Learning Rangefinders: FED-2, Canon 1.8

<p>This is the second roll through the following combination:<br>

Fed-2, Canon f/1.8 LTM (black barrel, post 'Serenar'), TMax 400.<br>

Please let me know if you have any suggestions for improvement.</p>

<p>Chinatown, Seattle:<br>

<img src="https://scontent.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/944084_10204119070171984_3872467760083037022_n.jpg?oh=d1c6fb1779b26e5a7950601c6601d4f1&oe=573A56B6" alt="" width="636" height="960" /></p>

<p>Wright Park, Tacoma:<br>

<img src="https://scontent.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xta1/t31.0-8/12525503_10204119070131983_3236887699254114705_o.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>Georgetown, Seattle:<br>

<img src="https://scontent.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/t31.0-8/12440321_10204119070491992_2260438879018046470_o.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>Thanksgiving:<br>

<img src="https://scontent.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xlf1/t31.0-8/s960x960/12377539_10204119070651996_4472139617703978308_o.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>Grant:<br>

<img src="https://scontent.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/t31.0-8/12493737_10204119070892002_2133426343341228799_o.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>Squash:<br>

<img src="https://scontent.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xal1/t31.0-8/12493795_10204119071412015_6387536928158181194_o.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>Work:<br>

<img src="https://scontent.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtf1/t31.0-8/12493884_10204119610345488_775707443261063234_o.jpg" alt="" /></p>

 

<p>Sorry, no suggestions your stuff looks too good. (OK the shadows behind your pumkins are a tad too open for my personal taste but thats really all.)<br>

How did you get FED & Canon lens matched? - I thought the RF would be off? - At least it is when I am adapting my FSU glass on Ms. The FED2 is a very appealing camera, I should get mine out & busy too.</p>

<p>Jochen: Thanks very much! The Canon matched up just like the Industar 26 before it. No further adjustments.</p>

<p>Now matching the Industar originally was a challenge. I had never done that before. The unit had been in the Alaskan bush for over 25 years, having been traded across the Bering Sea. I had to go study up on setting the near (1 meter) mark and the infinity mark, go back and forth, etc. Eventually I got a good match between the camera lens, rangefinder, a yardstick, and Mount Rainier. A test roll came back confirming the focus. After that, the Industar 26 swapped out perfectly for the Canon when I purchased it later.</p>

<p>As I mentioned elsewhere here when I got the camera, mucking it out was quite a project. The shutter was a gummed up mess. Eventually the magic was repeated heavy dousings of lighter fluid and swabbing out the loosened gunk with Q-Tips. When the black goo stopped coming out and it dried, I hit it with one drop each of top quality gun oil on the top and bottom rails. Happily, 1/250th is timing correctly, and I'm not going to chance any other speeds!</p>

<p>I envy everyone's Leicas. When I feel that cash flow is sufficient, I dream of an M6 and a Summicron 2.0. I am not that great at metering (as you noted on the Squash picture, thus the M6), I'd like a nice viewfinder (the Fed-2 is quite small), and Leica glass is reputed to be phenomenal. But I was quite happy with the sharpness of "Grant", where you can distinctly see every single hair on that horse. :-) </p>

<p>I love the totally retro approach of a rangefinder. I'm narrowing my favorites to that Fed-2 (w/TMax), a nice Rollei 3.5E Xenotar (w/TMax and Provia), and early '80s Nikons with primes (w/Provia). </p>

<p>You need suggestions for improvements? Really?</p>

<p>First reaction to first photo: shadow areas too dark. You don't say if these are scans of the negatives or of prints. Which kind of exposure meter do you use? If there is time to use an external meter, that should be as good as an M6 or better, specially if it's the incident light kind. The Canon 50/1.8 is a good lens. The earlier Serenar was the main lens on my M3 for 17 years and I never wanted a "better" one.</p>

Mukul: thanks for the feedback. I agree on #1. I used an incident meter pointed towards me

from the alley. I knew the sky would blow out, but I thought I'd get the brick correctly.

Wrongo. Should have used a spot meter, or maybe someone can teach me how to incident

meter better.

 

These are ncps scans of the negatives at the time of processing.

 

I'm new to this Leica-like stuff, and I assume you all are better than I am. But for me, I'm really

happy with these shots. I'll work on avoiding the dark bits as you folks have suggested.

Thanks!

