irvine.short

Hey All, Long time and great to see so many still around. My first ever vintage camera is a Zorki IIc. It is not great to use, with it's two different tiny windows for focusing and framing, but it used to work and I got some decent results, I like that Industar-50 lens. A couple of weeks ago i put a roll through it and everything was horribly out of focus. I repeated the experiment - same result, carefuly checking I was extending the lens properly. I took it to my friendly camera technician who was a bit busy with far more worthy cameras than my Zorki. He found the back element of the lens had come loose and was about to fall out, he tightened that for me and then checked the focus in his weird microscope machine and said it was out - that when focused to infinity the scale was reading 20 feet. So there are two issues - one getting the lens to be focused at infinity when clicked into the infinity lock, and then adjusting the rangefinder. further this is complicated by the back not coming off to allow for checking focus like you would with another camera with a piece of ground glass. Has anyone here had direct experience with these cameras?

Hey All, I am coming back to this hobby after a gap of over 5 years. I'd like to get things organized - should I just go for Lightroom? Long ago I used Rawtherapee but I am sure there are other newer apps out there.

Hey All, I am coming back to this hobby after a gap of over 5 years. Google knows exactly where I have been for the last 2 or 3 years - is there a way to get his location information in to the picutres already on my hard drive?

indeed - but tell me this: It is all very well with an autofocus camera but how the heck are you supposed to focus a manual camera if you have that monster mounted?

it's low enough according to what I have read, it was only early versions of the 45-CT1 than would fry your DSLR. It never fried my Pentax K100 and after an evening's playing around my Nikon D7000 also survived

OK, compared to a GODOX TT685 that has a guide number of 60, costs $120.00 and weighs a fraction - I see your point.

and the model I have: Metz 45 CT-5 This was the first major update from the CT-1. It introduced three improved features compared to the older Model and it was sold for quite some time side by side with the CT-1 as the "luxury model". It has a second flash reflector to get some direct fill when the main flash head is used to bounce light from the ceiling. The 45ers were powerful enough to give nicely illuminated rooms when bouncing from the ceiling and for many photographers this became the preferred method before TTL was introduced. This mitigated somewhat the disadvantages of not being able to capture ambient light mentioned above, as it created its own ambient light. Obviously you could not re-create specific light moods (without gels) but as shown in an earlier post the results were quite OK, and so much better than the "deer in headlight" look in front of a black hole that was prevalent at the time. The second small fill in reflector improved the look by giving catch lights in the eyes and avoiding dark shadows on faces when the bounce angle was too steep. For the ceiling bouncing automatic mode it was a very useful enhancement. It is therefore somewhat ironic that the second improvement was the first step to make that mode obsolete: The SCA500 system introduced camera specific functions and for some cameras TTL metering. The SCA 500 worked well with most manual focus film cameras. It can not be used with any digital camera. For users of old manual focus film cameras like Nikon F3 or Canon F1new or Canon T90 the SCA500 works fully fine. (Or equivalent cameras from Minolta, Pentax, Olympus, Contax or Leica). The automatic mode was a bit enhanced by offering 6 Apertures. The additional aperture was at the useful lower end and with ISO 100 the apertures from 2 to 11 could be selected. One stop better than mentioned above for the CT-1 above. Also the ISO selection has been improved to cover ISO 25 to ISO 800. Aperture values selectable have been improved to 25 = 1 / 1.4 / 2 / 2.8 / 4 / 5.6 50 = 1.4 / 2 / 2.8 / 4 / 5.6 / 8 100 = 2 / 2.8 / 4 / 5.6 / 8 / 11 200 = 2.8 / 4 / 5.6 / 8 / 11 / 16 400 = 4 / 5.6 / 8 / 11 / 16 / 22 800 = 5.6 / 8 / 11 / 16 / 22 / 32 Using a Metz 45 CT-5 in automatic mode on a modern DSLR allows to cover neatly all apertures of the pro zooms at ISO 200. The effective 1 stop enhancement makes it a bit more usable for dragging the shutter. But essentially the same limitations as for the Metz 45 CT-1 apply. The Metz 45 CT-5 also has only two manual settings like its little brother (Full and Winder) it uses the Mecamat 45-30 which seems to be plenty in supply in today's used market. The flash has to be set to manual, and the Mecamat works like its earlier sister models described above. It needs to be noted that the introduction of SCA500 meant that the electronics to provide special camera features and to communicate with the camera for flash ready and flash OK indicators had to be run at a much lower voltage. Therefore the high voltage flash circuit had to be separated from the lower voltage automatic and camera connection electronics. Check before you attach one of these oldies to your DSLR, but all pro and advanced enthusiast models with a PC connector should be able to take the voltage of the 45 CT-5. The Metz 45 CT-5 used a different cable connector than the CT-1

