gary green

Their solution certainly "exceeded expectations" but in the wrong way.

Kentmere Pan 120 black & white film has recently become available and at a price slightly lower than my previous go-to film, Arista Ultra, so I decided to buy 20 rolls. This morning I loaded my first roll, closed the camera back, and began winding to the first frame ... and winding and winding until I realized something was amiss. Normally, with my old folders, I load my film in subdued light to minimize the chance of light leak through the red frame counter window. However, what I realized was that the frame numbers were so lightly printed on the backing paper that I had skipped over the first couple of frames. I had to unload the camera in my darkroom, rewind the film, and then reload it in bright light so I could see the frame numbers. Here's a comparison to demonstrate. The camera on the left is wound to frame 1 using Kenmore Pan. The camera on the right shows frame 1 on Arista Ultra. I always wonder how this sort of snafu makes it to the production line. I don't think this is simply a bad batch of backing paper because I found others complaining about it on the web. Maybe the lower cost of the film is due to savings on printer ink? BTW, I use metal washers attached with double-sided tape so I can place a flat magnet to cover the window during use.

Nice writeup and great images, Rick. I owned one of these years ago but was less than happy with the images. At the time, I had given up film and was shooting exclusively with my Pentax K10D DSLR using the built-in manual focus assist. I now wonder if I would have been happier using it on a film camera, such as my Pentax LX, that had a better viewfinder? At the time, I also owned the Tamron SP 35-80 which gave terrific images on my K10D so I eventually ditched the Vivitar. However, in hindsight, I wish I had hung onto it.

For August 17, Universal Meteor, Arista Ultra 100, HC-110. Tractor Show

Summer on the pier. LG G6.

For July 23rd, this is a photo from about a year and a half ago. No. 1 Pocket Kodak Jr, Arista 100, HC-110. Image cropped to 1:1 square.

A frame from a backyard test roll through my recently acquired No. 1 Autographic Kodak Jr. featured in the "What camera ...." thread. Arista 100, Echinol, Epson V600.

I found this No. 1 Autographic Kodak Jr. at a local flea market. It's an uncommon find as the No. 1 size (120 film, 6x9 image) was not as popular as the No. 1A Kodaks which took 116 film and had a 6.5x11 image size. Even more uncommon is finding one with the body covering completely intact and fitted with the excellent f7.7 Kodak Anastigmat lens, a 4-element dialyt design. Not surprisingly, I did have to replace the bellows. I now have both the No. 1 and 1A Autographic Jr. cameras fitted with the f7.7 anastigmat in my collection and can say that I'm very impressed with the robustness and simplicity of the design as well as being capable of delivering excellent results.

For July 11, Kodak Senior Six-20 with Anastigmat Special f4.5, Arista Ultra 100. Developed in Echinol. Welcome To The Jungle ... Gym

I agree, Rick. I think "Echinol" is the best choice, informally of course because that name is trademarked. BTW, I wanted to show a magnified portion of the central area of the grain bins in the 2nd photo above. In the full image, you can barely see a stop sign at the base of the grain bin. I think the amount of fine detail here is a testament to the central sharpness of the Meteor's lens and the performance of the developer. On top of that, this is a handheld shot at 1/50 sec.

Thanks Bruce! Two other candidates are "Echinol" and "Purpinol".

Some pics from the Universal Meteor 6x6 "toy" camera. These were shot on Arista 100 & 400. Regarding development, I recently read an article that gave the relative phenol content across various plants. I noticed in the article that Purple Coneflower leaves have a much higher phenol content per weight than coffee and, since I have this plant growing in my backyard, I simply replaced the instant coffee in my caffenol recipe with two leaves from this plant. I was surprised how well the negatives turned out. In fact, I think I prefer the results over caffenol. Now I need to come up with a new name for this developer. I'm considering "Echinacea Purpureanol" but that's a mouthful.

I feel like taking the Universal Meteor out for some more exercise. I recently made a modification to better handle a trimmed 120 spool in the supply side.

For July 7, Kodak 35, Tmax 100, HC-110, yellow filter.

@mjferron Very nice! Your D200 makes a fine film scanner. What lens did you use to make the copy? I've made ad hoc scans with my DSLR before with good results but never took the time to build a dedicated copy stand.

For July 6, Kodak 35, Tmax 100, HC-110.

Thanks Rick. I found the Kodak 35 to be a real pleasure to shoot. It fits my hand well and has the proper amount of heft. After scale focusing so many medium format folders and pseudo-TLRs, the lack of a rangefinder doesn't bother me. On the other hand, I would prefer a shutter button on the top plate and, while the lens is very sharp, the lack of coating makes it susceptible to flare.

Some frames from my first roll through the Kodak 35 featured in the "What camera ..." thread. Tmax 100, HC-110, Epson V600. Manual Controls Makeover Pilloried

I just finished a CLA on this fine condition, early model (pre-CAMEROSITY date code) Kodak 35. I'm guessing it was made in 1938 or 1939. It's got the desirable 50mm f3.5 Anastigmat Special lens and Kodamatic shutter. It lacks the parallax compensating viewfinder however. Hoping to put a roll through it this week, weather permitting.

Nice camera, John. The "WK" with the anchor symbol stands for Wilhelm Kenngott, the original inventor of the Koilos shutter. A short description can be found at this LINK.

Big Tub Lighthouse, Tobermory, Ontario, Canada. Franka Rolfix II, Arista 100, caffenol-C. Cropped to 16:9.

@rick_drawbridge Your creative vision is apparent in "Watching", Rick. I love that shot.

@john_shriver I have the No. 1 Autographic Kodak Special Model A with the Bakelite panels. The leather bellows are intact and still light-tight. It has the f6.3 Zeiss Kodak Anastigmat lens. It is fully functional but the slow speeds are inconsistent on the Optimo shutter. I understand your fondness for the Special Kodaks. I don't use mine very much, but only because it's an early model (1915) and I want to preserve its condition.

@chuck_foreman1 Thanks Chuck! These shots were developed in HC-110. I've taken a break from caffenol for awhile but plan to resume soon. HC-110 is just so easy to use it spoils me. But my stock is running extremely low now and I'm contemplating trying something new. I really like the results Rick @rick_drawbridge gets from PMK Pyro so I might give that a try. During the pandemic, I stocked up on instant coffee and vitamin C before inflation took off so I'll have caffenol as a fallback for quite some time. I'm not totally satisfied with my results so I plan to play with the recipe to see if I can tweak it more to my liking.

Making up for June 12, Universal Meteor, Arista 400, HC-110.