A couple of my friends have been into film photography for a while. Because of that, I started to become interested in it as well. I had a trip to Japan planned for July of 2024 and I wanted to get a film camera to use before I went. I had previously gotten a cheap reusable 35mm point-and-shoot from a bookstore in Korea in 2022. I got a couple rolls of film too and took some shots but there's only so much you can do with that in terms of framing and focus etc.
I went to a local thrift store and found what I believe is a Miranda DR. I didn’t know anything about SLR cameras at the time, but it seemed to work well enough and was only about $35. I bought it, but quickly learned that it was broken. I decided to open it up and discovered that one of the gears for the film advance lever was stripped badly and kept slipping.
I went online to do some research about film cameras. Something about the broken Miranda camera I already had was appealing to me though and I decided to search for another of the same brand. It’s a now defunct brand from the 1950s. I eventually saw a good deal on a Miranda Sensorex from the ’60s with a leather case and original manual. It was in great condition too, so I decided to get it.
In the US, it seems like Miranda is a relatively unknown brand, but in Japan I got approached a few times (all older gentlemen) and was asked about that camera. I was really surprised but proud to be carrying on the legacy.
Here’s a webpage I found with some more details about Miranda cameras.
I’m still discovering my tastes and styles. I went to Central Camera in Chicago to buy some film and was convinced to give CineStill a try. It’s attractive because it’s actually a movie film that has been modified for photography. Because it’s a movie film, people say it has a “cinematic” look and feel compared to other photography film stocks. When I was in Japan, I couldn’t find any CineStill to replace my first roll but instead I found something called Marix which follows the same concept of a modified movie film. I much preferred the look of the Marix 800T to the CineStill 400. I’m looking forward to trying more film stocks like CineStill 800T and Portra to find what I like the best.
