I Dream of Cameras

The teeming millions have waited MONTHS for a new episode and will brook no further delay! In this epic rewind, Gabe talks about becoming the designated shooter at P & J’s wedding; Jeff bruises the XPan on his honeymoon; Gabe scores at Bobby Sherman’s estate sale; and so much more!Here’s a link to Rachel Brewster-Wright’s GoFundMe page. Please help however you can!

As if the festivities around our 100th episode weren’t enough, we now have even more to celebrate: Jeff and P are getting married in Italy on July 3rd. How is this real? How did we get here? And most importantly, what camera will Gabe use to shoot the wedding? Tune in for tutti i pettegolezzi!this time Gabe’s the world traveler! New York, London, Italy…he spent some time in New York City with Sissi Lu and her Brompton folding bikehopped the pond to London, ate at Dishoom and Borough Marketand bought a Kodak Retina IIIc, the little c, details to follow - he’ll be shooting with it this week!then he was off to Turin in Piemonteand then back to London as an honored guest at the Ivy ClubGabe did plenty of shooting with his Leica M10but discovered that his famous 35mm f2 Summicron, the one with the giant crack which doesn’t affect image quality, has a small new crack, and it does affect image quality!meanwhile, Jeff’s awash in pre-wedding madness, getting married in Italy on July 3rda brief recap of his improbable romantic journey over the course of IDOC’s 104 episodes - when Jeff and P first connected, Gabe worried Jeff was getting catfished and would end up in a bathtub full of ice with one kidneybut on to the wedding itself! who’s the wedding photographer? nobody!Jill Greenberg might shoot a bit, if someone will lend her a cameraGabe’s experience with wedding photography, shooting Martin Starr’s weddingwhat’s he bringing to Italy? the M10 for starters, but maybe Jeff will toss him the XPan or the Olympus XA4in less happy news, Gabe got scammed by someone posing as a lens donorand on a related note, KEH finally did right by the guy whose Leica M4-P had been stolenwe remember the mighty Duane Michals, the brilliant photographer who died last week at age 94Jeff’s over his infatuation with the Leicaflex SL2 50 Jahre, because now he’s got an eye on an early SL2 with the original logo - anyone wanna get him a wedding gift?and finally, we do not quite empty our Prodigious Mailbag™

The big news is, Jeff is now able to pull blurry, postage-stamp-sized images off his 2001 Casio WQV-10 watch camera, but there’s so much more! Gabe has a slew of new camera gear; there’s a raft of queries in the Prodigious Mailbag™; and we even throw a few compliments at our most hated rivals. Join us for the tick-tock!Gabe has a few new acquisitions, far more than the “thirtyish” to which he swore he’d limit his collection:a sweet little Ricoh 500 with trigger-wind on the bottoma Kiev 60 with monster 180mm lensand a dud Contax 167MT with a killer Zeiss 35-70 zoomour Trusty Dusty Camera Repair Guy™ tuned up Gabe’s Rolleiflex 2.8F white face and he can’t wait to shoot with itdiscussed: finding the right resources on the internet for your camera needs - which are your favorites?Gabe went to the LA Camera Expo again - hey, why not set up your own camera fair?has the XPan spoiled Jeff for all other cameras? he brought no backup on his recent European trip!but what if it dies? Jeff says he’d buy a cheapie in Paris at Aux Vieux Format!please convince Jeff he doesn’t need a Leicaflex SL2 50 Jahre, even though our T.D.C.R.G. says it’s more refinedthere’s a Petri Color 35 Custom on eBay - go get it!Jeff’s ultimate Casio WQV-10 triumph came courtesy of American hero Roger Braunstein - will WQV prices spike on eBay? watch the IDOC Effect in action!is the “I’m Back” digital sensor for 35mm cameras absurd? they had a $44,000 goal on Kickstarter and raised a million! all I want is the image, Shrevie, do you agree?Gabe implores you to print your stuff and share your workand finally, we empty our Prodigious Mailbag™

“Gonna be your man in motion, all I need’s this pair of wheels...” The IDOC men are indeed in motion, with impending trips to exotic ports of call. Also discussed: the Film Forever meetup in Brooklyn, the conclusion of the watch camera saga, many things Rollei, and a great Slovenian hockey player!IDOC be trippin’! Gabe’s going to London in June, Jeff to Paris and Italy this weekendOur trusty dusty camera repair guy is gently nursing Gabe's Rolleiflex 2.8F, and has rejuvenated his cherished Leica M6Jeff is celebrating both the 49th birthday of his Alpa and the three-year anniversary of his absurd purchase of XPan TwoRest in pano to Raghu Rai, noted XPan photographerGabe has been shooting his Rolleiflex 2.8c and a Ricoh 500G from Brandon SteadmanHe's also curious about Rollei flash units, so chime in!Jeff finally succeeded in pulling photos off his 2001 Casio WQV-10 watch camera — it's surprisingly like shooting with the MinoxHe also rhapsodizes about Portra 400 a.k.a. Ektacolor ProGabe demands you attend Film Forever at the end of May at Bogart House in Brooklyn — all our friends will be there, but probably not Jeff, so you gotta go!Hey, Where Are The Legendary Photographers?The Prodigious Mailbag™ features more devoted listeners singing our theme song à la Debbie GibsonFinally, congratulations to Anže Kopitar on concluding a brilliant 20-year career with the Los Angeles Kings

