User_502260

<p>John-Paul,<br> I'm glad I'm not the one who dropped it.<br> Jeff</p> <p> </p>

<p>I have a number of ETRS bodies. In most cases I use a grid type screen if a camera has interchangeable screens. I have also had grid type screens custom installed in some cameras which did not have interchangeable screens. Lenses for the ETR series cameras are not very fast. Putting the 100/4 macro on the Auto Bellows can really make things look dim. A grid screen allows me to focus on any part of the scene without having to recompose. It is also helpful for composition. I don't like the split image or the microprism focusing aids, especially with medium format cameras. The screen type I find most annoying is the 45 degree split image with the microprism collar. I have one of these for my Mamiya M645 cameras. I find myself constantly tilting the camera 45 degrees </p>

<p>I shot a roll of Portra 400 120 on Sunday with a Mamiya M645 1000S. The camera had the motorized winder with the righ hand grip attached as well as a PD-S finder and the 35/3.5 which I recently got. The results came back earlier today and look good. The combination of body, winder, lens and meter prism is quite heavy and not terribly comfortable to use. A Bronica ETRS with a Speed Grip (manually operated), lens, prism finder and back is much more comfortable to hold and use. Advancing the film manually with the Bronica is not much slower than using the Mamiya with the motorized winder. By using the Bronica you lose the top shutter speed of 1/1000 but you are able to synch with electronic flash at any speed. I use both systems and have a 70/2.8 leaf shutter lens for the Mamiyas if I need a higher flash synch speed. <br> An ETRS with a 50 and a 105 covers a lot of ground. The 105 was discontinued when the PE lenses came out but can still be found easily. I sometimes carry a 50 and a 100 Macro. A 60 and a 135 can also be a good combination. The 60 is moderately wide and the 135 gives a shorter minumum focus distance than any of the 150s. </p>

<p>Can a Pro S revolving back adapter be attached to a Pro body?</p>

<p>I already had a Pro S with the Pro S revolving back adapter and two 6X7 Pro S backs, 120 and 220. Now I also have a Pro body and somewhere I have a Pro revolving back adapter. Can I use the Pro S backs on the Pro with the Pro revolving back adapter? </p>

<p>You could just get an adapter ring but if you need more details, Greg Weber should be able to supply them. You can reach him at <a href="mailto:gweber@webercamera.com">gweber@webercamera.com</a> or at 402-721-3873.</p>

<p>I forgot one last thing. I got a medium size camera bag for $5 so I could haul everything away comfortably. </p>

<p>I didn't get to the show until 11:30 this morning so I don't know how many people got there before me. It was not crowded when I arrived and no one asked me for admission. In no particular order I picked up the folowing: a Hoya Super EL 135/5.6 enlarging lens, a 50/1.7 Mamiya EF, a Soligor C/D 24-70/3.5-4.8 in Canon FD mount, a small Slik ball head, a wide angle flash diffuser which may fit a Nikon SB-11 flash, a Mamiya RB67 Pro body with a cracked focusing screen and no revolving back adapter, a Komura Telemore II 2X teleconverter in Konica AR mount, 1 roll of Kodak Ektar 100 36, 1 roll of Fuji 200 36 color print film and 5 rolls of Portra 400 120. Working backward, the film is all in date. The Komura teleconverter is a seven element model and is NOS. The RB67 body seems to be working and there are no obvious bellows light leaks. The flash diffusor looks good and will fit something. The Slik ball head looks new and will probably be used tp hold a flash on a tripod. The 50/1.7 Mamiya is my second and is in nice condition. Now if I could just get a Mamiya ZE camera to work. The Soligor lens is one I have never seen before. If the sun comes back out I will try it today. It goes down to 1:4 and is in good condition. The Hoya enlarging lens seems to have some fungus inside but should clean up nicely. </p>

<p>As slide film ages it loses D-MAX. Underexposing it does not really solve that problem.</p>

<p>I don't know what the advantage of using Rodinal or a developer similar to Rodinal with Tri-X is. If you like the tonality then using such a combination with medium format will give the tonality you are looking for but without too much grain. Some people liked using Agfa APX 100 with Rodinal. Both APX 100 and APX 400 were far more grainy than other 100 and 400 speed films already on the market. In medium format the APX 100 looked much better. If you are looking for a developer with very good keeping qualities and in liquid form then try HC-110. </p>

