c_watson1

There are islands of desire for film gear. Lived in and now near to Toronto where film photography is well-rooted and supported by an ecosystem of labs and stores. That's where demand survives. Elsewhere? Not so much. I grabbed stuff like mad in the early 2000s when the "big auction site" was awash in film gear. NOS/mint stuff was cheap and plentiful. I bought lots. But then the repair guys retired, died, or moved 10+ years ago. Friends are now scarfing up stuff I rejected years ago. It breaks and no one can fix it. Again, it's sane to see film cameras as mostly disposable now. Safe to say buy the newest/best condition film bodies you can afford. Enjoy 'em while you can.

Repair resources have declined steadily for some time for all film gear. Need service? Get it now. Prices seem up with much of the better grade stuff offered by Japanese sellers. If your gear is in especially nice shape, you might consider selling. Film prices and fewer lab services are both downdrafts. It's a resdual market now for all film gear and film materials.

16 years ago. But if messages in bottles are your thing...

The contemporary industry standard launched by Hurrell rendered women as either floozies or "our Lady of Perpetual Indulgence." Kissing Hurrell's hand? Seriously? Think your apocrypha detector needs fresh batteries, Fred G!

Bette Davis once complained that Hurrell's hyper-stylized look made her look like "a piece of shiny waxed fruit." His lighting and retouching rendered looks that seem a bit too close to religious iconography. Not sure "study" of his work says much in 2024.

Liking it depends on your taste for taxidermy. Madame Tussaud anyone? Ghastly.

Zombie Thread of the Month...Seriously?

Tough to say which came first: desilvering or impact. Junk now whatever the cause.

https://shootitwithfilm.com/minolta-maxxum-7000-review/

A priority with NAI glass. Pitched one a few years back. Jumpy meter. Found it overweight and clunky compared to FM/FE variants. Got a black model cheap since the shop couldn't find the battery.

From what I've seen it sure ain't the old Superia 200!

Enjoy life. Get a handheld meter, like an upscale Sekonic, with incident and spot metering. Might actually be cheaper than an iffy/unavailable repair and the cost of film with blown exposure.

Hmmm...an 11 yr-old camera whose AF lacked face detection. The X-100T and subsequent models did. Read the reviews. See the difference. No clue about the kvetching re: hi-ISO shots, newer models seem trouble-free. Wedding shooters like Kevin Mullins do beautiful work with these cameras. Like Nikon? Stay there. You'd probably have a slim chance of finding an X-100V or VI anyway.

Get a Fuji X-100 series or Ricoh GR digital series for street. Nikon MILCs just don't cut it.

Amen. We've had our differences--especially about those lovely Mamiya 645s--but we both lament the decline in relevant posts and the revival of stone cold dead posts. Monthly check-in here for me. Wonder why bother often.