OK, you are correct, and my 45 CT5 has the newer and more obsolete SCA500 system. more here Log In or Sign Up to View text here: Metz Flash 45 CT-1, CT-3, CT-4, CT-5, CL-1, CL-3, CL-4, CL-4 digital. Mini Review and Comparison. Which one is Best? (Ciao 45er!) The Metz 45ers are a range of very powerful handle mount flashes. Just after publishing the original blog post I realised that Metz filed for insolvency protection in November 2014. One of the first measures after insolvency was the reduction of their product offering and the last 45er in production - the Metz 45 CL-4 digital - was pulled from the program. As of January 2015 45ers can only be obtained second hand. Introduced in 1976 and produced up to 2014 the product was as iconic for Metz as the Beetle for Volkswagen. It saw a 38 year production run and had a reputation with professionals for ruggedness and delivering great light. Such a long production run, even when considering the updates, is no mean feat for any product in the fast moving consumer electronic world. All the more reason to look at the different models. So which one is the best of the produced models? Of course the answer depends on what you want to do with it. I will go through the main differences and the main advantages and disadvantages (from my personal perspective) for their use below. The following descriptions are sorted in chronological order as the original naming and numbering is a bit confusing. Metz 45 CT-1 The original model had a long production run and was actually produced in three different versions under the same name. The first two models with serial numbers below 534000 have high voltage circuits for the flash trigger and should not be directly attached to a digital camera. (Unless you have measured your Flash to be safe, and received assurance from the camera manufacturer that the voltage is safe.) The last model with higher serial numbers can be used in automatic mode on any camera. The flash can not be used for any TTL control. The earlier models can use the Mecamat 45-20 and the later models use the Mecamat 45-43. Both Mecamats can be found easily on the second hand market. The flash offers 5 automatic apertures. However the ISO range that can be selected is - at today's standards - quite limited from ISO 25 to ISO 400, which is appropriate for the film photography 30 or 40 years ago. The measuring range of the flash metering cell is fixed and which Apertures can be selected depend on the set ISO value. The following Table shows the available Aperture values when selecting an ISO value (possible in 1/3 steps): 25 = 1.4 / 2 / 2.8 / 4 / 5.6 50 = 2 / 2.8 / 4 / 5.6 / 8 100 = 2.8 / 4 / 5.6 / 8 / 11 200 = 4 / 5.6 / 8 / 11 / 16 400 = 5.6 / 8 / 11 / 16 / 22 From today's perspective that is quite unsatisfactory. In 2015 there is no more 25 ISO film around and you are hard pressed to find a 50 or 64 still available or expired on the second hand market. Digital cameras native ISO is 200. And only some advanced models offer to select ISO 100 or even ISO 50 with a slight loss in dynamic range and quality. One of the biggest advantages of digital imaging has been the amazing improvement of low light light image quality. Shooting with acceptable results 1600 to 3200 is in 2015 possible for most if not all current digital camera models. So what happens when you set the Metz 45 CT-1 to ISO 400 and simply use ISO 1600 on your camera? You will have to choose the 5.6 automatic aperture on the flash and "compensate" by further closing down the aperture on your camera; 11 for ISO 1600 in this example and 16 for ISO 3200. This is possible but it makes rarely a lot of sense. Today I would in most situations of casual family and event shooting try to drag the shutter to record the mood and feeling of the ambient light while highlighting (literally) the main motive with a bit of flash. If the shutter time necessary to record ambient light becomes to slow, you get ugly double outlines. Closing my aperture to 11 makes the shutter time very slow and negates the reason why I choose a high ISO in the first place. Not making a lot of sense. Effectively the minimum ambient light level required by the Metz 45 CT-1 to execute this "drag the shutter with automatic flash" or "fill flash" if you like, is much higher than for modern TTL system integrated flash units. Fill in flash in daylight on the other hand works quite well. With ISO 100 you can use apertures from 2.8 to 11 which should cater for most shooting situations. If you want the fill flash to not to be too obvious you can close the aperture accordingly. The flash itself does only have two manual settings: Manual which is full power and Winder which is 1/64 power. But the fitting Mecamat (45-20 or 45-43) is easily available on the used market and allows seven manual settings from full power to 1/64. That makes the Metz 45 CT-1 with Mecamat quite useful for any full manual set up. To use the Mecamat the flash should be set to manual mode. The Mecamat also expands the number of usable apertures in automatic mode to a total of 9 but unfortunately all additional apertures are above the ones that can be selected on the flash alone. That feature is very useful for macro photography where small apertures are selected and the macro extension of a bellows or rings might further diminish the "effective" aperture. (Remember: no TTL means that you need to calculate the effective aperture caused by filters, extension or teleconverters manually) The later model above serial number 534000 can be triggered with any third party wireless trigger and can be included in a wireless trigger manual set up nicely. For earlier models the same caution as for cameras will need to be exercised. Not every wireless trigger is able to handle voltage above 250V. Be sure to use heavy duty triggers for studio strobes, and check with the manufacturer what is the specified maximum voltage. (The Phottix Atlas takes for example 300V) There are very early production models that can even exceed 300V but they are few and far between in the used market today. I guess not many have been produced. Unfortunately I could not find any reliable source to determine the serial numbers of the early models. If you can not attach your model to any electronic trigger the Mecalux 11 optical slave can be used. It takes any trigger voltage so it will work safely with all Metz models. The disadvantage is of course that it is a "simple" optical trigger and it can only be used in a completely manual set-up without any pre-flashes being used.

