needed to get to know my new friend.
Click on any image in this post to see it enlarged.
Towards the end of October I had a trip to Dublin planned for work, so the Tych came too and I grabbed a few frames around the city, including the dock area and the Samuel Beckett Bridge.
Back home, I took a few shots on a walk around our village, playing with the light and shadows.
Finally, the Tych came with me to Southend-on-Sea at the start of December for a stroll along the pier.
Having got to know the camera a little more I began experimenting with the different lenses. The left hand image below was taken with the simple meniscus lens, while the right hand one is sharper - from the glass lens.
Further along the pier I took the same photo with three different options, although I forgot to write down which one was taken with which lens. I suspect they’re (from left to right) glass lens, pinhole and zone sieve. I can see for my next film I need to be more methodical and keep notes about what I’ve shot!
The only thing left to do now is figure out what film to pop in my little pocketable camera for the Christmas holidays!
Photos taken October - December 2023