It’s P’s birthday, but she’s working, leaving Jeff languishing at home with nothing but his vapid glad-hand for company. Perfect time to summon up Gabe on the ol’ Zoom-o-Matic and pump out an episode! In this one, we speak of acquisitions both big (huge honkin’ Pentax zoom) and small (stealthy Casio wristcam). Also discussed: being mocked for your puny glass by a bird photographer with a 600mm, many upcoming LA photo meetups, and a deep dive into our Prodigious Mailbag™!Gabe snapped up a big-ass Pentax 6x7 zoom lensand had his beloved Leica M6 CLA’d by our trusty-dusty camera repair guyshout-out to the Film Fridge app — it’s better than a spreadsheet!Jeff speaks of his millennial obsession with the Casio WQV-3 watch camera, how he used it to surreptitiously photograph Will & Grace guest stars, and his late frustration with a recently acquired top-of-the-line WQV-10also, he’s just returned from photographing sandhill cranes and prairie chickens in Kearney, Nebraska with the XPan, which was apparently the wrong camera to bring, because other large-lensed photographers mocked himWilber, Nebraska is the Czech Capital of the US!Dave Grohl laments option paralysis, something we camera collectors know all too wellthere are plenty of upcoming photo meetups in LA — check out LA Film Camera and Analog ConJo Geier of Mint and Rare is torturing us all on Instagramever heard of the Ricoh 500RF?we rifle through an exceptionally Prodigious Mailbag™and speaking of watches and photography, check out the crowdfunded wristwatch light meter from Increment Labs LTD

Three months without a new episode — you thought there’d be No More Rhyme? That Gabe and Jeff might go on shootin’ and chattin’ Without You? Ha! Out Of The Blue comes IDOC № 100, in which these two Electric Youth Shake Your Love to a Foolish Beat and get Lost In Your Eyes. They’re Staying Together! Anything Is Possible!

Leicaflex, Contarex, Rolleiflex, Magicflex, Omegaflex! Olivia Dean and Debbie Gibson! Seth Rogen’s gone pano and the Swiss Army’s gone XXL! It’s IDOC’s jam-packiest episode yet, ’cause unless Debbie sings our theme song, it could be the Olympus Pen-ultimate! Tune in for all the mayhem!Birthday madness! Gabe got Jeff a Leicaflex SL at B&H Photo, whatta guy!The SL’s PX625 battery presents some challengesChad GPT misled Jeff regarding the 50mm Summicron-R - turns out it takes a Series VI filter with a retaining ringthe new camera prompted the customary orgy of book-ordering; however, only Jeff wants a Leicaflex book signed by author Theo Kisselbachplease note: chromogenic Ilford XP2 Super scans much better than HP5 or Tri-X!Gabe visited with Sissi Lu, who has a new podcast and showed off her Kodak Charmeraalso, her googly-eyed lens cloth charm is back in stock at sissilu.comGabe went on a sudden mad hunt for a Contarex Bullseye and a 50mm lens…and got a lens board for his Beseler 67C enlarger, thanks to Steve Pinter from pintercreative.com - honorable mention to Gabriel Butenskycheck out the “24 things from the Leica archive” reels on Leica’s InstagramGabe met up with our pal Chris Smirnoff, who deluged him with photo books: Yul Brynner, Comedians, Salgado, a Sears photo catalog…the two also chatted up Instagram shooters Connie and Stewartin search of brighter focusing screens for his Rolleiflex TLRs, Gabe got some from Magicflex Camera and they’re incredibleMichael Herring (colorblindfish on IG) sent Gabe a gorgeous camera strap from Couch Guitar Strapshey, the LA Camera Expo is bigger than ever! Gabe took a hard look at an Omegaflex and backed awayJeff attended the Olivia Dean Soho Session and this time did NOT interact with Danny ClinchP is on the cover of Numero Magazine, one of Gabe’s favoritesSeth Rogen is a Widelux and XPan aficionado - let’s get him on the show!speaking of which: whither Debbie Gibson…?it’s holiday gift time, check our merch page!P got Jeff a Swiss Champ XXL Swiss Army Knife for his birthday because she’s wonderfuland finally, we dip a few toes into our Prodigious Mailbag™ 