<p>I have the 35-105/3.5 and two copies of the later 35-105/3.5-4.5. When I find a 28-85 FD at a good price I may get one. For now I have several 28-90/2.8-3.5 Series 1 and 28-85/2.8-3.8 Vivitars to use. I had read that the older and larger 35-105/3.5 was a better lens but I actually prefer the later model. It's slower but smaller and lighter. It is good for portraits at the 105 end, which the 35-105/3.5 isn't, and it is quite sharp. Where I have to be careful is in flare situations. The later lens is more flare prone. </p>

<p>I don't see the 200/1.8 lens or screens for the T90 so it must have come from before those. I have many screens for the original F-1 and the F-1n as well as many of the later L screens. I have fewer screens for the F-1N. From what I have seen, an F-1n with an L screen is about as bright as similar screen in an F-1N. If you are shooting a flat wall then the standard combination/microprism screen would be fine with almost any lens. When shooting something more three dimensional like a person's face it's easier to use a plain matte or grid screen. It makes getting the eyes in focus easier. My favorite of the F-1/F-1n screens is the L D. For general picture taking and not specifically for portraits, the L E is OK. For the AE-1 Program I'm sure I will stop after getting the standard screen which comes with the camera on its way to me, the C screen and the D screen. If I need anything more I can use a Canon F-1, a Nikon F2 or even a Mamiya NC1000S. The Minolta X-700 does not have interchangeable finders but is very nice to use with a grid screen. Finding the Minolta screens for the X-700 is the hard part. </p>

<p>I am now waiting for an AE-1 Program body and a Canon C (plain matte) screen from ebay sellers. I have plenty of screens for my Canon F-1 cameras but the AE-1 Program will give me something lighter to carry. I am also looking for a grid screen for the AE-1 Program because I prefer it to a plain matte screen in most circumstances. I do like a plain matte screen for getting closer than about 1:1. When I use an auto focusing camera like a Nikon N90Swith manual focus lenses I don't always bother to put in a grid screen. The standard screen, even with its AF area focusing brackets, is bright and easy to focus with. There is also the focus confirmation which can be handy with slower lenses. </p>

<p>I recently added some meters to my colllection: a Lunisix 3, a Luna Pro, a Luna Pro SBC and a Super Pilot SBC. Last weekend I used a Sixtar (non-US Super Pilot) to shoot with a Konica FP with a 52/1.4. I now have one meter prism for my Bronica GS-1s and one meter prism for my Mamiya M645 (first series) cameras. </p>

<p>Make it than changing a screen...</p>

<p>There is no really good way to shoot portraits with the standard screen supplied with the A-1. The A-1 was sold as a camera with "factory interchangeable" screens. I have an A-1 with a slight squeak and with the standard screen. I have another A-1, not working, with a grid screen. I am looking to have the working camera serviced and to switch the screens. Oddly enough, the AE-1 Program, which has fewer features, has user interchangeable screens. A working AE-1 program goes for very little and the screens are available. I find that there are so few situations in which a combination split image/microprism screen works well that I shoot most often with a grid type screen. A plain matte screen will also work but the lines in a grid screen serve as a sharpness reference. I use a grid screen in one of my Minolta X-700s, in Canon F-1s, in Bronica and Mamiya medium format cameras, in Nikon F2, FE, FE2, N2020, N8008S and N90S cameras and even in two Konicas, an FT-1 and a T2. The Konica cameras have custom installations of the Nikon E screen. I can put a 105/2.5 Nikkor on a Nikkormat FT2 and shoot a nice portrait but if the light is low or the subject isn't perfectly still, I'll wish I had a grid screen. The grid screen is also good for macro work and for using slow prime and zoom lenses. If I know I will need to change screens with any frequency I will take a Canon F-1 because changing the screens with the metal frames is less fiddly that changing a screen in a different kind of camera where there is no frame. I'm also less likely to damage the screen. </p>

<p>If you can live with zone focusing and don't mind the weight I would recommend a Rollei 35. I have an original German f/3.5 model and an early Singapore f/3.5 model. The German one will be going out for service soon. I have two of the early black plastic Minox models and I do not like them. If the build quality doesn't throw you off then an Olympus XA model could be nice too. </p>

<p>I have a Metz 403 which I have not used for years. It is powered by a 510 violt battery. The last time I looked for one the 510 volt battery was available from very few dealers and was expensive. Would it be possible to use a rechargeable battery with the same dimensions as the 510 volt, like one from Sunpak? Most of these are probably long out of use but I could conceivably disassemble the rechargeable battery and put in new cells. Is there any other practical way to power the 403?</p>

