larry_luckham

I suspect it would be a struggle to make a decent profit against the current ridiculous cost of buying quality chemicals in small quantities.

 

I was lucky to have a local supplier of C-41 chemistry at a reasonable cost. His processing chemicals were actually better than all but Kodak's own, and much cheaper. Unfortunately he died and his business died with him - no more quality C-41 at a reasonable cost.

 

Then there's the cost of advertising, buying mailers, shipping, etc. etc. It all adds up and it's easy to either short-change yourself or price yourself out of business.

 

So making a quick return? I'm doubtful.

With added details (C-41) I have to agree. And, that's one of the reasons that virtually all professional photographers are now working only in digital. I think that where film and chemical processing comes in is in B&W simply because it is difficult to impossible to get the same quality in digital printing to match good quality, high silver, fiber prints.

Sounds like the whole setup might be the basis for a small home business - riding the wave of current film popularity and dearth of custom processing houses.

 

However, I suspect it'll be a short-lived wave.

 

You'd have to do quite a lot of bespoke processing to recoup an outlay of 2000 bucks though.

Given the scarcity of reliable film processing these days you might be surprised at how quickly one could earn back. I know people still very committed to transparencies. I gave that up some time ago and in recent years stuck with B&W shooting on film and then scanning and printing digitally.

Tanks and reels are universal for almost any Jobo system. They have some value but the ATL-1500 is so expensive in spare parts that no hobbyist will invest in it. In Europe they have been thrown away the last 10-15 years by many mini-labs.

That's a bit surprising. There is not so much to go bad that can't either be replaced as a stock part, or reproduced by a 3D printer. Perhaps some parts of Europe are a bit different but I have family in the Czech Republic that could do that and a neighbor in California who has just 3D printed a replacement for a door part for his Mercedes Sprinter van.

I have a Jobo ATL-1500 processor, Jobo temperature control panel with pre-filtration, numerous tanks, reels, and other stuff, including some chemistry that I am no longer able to use. I’m wondering if there is any market for this and if there is what is the reasonable value?

I have a Mamiya 645 AFD that quit on me. The techs say that the body is not communicating with the lenses so the aperture can't be set. Everything else is in great shape. Rather than try for repair I'm selling the 80 mm and 105-210 mm lenses and 3 film backs (401) and will throw in the camera if someone takes it all. I'm told it's probably repairable but I don't want to fuss with the repair issue.

Mamiya 645 AFD Filmbacks (401) - $275 each - all 3 for $750

Mamiya 645 autofocus 80mm f2.8 lens $350

Mamiya 645 autofocus ULD 105-210mm f 4.5 zoom lens $275

Both lenses for $525

I have an ELM with this very unusual Hassy 80mm auto aperture lens that I was thinking about selling as I'm no longer using it. The lens takes power from the charging port on your ELM, or can be powered by a separate battery. I don't have a battery or connector to do that as I never needed one, but I would guess it would be pretty easy to make one. Both camera and lens are in working order and I have the charger as well as an adapter to allow the camera to be powered from standard 9 v batteries. The issue at the moment is that I have no idea what's a reasonable value for the lens, or on a more practical basis, what's a reasonable value for the ELM, back, this lens, and the accessories mentioned. Any ideas? I'll post a scan from the manual on the lens for those not familiar with it.

 

Larry[ATTACH=full]1352017[/ATTACH]

Sold to a collector.

Serial #

500 EL/M Black Body wl Finder UIE25160

Lens - Planar T* Auto Aperture - 80mm f2.8 B10106

A12 Chrome Back w/ Insert RI3259009

Charger, batteries, battery adapter

Electric shutter release

500 C/M Chrome Body wl Finder UT185733

Lens Planar T* - 80mm f2.8 6268616

A12 Chrome Back w/ Insert UR3132042

Lens Distagon T* - 50mm f4 5713515

Lens Sonnar T* - 150mm f4 6110307

Lens Sonnar T* - 250mm f5.6 6187536

Lens Tele-Tessar - 500mm f8 3494869

A-12 Back RT 3289818

A-12 Back RS 3180039

Kiev Non Meter 45 Prism 990417

Hasselblad Chimney Viewer NSN

Hasselblad 100 Polaroid Back NSN

Buy it all for $3,200

Haven't gotten any feedback here so I thought I'd add to the original posting. With not much else to chose from I decided to do a little more exploring on my own. Managed to take the critical parts of the outer body off to get to the mechanism and electronics. So, the focus selector on the front of the camera body seems to have both a mechanical and an electrical function. When M focus is selected it withdraws the little screwdriver type device that engages the focus on the lens. However, although I can hear the focus motor run when the camera fires, the gears indicated by the red arrows don't turn.

I have an ELM with this very unusual Hassy 80mm auto aperture lens that I was thinking about selling as I'm no longer using it. The lens takes power from the charging port on your ELM, or can be powered by a separate battery. I don't have a battery or connector to do that as I never needed one, but I would guess it would be pretty easy to make one. Both camera and lens are in working order and I have the charger as well as an adapter to allow the camera to be powered from standard 9 v batteries. The issue at the moment is that I have no idea what's a reasonable value for the lens, or on a more practical basis, what's a reasonable value for the ELM, back, this lens, and the accessories mentioned. Any ideas? I'll post a scan from the manual on the lens for those not familiar with it.

