laurence_smith

I am not sure how to do this - can this be done? I just want to post a link to my photos on Photo.net from my Facebook page. I am a paid subscriber to Photo.net. Thank you.

<p>I have more images, just not sure how many I can post on here at one time. Looks like I screwed up at least a little bit, since there is the image, AND a link. But then again, clicking on the link will give you a better look, as the image that is showing on the post is degraded by inserting into the web.<br>

If anyone would like to see some more, I would be honored to provide some more examples from this camera. Even a friend of mine said, "Larry, so you actually LIKE a camera? What happened, did you go through a life change?" Haha!</p><div></div>

<p>GREAT dialog, everyone. I fussed around and was stymied the first week with the X100. This is the 8th week and I have since been very happy, once I could recognize the quirks and work with them for my own style of shooting.<br>

I am primarily a landscape shooter, so was not too worried about AF speed and things that might degrade from a street shooter's experience.<br>

I grew up basically in the Olympic Peninsula's rain forest valleys, went to school for a while at Amanda Park, in the Quinault Valley.<br>

So anyway, here's an image of one of my old "orientation logs". This old log used to be pretty clean as a windfall, so this is a good indicator of what happens over the course of 52 years. I was 10 years old and hiking with my grandfather when we used this as a "waypoint" for our compasses, WAY before anything like GPS.<br>

I am pretty ambivalent about cameras, and have ditched a lot of them, just because they didn't really give me the ease of usage I needed, especially in the tricky light of the rain forests. The Fuji changed that, is spades! I truly love this camera. It fits my needs in a splendid manner.</p>

<p>http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y25/Larry55/65_DSCF0975_Orientation_Log_Web_1.jpg</p><div></div>

<p>Douglas Herr wrote: <em>I saw the geese flying toward this great background. No time to switch to the shoulder stock or monopod, or even to take the camera off the tripod, so I picked the whole rig up and panned along with the geese as they flew past.</em><br>

Picking up the whole unit, camera and tripod and all, was certainly a "snap" call, and you obviously made the right call in that very limited amount of time. Also, it all goes toward building muscle strength!<br>

I have to mention that Douglas' suggestions and priorities regarding film camera gear certainly resonated with me. Douglas took the time, and exhibited his usual compassion mixed with passion, to inform me of the wonderful combinations of the SL2 and Leica lenses.<br>

I now use the SL2 about 75% of the time, with my digital SLR as a backup of sorts. There is still an ambient, visceral pleasure in using a film camera. Somehow it makes me feel that I am producing an image, rather than having the camera produce the image for me.<br>

I wish to thank Douglas for his predilection of encouraging the wonderful photographic tool inherent in the SL2! This advice has enabled me to seek the mutability of both the analog and digital worlds.<br>

While I realize that the equipment is only a single, probably minor, constituent in improving photographic output, I still feel that the simple act of using the SL2 provides me with the joy of the moments of preparing for, and completing the exposure. My own output may not be better per se, but the sheer aesthetics of using such a mechanical wonder provides enough for me.<br>

One other factor that "keeps me going" is to be able to see Douglas' output from his own mechanical wonder.</p>

<p>I see in these posts that mention was given to the Leica 280/4, and the 1.4 APO extender. Looking at Doug's amazing shot of the Canada Geese (<em>Branta canadensis</em>) in flight, I see that he pulled off a superbly sharp and succinctly unique image of these noble and intelligent birds. I am going to assume Doug used the 280/4 with the 1.4 extender. But, whatever the lenses used, this is a prime example of not always having to fill your frame to obtain a wonderful habitat shot. The feeling of speed here is undeniable, and the capture of the aerodynamicism of the geese makes the image sing.</p>

<p>I am off topic here, at least geographically. However, up here in Washington State there are many eagles, and many opportunities to photograph them. One of my "favorite rain forest valleys" will show up to a couple of dozen eagles in any given day, during the Coho Salmon, Steelhead, and Dolly Varden runs.<br>

Additionally, the wilderness beaches contained within Olympic National Park show many eagles. The Quillayute Islands National Preserve, just off the coast, is a gathering ground and harbors all manner of pelagic and ocean-oriented birds in its thousands of islands and seastacks.<br>

So...again I was off subject geographically, but certainly on-subject regarding Eagle sightings! I hope you find this useful, and best of luck in sighting eagles in the beautiful areas of Nevada and eastern California!<br>

Laurence</p>

<p>An old-timer still gives me very sharp and contrasty photos. That old-timer is the Super Takumar 55/1.8. Good for portraits, and excellent for sharp walking around as well as landscapes. Going price is $30-$50.</p>

Jean-Louis, THANK YOU. A superb comparison image. Did you set this up and create the image yourself? If so, it looks very professional.

Ferdi, thanks VERY much for researching this, and looking in the Prochnow books. I had a feeling they didn't fit, and of course they are much cheaper for the SL66 models. I will look for an SLX-6000 series for my newly (old)purchased 6006. I know, I know...taking a bit of a chance with the old 6006 model. But, I am giving it a try, and hoping for the best.