<p>If your image processing software allows you to pull up the shadows, please try that. A simple reduction of contrast might also do the job. Perhaps you should stay with your incident light meter: spot meters are notoriously difficult to use.</p>

<p>Brad, the greatest thing about B&W is: we are able to print or tweak to our own tastes and far less slaves to reality than with color work, where we 'd be jumping through hoops to reproduce a skin tone exactly. <br>

The Chinatown shot looks indeed rather hard, according to the car (pure white roof, pitchblack bumper?) but it has some esthetics and radiates "you wanna live elsewhere" & shouts "fly in your models!" - My honest envy for such architecture in your reach.<br>

Thanks for getting back. What I love about the FED 2 is the huge diopter range of its VF, strap lugs and the innocent look of my beater. Agreed, the contemporary Leica finders appear brighter (I wish I could time travel into a store to see how various RFs looked new around 1960).<br /><br />Anyhow: I wouldn't bother to get my hands on a metered Leica. Once I have a camera on eye level, I am too conscious about my lack of focusing speed to split attention on exposure settings or keeping track of counted clicks there. I love getting that sorted out in advance and just got myself a nice Gossen to go with (or "ahead of") the digitals, since their auto modes provide rescueable RAWs but not always the kind of JPGs a matrix metering spoiled user might expect. <br>

Back to your brick wall: I think its a contrast range issue. - The top floors might look right or even already too light? - Do you really want to dodge & burn the heck out of that picture to give it a HDR look?</p>

<p>I can definitely observe/detect a gradient exposure flaw.<br /> Your shutter curtains are not in balance and are likely sporadic.</p>

<p>Usually caused by lubricant failure and/or poor curtain tension calibration.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>"let me know if you have any suggestions" <strong><em>Brad C.</em></strong></p>

</blockquote>

<p>Yes, either get a proper C L A, or when the funds become available, buy the far superior Leica IIIc or Canon P...</p>

<p>Gus: Wow. What are you seeing?</p>

<p>I definitely did a homespun CLA. I'd like to know what effect it's having on photos ....</p>

<p>Since the first & second curtains have independent springs, they require equal & balanced tensions. This allows for the image to be "painted" evenly.<br>

(Your model requires both curtains to be at or near 20ms of CTT = Curtain Travel Time).</p>

<p>If for example the 2nd curtain catches up to the first (as they both cross the film gate), the image will be <strong>progressively darker</strong> on one side because the slit-width is closing in, making the speed effectively faster as it crosses.</p>

<p>In other words, you want the slit-width to be <strong>even</strong> and tension release to be <strong>smooth</strong> as it travels on it's path across the frame.</p>

<p>Gus:</p>

<p>I see it. Thanks. </p>

<p>Across the brick wall, the right is slightly darker than the left. That is an occasional effect for the right side (or bottom in vertical shots) that I'm seeing across several frames, though not all.</p>

<p>A CLA on a $25 FED2 seems ridiculous. I'd much prefer a Canon P, as you recommend. However, I don't know how to acquire one properly. Ebay has many good looking ones slightly over $100, like this one:</p>

<p>http://www.ebay.com/itm/421-Canon-P-35mm-Rangefinder-Film-Camera-Body-Only-SN712903-Excellent-/272108794738?hash=item3f5af2b372:g:IfYAAOSwKtlWnOK7</p>

<p>However, they could easily have a shutter timing problem too. Do you know of a way to acquire a unit that is assuredly ready to shoot?</p>

<p>I'll drop you my proper email address in your mail box. My email address here at Photo.net is no longer in use, and I have never figured out how to change it to my new email address.</p>

<p>Thanks very much for your advice. I'm really loving that Canon lens, and I'd like to put a more reliable camera with a better viewfinder behind it.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>Brad Cloven</p>

<p>The sellers from Japan I find are very honorable and show great skill in acquiring excellent candidates.<br>

The camera even if it hasn't been serviced recently, and because of the superior design and choice of materials,<br>

will most certainly have better and more consistent results than the Russian samples...</p>

<p>Your work is good enough that you should show it for others to enjoy -- no critique is needed.</p>

<p>Shouldn't ignore the Canon 7, even with a dead meter.</p>

<p>Post Script: Picked up a Canon P from Japan, as recommended. This one:</p>

<p>http://www.ebay.com/itm/272112825710</p>

<p>:-) Thanks, y'all!</p>

 

<p>It is nice to have the meter to go with the Canon P or Canon VI, though they tend not to be very reliable. Usually if I tap it a few times, it will work.</p>