EP2 – Water Buffalo Valley: Olympus OM-1 with Kodak Gold 200

Roll No.2

Yesterday, my partner and I recorded a podcast episode about film cameras — EP26 Adult Toys: Olympus OM-1 Film Camera｜人生好男. I felt it was necessary to leave a written record about film cameras as well, so that people searching for information might find something useful here.

Starting from this second roll, I switched my developing lab to Lilai Photo Studio in Xinzhuang. This was recommended by a photographer friend, and following a professional's advice is never wrong. Although it's farther from home, it's absolutely worth it — the scans are clean (no dust!), with beautiful, natural grain. Lilai also gives feedback on issues such as underexposure or focus errors, which really helps me improve with each roll. Another bonus: they sell film there, and it's way cheaper than Shopee (seriously, Shopee isn't the cheapest). So every visit is a convenient chance to restock.

This roll was mainly shot during a trip with my son to Water Buffalo Valley in Bali, also known as the "Grand Canyon of Linkou," where we played with an RC climbing car. We were lucky enough to see a herd of buffalo, but I captured nothing — my OM-1's light meter was malfunctioning. The issue came from the seller having left a 1.5v battery in the camera. Using 1.5v instead of 1.35v causes the light meter to overreact in bright scenes — what might be +3 EV gets misread as +6 EV, leading me to stop down too much and end up with severely underexposed photos. Tragic.

Thankfully, switching to a proper 1.35v battery fixed the issue. I used a Wein MRB625 1.35v zinc-air battery, and thankfully my OM-1's light meter works perfectly. Amen.

Setup for this roll:

Film: Kodak Gold 200 (24 exposures)
Lens: Olympus 50mm f1.8
Camera: Olympus OM-1 Silver
Develop & scan: Lilai Photo Studio, Xinzhuang (6MP TIFF)
Date: 2022/6/20

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For this roll, I swapped my lens from the Olympus 50mm f1.4 to the 50mm f1.8 to compare the difference. The 50mm f1.8 weighs only 170g — already 26% lighter than the 230g f1.4.

↑ #1
Out of focus

↑ #2
Out of focus again

↑ #3
And again! Looking back, I realize I didn't even know how to properly load film back then. I couldn't tell which frame was my first real shot. Still, even though they're out of focus, the film grain somehow makes them feel forgiving — so I'll just let them be!

↑ #4
Here I was explaining the day's schedule to my son through drawings: 09:00 breakfast, 10:00 bath (since he skipped last night), 11:00 fifteen minutes of TV, 12:00 head to Water Buffalo Valley for RC car play, and 16:00 head home before the rain to play with sand. Due to the OM-1's faulty metering, this indoor shot turned out blurry — I must've used too slow a shutter speed.

↑ #5
This one turned out much better — take a look at the bokeh from the 50mm f1.8.

↑ #6
After a long drive, we finally arrived at Water Buffalo Valley. The RC car in the photo is the WLtoys 104310, imported from Taobao for around 1,600 TWD. The motor isn't powerful enough for climbing, but its dual-motor, shaftless design makes it very durable. Probably only the gears will need replacement in the future — no more worries about broken drive shafts!

↑ #7
Still overexposed — clearly a metering issue again. No idea how much I stopped down here.

↑ #8
After stopping down, there's basically no depth of field left… sigh

↑ #9
The buffalo herd appeared! We were so excited — and then… underexposed. Damn it.

↑ #10
I walked closer to the herd for a better shot, but the kind owner came over on his scooter to remind me to keep a safe distance — buffalo are still wild animals after all!

↑ #11
Once again, stopped down too much — zero depth of field (crying inside).

↑ #12
Looks like the lab worked hard to save these scans — the originals must have been rough.

↑ #13
One day on the way to Taipei Zoo with my son, I tried taking a shot while driving. I learned it's nearly impossible to shoot a manual-focus film camera with only your right hand — focusing requires your left hand! So… I used both. 😅

↑ #14
Taken at a red light right after exiting the highway toward Taipei Zoo.

↑ #15
That day, my son and I rode the Maokong Gondola's glass-bottom cabin to the zoo — and he immediately closed his eyes.

↑ #16
My first attempt at a film-camera selfie. Even though it's out of focus and poorly framed, I actually don't mind the result.

↑ #17
When visiting the zoo, I often carry my son on my shoulders. It's tiring, but it makes up for my lack of exercise — consider it weight training! This was taken as we walked back to the parking lot; I was genuinely thrilled to see the car again (my legs were killing me).

↑ #18
I often wonder whether the newer Porsche Macan's taillights could ever look better than this generation's.

↑ #19
Probably taken late at night when I couldn't sleep, browsing second-hand camera auctions. All that gear in front of me are camping items I hadn't yet organized.