Vapid glad-handing? Try happy wed-banding, because Jeff and P are engaged! This blockbuster XL episode features a brief recap of the proposal and a lengthy recap of the engagement-moon that followed, with a smattering of camera content along the way. Tune in for all the romance!

Gabe went to New York!

at B&H, the mighty Shlomo hooked him up with a Rolleiflex 2.8E - so much for that 30-camera limit!

hung out with Sissi Lu and Chris Chu

shot nothing but film with the Leica M6

went to an event at Kodak House, saw some great stuff shot with with a Kodak Baby Brownie

and left J + P a cool old Christie’s auction catalog from the Chelsea flea market

Jeff lingered in Europe!

bought and then returned a Zeiss Tenax II

picked up film, books and apparel at the Zurich Ars Imago

snagged a Freitag Lassie bike-messenger bag at their flagship store as an all-weather beach-friendly camera tote

back home, his half-cookie Alpa 10s is undergoing major surgery

while the recent Leica auction featured a similar Alpa 10s half frame

and also the last original Alpa ever built! the 11es Jubilee

Kodak Vision 3 may yield gorgeous results, but getting it processed is challenging - Atlanta Film Company to the rescue

at Nice airport, the Sissi Lu Do Not X-Ray bag was a lifesaver

we share news of big Chattanooga photo walk we’re sadly missing!

and finally: two gods have ascended to a higher plane, Ozzy Osbourne and Tom Lehrer

Episode № 92 finds the boys in Sunset Strip rock clubs and sun-baked Czech vineyards, sampling exotic cinema film and strange European cameras, taking in celebrity gallery shows and nibbling koláče. What happened to those two humble kids from the oak groves of Riverdale and the pine forests of Atlanta — and who is Mike Sopko? Tune in to IDOC’s latest and find out — they’ve only got eight more to go!

question: were we crisper and more cogent in earlier episodes? does this guy have a point?? buy a mug if you concur!

Gabe (and resident rock god Fred Coury) took Canadian hockey reporter Scott Laughlin to the Rainbow Room, then Mini-Kiss (a Kiss tribute band consisting entirely of little people) at the Roxy

Gabe also went to a Cameras and Coffee…

saw the amazing Paul McCartney show at Gagosian Gallery

hunted for a replacement for his beloved Canon R5 and Sigma 85mm Art Lens… and Roberts Camera a.k.a. UsedPhotoPro came through! Meredith put together an incredible package for him

Gabe returned to the LA Camera Expo at the Hotel Burbank and snapped up a Leicaflex SL with a 60mm f2.8 three-cam lens

but it didn’t stop there! he also nabbed a Hasselblad 501CM from Ethan Ingram, and a point-and-shoot to be named later - he’s arrived at the promised 30-camera collection

hold on there’s more! with an assist from Brandon Steadman, he (might) also (have) snapped up a Leica R8, which would bring the collection to 31 (not including some broken ones) - okay, maybe we’re calling it thirtyish

Jeff’s been in a Prague for a month, has shot 22 rolls of film, and cannot live without his XPan exposure compensation dial - how ’bout you? do you use yours?

when the paint chipped off his e.c. dial, Jeff did a quick fix with a white paint pen from a local art supply store

also, he found a new local lab to complement the mighty FotoŠkoda: FilmStore Prague, which has excellent prices for developing & scanning

plus they roll their own Kodak Vision 3 cinema film, leaving the remjet on, and process it ECN-2 - Jeff shot their 250D and found the palette beautiful and the images stunningly sharp, and it’s half the local cost of Portra!

(n.b.: it’s not the same as CineStill’s old 250D, which had the remjet removed)

Jeff bought a rare Minox photo book from a seller in Germany and had it shipped straight to his Prague apartment, thereby saving tons of money and time - check out the preview on YouTube of Oktaeder: Spy-cam Sketches Minox 8x11 by Peter Bernard

he also bought a vintage Alpa employee badge on eBay and vows to wear the late Mike Sopko’s nametag with pride - Mike repaired cameras at the also-late Crick Camera in Kansas City for over forty years - here’s to you, Mike!

seller goKevincameras is struggling mightily with tariff issues

of course we must rifle wildly through our Prodigious Mailbag™

Gabe’s advice on how to how to find people to photograph? ask local artists!

a final note: mere hours after recording this episode, Jeff’s XPan suffered its second bout of Sudden Fujifilm Battery Death™ in less than a month!

