Sigma Super-Wide II 24mm f/2.8

I went out and bought this roll of HP5 just so I could develop another roll of HP5 I had already shot (that had been a gift). I use a developing tank that fits two 35mm spools which means I can develop two rolls in the same amount of time with almost the same amount of chemicals (I use approx. 75% of what I would use to develop two rolls when developing just one). I also wanted to use this wide angle lens, another gift from the in-laws. The lens+camera+film didn’t disappoint. I don’t know if it’s the ubiquity of the 26mm iPhone camera lens or something else, but I just think wide angle is very natural. Sometimes I think I could skip “normal” focal lengths and just use wide and portrait/tele lenses. This Sigma is slightly wider than most wide primes at 24mm, but doesn’t veer towards fisheye. Perspective lines still feel relatively straight, though it does flair relatively easily compared to some other lenses I have.

In the end I still had a hit rate below 50%, but that wasn’t the fault of the equipment. I was getting more comfortable with film at this point, comfortable enough to not feel to precious about each frame. Encouraged by the foolproof metering on the MV, I burned through several frames trying to get the right composition of the same subject. I also ended up with some boring subjects, probably because I wasn’t thinking in black and white. Nonetheless I’m very pleased with how this roll came out. This was also my first time developing black and white. I used Cinestill’s DF96 monobath which was as simple and enjoyable as I had seen it described online. I hope to put another roll of HP5 through this camera and lens sometime soon.

Hit Rate: 17/36 (47%)