I have been searching, but can't seem to find out if the SL66 finders have any

compatibility with the 6006.

 

Has anyone used this combination? Thank you.

Mass, design, materials.

 

And everything else above!

 

And...is this mostly a male thing? Maybe a cheaper alternative to classic cars?

Another view.<div></div>

I happened on a near-mint Revueflex 3003 SLR, and have decided I would like to

use it, since I have a small cadre of M42 lenses that are just sitting around.

This will be a primary black and white box, and I think I could make good use

of my old Flektogon 4/25, Mamiya-Sekor 1.4/50, Jupiter 2/85, and Takumar

3.5/135.

 

I have no idea which battery it takes. I know that some of the models took

mercury batteries, up until a later time. I don't know if this 3003 is

a "later" model or not.

 

I'm hoping someone might know, as I've looked up Revuenon and Revueflex and

found SOME info, but no specific battery info.

 

I definitely want to use this old tank, as all seals and cushions are great, as

is the shutter.

 

I'll send a couple of images of the battery compartment, hoping that might

help.

 

Thanks all.

 

Laurence<div></div>

Thanks, Lauren and John. You know...the plate holder/sheath situation is probably not a good thing in my case. I DO like to fool around with things, but I think I'd rather use at least some of that time to actually take pictures! I think I'll pass on this one, and thank you for the sage advice. It looks like there an awful lot of nice 4x5 cameras out there, and perhaps that is the way to go, especially in terms of film availability.

 

Now...on to the auction site to look yet again...but ,that is what makes it fun!

I am considering bidding on that auction site for a ZI 9x12 with Compur shutter

and Tessar lens.

 

You may ask "why"? Haha! Well, I like to dabble and it's fun to experiment with

formats, at least for me. I understand that it's a bit tough to get film, but

that's okay with me. My plan is to use the very good service from DR5 Chrome for

black and white slides from the negs. I already use this for my medium format

work, and the results are really nice.

 

The only thing that I am not sure of, is the availability of film inserts into

the space for the exposure plate? I've gone through the search engine here, and

there seems to be a plethora of possibilities - some are problematic, others are

easy.

 

I am leaning towards the possibility that the Zeiss Ikon is pretty ubiquitous

and there are inserts to be found. Can anyone substantiate this for me?

 

The camera I am considering from the auction site: Auction # 280125694766

Thank you for the link, John! It looks like I can easily get a block of film to try (Efke 100), so that's what I'll do.

 

David: Thanks for the heads-up regarding price; this is about what I would expect for value. Regarding the film format, it's actually quite a popular format in Europe still, so I'm not anticipating too much trouble that way. The other thing to keep in mind is that this is simply a "departure"...a "side road" to go try something new. I'm certainly not anticipating giving up on my conventional photography equipment.

I'm inquiring about, of course, Certo's old 9x12cm, folding plate camera with

the Meyer Trioplan 4.5/135 lens. Probably made at the turn of the late 20s to

early 30s.

 

I'm lucky enough to be able to try out an old Certosport which is in wonderful

(visual) condition according to the old guy. He said it might have been used

only a few times, and the last time was by his son in the early 90s. I am in

hopes that the bellows isn't all cracked up from lack of use and I might even

get lucky with the shutter.

 

I'm willing to do the "standard" things to bring the shutter back to life and

to make the aperture blades workable, as long as it seems worthwhile based on

the time I have available. But, the "sweet spot" here is that I can just give

it back if I don't want it...can't get better than that.

 

I've used the gamut of formats in my 50+ years of photography - 35mm, folders,

view camera or two, Pentax 645 for many years, and current "beyond middle age

obsession" with a nice Leicaflex SL2 w/35 Emarit and 60 Macro Elmarit. Hey!

It's ALL fun, right? :-)

 

But anyway, this fun little trip with this kind of camera would certainly be

way beyond new for me...I'm frantically researching the little bit of info out

there on the 9x12 format with the Certosport. There's not a lot out there at

all.

 

So, I have some questions for this fun foray into yesteryear:

 

1. My benefactor said that there are 4 or 5 metal film holders that

are "probably brand new" (!) with the kit. That will be plenty for me, as I see

myself setting up for one to a few shots at a time only on this experimental

basis. I see that there is 9x12 Efke/Adox 100 B&W film available at times from

Freestyle, but was wondering if there is an "off chance" that there are more

film choices available worldwide? Google searches aren't paying off very well,

so perhaps someone in here knows? I would certainly be willing to break out the

chemicals and "cadge up" some old PVC or similar, to make myself a quick

processing scheme. But, of course, it would be nice if there was somewhere I

could send the 9x12 for processing if this all works out, only for the fact

that I like instant gratification sometimes without the extra putzing

around...haha!

 

2. I would not hesitate to cut down 4x5 sheet film if I HAD to...is there any

trick to cutting it down efficiently?