Once again I Dream of Cameras spans the globe, with Jeff in Prague and Gabe in Los Angeles, and not even a nine-hour time difference can slow us down! In fact, one might say we are utterly devoid of camera viscosity, or “camerosity” for short. In this supersized episode…

Jeff unknowingly chatted up Danny Clinch about his Leica Q2 at the Trombone Shorty Soho Session, and the acclaimed photographer was faintly dismissive

for the next two months Jeff’s in Prague, where the camera shops (FotoŠkoda, Jan Pazdera) are far too alluring

he’s been eyeing a lovely Zeiss Tenax II, a flawed Olympus 35SPn, and a beautifully brassed black Canonflex RM

before departure, Jeff did the unthinkable: snagged a bargain-basement half-frame Alpa 10s on the ‘Bay - it’s half a Swiss cookie and the realization of a lifelong dream!

talking Leicas with Dave Tada, Gabe realized he needs a 35mm lens for his Leica III - he already has the 50mm Serenar, so any suggestions?

Gabe went to the Fujifilm event for their bizarre new half-a-cookie digital - what did he learn about the elusive x100vi?

Gabe has gone half-cookie INSANE with his Olympus Pen FT, so now our friend Sissi Lu has enticed him to give the Pentax One Seven one more try - what will he grab next, the chunky plastic Pentax or the mighty meterless Olympus Pen FV?

he’s got a portrait shoot coming up, and plans to use the Kiev 60, the Leica III and the Mamiya RZ67

as for replenishing his collection, he’s up to 27 of a planned 30 cameras 

Jeff was shooting around Prague when Sudden Fujifilm Battery Death struck again! Fuji’s battery displays in both the XPan and GA645 are pure fiction

Gabe’s also been rebuilding his book collection with Duane Michals Portraits and volumes by Sarah Moon and Clifford Coffin

let us now praise John Wade’s Retro Cameras, which is what Ralph Bellamy’s book should have been

once again we make it halfway down the depths of our Prodigious Mailbag™

Gabe unleashes a raft of thank-yous

and adds a final postscript: nature is healing and he’s back in the bag business, welcoming a new Nomatic Luma McKinnon

This episode starts out great, then gets better and better. It’s informative and witty, talking about the real joys of film. There are distinctive gear reviews, as Jeff raves about his new Pentax MX, possibly triggering the IDOC effect on eBay. And of course, there’s plenty of vapid gladhanding, as Gabe hits one LA camera show after another. Plenty to hear here, so tune in!

well looky here! Bad Review Guy updated his bad review on iTunes! guess he's still listening! as for the rest of you, leave us a good one, OK?

Busy Gabe went to his first camera meetup since the Palisades fire: Beers & Cameras in Venice…

saw a pristine Widelux F7 with the coveted filter set, purchased from Blue Moon Camera…

got gifted the beat-up black-paint Nikon F of his dreams…

went to the LA Camera Expo in Burbank…

also received from spider_dude two Walker Evans books, incl. Walker Evans & Company…

and met up with Claire Hinkley to shoot with the Mamiya C33, the Leicaflex SL and the Nikon FE

Jeff's yearning for a Pentax MX took him from MX to ME SE to (courtesy of the good folks at K&M Camera) the Nikon FG…

but then back to the MX, which is lovely - it's a K1000, only better and smaller!

podpal Ollie grabbed a groovy Kiev 10 at Unique Photo in Philadelphia

Jeff took in the excellent Weegee and American Job shows at ICP…

and had coffee with Sissi Lu, discussing the triumph of her Do Not X-Ray bag and her love of the Pentax One Seven

now Jeff's Eurotrip is imminent... and ChatGPT’s camera recommendations were uncanny!

finally, we tackle as much of the Prodigious Mailbag™ as we can handle till it’s time for Jeff to have burritos with his girlfriend

Jeff’s back from the Caribbean island of St. Barth’s with a report on his new favorite beach camera, while out in the West, Gabe’s renewed camera collection continues to burgeon... as does the enmity of one listener each time Jeff mentions the Pentax 17. Find out why in the latest un-dour, un-flaccid episode of I Dream of Cameras, because provocation is our forte!

