We took these in the same spots we did our first headshots together for Christine’s website when I first got my Fujifilm XT4 and I barely knew what I was doing. This time, I used Fujifilm 35mm and Christine’s new vintage SLR—you read that right, Christine’s been bitten by the shutter bug too! Here she is with my Nikon Lite-Touch. But she’s now the proud owner of a quirky little beast we found for an absolute bargain that she wanted me to be the first to test drive: a 1971 Sears TLS straight outta the Christmas catalog. Swipe to see me photographing her photographing me photographing her.
The Sears TLS is the exact same camera as the Ricoh Singlex TLS, manufactured by the same factory in Japan, but sold in the U.S. with a different logo (or “rebadged,” in camera speak). This minor detail might explain why I found Christine’s starter camera for less than an average meal out in Seattle. . .
It was always intended to be an entry-level camera, but it really doesn’t skimp on much in comparison to other mechanical SLRs from that era. It even comes with an internal light meter, though ours didn’t work.
If I had one complaint, it’s that the viewfinder can be a little dark in some lighting conditions, making it difficult to focus properly (see the second slide). They cut cost by not including DOF preview. But, other than that, it feels just like a Nikon FM to me!
The biggest difference is that the Sears lens ours came with has a much larger focus throw than any other lens I’ve used i.e. you have to rotate the focus wheel a lot more than usual. I don’t think that’s a bad thing for a beginner. It forces you to slow down and pay more attention.
But the lens mount is universal (aka M42 screw-mount), so a whole world of high-quality lenses could be in Christine’s future.
I like film because it distances me from the moment of creation; it gives me time to step back when the scans return and look at the photos I took as though they weren’t mine.
So, I notice patterns I might not have been consciously aware of, like my previous series of photos in my old neighborhood. I hadn’t planned them that way; I wanted to test Christine’s camera quickly and without being too precious about the photos I took. But looking back at them two weeks later, I saw something wistful between the frames.
So, what do I see in these? A bit more freedom. Telling myself that I was just getting through this roll with the goal of achieving good exposures, my compositions loosened up. Angles I don’t normally like started showing up frame after frame.
I don’t know what to make of that. It’s just something I observe.