Can this cheap old Film camera still take good photos?

When it comes to 35mm film cameras, Iwami is not a brand that most people are familiar with. It's an obscure brand from the 70s or 80s that was given to me during my childhood, but I never had the chance to use it.

I brought it along with me during my moves and eventually decided to give it a try.

I used Kodak Gold 35mm film to take my first picture with my camera. The photo I captured was of a vintage Ricoh film camera, which is the main reason for my interest in creating these types of photos. 

Firstly, the camera is predominantly made of plastic and has very minimal features. Additionally, the roll of film got jammed and I accidentally tore a section while removing it.

Developing this role was a lot of work, but it was worth it because I ended up with several great photos that I'm really happy with.

The photo above is probably one of the better ones. I believe it's the composition and then the fall off behind in the front decks in the background. This is on Lawrence Ave. in Norridge. The weather was a bit cold that day and I believe there was some snow on the ground.

This next set of pictures is where we get the double exposure from the winding mechanism not working correctly and thus attain a surreal effect. I like it a lot, although some may think it's not so great, I find a beauty in it.

Based on the above results, some of the photos appear to have been double-exposed, as indicated by a visible split in the middle. This may have been caused by a malfunction in the rolling mechanism. Despite this issue, I still appreciate the unintended effect and enjoy the overall outcome of the photos.

Although I put a lot of effort into this experience, it's unlikely that I will use it again unless I suddenly develop a passion for artistic photography or have a few weeks to spare for photo development.

Here is a full video discussing my experience doing the project.