Gabe shot his Kiev 60 and the Bronica ETR-Si

and is eyeing:

black Leicaflex SL

35mm f4 Schneider lens for Leicaflex

and Mamiya Universal

meanwhile, Jeff is eyeing:

Pentax MX

Weltron 2007

Atari 4-Player Football

Alpa Si 3000

Nikkor F

Jeff's St. Barth's report: the Ona Union Street camera bag was ideal

of course he brought the Hasselblad XPan, but at the last minute subbed in the Canon EOS Rebel 2000 for the Olympus XA4, and it was the perfect beach-party nighttime-flash trash camera

he shot mostly Portra 160 and 400, but also tried some Santacolor 100 and Film Washi X, which it turns out are the same thing! Kodak Aerocolor IV

no hand-check madness on this trip - Sint Maarten, Saint Barthélemy, all security personnel were totally obliging - once again we credit the Sissi Lu DO NOT X-RAY bag, now available at a camera store near you

good travel buddies: Zeiss lens wipes and a rocket air blower

let’s help Lina Bessonova and handcheckfilm.com! when you travel, send a report to her contact page so she can keep this valuable resource up to date

Gabe recommends Graination in Toronto, a coffee shop and film lab

we stick our snouts deep into the Prodigious Mailbag™, where a listener savagely upbraids Jeff for calling the Pentax 17 by its proper name (here’s proof)

finally, look for our appearance on an obscure podcast called Camerosity, talkin’ Alpas

Gabe spills the tea — about the cameras he’s hunting for as he rapidly rebuilds his collection — while Jeff spills the coffee. That’s it. He spills it. Then recounts a whirlwind European trip featuring a phantasmagoria of phenomenal photographica. New York, London, Paris, dry-dock — everybody talk about pop IDOC!

Jeff bought a camera bag! okay, he found a used Ona Union Street at B&H, but whaaaaat????

… then he went to London …

got an odd little book at The Photographer's Gallery on Analog Photography

visited Camera City, said hi to Pany, did not buy a Bronica RF645

visited Aperture Photographic, gaped at the amazing inventory, talked with Simon about photography with a Pentax Stereo Adapter, did not buy an absurd Contax Preview

visited Mr Cad, kibitzed with the legendary Alex Falk, did not buy a rare and tantalizing Wrayflex, once again got the book instead

… then on to Paris …

visited Photo-Vincent, met the man himself, drooled over a black Alpa 6c and the 30mm lens for the XPan

there was zero hand-check madness on this trip! we credit the Sissi Lu DO NOT X-RAY bag

the sainted John-Michael Mendizza sent Gabe a Rolleiflex 2.8c and Jeff a Zeiss Taxona

how’s Gabe getting on with his half-a-cookie Olympus Pen FT? he’s on frame 56…

the viewfinder’s a bit dim, so Jeff unfortunately altered him to the existence of the Pen FV

Gabe’s up to twenty cameras of his planned thirty-camera collection, and here are the items on his hit list:

Mamiya RZ67

Kiev 60 with Volna-3 lens

Mamiya C330

black Leicaflex SL

Pentax MX (he’s already got the 40mm pancake!)

a brassed black Nikon F

and the 35mm Sigma art lens for the Canon EOS 3

Gabe got a Yashicamat LM and a Minolta SRT-101 from Maria Elena Rodriguez

opened the time capsule camera bag, went back to the Palisades house with Brandon, and unearthed more cameras

Jeff has a final book recommendation: Tight Heads by Candy Clark

we finally voyage to the very bottom of our Prodigious Mailbag™ 

and end with a challenge: write lyrics for our theme song! you could win fabulous prizes!

A long-awaited catch-up in which Gabe reviews the events of the past month. The biggest news: he bought a half-frame camera! WHAT IS UP WITH THIS DUDE? Tune in for the rollicking debrief!

how’s Gabe doing? well, he:

took some trips to the Palisades house with Brandon

found the remains of many cameras, including Rolleiflexes

was interviewed by National Geographic reporter Gideon Mendel, who documents such things

and has returned to shooting! with the Rolleiflex 3.5E, Nikon FE, Leica M6…

...but not the cameras in the bag he grabbed on the day of the fire 

Trev Lee thoughtfully returned the Rolleiflex Gabe had traded him for his Leica M5

Gabe went to the LA Camera Expo, which is shaping up great

while in LA, Jeff shot with:

Rolleiflex SL350 — sublime!

Canon F-1 Lake Placid Olympics edition — underrated!

Rollei C35 — ridiculous!