How did these two mumbling malcontents pump out pods for five years and ninety-eight nattering episodes? In this one, the boys barely discuss that at all! Instead Jeff recaps his trip to London, to the shop where he bought both his Alpa and XPan, and Gabe recounts his acquisition of a legendary lens owned by an even-more-legendary photographer. A cop knelt and kissed the feet of a priest — tune in!November 20 marks IDOC’s fifth anniversary, and the 21st marks Jeff’s birthday!Jeff briefly recounts his trip to London, including a stop at Camera City, the shop where he got both his first Alpa and his first XPanGabe’s birthday bonanza included a Lab-Box and a Negative Supply scanning rig……he found a Beseler 67SC enlarger on FB Marketplace……and went to (basically) Spahn Ranch in the Hollywood Hills to secure a 80mm f4 Rodenstock Rodagon enlarger lens… which, it turns out, used to belong to Herb Ritts!our continuing adventures with the maddeningly inconsistent Chad GPT: it misled Jeff about the fate of the final penny, and lied to Gabe about a mysterious TLR which turned out to be a rare Rolleiflex 2.8F white facewhat do the boys think of the soon-come Widelux XX?sad news: Freestyle Photo is closing their brick-and-mortar location should Jeff buy an O.G. Alpa-Reflex on the ‘bay to complete his collection?once again, we improbably empty the Prodigious Mailbag™and now you must run to the L.A. Camera Expo in Burbank ‘cause it’s happening at this very moment!

More like L.A. De Da, because both hosts are together in the City of Angels: scoring sibling Olympi at a camera show, talking “new” Kodak film stocks with tasty typography, and shooting the works with a half-frame Swiss, a square-frame German and an American GOOSE. Tune in - it'll change your wife!this episode is dedicated to the memory of the great photographer Diane Keatonour second bad review has utterly vanished!Jeff’s results with the half-cookie Alpa 10s were delightful...shooting with the Polaroid GOOSE was a total kick...and the square-frame Zeiss Ikon Taxona - two-thirds of a cookie! - is a fun alternative to the elusive Mamiya Sketchat the wondrous L.A. Camera Expo, Gabe snapped up an Olympus 35RC, while Jeff went for big brother 35SPn, a rarer version of the 35SP with better typographyChad GPT misled us again! he made Jeff buy a Kilfitt Makro-Kilar in Exakta mount, insisting it was AlpaKodacolor returns - or does it? once again, all we care about is good typography!how embarrassing: Jeff’s nemesis has entered the world of fashionwe had a blast at the Bike Shed complex in DTLA’s Arts Districtwe actually empty the Prodigious Mailbag™ for a changeand finally, we urge you continue imploring Debbie Gibson to perform our theme song for the 100th episode

Is it enough for these two “middle-aged men” to merely share “what they’ve been up to”? One peevish iTunes reviewer doesn’t think so! But for the rest of you, tune in to this XL episode to hear the felicitous end of Jeff’s half-frame Alpa saga, news of Gabe’s bag-quisitions and camera meetups, a screed about how the new tariffs are crippling our hobby, a impassioned defense of free speech, and so much more!rejoice, for Jeff’s half-a-cookie Alpa 10s finally arrived! not only that, after he emailed the CEO of UPS, he got a personal response and an apology!Gabe loves his supersnazz Bleu de Chauffe camera tote, yet couldn’t resist snapping up Jeff’s cheap Strand Bookstore messenger bag as wellGabe (along with Rafael Hernandez) went to the Susan Meiselas event at the Aero Theatre……and crashed the LA Camera Exchange meetup from imstilldeveloping.com and Fridge Filmthe new hot camera is the Nikonos V — clearly the IDOC effect in action!Jeff has been kitting out his new Polaroid GOOSE……but finds a 50mm lens a bit too tele-ish on the Alpa 10s, since a half-frame focal length × 1.44222 = full-frame, so he put in an offer on a 40mm Kilfitt Makro-Kilarguess what? we got another bad review!Gabe hung out with friend-of-show Chris Smirnoff and also Robert Capron, who played Rowley in Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and went to a screening of Anvil: The Story of Anvil with the mighty Fred Courythe end of “de minimis” is a catastrophe if you buy stuff from abroad; check this eBay page for all the grim details - and thanks to tariffs, Ausgeknipst no longer ships to the USthe boys take a graceful swan dive into quite the Prodigious Mailbag™the folks at AOK Camera Repair win the coveted IDOC endorsementGabe’s pictures feature in a Judd Apatow article in the latest Vanity Fairand Camera Maintenance & Repair by Thomas Tomosy is super-expensive, so grab the PDF from the Internet Archive or from here