1921 "Knowledge is Power"

Excel Deluxe-I 50mm f6.0 Out of Date Fujifilm Superia 200 Arista C41 Kit - The corner stone of the now empty Virginia School of the Arts formerly Garland Rodes High School in Lynchburg Virginia shot with the Excel Deluxe-I.

Scanned with a Kodak Pakon F135 Plus using Pakon's OEM software.

Plastic Impressionism

Excel Deluxe-I 50mm f6.0 Out of Date Fujifilm Superia 200 Arista C41 Kit - Another image from the Excel Deluxe-I, showing the unique qualities of the plastic 50mm f6.0 lens. Some of the images have an almost "Impressionist" feel, nice when you are trying to elevate common objects and make them compiling images.

Scanned with a Kodak Pakon F135 Plus using Pakon's OEM Software.

Plastic Fantastic - Chair

Excel Deluxe-I 50mm f6.0 Out of Date Fujifilm Superia 200 Arista C41 Kit - A plastic chair shot with a plastic camera, seemed like a fitting subject for the first post from this camera. The Deluxe-I has some interesting qualities. The uncoated plastic lens has a nice combination of distortion, "unsharpness" and chromatic aberration, giving the images a unique feel. Some notes on shooting with this camera. The viewfinder is inaccurate, there is parallax, even at distances greater than 4 feet. Leaving ample room for cropping on any shot is a must. Close focus distance seems to be a little over 3 feet, in bright sun, stopping all the way down to "Sunny" gets you a little closer, but 4 feet and beyond is a good bet for the sharpest possible images (in this case "sharp" is a relative term). Advancing the film too quickly seems to case mis-framing. I suspect the camera back does not exert enough pressure over the feed sprockets allow the sprockets to skip. Overall I am pleased with the results. The Excel Deluxe-I makes and excellent Lomographic camera. 

Scanned with a Kodak Pakon F135 Plus using Pakon's OEM software.

Plastic Fantastic - The Excel Deluxe-I

I thought I would indulge my fascination for cheap plastic camera this weekend, so may I present the Excel Deluxe-I. A thrift store find, this plastic wonder has all the styling of a 35mm SLR, with none of the features.

Here are the Specifications as near as I can tell:
Camera Type: 35mm viewfinder camera
Lens: Allegedly a 50mm f1:6 Optical Color Lens (I am pretty sure it is plastic)
Shutter: One speed I am guessing around 1/100th depending on the age of the spring,
Exposure Control: Manual via aperture setting "Full Sun," "Half Sun," "Cloud" and "Flash"
Viewfinder: You can see through it and seems vaguely useful for framing
Film Advance: Manual via knurled dial.
Other Features: Built in hot shoe for flash, built in clear lens protector, Frame counter, Tripod Socket, Raise hand grip and Red shutter release button.
Country of Manufacture: Taiwan

I am pretty sure the body has a lead weight in it as the camera seems to weight more than I would expect from its plastic construction.

My first roll through this camera is hanging to dry, test scans will be posted soon.