FujiFilm GA645 — confounding!

upon departure, he removed all batteries from idle cameras ‘cause he’s compulsive

and he swapped Alpas! the 11si and 50mm Kern-Macro-Switar came east, while the 10s and 24mm Angenieux stayed west!

shocking half-a-cookie news! Gabe bought an Olympus Pen FT!

while Jeff failed to snag a Zeiss Tenax II, so he bought the book by Wes Loder instead

and he received a cool Lego Retro Camera as a gift from Todd and Mistie

may we draw your attention to Andy Gray’s amazing IDOC-inspired Pentax MF mod page

a rare treat! Jeff dined with Sunny 16’s Clare Marie Bailey and her brilliant musician friend Gwenno at the storied Chelsea Hotel

we take an emotional dip into our Prodigious Mailbag™

and finally, we urge you to see Bob Trevino Likes It, starring our friends Barbie Ferreira and French Stewart

Wednesday, January 8, 2025, 8:11 a.m. PST. Text from Gabe Sachs:

“Well, all I can say is… I bet I have culled my camera collection faster than anyone else in history.”

In this episode, Gabe recounts his experience during the Palisades Fire, which destroyed over a hundred Rolleiflex TLRs.

Tune in for all the details.

I Dream of Cameras kicks off the new year with another blockbuster XL episode! Jeff chillingly limns the hundred-degree delta between Jamaica and Iceland, and how the Fuji GA645 and Hasselblad XPan fared in each. Gabe exhumes some old warhorses from the back of the camera cabinet. And they top it all off with some STRONG OPINIONS about a new film-camera book. Tune in for all the fireworks!

a scant 13 days after returning from a beach vacation in Jamaica, Jeff jetted off to Iceland for New Year’s, toting along the Fujifilm GA645 Professional and the Hasselblad XPan — how did they fare?

Gabe recounts a recent photo shoot with the lovely Lyliana Wray, featuring the Nikon D700, Canon Sure Shot Owl and Jeff’s beloved Olympus 35 RC

in the course of reorganizing, Gabe unearthed a few long-neglected cameras he wants to shoot with:

Exakta VX IIa

Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta

Pentacon Six TL

and the mighty Graflex Super D

at Jeff’s behest, the heroes at Ausgeknipst made a PX450 adapter for the Alpa 10 series

welcome to another edition of Jeff’s deeply nerdy “Nobody Cares” Corner! this time he does a lengthy exegesis of camera serial numbers — there’s so much you can learn! some examples:

Fujifilm

Hasselblad, using the VHPICTURES code

Kodak, using the CAMEROSITY code

Konica, using the MY BEST KONICA code

Leica

Polaroid SX-70

Rollei 35

Jeff reviews Ralph Bellamy a.k.a. Bellamy Hunt a.k.a. Japan Camera Hunter's new book Film Camera Zen. shots fired!! come at me, Ralph!

and finally, we take a graceful swan-dive into our Prodigious Mailbag™

Episode № 84 is a special rush-released super-sized Christmas / Hanukkah episode — unwrap it and enjoy!

Gabe’s been shooting with the Polaroid Big Swinger, Rolleiflex 2.8E2, Nikon F2, Leica M4…

he had a lab mishap! they made it right, but it still shakes your confidence

Polaroid peel-apart camera rollers vs. blades

Gabe went to Alcove Café with Rafael Hernandez and Dave Tada, members of the elite Fuji X100VI club, and now he's lusting for one

submitted for your approval: the mighty Fujifilm GF670 Professional

when was the last time Jeff shot with the Leica M6 TTL? August 2021… so we’re both culling our collections! message us!

is there a camera that’s too perfect? that you shoot too quickly with? like the Canon EOS Rebel 2000 or Canon 5D?

Jeff didn’t shoot much in Jamaica, and here’s why: he wanted no barriers between him and the experience - do you sympathize?

the Fujifilm GA645 Professional gave Jeff a scare - as with the XPan, Fuji’s battery indicators are wildly deceptive

are CR123 and CR123a the same battery? maybe!

final reckoning: which cameras will Jeff bring to Iceland? meanwhile, Ollie’s bringing a Kodak Medalist!

expired 220 film is super-intriguing!

Gabe feels he can always count on his Rolleiflex - what are the cameras you rely on?

our Prodigious Mailbag™ is bigger than Santa’s bag of toys

next episode, Jeff reviews Bellamy Hunt a.k.a. Japan Camera Hunter's new book Film Camera Zen - tune in for the tea!