<p>Some of the Canon FL lenses also took 48mm filters.</p>

<p>I have an RB67 Pro S and several GS-1s. So far I haven't tried the Pro S with a left hand grip. For hand held shooting the GS-1 with a Speed Grip is much more comfortable that any RB or RZ. There is more than enough GS-1 equipment floating around to put together what you need. If I knew I would only be using the camera on a tripod then the RB is fine. I have lenses for it fro 65 to 250. For the GS-1 I have lenses from 50 to 200. I use my GS-1s mostly hand held and in good weather. I have carried SQ-As with the usual 50/80/150 combination, also for hand held shooting. If you can haul the weight and will use a tripod then an RB or RZ is fine. You have many lenses and accessories to choose from and your technique, rather than the brand of equipment, will determine the quality of the results. </p>

<p>If your 75-205 is the two touch model then it's the one I wrote about some years ago in CameraShopper. It's large and heavy but a decebt performer. I also have at least one example of the two touch model but have not used ot as much. I don't know whether the 2X teleconverters which are marked 75-205/3.8 were made for the two touch model or the one touch model. Some of these lenses have dried up lubricant and it prevents the mechanism from operating. </p>

<p>You can get your Konica repaired by Greg Weber. He can be reached at 402-721-3873 or at <a href="mailto:gweber@webercamera.com">gweber@webercamera.com</a> </p>

<p>I recently shot a roll of Ektar 100 in a Konica FP from 1963. The lens was Konica's budget model, the 50mm f/2 Hexanon. A frame with a shot of a Japanese maple tree was enlarged to 8X10. It's just perfect. I have the 52mm f/1.8 and 52mm f/1.4 F mount Hexanons too. The f/1.4 lens is with Greg Weber for service. A color print film as good as Ektar 100 was not available in 1963 when the camera and lens were made. Between that time and now many improvements were made in coatings, close focusing, special glasses etc. but the standard lenses of that time were and are quite capable.<br> The camera bodies themselves went through many more changes. Even though the Konica FP has an early version of the metal vertically running Copal Square shutter, most other SLRs of the time had horizontally running cloth shutters. The cloth shutter cameras had slower flash synch speeds. Later bodies had better ways of keeping the film flat even before the vacuum back of the Contax RTS III. More sophisticated metering systems eventually convinced people that they no longer needed external meters for most situations. The instant return mirror and auto diaphragm lenses made shooting much faster. Exposure automation sped things up even more. For static subjects without difficult light any number of older cameras can be fine. The improvemets allowed good quality results with more and more shooting situations. A Nikon N90S is much more sophisticated than a Konica FP but for people who like to collect and use older cameras they both have uses. </p>

<p>Most of my medium format rangefinder experience was with Koni-Omegas. These are heavry and quirky cameras but can deliver excellent results if they are in good condition and used properly. I have a number of 6X6 TLRs which I still use sometimes. Most of my medium format cameras now are SLRs. They have fallen so much in price and are so much more versatile than other medium format cameras, I mostly use them when shooting 120/220 film. I agree that the Rolleiflex you are talking about would not be very practical. The Bronica EC/ECTL models are old, very heavy and difficult to get repaired. A Mamiya 6 in good condition is certainly capable of good results but you will not get very close with it and extra lenses can be very expensive. In the 6X6 SLR format I have four Bronica SQ-As and an SQ-AM. The original SQ is even older and does not have all of the features. The later SQ-Ai offers TTL flash capability but has more complicated electronics. With an waist level finder the SQ-A will give you the same reversed image as a TLR with a waist level finder. The difference is that you can get a number of different prism finders and that will let you see an unreversed image. With extension tubes you can get closer than with any rangefinder. Each lens has its own electronically controlled leaf shutter and synchs with flash at any speed. The 80/2.8 S and PS lenses are both excellent. A standard kit would be a 50/3.5, an 80/2.8 and a 150/3.5 S or f/4 PS. The PS lenses are the later ones. You can cover a lot of ground with these three lenses. The camera has interchangeable backs so you can change film in mid roll by changing backs. An SQ-A which has not been used constantly by a professional photographer can be reliable and give good results. Be sure to get a Speed Grip if you get an SQ-A or any of the SQ cameras (except the SQ-AM, which has a built-in motor). It makes holding the camera and winding the film much more comfortable. There are many plain (no meter) prism finders around and they sell for very little. Most of these cameras were used indoors for event photography and with flash. A meter prism just wasn't needed. Still, they are available if you want one. </p>

<p>I also recommend Eric Hendrickson. He did a fine job on my KM.</p>