The Most Read and Commented upon Posts Published on 35mmc in 2020

As I did last year, I thought it might be a nice idea to take a look back at the most popular articles published on 35mmc over the the last 12 months. Of course, “most popular” can be a little difficult to quantify, so I have once again decided to share both the most read articles according to the website stats, and the most commented upon articles.

I shall start with the most read articles, counting down from 9 to 1 with no.1 being the most read article of the year.

No.9 – Fujifilm X-Pro3 Acros-R digital vs. 35mm Acros 100II – By Dale Rogers

At no.9 we have an article by Dale Rogers in which he compared results from some of the new Fujifilm Acros 100II to results from his Fuji Xpro-3 set to the acros simulation. The conclusion being that whilst Fuji did a great job simulating Acros, the comparison also quite nicely demonstrated some of the obvious differences between film and digital. Which is better – you decide!

You can read the article here

No.8 – Fuji X100V – A (Personal) Guide to Mode/Menu/Button Customisations

no.8 is an article I wrote about my experiences setting up the Fuji X100v buttons and menu options to my taste. As much as the Fuji X100v is a lovely camera to use and is quite simple in its button and control layout compared to some other digital cameras on the market, it still has an absolute abundance of configuration options. I wanted to cut through some of those by demonstrating how I made the camera work for me. I have actually since sold the camera, but that was only for the reason that a Sony A7iii became redundant at work. The Sony isn’t a nice to use, but I’m just as familiar with it, and it’s better in low light, so off the Fuji went to a very happy new owner – I had hardly used it!

You can read the article here

No.7 – FujiFilm E-900 Review – a Sublime Paradox – By Adam Kendall

In at 7, a bit of a surprise this one. I hadn’t noticed the traffic it had achieved at the time it was published, and I wouldn’t have expected such an old digital camera review to get so much interest. Regardless, it did in fact achieve a lot of traffic. It’s a great review too, not least because it demonstrates just how good old digital cameras can be – especially old Fuji digitals, which always did produce excellent colours!

You can read the review here

No.6 – Asahi Pentax Spotmatic F Review – A Class Act – By Bob Janes

At no.6, one of a couple of SLR reviews that were featured on DPR. This one is by Bob Janes and features the Pentax Spotmatic F. The “Spottie F” is, of course, a bit of a classic. The review talks of the history of the brand, the m42 Takumar lenses that are available for it, the camera itself in its elegant simplicity, and some of the potential issues. It’s all rounded off with some really quite good fisheye photos too.

You can read the review here

No.5 – Nikomat FT2 review: Because photography isn’t complicated enough – by Aaron Gold

Aaron Gold’s review of the Nikkormat/Nikomat FT2 takes 5th place. It takes a slightly more tongue-in-cheek look at this classic Nikon SLR commenting on both how outstanding the camera is, but also how complicated it is for what it is. Interestingly, as he concludes, both me and Aaron came to very similar conclusions about these cameras. Solid, slightly odd, but very cheap for what they are!

You can read the review here

No.4 – Leica Summicron 35mm v4 vs Voigtlander Nokton 35mm v2 – By Vincent Bihler

No.4 on the list raised a few eyebrows! In this article Vincent Bihler compares the brand new Voigtlander 35mm f/1.4 SC version 2 to the Leica Summicron-M version 4. The comparison wasn’t exhaustive, but the outcome certainly surprised a few readers, not to mention Vincent himself!

You can read the review here

No.3 – 5 Frames with a Fuji XPro3 and 7Artisans 50mm f/1.1 – by John Scott

In at 3 is a 5 frames article about shooting the 7Artisans 50mm f/1.1 on the Fuji Xpro3 – this is mostly an article about John’s early experiences with this slightly unusual camera, but also features 5 really nice images taken with the 7A lens.

You can read the article here

No.2 – How to Build a Darkroom for £100 or Less – Darkroom Technique Part 1 – by Sroyon Mukherjee

To be honest, it would have been an absolute travesty had this article not featured. At no.2 is the first part in Sryon’s extensive and incredibly in depth guide to getting started in the darkroom. In this first part he talks about the bare minimum kit required to start printing, and more importantly the sort of shortcuts you can take to get set up and running for less than £100. Off the back of this article, I offered Sroyon a paid role on the website team!

