edhebert

Following in the spirit of posting some images taken with our

beloved old cameras, here's some Velvia that I ran through my

Isolette II/Apotar (sort of an "old meets new" experiment with

camera and film). Apologies for the trite sunset picture (they

usually bore the hell out of me), but I think this picture shows two

things: 1) Even the Apotar is capable of some pretty sharp images

at f/8, and 2) The lens produced surprisingly little flare (I did

have a lens hood attached). I burned the sky in a bit with

photoshop, but other than that, this scan is very similar in color

and detail to the chrome. Scanned with an Epson 2450 and Vuescan.<div></div>

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Did you rate it at 100 ISO? Do you feel it's a film that many will rate lower to help tame the oversaturation, like Velvia 50? (which I actually prefer at 40 or even 32 ISO)? How is it with flesh tones?

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Thanks for your help guys. I checked out http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/topcoverremoval.html and was able to make a copy of their "friction screwdriver" which quickly solved my problem.

Hi-

 

Does anyone know the proper way to disassemble a Konica Auto S2 to

access the rangefinder area for cleaning? Specifically, I'd like to

know the proper way for removing the film wind mechanism. (I got

the rewind mechanism off with no problem). It looks like the

winding lever has a cap on top which holds it in place. I thought

it might be threaded, but I've been unable to get it to turn. If

it's a "pry off" cap I'd like to know - if it isn't I'd rather not

try to pry at it.

 

Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide.

great shot, Peter!

I really like the minimal composition, and think I prefer the color version. There seems to be a harsh blue cast. Here's a suggested color correction...I also desaturated everything and unsharp masked slightly.<div></div>

Andrew - I was having a discussion with a friend today, re: how Haas' style migrated/evolved/changed when he began his color work. The images that always stand out the most in my mind are his motion photographs (bullfighting, rodeo, sports, etc) where everything dissolves into this impressionist whirl of color and flow. He talks about moving not only his camera, but his body in keeping with the subject's motion. Do you think this "signature" of sorts evolved from the fact that color emulsions were so slow at the time? Do you think this work would've happened if he had high speed color film, or was he forced to work around the technological limits of the day? This discussion came up as part of an interesting Haas quote that I'm paraphrasing..."Camera technology keeps improving, but why aren't the images getting any better?" (or something like that). I'm admittedly not a Haas expert by any stretch, and I think it's an interesting question. I'd like to hear others' perspectives.

I was just looking at the book "Ernst Haas - Color Photography" yesterday, and I echo your sentiments. His work is amazing. The energy of color and motion in his work boggles my mind.

 

Thanks for the link.

I'd contact Jurgen Kreckel. He seems to be very experienced with resurrecting old Isolettes. www.foldingcamerasrestoration.com

...that's what I wanted to know. It must be an Oldsmobile thing.<div></div>

I was cuddling my sippy cup and soiling my diaper back in the late 60's, but I'll tell you what I enjoy using today.

 

Agfa Isolettes - I have 3 of them, one in each lens flavor (Agnar, Apotar, and Solinar). All of mine are zone focus Isolette IIs. Unfortunately, I never got ahold of a III. I really don't use these cameras for any "critical focus" work, and the guesstimation method works fine and saves a few pennies. I throw the Agnar in my drybag when I sea kayak. I treat it like a disposable, and it keeps on ticking out 6x6 negs to beat the band.

 

Agfa Super Solinette - A great 35mm folding rangefinder with a beautiful solinar lens. The pictures from it are outstanding.

 

Konica Auto S2 - Again, great lens, and a great user - even by today's standards. Meter and aperture priority.

 

Konica Autoreflex SLRs - I have a bunch of these, and almost every Hexanon lens I want (I'm a user not a collector). Hexanon lenses are *fantastic* deals for the money.

 

Moskva 5 - This one's actually my friend's, but I use it. 6x9 and great quality output.

 

And I use Leica M stuff, but there's a different forum for that...

 

I honestly enjoy using almost any old camera. Some are more "friendly" than others, but the joy comes from resurrecting these old beauties and breathing another day of life into them.

 

For a look at some of my images, ck www.edhebert.com Everything on that site was produced with a camera made before 1975 (some of the lenses are more modern M lenses, though).

Ann-

 

Where do you get the 828 film for your Bantam Special??

 

And since I'm already in the 'chick magnet' thread, I'll tell a story...

 

A couple of years ago, I started dating this girl and she took me home for Thanksgiving to "meet the folks". Realizing I was interested in photography, her dad brought out his new EOS Rebel outfit and I politely feigned interest. I later followed him downstairs as he put his camera equipment away. When he got to the closet, I noticed a box with an old Agfa Isolette in it. I immediately beamed and asked if it still worked. He said, "who'd take pictures with that old thing?" I asked if I could play around with it. Amused, he said "knock yourself out." I'm sure he thought I was nuts.

 

So I fiddled with it that night, got the focus ring to unfreeze, and coaxed the shutter into operation. I used some rubber goo he had kicking around to coat tool handles as a makeshift bellows patch. I set out the next morning for Fallingwater, which is somewhat near their home. I took some shots, got the film processed at a one-hour lab. The camera worked great, and the image was beautiful. I returned with an enlarged print of Fallingwater as a gift for them.

 

I got to keep the camera, which I lovingly restored and it now looks and functions as new. Oh, and "that girl" and I are getting married two weeks from now. So I guess there's a certain romantic appeal to the old cameras after all. ;-)

Does anyone know of any good sources for bellows for old MF folders

(like Isolettes)? I recently completed a repair of an Isolette, and

ordered a bellows from camerabellows.com in the UK. They were fine

and fit perfectly. But I'm curious to know if there are any other

outfits in the US. I noticed that Jurgen (the Isolette guy certo6

on the auction site) has all different colors of bellows on his

cameras. Any ideas where he might have gotten them?

 

Thanks, and I'm excited about this new forum!<div></div>

Do Fuji rangefinder cameras (670,690) have a provision for multiple

exposures? I recently got a GW690III (sans manual) and haven't been

able to figure out a way to do it. Anyone devise any clever

techniques?

 

Thanks

i should say more like "from the foot"...

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May God mercy on your soul.

I think it's a great light and texture study that you have. One suggestion might be to strenghten the contrast a tad to enhance the shadow shape and wood textures. Still, it's a great exercise. I've done a lot of this myself. Here's one...<div></div>