 

3. The Trioplan is, of course, a triplet. But, I've heard that it's a "very

good" triplet overall. I know that variances can occur from one lens to the

next, but does anyone have any information from first-hand use on this lens?

 

3. There is no instruction book, but I'm hoping that it's pretty simple and

straightforward.

 

Any hints of information from any of you out there would be wonderful!

 

Laurence

SL2 with 60 Macro-Elmarit<div></div>

Here's a quick shot of the SL2 with 35 Elmarit mounted.

 

Heading out!<div></div>

Hey Douglas, I've looked again at some of your images. This time I had the time to look longer...all I can say is "wow"! You have an incredible "eye" and your images have a particular style that exudes fine art, at least to me. Beautiful work and an inspiration to me.

 

It's good to hear that possibly the CLA might have mitigated any problem with the shutter mechanisms.

 

On a side note...just how many SL/SL2 bodies do you have? :-)

It's 6am here, and the camera was left cocked overnight. Fired it off just now, and still getting the telltale little flash of light, so I think I'm in good shape shutter-wise.

 

I'm loading up some 400UC in a minute, getting my raincoat and umbrella, and heading for the rain forest valley of the Quinault River.

 

Even on a cloudy/rainy day like today the sun is finally starting to warm the Earth on the Olympic peninsula, and the runoff from melting snow is just starting its incipient but inevitable rush to the sea.

 

The winter clouds that came off the ocean for the past 4 or 5 months, sublimated into deep snows this year, and now the cycle turns another corner as the streams put it all back to the ocean once more. I call this 4 to 6 week period the "frenzy of foam" because of the headlong rush of all that water filling, but not flooding, the streambanks.

 

Along with the "frenzied" waters from snowmelt, there are what I would call "normally aspirated" streams that are emitted from riparian aquifers that are not strictly formed of snow-basins.

 

These streams are year-round affairs without any large variations of water flow. They come off the hillsides in high numbers of variations, but all seem to be produced by the "time delay capsule" effect of the Upper Hudsonian ecotone that is so prevalent on the hillsides of Olympic valleys.

 

This "feeder" area is rich in mosses, lichens, Pacific Silver Firs and hemlocks. The steeply sloping boreal mass tends to hold the heavy rains of winter below the snowline in veritable cisterns of biomass. This biomass tends to dole out the water in a year-round controlled system that adds a perfect condition for keeping things well watered from source to outlet into the main flat-floored river valleys. Even during the record dry winter/summer of two years ago, these streams never lost their efficacy. That is a testament to the power of conservation that the Earth bestows upon itself - no need for any intervention by humans, for sure!

 

To me, these little pure streams are one of the highlights of the rain forest world.

 

Sorry to get sort of off subject. My brain waxes rhapsodical whenever I turn my thoughts to this beautiful area so close to me. I'll try to capture both the "frenzy" and the "normally aspirated" streams today with the SL2. We'll see what happens.

Hi Jerry. Thank you very MUCH for the tip! I kept it wound for four hours and just now set off the shutter at 1/500th while looking through the back while the camera was pointed at the bright sky. I DEFINITELY saw the small flash of light...so I am hopeful! The camera had a CLA in July of 2005, but it sounds like that would not have fixed the type of problem you are talking about. Still, I am going to leave it cocked overnight and check again in the morning, just to be sure.

 

One question: Is this a problem that happens only after the film is advanced, and then sits in the "cocked" state for several hours? I don't usually advance the film until I'm out in the field and anticipating a shot within either a few seconds or no more than 15 minutes or so. If I had the problem, and it was only when the camera sits after being cocked, then I could live with that.

 

In any case, it's looking favorable for this one! Thank you VERY much again for the heads-up!

 

I'm thrilled so far with this camera. The next "proof in the pudding" will be in developing that first roll to make sure that there's an image!

Vincenzo: I appreciate the congratulations. It truly does seem to be a masterpiece of build quality. I shined the flashlight into the mirror assembly and lever mechanisms, and the sizes of the hardware is comparable to my medium format Pentax. Almost an "overbuild" feeling here, which is gratifying. I even noticed the milling of the small pieces seemed to be of such quality that you would have thought it was made for the exterior instead of hidden away in the recesses of the camera. All just very very nice.

Gary: It will be slides this first time around. Locked and loaded, Gary!

Paul, Stephen, and feli: I am gratified that it looks like you all sort of had the same reaction to this equipment.

 

The funny thing is...I guess we all form different images of something that is anticipated. I knew, of course, that the reviews that I have read showed a lot of positives. However, I still wasn't prepared for the utter "machined" feel of this unit. It really did set me back on my heels a little. There's a quiet sort of solidity and a volumetric precision that simply JUMPED out at me. I guess, to continue on with the pre-ordained mental image, I just wasn't expecting something that is fairly old like this, to exude such a dignified mesh of constituent integration of gears, along with quiet, dense calibration.

 

Needless to say, I am anticipating a lot of use out of this gem.