dave_bulmer

Last seen living in France, still making cameras, but I haven't

managed to track down an address for him.

Make your choice now, golf or large format, either one will cost you

a small fortune and you'll never perfect either. I take pictures like

Tiger Woods and smack a ball like ...you get the picture. Regards Dave

I work for the British Library and have access to many photography

books of all styles. I am most interested in landscape, but one of

the photographers that I constantly revisit is Ezra Stoller, an

architectural photographer who can span many decades. Not too much on

technique in the books I've seen, but the pictures speak for

themselves. Regards...

Hi Simon. I had been meaning move up into LF for some time, and by

chance saw an advert in the UK for the cadet or explorer as it's

called over here. For the equivalent of $600.00 I got the 150mm lens,

camera, 2 d/d slides, pack of film and focusing cloth. For a beginner

it was just what I wanted with loads of movement and I bought a

couple of old lenses and an even older enlarger with the money left

over. I have read many comments about the plastic feel of some of the

knobs etc and how over tightening might cause cracking. Well yes if

you use a torque wrench. The only problem I had was the long monorail

which made it difficult to pack. So I bought the shorter monorail and

these can be removed anyway for further ease of packing. If you want

a cheap monorail go ahead, it's a good product and can handle lenses

from 75 to 300 easily. The lensboards are cheap, as are other

accessories. I have also just bought an old MPP microtechnical camera

which I love because it's old and has more soul. But I still use the

cadet. Would I buy the cadet again? Yes, if I was in the same

financial situation. No, if I had more money to spend. Remember the

first car you ever bought after you learned to drive? Probably an old

banger but would you really have waited another year to get a shinier

model. No way

If low budget is your priority, then as has been said many times

before, spend the extra cash on lenses that will stay with you for a

long time. How many responses say I wish I had never sold that lens

etc...The calumet cadet holds the lens at one end and the film at the

other, in common with every other camera, no matter how expensive.

You won't polish it and put it on show in the front room of your

house, unlike many more expensive field cameras. It has sufficient

movement for most applications and takes lenses from 75mm to 300mm.

Don't get me wrong, I definitely intend to save up and spend my hard-

earned cash on just such a wooden field camera when economics permit,

they are beautiful, but for now, film, lenses and location and not

dark boxes are what matters most. If you can only afford a new cadet

then buy one and look at the results and not the method of taking. If

you are really concerned, when someone asks you what camera you used,

just name whatever brand you want, no-one is going to question your

choice. Up the revolution...Dave.

I recently posted a question asking for advice about a replacement light source for a cold cathode head for an old Lines and Jones enlarger that I had ordered but had been broken in transit. The shop couldn't find a replacement as it's about 40 years old. They refunded my money and told me to keep it as they didn't want it back. Several people suggested an Aristo replacement and they had one almost the same dimensions but it was going to be about $300.00 all in. Pete Andrews suggested a Mustek transparency adaptor, tracked one down and reserved it for me. It arrived today cost, £50.00 and after a couple of minutes with a hacksaw fits perfectly well for my needs. The light source is even and bright, so LF b/w printing is alive and hopefully well in Yorkshire. Thanks Pete. Oh and it's going to cost me a beer as well.

So a big %^)$^$£% to Charlie and a big ^%&()^%%"$£% to Pete, and all

the other contributors. Regards Dave.

Thanks for the lead on Aristo. I contacted them and they seem to be

promising. Also Pete Andrews who regularly contributes to the forum

suugested that a de vere 504 head may fit and I have an address for

the distributers of that company so all is not lost I hope. Thanks

again.

Recently ordered a s/h Lines and Jones 5x4 enlarger. When it arrived the cathode tube was in bits. I've been back to the dealer who can't find a replacement of any kind but managed to find someone who'll hand-make one for the price of rewiring the entire house! They've actually refunded me the price so I have an old but dirty enlarger with no light source. On the plus side the dallmeyer lens supplied as stuck on F8 is now working thanks to 2 hours cleaning and some lighter fluid. Do I have any options regarding fitting some sort of light source? I'm in England by the way and not in any way interested in MTF curves.

My poor old father shrugged off his mortal coil a couple of years ago and having finally got around to clearing out his boxes in the attic I have found an old lens in a very nice brown leather case. It's made by R and J Beck, 7.2 in isostigmar 1:5.8 no15366. it has the appearance of (I'm guessing by the focal length,)an lf enlarger lens perhaps, but as my dad only dabbled in 35mm it's origin is a mystery. Any clues if it could be usable? I hate to think of old equipment thrown into a box just because it's no longer fashionable, so if I can produce an image from it, I will, just in case the old man's got his eye on me. Input appreciated as always...

You should really be asking yourself why it is missing the cable

release terminal. If it has been dropped or knocked there may be

other damage that isn't so visible. Personally, I always expose using

a cable release so I would be inclined to think twice.

Thanks for the advice. I contacted my local machine shop who took one

look and said , easy, £2.00 ($3.00),if the boss doesn't see, so

that's me set up for the weekend. All I have to do now is "paint it

black" as an aging rocker once said.