Hi All, Is this the right place to be asking these questions? I have a Metz 45-CT5 with only the PC synce cable. It had been in a cupboard for at least 5 years and I dug it out after finding the pop-up flash on my Nikon D7000 was not enough for what I was doing. Kudos to the Metz engineers, after jiggling the battery cage only once it came to life and worked like new. Now, I see there were various SCA modules for this flash one of which (the 3401 I think) would allow TTL and all the features on a Nikon F5. Does this mean it would also work on a D7000 and other digital Nikons? here is the compatibility chart i found: Metz SCA Module Feature Chart for Nikon Camera Cheers, Irvine

<p>Apparently the Minolta 7Sii, the Konica Auto S3 and this were all based on a Cosina Chassis <br />https://www.flickr.com/photos/64411625@N00/140041067/sizes/l/<br> <img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/45/140041067_04ff0900fe_b.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="766" /></p>

<p>The technician suggested having a look inside my Hi-Matic 11 but the light meter circuit is very different "with about 5 pots instead of 2"</p> <p>Does anyone have instructions for adjusting the pots in these light meters?<br> In the absence of a service manual perhaps it would be time to trace the circuit?</p> <p> </p>

<p>Hi All,</p> <p>My camera technician is puzzled, which is unusual. I took him a Minolta 7S in fairly good condition. Everything working except with a fresh battery the light meter goes all the way to the end like the cell is short circuited.</p> <p>He could not see a short in the wire but replaced it anyway, then he temporarily soldered in a cell from a Yashica - same problem.</p> <p>He is now wondering if a previous tinkerer might have wired the thing wrongly.</p> <p>Does anyone have a wiring diagram? How simple is it? What is in the circuit apart from the meter, the CD cell and the battery?</p> <p>Tony has successfully fixed plenty of these in the past.</p> <p> </p>

<p>Agitation:<br />After I have poured the developer in I invert the tank 3 or 4 times and bang it a couple of times on the counter to dislodge bubbles.</p> <p>After that one inversion every minute.</p> <p> </p>

<p>Anything much to choose between the two? I love Ilfotec, especially how long it seems to last. I am getting to the bottom on a bottle bearly 4 years old and it seems completely fine.</p> <p> </p>

<p>OK chaps, it seems it was a combo of under exposure and "unsharp mask" on the scanning software. it is "Epson Scan" on a V600</p> <p>Same settings on Efke 25 with D76 were great, but that is hardly a fair comparison.</p> <p>Wish I had processed a few before doing all 6 at once...</p> <p> </p>