Larry

I have a Mamiya 645AFD that hasn’t been used in several years. Today I decided to put it to work again. Fresh batteries, etc. However, I immediately encountered a problem. The camera is stuck in manual focus even when the focus mode selector is set to S or C. At first I thought it might be the mounted lens so I switched lenses. Same thing. I investigated further. First, I checked the focus on a couple of lenses by using a small screwdriver to operate the focus receiver on the lenses. They all turn smoothly and move the focus ring. Next I examined the focus driver on the camera. It pops in and out just fine. Then I determined that the driver and receiver are engaging correctly by turning the focus ring on a lens mounted on the camera v. not mounted. Not mounted the focus ring turns freely, mounted there is drag. That proves engagement. Also, when depressing the shutter release you can hear the focus motor operate for a second or so. Is there anything else I might try short of sending it out for expensive repair?

Ideas appreciated.

Larry

Linhof Technika V 4 X 5 field camera, serial # 2141700

In excellent conditions, bellows subtle and pliable, left hand anatomical grip (chip on the bottom). Three camera lenses on boards:

Nikon 150mm f 5.6, Copal O shutter, serial # 800827

Super-Angulon 75mm, f 8, Copal O shutter, serial # 11 568 435

Symmar 210/370mm, f 5.6-12, Syncro-Comput shutter, serial # 11 003 847

22+ film holders, about half are Lisco Regal II, the rest Linhof and

Polaroid 545 back

A bunch of color & BW film, Jobo reels & misc.

$2750 + shipping

<p>I do fire photography including fire and arson investigation work for a fire department. My current workhorse body is a 5D Mk II with a 40D as backup. The backup has gotten beaten up over the years and has been experiencing problems. So, I'm contemplating replacing it.<br>

Now what I would normally do is to buy a newer body to replace the primary and rotate that to the backup position. But, the Mk II is pretty much the latest and greatest available. What could possibly be wrong with having 2 X Mk II's? Not a thing! On the otherhand, I could also just replace the backup with a less expensive body, maybe a 60D, or something. No bad, though it would add the confusion of not matching sensor size and having to always be conscious of the difference.<br>

Another possibility would be to wait for Canon to hit the market with the Mk III, or whatever the successor might be to the Mk II. Whether that seems like a good idea depends on what the rumors say about what a Mk III might look like, and when it might hit the market.<br>

Does anyone have any information, or even rumors, on Canon's plans?<br>

Happy snapping!</p>

<p>I'm a fire department photographer. About 18 months ago, or shortly after the 5D Mark II came on the market I bought one to use as my primary work camera. I'm very satisfied with the camera in every respect but one. The mode dial lacks any sort of lock. For most photographers this might not be a problem as simple care to check settings would be sufficient. Unfortunately in my line of work that's not a particularly practical answer.<br>

Fire calls come 24 X 7 X 365 and response must be immediate. The first step is donning layers of protective gear, radios, helmet, etc. and actually getting to the fire. Then there's the action on the fireground, keeping safe when things get hot and active. It's sometimes dark, usually smoky, and very, very busy. A camera properly set at the onset, but without any locking of the mode dial can easily rub on protective clothing, a radio cable, another camera strap, seeminglu anything, and lo and behold become set to Tv when it was originally set to P, or some other thing. Yes, one is supposed to catch the change in the viewfinder. But, again, a helmet or air maks often makes the ability to see much more than the basic framing of a shot all but impossible.<br>

So, I'm looking for a solution. Something other than just putting gaffers tape over the mode dial. Canon says they have no solution. Has anyone else faced this problem? Are there any repair techs that have modified the camera to solve this? I'm considering trying to fabricate a small aluminum cap that might be screwed into the side of the camera above the left strap bracket and which would extend up and over the dial itself. Has anyone tried this?<br>

If I can't find a solution I need to make a camera change as this has already been costly in terms of lost work.<br>

Thanks</p>

<p>Larry</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I moved an Epson 7600 Untrachrome from a USB connected Windows XP (32 bit) computer to a network connection and instlled what the Epson website lists as the drivers for 64 bit Vista. In theory it should work. In fact, it does not. Even the preview of a standard test shows the last lines are missing. Sending that to the printer just results in an error. No print.<br>

Is anyone out there successfully running an Epson 7600 on 64 bit Vista or Windows 7, and if you are, what driver works for you?<br>

Thanks<br>

Larry Luckham<br>

<a href="mailto:larry@luckham.com">larry@luckham.com</a></p>

<p>We have an Epson 7600 with Ultra-Chrome inks that since new has been connected to one computer through a USB cable. To make it more widly accessible I've recently moved it to our LAN. I tried setting up a print server on one of our servers that also functions a a print server for other printers, but couldn't get it to work properly. After deleting that installation I've now installed it on various desktops including a Win XP Pro (32 bit), a Vista Ultimate (32 bit), and a Windows 7 Ultimate (64 bit). All of the drivers are correct according to Epson's website.<br>

I can't get it to work correctly from any one of these. The printer is communicating with the network over a fixed IP address. I can get to the printer from all machines using the Epson Net Config software. In some cases printing a test page from the printer properties window results in almost a full page printing, then the printer goes into error status and further test pages just stick in the print que.<br>

Epson's online help is of no real help so I'm wondering if anyone here has had a similar problem and resolved it? Thanks for giving it a read!</p>