User_502260

<p>I bought a number of items on eBay from Japanese sellers this year. They were all exactly as described and arrived very quickly (to the U.S.). For a long time there have been collectors in Japan who bought Japanese made equipment which was exporter years earlier. Collectors do not live forever in any country and their collections eventually find their way to the marketplace. </p>

<p>I must have every version of the 50/1.7 Rokkor. This is the lens which replaced the 55/1.7 in about 1973. Lenses sold in the U.S. were marked MC Rokkor X while in other countries they were just marked MC Rokkor. When the MD Rokkor X came out some parts , like the aperture ring, were plastic. All of the 50/1.7 manual focus Minolta lenses are excellent. If you are unable to get good results with it then both the lens and the camera should be checked out. I used my son's 50/1.7 MD Rokkor X last week on vacation and I expect only the best results from it. Many companies made very high quality 50-55mm f/1.7-f/2 standard lenses over the years. Minolta is one of them. </p>

<p>I just took a few shots through the hotel room window with the 200/4.5 wide open and then some with the f/4 lens. It's easier to judge correct infinity focus with the faster lens when shooting subjects which are somewhere near where infinity is for a lens of this focal length. I nearly took a 200/3.5 along. </p>

<p>Wait until you see how much it costs to develop the Velvia.</p>

<p>Last summer I was on vacation in Cape May and couldn't get my Mamiya M645 1000S to work properly with the PD-S finder. My PX-28 and back-up PX-28 both failed to get the LEDs in the finder to light up. A trip to a local Radio Shack eventually solved that problem. I am now on vacation in Mont Tremblant. I have the Mamiya with me and it's working properly as far as I can tell. For 35mm equipment I took a Minolta X-700 with a grid screen. Lenses: 28/2.8 MC Celtic, 35/2.8 MD Celtic (last model), 50/3.5 MC/QF, 100/2.5 MC and 200/4.5 MC Rokkor-X. On Friday I discovered that the aperture mechanism in the 200 was gummed up. I called KEH and had them FEDEX me a 200/4 MD Tele Rokkor. It went out on Monday and arrived yesterday. It's in perfect condition and had a reasonable price. I used it quite a bit today. I suppose I could have looked for a lens when I was in Montreal yesterday but we were too busy for that. I lugged the Mamiya with the right hand motor winder and PD-S finder around all day. Lenses were: 35/3.5, 55/2.8, 150/4 and 300/5.6. I got the most use out o fthe 55 and shot on Ektar 100 and Portra 400. Before calling KEH I tried looking at eBay Canada. The sellers were almost all in the U.S. and the wouldn't ship to my hotel because it isn't registered with eBay. Taking CMCs on vacation is like driving an old car on vacation. You never know what might happen. In this case it's all's well that ends well. The car is not a classic. It's a 2013. I thank KEH for coming through for me and I will think of them when I look at the photos. </p>

<p>I have thought about getting a T90 from time to time but I don't kow how long it might work. The Nikon N90S and F90X cameras I have cost very little and both work well. I'm not sure what feaures the T90 might have that those Nikons don't but I also have plenty of Nikkors so I can enjoy using both systems.</p>

<p>I don't think Ilford invented chromogenic b&w film. The first one I remember was Agfa Vario-XL. I mentioned it to someone at Agfa before Agfaphoto blew up. He was not old enough to remember Vario-XL. I guess I'll stock up on the Kodak stuff when I get back from my vacation. I have some digital equipment but I still shoot mostly film. I spent many hours yesterday in Montreal with a Mamiya M645 1000S around my neck. Attached to it was the right hand motor winder, a PD-S prism finder and mostly a 55/2.8. In my bag I carred a 35/3.5, a 150/4 and a 300/5.6. I used Ektar 100 and Portra 400. The weather was quite warm and it stayed sunny until late in the afternoon. </p>

<p>Livingston Camera in Livingston, NJ does excellent High Resolution scans. When I get back from my vacation I will be getting some.</p>

<p>Any hood used with a zoom lens will cover only part of the zoom range. More often than not I shade the lens in difficult situations with my left hend while I hold the camera with my right hand. The 35-105/3.5-4.5 New FD is difficult to use in flare prone situations so try to change your shooting angle if you need to. </p>

<p>I just got a bottle of the L110 developer from Freestyle to try. It doesn't look like HC-110 but I'll see how it works. Somewhere I have an old unopened bottle of Agfa Rodinal Special. I think it is also a phenidone based formula in a glycol mixture of some kind. My favorite long lasting developer used to be Edwal FG-7 when it was sold in the dark brown glass bottle. Once it was switched to a plastic bottle it didn't last nearly as long. </p>

<p>If you need to make large prints and the number of prints you need is limited then you would need a very expensive digital camera to match the image quality of a 6X7 color negative shot on Ektar 100 or Portra 160. If you need a large volume of large prints then the film, processing and scanning can be time consuing and expensive. I agree that digital b&w does not have the same look as traditional film b&w with projection printing. The digital imaging gives you more and easier control of many image elements but still not the same look as film. </p>