You can read the article here

No.1 – Pixii (Model A1112) – A Primer into this New Digital Rangefinder Concept

Finally, at no.1, an article about the Pixii digital rangefinder camera that finally made it to market this year. I first spoke to David very early on in 2020 when he asked me if I would like to beta test the camera, and share some of my thoughts about it as a concept with him. Since then, I shot with a number of prototypes before eventually buying my own Pixii. In this particular article I discussed the basics of what the camera offers in as objective way that I could. I love the thing, and will eventually review it properly. This article was just designed to reveal the concept to the world from a 3rd party point of view.

You can read the article here

Most Commented upon articles 2020

As with last year, the most commented upon articles differ from the most read. The following is the list of the articles that most garnered responses from people.

No.10 – My Dad is Teaching Me Photography – By Connie Gill

Proud Dad moment. No.10 (yes I’m squeezing in a number 10…) is the an article that my eldest daughter shared on the website featuring some of her very first photos. During lockdown when we had all that nice weather, me and Connie went out a few times with a couple of cameras. I even managed to teach her a few things!

Read the article here

No.9 – Enjoying Some Pentax SLR Gear Acquisition Syndrome

In this article, which made no.9 on the list, I talk about how I had fallen into a Pentax shaped pit of GAS. Many months later, I have still haven’t quite stopped buying Pentax gear. It’s like some sort of addiction!

Read the article here

No.8 – Protestors, Allies, Fighters, Keep On – #BlackLivesMatter – By Eric Toribio

The first of two articles that made the most commented list that were written by black men discussing some of their feeling toward the BLM marches that happened earlier this year.

Take a deep breath and read the article here

No.7 – Fujifilm X-Pro3 Acros-R digital vs. 35mm Acros 100II – By Dale Rogers

At no.7 we have no.9 from the most read articles – Dale’s look at the difference between Fuji Acros and Acros simulated by a Fuji digital

You can read the article here

No.6 – The Season of our Discontent – By Mark Seawell

At no.6, the second article that came out of the BLM protests. Once again, a deep breath is required before reading the comment thread. What you can’t see is the really interesting conversation that myself and Mark had via email around that time. I know which side of the fence I sit on this debate, and I am very comfortable in my position too. But I learned a lot from the BLM marches, the narrative that surrounded them, and the conversation I had with Mark. Thanks Mark!

You can read the article here

No.5 – How to Build a Darkroom for £100 or Less – Darkroom Technique Part 1 – by Sroyon Mukherjee

No.5 is no.2 off this list above – a comment thread that will no doubt keep growing over the years to come.

You can read the article here

No.4 Analog Memo – Creating a Digital Notebook App for Android – By Barry Carr

At number 4 is an article from Barry Carr that talks about his ‘Analog Memo’ app, a digital notebook for Android smartphones. I remember when this went live seeing all the discussion happening thinking it would make this list – very interesting it is too!

You can read the article here

No.3 – Why the Nikon F6 died (and What the Prospects of a Replacement are) – By Nik Stanbridge

I had a feeling this article would start some good conversation, and it really did. In fact, like the BLM related articles that made this list, it also inspired people to email me to tell me both how interesting it was, and how much it shouldn’t have been published. The subject of discussion being the demise of the Nikon F6.

You can read the article here

No.2 – Pixii (Model A1112) – A Primer into this New Digital Rangefinder Concept

At no.2 was no.1 on the list above. Thankfully the comment thread was a little more tame than some of the nonsense people said about pixii on instagram.

You can read the article here

No.1 – Nikkor 20mm f/3.5 – Taming The Ultra-Wide – By Fernando Martins

Finally, no.1. Alongside Sroyon’s darkroom setup guide, this is very much one of my favorite articles of 2020, it is most certainly the one of the best when it comes to the photography contained within too. In fact, some people commented that it is some of the best photography to even be featured on 35mmc. I would find it very hard to disagree with that sentiment too! It has not become the second most commented upon article on 35mmc. Good work, Fernando

You can read the article here

So that’s that for 2020… Happy new year and all that!

Thanks for reading and commenting!

If you have yet to submit an article to 35mmc, why not make it a new years resolution and get in touch with something you would like to share with the community?

Share this post: