Andrew in Austin

While there is a downside to the Electro 35 series with regards to its aperture preferred auto only mode, there is an upside as well. When using an automatic flash for either fill or in a dim lit room, just set the aperture to either a stop or two above the flash output. Then take your photo. I didn't use the flash setting very much.

 

Although, the Konicas are highly regard with regards to their optics, I found the Yashica Electro 35 GT to be quite adept as an on the go camera. Mine lasted from 1972 until the late-80's. At the time when I gave it away, I was mostly shooting with an SLR and an Olympus XA as back-up.

 

My only pet pieve with the Electro 35 series is they lack a shutter speed indicator in the viewfinder to inform you of the selected shutter speed. By the way, the Copal shutter is an electromechanically controlled mechanical shutter. It uses an electromagnet to keep the shutter open longer than 1/500th of second. I believe it is stepless as well.

 

You do have some control over the exposure by changing the film speed dial either downward or upwards. You also use the film speed dial to manually compensate for filters.

 

Battery adapters are available on ebay and from yashicaguy.com.

Mr. Eaton, you've made my observations with regards to your public behaviour towards those you disagree with, vividly clear. I rest my case.

 

As to printing chromogenics on Panalure, that is a million dollar idea that deserves exploration. Thanks for the tid bit.

 

T.D. you've thanks for posting the solution to a difficult lighting situation.

Comparing a 70's Pro MF rangefinder with a 50's MF folder whose design is a carry over from the 1930's isn't really going to be an even match.

 

I don't own one, but a Fuji G690 in decent shape, should be the better camera.

 

The normal lens on the original G690 is a Tessar type lens formulation with the shutter built into the barrel. The images should compare at least as well if not better than to any of the 50's folders in top condition that used a unit focusing Tessar type lens. With regards to the newer GW690III with a fixed 90mm that's better color corrected, hmmm.................

 

One thing to keep in mind is compared to a Bessa II or a prewar Super Ikonta, the original Fuji 6 x9 used interchangeable lenses and it is going to be a heavy beast. If your pockets are deep enough, having those interchangeable lenses is big plus in my book.

 

I use an Agfa Super Isolette about once or twice a month. As you probably know isn't a 6 by 9. The coated unit focused Solinar delivers superb images.

 

The Super Isolette is an outstanding MF camera for what I paid for it. Yet, I'm sure that a low mileage GW690 III on my tripod would be a measureable improvement over a 50 year design.

According to the Agfa chart for the old TMx.

1+25 = 5 and a half minutes

1+50 = 12 minutes

 

Add 10%, if you plan to presoak.

Mr. Eaton, I for one found you remarks both rude and unprofessional. It is possible to discuss a personal preference without resorting to derogatory labeling or insulting insuations towards those who hold views that differ. We are all photo enthusiast here. To me the use of derisive name calling is no more than an intellectual refuge traditionally used by both school yard bullies and fascists.

 

Well, I logged on to read what others had to say about cromogenic B&W films and have learned most of what I aready knew. Some of us prefer XP2 to TCN-400. I personally don't think that XP-2 gives the look of traditional B&W print, but as mentioned there are times when that can be beneficial.

 

What I'd like to know, does it make a difference which film you wish to do a digital scan? Thanks.

<p>Peter you really don't want to know how stuck the outer element is. I'd recommend you do the full enchilada, which is a full cleaning of the lens and shutter assemblies.</p>

 

<p>I have my own variation on this story, but let me refer you to <a href="http://www.DavidRichert.com/AGFA%20rebuild/agfa.htm"> David Richert's Web Pages</a>

.</p>

 

<p>Once you are ready to reassemble the lens assembly keep in mind that the final step will be to set the focus. My advice is to wait for a moonlit night to adjust it to infinity. In lieu of a ground glass focusing screen, then 3M Scotch tape across the back of the film plane will do in a pinch. The moon is your distant object. Once you've determined the focus for infinity, reinstall the focus ring and tighten the three retaining screws very carefully.</p>

 

There is more info with regards to dissembly, cleaning and resetting the focus at <a href="http://www.rolandandcaroline.co.uk/repair.html">Roland & Caroline Given's Web Pages</a>.