<p>I have two PD-S finders and, I think, two plain prism finders. The PD-S, if it is working properly, can be reasonably accurate. Like any other meter it has a certain angle of acceptance. As long as you can estimate the angle and correct for very light or very dark subjects it works well. A month or so ago I shot a roll of color print film using a PD-S finder on a 1000S with the motor winder. The whole roll was shot using a 35/3.5 which I recently got. All of the exposures were fine. I made sure I didn't have too much sky in the finder when I metered. With wide lenses this is helpful. My other Mamiya M645s include a J and two original bodies. If I don't think I will need a top speed of 1/1000 I might use a different M645 body or one of my Bronica ETR/ETRS cameras. I do not have any meter prisms for my Bronica ETR series bodies and use hand held meters with them. For my Broinica GS-1 cameras I have a number of plain prism finders as well as an AE finder. The AE finder also works well. </p> <p> </p>

<p>I have versions of all of these. I would recommend the SMC Takumar. </p>

<p>Clean the battery ends, battery contacts and lens rear contacts with a pencil eraser. If that doesn't work try another battery. Many PX-28s are dead while still in date.</p>

<p>I have a 50/1.7 SMC Pentax-F which I use on manual focus K mount cameras like my Pentax K1000 and Pentax KM. I use it for portraits on my Pentax K-x DSLR too. It seems to work well on anything it fits. </p>

<p>The lenses you are thinking of using are not realy optimized for macro use. Slide copiers are very reasonably priced and usually use enlarging lenses. If the slide copier comes with the enlarging lens that's fine. If it doesn't then you can get one easily enough. You can then buy some memory cards and rent a new D810. A medium format DSLR with a sensor not much larger than 24X36mm will not give you much better results than the Nikon D810. When the improved version of the D810 comes out you can rent that model instead. Whether you have enough film to be scanned that a dedicated scanner is worth buying is another question. For now a slide copier using an enlarging lens and a rented Nikon D810 should give you adequately high quality results. </p>

<p>My own experience with a Nova 1B was not very good but I see that good work with the camera is possible. I wish I had your ability to get the old cameras going. </p>

<p>Where film has an advantage is when you want to make avery large print without buying the digital equipment you would need. At a recent camera show, a photographer told me that when he needs to make a vary large print he shoots color negative film with a 4X5 camera and then has the negative drum scanned. How large a print can he make? As large as he likes. If I need to make a large print I will shoot Ektar 100 in a 6X7 camera. Can I get a digital camera to match that level of quality in a large print? I probably can but it would cost a lot. It would only be practical to get a camera like that if I needed to make very large prints on a regular basis. I still use mostly film but I do have a Pentax K-x DSLR. What's my favorite lens to use with it? A 50/1.7 SMC Pentax-F. From what I can see, the lens is more capable that the sensor. At the lower ISO settings very nice 8X10s and 11X14s are possible. </p>

<p>Try another PX-28. Many PX-28 batteries are dead when new and in date.</p>

<p>I agree that this is an interesting project but you are in a narrow range of focal lengths from 120 to 150. It is only recently that I have become interested in Mamiya RB cameras. I have a working Pro S and a Pro which is being serviced along with its revolving back adapter and 120 back. For lenses I now have: 65, 90, 127, 180, 250. I may look for a 50 k/l. In the interim I have a 50/4.5 Zenzanon PG for my Bronica GS-1 cameras. I thought about using non-original lenses on a 645 camera but started in that format with Bronica ETR series cameras. It would be difficult to use non-original lenses with one of those cameras. If I need a higher top shutter speed or if I want to attach non-original lenses I can use my M645 1000S. When the original M645 came out one of the camera magazines tried it with various older lenses with some success. By now, original lenses for Mamiya RB, Mamiya M645 and Bronica (electronic shutter models) cameras are very reasonable so the need to adapt older lenses is not as pressing. I satisfied my desire to get closer in medium format by getting a 100/4 Zenzanon E Macro, the first version of the ETR Auto Bellows and the 2X E teleconverter. Throw in an extension tube and I can get as close as I like. I do not yet have a 140 Mamiya macro for the RBs so I might be interested in adapting a body cap to accept enlarging lenses for macro use. </p>

<p>I have a number of Gossen Scout models which work. I use them when the light is good. I also have Gossen CdS and SBC meters for when the light isn't so good.</p>

<p>You rewind film in a Mamiya M645 1000S? Is the lever on the right side of the camera set on Multi?</p>

<p>The regular Pentax 6X7/67 lenses do not have shutters and are very reasonably priced now. If you need leaf shutters for flash synch purposes Pentax has some of those too. For rectangular prints and especially for the standard sizes like 8X10, 11X14 and 16X20, you are not likely to see much if any image quality difference by using the Hasselblad's lenses. My 6X7 SLR cameras are Bronica GS-1s and Mamiya RBs and they provide excellent image quality if used properly. They also still cost much less than comparabe Hasselblad equipment. If you must use the 6X7 format then get a camera you can afford lenses for.</p>

<p>You can also try Clayton F60. It is available from Freestyle. It works well for pushing and does not cost very much.</p>

<p>This happened to me with the first version of the 200/2.8 New FD. I bought the lens in pieces and had it reassembled. Without first trying it out I took it up to Lake George with an F-1 and a few other lenses. I put it on the camera and tried to shoot a scene on the other side of the lake. It just wouldn't focus that far. I had the lens adjusted when I got back and it is one of my favorite 200s. Much has been written about the IF version but my non-IF version is very good. With a lens as long and fast as a 200/2.8, infinity focus wide open is very far away. </p>