Blue Moon Camera and Machine

Join us on Sunday, September 20th for the Holga Pedal: Plastic Fantastic Camera Ride! 🚲

Calling all Holga users and photographers who appreciate the joy of lo-fi toy cameras! Join us for a lovely cruise around Portland. This approx. 9 mile ride will give us plenty of opportunities to break out our light-tight boxes and capture dreamy images of various photogenic locations.

We will meet at Peninsula Park at 2 PM to capture the Rose Garden’s glory. We depart at 2:30 for a southbound ride ultimately ending near the Tilikum Crossing. This ride will have a mellow pace with plenty of stops, no one left behind.

The focus of this ride is on toy cameras like Holgas and Dianas. You can bring other cameras if you’d like, but using lo-fi cameras is encouraged. Don’t have a lo-fi camera? There will be a handful to check out and use along w/film for purchase, courtesy of Blue Moon Camera. Get to Peninsula Park early if you want to use one, as the supply is limited.

And there will be an opportunity for post-ride food and libations for those who want to stick around.

🕰️ Sunday, September 20, 2026 at 2pm

📍 Meet in the Rose Garden at Peninsula Park, 700 N Rosa Parks Way, Portland, OR 97217

➡️ End near Near Tilikum Crossing

🚲 Ride length: 8-15 miles

Taking a moment for these five, count them five, Mamiya 7's we have in stock!

What's the perfect aspect ratio? For medium format film users, 6x7cm would win a plurality, if not a majority, of votes. The slightly rectangular format beautifully enlarges to 8x10 prints. For head shots, landscapes, product photography, or any other use, 6x7cm is always a solid choice. As for cameras that produce 6x7cm negatives, no other manufacturer is more synonymous with this size than Mamiya. Although Mamiya didn't create the format, it certainly revolutionized it in 1970 with the introduction of the Single Lens Reflex (SLR) RB67 and did so again twelve years later with their electronic SLR the RZ67. While both of these cameras have become mainstays in the photographic world, they are most comfortable on tripod legs and can be a little clumsy to use as handheld cameras. In 1995, Mamiya addressed these concerns, introducing their new 6x7cm rangefinder camera - the Mamiya 7.

In creating the Mamiya 7 rangefinder, Mamiya was able to bring together many of the desirable aspects of the RB and RZ system. Most notable of those features is a set of four lenses that range from a 43mm f/4.5 to a 150mm f/4.5. This range is roughly equivalent from 25mm to 150mm focal length lenses on a 35mm camera and gives Mamiya 7 users the ability to work in virtually any situation and get spectacular results. Like their RB and RZ counterparts, the Mamiya 7 lenses have leaf shutters, so using flash at any shutter speed is no issue, and a built-in dark slide allows for changing lenses mid-roll. Impressively, Mamiya engineers gave the Mamiya 7 viewfinder automatic frame-lines for three of these lenses, so that only the 43mm requires an external viewfinder. As with most leaf shutter lenses, the fastest shutter speed is a bit limited and tops out at 1/500th of a second, although for longer exposures, the camera has a maximum shutter speed of four seconds and a Bulb mode.

With its metering system and electronically controlled shutter, the Mamiya 7 offers an aperture-priority shooting mode in addition to fully-metered manual shooting mode. Auto-Exposure lock helps photographers maintain exposure setting in even the trickiest of back-lit situations.

All of this technology requires a good bit of electricity. The Mamiya 7 is powered through a 6-volt PX-28 battery or its equivalent. Longer shutter speeds can drain the battery faster and as the Mamiya 7 is fully electronic, packing a couple of extra batteries around is advisable, but a very small price to pay for using this camera.

The Mamiya 7 remained in production until 1999 when it was replaced by the Mamiya 7II. Functionally, the biggest difference between the two cameras is the addition of a multiple exposure button, a brighter viewfinder, and a different color scheme.

Whether Mamiya meant for the 6x7cm format to be nearly synonymous with its brand name is tough to tell. There are other 6x7 camera makers out there, but Mamiya is alone in offering photographers professional both SLR and rangefinder options that have stood the test of time. Seek any of them out and you'll see why trying to get a current owner to sell one is difficult, if not impossible.

Pinhole Picnic is tomorrow, April 26th!

We can’t wait to see you at Whitaker Ponds Nature Park from 11am-2pm to celebrate Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day!

Bring your own pinhole or borrow one of ours. We’ll come equipped with several pinhole cameras for you to check out and use around the ponds and we’ll also have some film available for purchase. We’ve even got some special discounts for you on developing, scanning, or printing the film in our lab!

This is a free event and no sign up is required. Light snacks and beverages will be provided. As Whitaker Ponds is frequented by wildlife, there are no dogs allowed in the park.

Check out our sample gallery of pinhole images created by staff member Renee Heister at Whitaker Ponds! Renee and Arthur will be there tomorrow — come geek out with fellow pinhole camera enthusiasts on Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day at 7040 NE 47th Ave, Portland, OR 97218.

Did you know that there is a pile of Hasselblads on the moon?

The exciting journey of Artemis II around the moon this week has us admiring the iconic images taken on Hasselblad Cameras during the Apollo flights of the late 1960's and early 1970's, and wishing we could get our hands one one of the 12 specially designed Hasselblads which were left on the moon due to weight restrictions on returning flights.

If you're also feeling inspired to make images that will stand the test of time, we have several beautiful Hasselblad options on our shelves and on our website, including this 500 EL.

If you could bring just one camera on a lunar walk, which would you choose? Tell us your choice in the comments! 🌗