As mentioned, a small lab grade graduated cylinder will certainly make life much easier. I use an old Pyrex 10ml graduate. I also have a 250ml and 1000ml.

 

I guess the graduates sold in photo stores are plastic because they figure stuff will get broken in a darkroom. Glass, in my opinion, is much easier to clean up after.

 

With regards to keeping the numbers even, I see no harm in using 5 ml of Rodinal to 250 ml of filtered or distilled water. It should not be enough to worry about overflowing your small tank and as a side benefit, the little extra will insure that reel is fully covered with developer.

Just a final consideration, many of the newer point and shoots, especially those with zooms, don't deliver the color depth of your Rollei 35 S. If you want images with colors that have some bite, you need to spend some extra dough.

 

Most of the available offerings for pocketable 35mm with aperture priority, some manual focus control, in addition to autofocus will be in the $400 to $800 dollar range. If you wish to be able to use filters, then only the * Ricoh GR-1 * series and the * Contax T-3 * have readily available filter adapters.

 

The battery dependency issue is in my opinion just the cost of doing business theses days. Just be sure to carry spares where ever you go, in case the batteries die on a Sunday in a location with either no camera batteries or the stores that sell them are all closed.

I thought the college crowd went for Jaegermeister, but I digress.

 

This is just a guess, but Goldschlager is a colloidal/solution with some gold metal in it. Evaporate a few cases of Goldschlager on a hot sunny day to extract the gold. Hopefully a gold film will stick to the inside of glass.

 

How you wish to change the gold goop into a foil I'll leave up to you. Maybe you can place the alpha source inside one of the bottles and work from there.

 

I thought about melting the gold which has a melting point lower than less than glass, but how are you going to reach 1600 degrees fahrenheit with a box of film, a smoke detector and a bottle Goldschlager?

 

Now why are we discussing Schnapps?

To my knowledge my Olympus 35RC has been up for auction on three occasions, at least the photo was used. On two of the occasions the text from my personal web site was used in conjunction with the photo.

 

Interestingly, someone shopping on ebay emailed me concernig the first incident. They wanted to know if I was the seller. On the other two occasions, I thought it would be interesting to type in Olympus 35 and see what was being offered.

 

Now for the good news, each time I complained to ebay with regards to the fraudulent photos and pointed them to my copyright statement at the top of my web pages. Within 24 hours the auctions were pulled because of an error in the listing. One seller sent a very remarkable letter/email of apology.

 

My advice to any ebay buyer would be to contact the seller before any major purchase to check their response time and the coherence of their reply. The best sellers will allow you to return the item, less shipping , if it is not as stated. But even before contacting the seller, check their feedback file. It tells you how long they been trading under that i.d. and what if any previous complaints there are. Stay away from sellers that don't have a long track record or a pattern of complaints.

 

To be brief, there some sellers that are shady, and there is a high proportion of junk items for sale, but the majority of long term sellers will almost bend over backwards to protect their feedback rating.

I used an XA as a take everywhere camera for about 12 years. A word of advice, do get a zippered camera pouch. Also, keep in mind that the rangefinder patch is miniscule, gets dimmer with age and the XA doesn't accept filters. The XA's optics are really so, so when used below f/5.6.

 

A modern alternative to the XA is the Ricoh GR1v, which is pocketable and has an optional filter ring for 30.5mm filters. Like the XA it has an aperture priority automatic mode, so in theory you should be able to force a desired shutter speed. It's also built like a tank.

 

A more antediluvian alternative is the Rollei 35S or 35SE. It also accepts 30.5mm filters and lens hood. The old Rollei 35's are an old school think - then adjust - before you shoot design. There is no auto anything on them, not even a self-timer. Built before the era of circuit boards with microprocessors, they still deliver absolutely stunning images. The HFT 40mm focal length Sonnar lens is a great performer.

