MK-VR
MICRODOT CAMERA
MK-VR microdot camera users are a very special breed of people...obviously, and they do some very special things with their cameras. We are proud to showcase examples of their expertise, stories and photos for everyone to learn from and enjoy.
The following submission was made by QZ, an MK-VR user with an expertise in microphotography and microfilm processes.
QZ - Not long after having received my MK-VR, I was taking some photos of a document and the negative print of the same document in an effort to discern the difference in exposure time between their varying densities. My exposure test consisted of five photos of each document by which I increased the time by about 1/3 second consecutively for each. Once finished, I had one frame remaining to shoot. I looked around for something else, just to shoot something different. While searching around for the perfect subject, maybe a photo or a magazine, a thought entered my mind. What about a "selfie"? I had never even been inclined to take one with my cell phone, so the thought kind of made me chuckle to myself. The next thing I knew I was lying on the basement floor with my head partially beneath a card table with the MK-VR cannon pointed right at my face. I held my breath and my eyes open and was really trying not to break out in laughter when I opened the shutter. Inside my head was the already familiar chant of "one-thou-sand-one, one-thou-sand-two, as I timed the exposure. At six seconds I snapped the shutter closed. I hadn't really adjusted any lighting or anything else and I was just "winging it". I'm an experienced photographer and I usually don't throw all caution to the wind, but I did. I processed the film, the whole time thinking that I probably wasted my efforts with such a silly "selfie" endeavor. I was hopeful, but truly expecting to yield no more than a fuzzy blob. Once I finished the processing and turned the lights on to my amazement I had a pretty good looking negative but I still wasn't sure if the photo truly was a good crisp quality. So I put the film disc in my microfiche reader to have a closer look. It stilll appeared pretty good. I took out my cell phone and zoomed a bit and took a photo of the microdot negative. I edited the photo by converting it to a negative..... and Eureka! There it was! I was happy and amazed with the result. I've attached the photo which I think could be the first microdot "selfie" ever. From hair to chin is about 1.15mm actual size. Taken Jan 8th, 2016 with my MK-VR F8 using high contrast Fuji HR Film processed 7min. @ 68F. The second image shows the developed film ring where you can see that my aim was a little off. I was suprised by how crisp the photo is at the edge of the field of view but it's the depth of focus I find pretty astomishing.
We enjoyed seeing the "Selfie" photographs above so much that we decided to try it here at Headquarters. We used a medium contrast 80ASA film with an exposure time of 6 seconds for both photos. The light was coming from two 40w 4 foot fluorescent tubes at ceiling height. The first of the photos was taken while lying floor and using the underside of a table to steady the camera. The second selfie photo was taken while standing upright and steadying the camera on the back of a chair. After developing the film disc, the image was projected onto a sheet of frosted or etched acrylic and photographed with a convenient Samsung S4 cell phone. The original photos are naturally negative, so we reversed them to be positive in a photo editing program within the phone. The result is what you see.
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