The Blackbird, fly is a twin-lens reflex camera: one lens is
used to expose the film, while the other is used like a viewfinder.
It’s a famous style of camera whose history stretches back to the
1920s. The Blackbird, fly uses
35mm film.
There are two ways to take a picture with the Blackbird, fly. For quiet
and reflective framing, you can hold the camera at waist level and look
down, to compose your shot using the finder lens. For a quicker style
of shot, you can use the sportsfinder, which approximates a viewfinder
through a notch in the top of the camera.
The Blackbird, fly can take pictures in standard 35mm film format
(24x36), but using a different (provided) mask, it can also produce
square format
pictures (24x24). You can even remove the mask entirely and make a
larger square format image (36x36), which fills up the entire width of
the film, including the side sprocket holes.
For shooting during the day, you can alternate between apertures f/7
and f/11, with a shutter speed of 1/125. At night, you can switch the
shutter to B-mode to let in as much light as you might need, or you
could also attach a flash for even more possibilities. Variable
focusing, from 0.8 meters, makes for a sharp subject. The Blackbird,
fly uses a wide-angle 33mm lens and allows you to take multiple
exposures on the same frame.
Sample Image Taken with Blackbird, fly Photo by Michael Tullberg