Hiyoca 35.

A month ago, I found this lovely vintage camera at Value Village. It was clean and sturdy and I knew nothing about it. I was excited.

Really looking forward to seeing what types of photos this little camera takes. I'm gonna' have to get better at estimating my distance of field. #Hiyoca #vintagecamera #filmphotography pic.twitter.com/fMb3EH4ELs

— Jeffrey Nordstrom (@jeffnords) January 14, 2018

I tried to look up infomation about it online but couldn't find much.

The further I got into the film, the more difficult it got to crank the spool. Eventually the camera seemed to seize altogether. When I opened it in the dark, I discovered that the film had wrapped around the sprocket a second time and that it was stuck. I had to destroy the film in order to remove it from the camera. (lomo note: I realized I could have reloaded it into a different camera that loads its photos backwards, perhaps the Canon EOS500 but I realized that too late to make it useful. I know for next time.)

Well, apparently the Hiyoca needs to be loaded super-carefully. Way to learn the hard way. pic.twitter.com/Khr0iNu7y3

— Jeffrey Nordstrom (@jeffnords) February 12, 2018

So I started over again. I loaded a new roll of Kodak Gold 200, but the photos started to slip again. I reopened the camera and used electrical tape to make sure the film stuck to the spool.

I started shooting here and there and it seemed like it was going smoother. It still felt like it was slipping now and then, but overall it seemed to be working fine. By the time I got to photo 28 on a 24 exposure roll, however, I knew something was wrong.

I took it into London Drugs and got it developed. When I got it back, the camera had only made exposures up to the 20 exposure point. They were all overlapped and weird and ineffective, particularly at the end of the roll that looked like a five-inch panorama of chaos.

By the time the #Hiyoca got to photo 15, it had given up on pulling the film through. #filmisnotdead #filmphotography #doubleexposure #kodak200 #kodakgold200 #rangefinder #lomography #35mm #35mmfilm #analog #analogue #analogphotography #analoguephotography #film #filmphotography #fotografianaloga #oldsmobile #oldsmobilecutlass #ishootfilm #shootfilm #negativescan #buyfilmnotmegapixels

A post shared by Jeffrey Nordstrom (@jeffnords) on Feb 20, 2018 at 7:31am PST

But some of them were kind-of successful kitsch photos, like this selfie:

Fricking #Hiyoca. I don't know whether to love or hate that camera. #filmphotography #35mm #rangefinder #ishootfilm pic.twitter.com/9EVEHyeYTP

— Jeffrey Nordstrom (@jeffnords) February 20, 2018

And this photo I took in Ikea in Coquitlam is really nice, even with the faint double-exposure of a Sports Illustrated swimsuit calendar.

The #Hiyoca at work. #rangefinder #filmisnotdead #ishootfilm #shootfilm #negativescan #buyfilmnotmegapixels #grainisgood #kodak200 #kodakgold200 #ikea #filmphotography #filmphotography #filmphoto #analogue #analogphotography #analoguephotography #film #filmphotography #analog #fotografianaloga #fotografie #35mm #35mmfilm #lomography #Coquitlam #YVR

A post shared by Jeffrey Nordstrom (@jeffnords) on Feb 19, 2018 at 6:46pm PST

So I don't know what to do now. What type of film do I put in a camera I can't trust? And when's the most appropriate time to use it? I have no idea right now. The rangefinder itself is broken and it doesn't spool its film appropriately, but when it works it seems to be pretty classy. 

Here are a few more from the roll.

https://jeffnords.tumblr.com/post/171110883746/most-of-the-photos-from-my-semi-successful-first

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UPDATE FROM LATER THAT EVENING, FEBRUARY 20 2018: I loaded it with some more Kodak Gold, hoping that third-time-around I'll be able to sense if it's winding all weird in there. Fingers crossed.

Despite these sorts of results, i've decided to try loading the #Hiyoca with another test roll of #KodakGold200. pic.twitter.com/oFTWM1rHvo

— Jeffrey Nordstrom (@jeffnords) February 21, 2018