Dave, the BMS is ok gear for someone who is a casual photographer. The later Prakticas were not the most robust bodies and tended to have problems either with their electronic boards or plastic controls.

 

The Prakitica BMS is the manual version of BC-1. All of the B series used a Praktica bayonet electric lenses and had electronically controlled shutters. Therefore, you'll need to carry a spare battery.

 

With the BC-1 you had choice of aperture priority auto or you could manually select the shutter speed. On the BMS, you select the shutter speed. Flash synch should be in the neighborhood of 1/90th of a second.

 

By the standards of its day and East Block cameras the 55-200mm was an acceptable lens. The 135mm Zeiss Jenna on the hand has all metal construction, a built-in hood and is a superb lens. The f/2.8 50mm is a compact lens of plastic construction that gets the job done and allows for a relative small camera bag. It's not the Zeiss Jena F/1.4 50mm which was truly a prime lens. The 28mm Prakitcar is o.k., but not stellar.

 

The B series lenses were all electronic, with electrical contacts on the lens mounts. Though they seem robust, they are not. They were made in the later days of the Soviet bloc and metal components were giving way to plastic construction.

 

Yes it is an acceptable entry camera system. One reason is one may often find an entire system for under $100 or they may be a hand me down. Be careful with the battery door and film crank. They are plastic. Also, remove the battery when the camera is not in use.

Whoah Jaroslav! It also states that it's in working condition and available as well.

 

Good heavens. It looks like the werks in Braunschweig did have a pre-War Bessa rangefinder. The lens standard looks to be identical to the Bessa II.

My apologies for not reading the details with regard to substituting a Skopar mounted to a Compur-Rapid in place of the original Synchro-Compur with a Heliar mounted to it.

 

In all honesty, I don't know if was an original shutter, but I have seen a Bessa II with a Compur Rapid shutter mounted to it. It immediately raise a red flag.

 

There were three Bessa medium format folders. The pre-war Bessa, then came the Bessa I and the Bessa II. The Bessa II was the only one of the three with a built-in rangefinder. So, if someone is selling Bessa with a rangefinder it should also be a Bessa II.

 

Most 50 year old medium format cameras with mechanical shutters can definitely benefit from a full CLA. Given the value of a Bessa II with a Heliar in good condition, wouldn't it be better to have the existing Synchro-Compur and Heliar combination refurbished by competent technician?

Andrew, I'm writing based on my knowledge of my Agfa Super Isolette.

 

With regards to the Bessa II all the glass elements are mounted to the body of the Compur shutter. It's is fixed lens camera not an interchangeable lens camera. There are no common parts with the Bessa RF, which was built half century later and half a world away by Cosina of Japan. Also, the Bessa RF is 35mm not a medium format camera.

 

Do take the Bessa II to a knowledgable camera shop. There are a multitude of problems associated with a well worn Bessa II. One of which is the alignment of the lens with regard to the film plane. Movement of the lens mounts can also be a problem, in addition to the rangefinder needing adjustment.

 

Avoid any temptation to do the repairs yourself.

 

Did you try operating the camera with film in it? Did you try operating the camera with film in it? Did you try operating the camera with film in it?

 

I mention this because on more than a couple medium format cameras with folding bellows, there must be film in the camera for the shutter to work. In short, no film, no shutter.

Sean, the Tessar is an old tried and true, four element, triplet design dating back to the early 1900's. At f/5.6 its resolution is acceptable. At f/8 to f/11 it will rival many sub prime SLR lenses. The downside is one must use slow shutter speeds in low light.

 

Caveat number two with any Rollei 35, even with the 2.8 Sonnar, is your guestimation when focusing at close distances must be spot on at f/5.6 or lower. There isn't much wiggle room.

