What camera(s) are you using this weekend?

In addition to the Olympus 35 RC (with Kentmere 100) I'm shooting color in my Rollei 35S and running a roll (as yet undecided) through my Maxxum 8000i.

In addition to the Olympus 35 RC (with Kentmere 100) I'm shooting color in my Rollei 35S and running a roll (as yet undecided) through my Maxxum 8000i.

The 8000i is a rare beast. Didn't they only produce that for one year, before introducing the xi models? Or did production run concurrently?

Not sure how long the 8000i was produced. At the family camera shop we ordered 3 when MInolta closed them out: one for my dad, one for me, and one for stock. When we closed the shop in '93 we still had one left, but someone bought it a few months later. We did stock and sell a fair number of 7000i 's though. The 8000i offered multiple exposures, top shutter of 1/8000 second with 1/200 x-sync, brighter viewfinder, and a pc socket.

The indestructible Mamiya Metra loaded with FP4 - An online purchase requiring a selenium cell replacement and unceasing focus helicoil. These Metras were designed by civil engineers, everything is as strong as a steel bridge. I'm happily testing the macho looking thing now, so far so good. Light meter is up and running, winder is very smooth and the quiet shutter is proving reliable

 

Got a roll of HP5+ in the 8000i with 50mm f 2.8 Maxxum macro attached. I've found unless I need the speed of a fast normal, that the macro lens generally serves well as an all purpose lens. My favorite manual focus macro is the Olympus Zuiko 50mm f 3.5 which is as compact as some f 2 or faster normal lenses. My favorite AF macro is the Pentax 50mm f 2.8.

I have my last bulk roll of Plus-X thawing out so I'll be using a lot of it over the next couple of months.

Not sure how long the 8000i was produced. At the family camera shop we ordered 3 when MInolta closed them out: one for my dad, one for me, and one for stock. When we closed the shop in '93 we still had one left, but someone bought it a few months later. We did stock and sell a fair number of 7000i 's though. The 8000i offered multiple exposures, top shutter of 1/8000 second with 1/200 x-sync, brighter viewfinder, and a pc socket.

Yeah, the 7000i's sold by the boatload. I bought one, and still have it, mostly because there are so many out there that you can't give them away. But, the 8000i is very different story.

The indestructible Mamiya Metra loaded with FP4 - An online purchase requiring a selenium cell replacement and unceasing focus helicoil. These Metras were designed by civil engineers, everything is as strong as a steel bridge. I'm happily testing the macho looking thing now, so far so good. Light meter is up and running, winder is very smooth and the quiet shutter is proving reliable

 

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I'll be really interested in seeing your results. I have a Metro sitting on my shelf, and I've never shot it. I can't remember if it's working, or not.

I've found unless I need the speed of a fast normal, that the macro lens generally serves well as an all purpose lens.

Thank you! I'm happy to hear someone else express a view that I share, but which doesn't seem widely accepted. I've never understood why. People will insist on the fastest possible lenses and then stop them down to at least f/5.6 to get maximum sharpness, when macro lenses are sharp wide open at f/2.8, or even f/2.

Quite true. Even the f 3.5 macro lenses are surprisingly easy to focus. My oldest macro is a Minolta 50mm f 3.5 QF in SR mount. It is preset. Bought it used for 10 USD back in the mid 1980's. Optically identical to the later MC and MD versions, but less sophisticated coatings. In my version the SR mount can be removed revealing Leica threads.

A couple of shots showing the Maxxum 50mm macro. I couldn't find one with it attached to the 8000i but found one on the Maxxum 5, which really makes the lens look big.

 

Many Maxxum lenses do not have anything imprinted on front.

Front view

I checked my Metro. It's got a stuck shutter, but I'm in class all weekend, anyway.

I checked my Metro. It's got a stuck shutter, but I'm in class all weekend, anyway.

 

 

The speeds in my Metra were a bit slow so I removed the whole front glass unit and cleaned the shutter blades with squirts of lighter fluid then mopped it up with cotton tips, repeating the process a dozen times till I was sure all the pollution had gone. Just the act of squirting lighter fluid on the blades will get your shutter working again but when it evaporates the gunk will stick it once more. The fluid needs to be continually mopped up to remove the film of pollution

 

The front glass unit comes out by turning the front serrated chrome ring counter clockwise. There was a brass shim on mine, yours may have one also

 

I'm half way through my test roll of 36 exposures. If all goes well, I'll post about it

In addition to gear mentioned earlier in the week, I'm also running a roll of Plus-X through my Minolta XE with 135mm f 2.8 MD Celtic attached.

Nikon f3, Nikkormat EL, Rolleiflex 2.8E.

