I love classic cars and film cameras, so I jumped at the chance of photographing a Citroën 2CV with my Mamiya RB67 vintage film camera.

It all started when I was out walking the dogs and saw a beautiful Citroën 2CV parked by the side of the road. The owner was standing nearby. In my best Spanish (well, I do try), I commented about the beautiful condition of the car and that I would love to take some photos of it with one of my vintage cameras. We agreed it would be appropriate to photograph an old car with an old film camera. The owner readily volunteered to meet me the following evening so I could take some photos of his Citroën 2CV. We agreed on a time and place.

The Citroën 2CV

I am not a Citroën expert, but according to Wikipedia, the 2CV is a low-cost car produced by the French brand Citroën from 1948 to 1990. According to the owner, his model is of 1981 vintage.

In French, the 2CV stands for deux chevaux vapeur, literally “two horsepower”, which refers to the car’s power output.

The car was built and designed for rural France. The designer defined the essential characteristics as:

  • four seats
  • being able to load 50 kg of luggage
  • two fiscal HP
  • front-wheel-drive
  • a maximum speed of 60 km / h
  • 3-speed gearbox
  • consumption of 3 l / 100 km
  • a suspension that would allow crossing a ploughed field with a basket of eggs without breaking

Film photo details

I took all the photos on this page using a Mamiya RB67 medium format camera, tripod mounted, with 90mm and 180mm lenses. I used Ilford FP4 film rated at 100 ISO.

By 8:30 pm, everything was set up, and I was ready to start shooting. The location was in the olive groves (well, this is Andalucia), and the evening sun was low in the sky, lighting up and accentuating the car’s curves but without casting any harsh shadows.

Developer: Spur Acurol-N, 1+100, for 20,5 minutes @24C.

The photos were digitised using a Nikon Z6 mirrorless digital camera with a Tokina AT-X Pro Macro 100mm f2.8 D lens and processed using Capture One software.

Click on any photo to see a larger version.

A black-and-white film photo - general view of a Citroën 2 CV from the front
Front view of the Citroën 2 CV
Camera: RB67, Lens: Mamiya Sekor C 1:3.8 90mm, Exposure Time: 1/30 sec, f 8 , Film ISO: 100
A black-and-white film photo of the side of the car, in particular the front door with an open window. The window hinges upwards on itself to open.
The Citroën 2 CV front door window - it hinges upwards to open
Camera: RB67, Lens: Mamiya Sekor C 1:3.8 90mm, Exposure Time: 1/30 sec, f 8 , Film ISO: 100
A black-and-white film photo of the Citroen 2CV from the rear/side.
The Citroën 2 CV from the rear
Camera: RB67, Lens: Mamiya Sekor C 1:3.8 90mm, Exposure Time: 1/30 sec, f 8 , Film ISO: 100
A black-and-white film photo looking in through the open driver's window. The instrumentation is very sparse - mostly just a speedometer is visible.
Looking in through the driver's door window
Camera: RB67, Lens: Mamiya Sekor C 1:3.8 90mm, Exposure Time: 1/15 sec, f 8 , Film ISO: 100
A black-and-white film photo of the car front bonnet with a chrome two horse heads mascot
Two horses on the bonnet - I don't believe this was original specification
Camera: RB67, Lens: Mamiya Sekor C 180 mm, Exposure Time: 1/60 sec, f 8 , Film ISO: 100
A black-and-white film photo of the front of the Citroen 2CV.
Citroen 2 CV - the front of the car
Camera: RB67, Lens: Mamiya Sekor C 180 mm, Exposure Time: 1/60 sec, f 8 , Film ISO: 100

Film roll No 204