Vintage Camera Reviews: Kodak Bantam 828

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I first discovered vest pocket cameras while searching for folding cameras and I fell in love with the design and compactness of them. By far, my favorite vest pocket camera is the Kodak Bantam 828.

Kodak Bantam 828.

Just like the name suggests, vest pocket cameras were designed to fit in your vest pocket. It’ll do just that, but as compact and well-made as they are, they’re not that light. You’re not going to forget that you have it in your pocket.

Here’s the Kodak Bantam 828 opened with the lens and viewfinder out.

Everything in this camera jumps out and pops open in a really satisfying way. Press the release button on the top and the lens pops out. Flick the small tab on the viewfinder and it will snap into place. When decently taken care of, you’ll usually find that these all-metal, vintage cameras would still be in perfect working order.

828 roll film next to a 35mm cartridge. Notice that the film heights are the same although the 35mm cartridge is bulkier.

Shooting 35mm on 828 camera

So how do you shoot with this somewhat ancient-looking technology? It turns out that the 828 film used in this camera has the same width as 35mm cartridge film. With a darkroom you can take any 35mm film and tape it to an 828 paper roll. Then, just load and shoot. Anyone who developes 35mm films should be able to process your roll. Just remember to label your rolls. I’ve forgotten if my hand-rolled film is black and white or colored, thus getting mixed results.

Kodak Bantam 828 with a roll 828 film inside.

The 35mm cartridge is quite bulkier. That’s because these cartridges hold longer strips of film than what 828 films do. Each 828 roll typically has between eight or 12 shots, as opposed to the usual 24 or 36 shots in a 35mm cartridge. With this, you can get just about three 828 rolls from a single 36-shot 35mm cartridge.

Here you can see how 35mm fits perfectly onto an 828 paper roll and how the sprockets get exposed in the shot

Using 35mm film on an 828 camera has that added benefit of exposing the film sprockets. I love this effect. Although if you don’t like it you can just ignore it and crop it out. On the down side, the film will move around a little bit inside the camera. Also, you’ll need to make sure the film is tight on the roll otherwise you’ll get light leaks along the edges of the film.

“Bliss” on Treasure Island with the San Francisco skyline in the background.

As with any rangefinder, lining up the shot needs a bit of luck since you’re not looking and framing with the lens. But I like the surprise that I get from shooting with vintage cameras. Here’s a shot of the “Bliss” statue on Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay that I took with the Kodak Bantam 828. I intended to get the whole thing in frame but I like how it ends up disappearing off the top edge.

Here are a few more shots I’ve gotten with my hand-rolled 828 film. I’ve only run black and white through the camera so far but I’ll be running some color negatives and post the results here.


Mark Hannah (@kangiha) is an art director and analog photographer who primarily shoots with vintage cameras and false color films. This article was originally published on Medium .

written by Mark Hannah on 2016-06-01 #gear #vintage-camera-reviews #kodak-bantam-828

4 Comments

  1. hervinsyah
    hervinsyah ·

    =O No wonder his photo always stunning, he is an art director (y) nice article anyway =)

  2. pan_dre
    pan_dre ·

    Great article @kangiha! Really looking forward to your next one!

  3. kangiha
    kangiha ·

    @hervinsyah @pan_dre thank you!

  4. trad69
    trad69 ·

    Never seen a real live 828 camera and I thought they were bigger than 35mm, like the results with the sprockets and light leaks.

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