Finished a roll of TMX 100 in my F2as yesterday and loaded a roll of FOMA 400 in one FM2n. Loaded a roll of Velvia 100 in another FM2n today.

The speeds in my Metra were a bit slow so I removed the whole front glass unit and cleaned the shutter blades with squirts of lighter fluid then mopped it up with cotton tips, repeating the process a dozen times till I was sure all the pollution had gone. Just the act of squirting lighter fluid on the blades will get your shutter working again but when it evaporates the gunk will stick it once more. The fluid needs to be continually mopped up to remove the film of pollution

 

The front glass unit comes out by turning the front serrated chrome ring counter clockwise. There was a brass shim on mine, yours may have one also

 

I'm half way through my test roll of 36 exposures. If all goes well, I'll post about it

Thanks very much for that information!

 

2 Frames left after the weekend. So it came to work with me today.

Yesterday's arrival, a fairly tidy little Olympus collection. If the weather permits, I'll run a test film this weekend.

 

Olympus OM10

 

Nice OM-10, sample Rick. We sold a lot of that model at the family camera shop. One thing I remember: important to keep battery surfaces clean as the OM-10 seems a bit sensitive to batteries with less than clean contacts. Otherwise, the OM-10 is a superb picture taker. It's lightness makes it a great choice for outings. I have the later version, which is the OM-G. When we closed the family camera shop my dad gave me two NIB Zuiko lenses: A 50mm f 3.5 macro and a 28mm f 3.5. I didn't have an Olympus body so I picked up a used OM-G. Later added an OM-1N and other lenses. Mu favorite lens for walking around is the Zuiko 35mm f 2.8.

This weekend I'm trying out my recently acquired Tamron 35-80 f 2.8-3.8 Adaptall lens. Currently mounted on my Minolta XE which is loaded with Plus-X.

I'd like to try my Ricoh XR-7 with XR Rikenon 1:2 50mm lens. I've read lot of great reviews of this lens. Should be very sharp. Maybe with Fomapan 200 film.

Grrr! the Agfa Record III has a light leak somewhere along the edge of the bellows and I can't seem to find it.

That's one roll ruined.

 

Loaded up this thing instead and shot about half a roll of Double-X

 

http://www.flibweb.nl/flibweb/cpg154/albums/userpics/10001/RossDefinexsm.jpg

Contax I (v5) with Ross 3.5 inch F/3.5 Definex.

Rick- I once found a light leak in an old Ansco Viking by putting a small LED penlight (coin cell powered) inside the camera and closing it up. Took it into a darkened room and looked for light coming through. YMMV of course.

Grrr! the Agfa Record III has a light leak somewhere along the edge of the bellows and I can't seem to find it.

That's one roll ruined.

 

Loaded up this thing instead and shot about half a roll of Double-X

 

http://www.flibweb.nl/flibweb/cpg154/albums/userpics/10001/RossDefinexsm.jpg

Contax I (v5) with Ross 3.5 inch F/3.5 Definex.

 

What a beauty, I have Contax II from 1938, working perfectly.

This weekend (nearly over) I've been using a Minolta SRT 202 (meter inoperative) with 35mm f 2.8 MC Rokkor and Plus-X. Using sunny 16, the occasional wild guess, and bracketing as needed. Corrections made in scanning.

Rick- I once found a light leak in an old Ansco Viking by putting a small LED penlight (coin cell powered) inside the camera and closing it up. Took it into a darkened room and looked for light coming through. YMMV of course.

 

I've used bright spot lights from the outside looking in, but on this one I think it's one of the long edges of the bellows isn't bonded to the body at the film plane (the leak's only visible in the images, not on the film edges). It might be that the leak is only open when I'm opening up the camera and a vacuum is created. I'll have another look when I get round to it.

 

What a beauty, I have Contax II from 1938, working perfectly.

 

I have quite a number of Contaxes from the Contax I version 4 to a Contax IIa "Color Dial", most are in working condition :D

In addition to gear mentioned earlier in the week, I'm also running a roll of Plus-X through my Minolta XE with 135mm f 2.8 MD Celtic attached.

Oh, I miss my XE...............

Nice OM-10, sample Rick. We sold a lot of that model at the family camera shop. One thing I remember: important to keep battery surfaces clean as the OM-10 seems a bit sensitive to batteries with less than clean contacts. Otherwise, the OM-10 is a superb picture taker. It's lightness makes it a great choice for outings. I have the later version, which is the OM-G. When we closed the family camera shop my dad gave me two NIB Zuiko lenses: A 50mm f 3.5 macro and a 28mm f 3.5. I didn't have an Olympus body so I picked up a used OM-G. Later added an OM-1N and other lenses. Mu favorite lens for walking around is the Zuiko 35mm f 2.8.

OMG, you had an OM-G!