Beacon 225

I love this picture! It reminds me of why I love Tri-X film. It reminds me of why I love photography and most of all it reminds me of why I love my wife.

I wanted a Beacon 225 camera for a long time. I really don’t know why. God (and everyone else) knows I have enough cameras already but there is just something special about this little gem.

Here’s a picture of the camera (below).

Manufactured by Whitehouse Products back in the 1950’s when I was a “wee lad,” this simple medium format camera is built like a tank and has that vintage aura that demands attention. It’s actually a pretty simple camera with only one aperture and one shutter speed so any exposure latitude you may need must come from changing the kind of film used or the lighting conditions of the subject. There is a really cool looking flash available for this camera but I don’t have one – yet!

It shoots 620 film which was obsolete until enterprising analog photography folks like Mike Razo at the Film Photography Project (FPP) started re-rolling 120 film onto 620 spools. That’s all 620 film is after all, 120 film on smaller spools.  The FPP store now carries nearly two dozen different film stocks in 620 and they even sell the 620 spools in case you want to roll your own!