 

Also, this lens needs a lens hood. Enjoy the Rollei.

I carry a small Yashica/Bilora ST-7 table top tripod and short cable release which are pocketable. If you have time, then you can use the cameras self-timer in lieu of a cable release. Be sure to brace the base of the table pod against something solid with your hand. You can even use a wall or a telephone pole as support for the table pod this way.

 

I also have the Bogen/Manfrotto table pod, but rarely use it. It is a three piece affair that can be a bit slow to set up. It's nicely made though.

 

With regards to monopods, I saw someone at the New Orlean Jazz Fest use one take exposures from above the heads of the crowd by raising it like flag pole. It's pretty crowded at Jazz Fest. While I saw many photographers using monopods, I didn't see a single tripod.

True, if one uses a developer that contains carbonate compounds, then there is a definite risk of gassing. You can probably observe this by mixing a drop of each of your working solutions on a slide.

 

This should not be a problem with common developers such as ID-11, D76 or Rodinal, as they do not contain carbonate compounds.

 

To be safe, check the MSDS sheet of your developer to see if it contains any CO3 compounds.

Answer #2 - http://www.ilford.com/html/us_english/bw.html Click on the link for processing your first black and white film.

 

With regards, to a stop bath, I use one for thirty seconds and a slow continuous agitation. I'll do a couple of inversions, stop to tap the bottom of the tank, then continue onward. It's probably overkill when developing times reach 11 to 12 minutes, but that's my style.

 

One thing I found to be helpful is to buy a notebook and to keep meticulous records. Since I'm only able to process about 50 films a year, it's handy to have my own reference guide.

 

Enjoy your return to B&W.

A tripod certainly won't hurt. Try using a tripod, and in the absence of a cable release, use the self-timer. Then try the same shot again, but this time a hand-held exposure. I'm assuming that your focusing is spot-on

 

With regards to all purpose zooms, they may only be capable of an f/5.6 or f/8 exposure at 80mm. This may necessitate shutter speeds as long as 1/4 second in some instances. If you don't see a difference between your hand-held and tripod exposures, then there may indeed be a problem with the lens.

 

I'm still a believer in single focal length lenses. If possible start with a fast, f/1.8 or faster 50mm, but that is a personal preference.

Out of curiosity, when did the practice of presoaking originate? I do a 30 second presoak and adjust the development time by an extra 10%, because I was taught to do it that way. I just checked "Tom Grimm's Basic Dark Room Manual" and a 30 year old Agfa manual. The is no mention of presoaking before development in either.

Kurt, kudos for keeping the shutter blades excercised on the Canonet. On the 35SP where the aperture needle would be handy is in the full automode. My rule of thumb is if the meter reads from EV 7 to EV 10, either focus very carefully or switch to the manual mode should i need a greater depth of field.

 

I have a couple of Gossen light meters that get used with my two 50's meterless medium format folders and a Rollei 35 SE, with a perfectly functioning meter. After a period of time you get use to it and can usually guess the EV number of a daylight exposure within a +or- EV.

 

Ergonomically the 35SP is very much a child of the 1960's, but for the reasons Richard mentioned it's worth forgiving its idiosynchrasies. Its spot-meter is usually so damn close to my Gossens set to measure an incident value that I leave the meter at home.

Yep, the case is the on-off switch. On the road I use a black Lowe Z-3 belt pouch and keep that pretty leather case at home. The current draw while I'm using the SP doesn't seem that significant. When I'm not actually taking a photo I keep the SP cased. I also use a very beefy wrist strap rather than a neck strap, so the camera will come out of the case easier.

 

Other than a custom made slip-on leather cover over the entire top of the camera, I don't know any way to cover just the metering window.

 

The G Zuiko lens delivers stunningly sharp images for a fixed-lens Japanese RF. By the way, it's the only one with a metered manual mode versus the usual unmetered manual mode.

Spherical *aburrations* aside, I take it that part of the *kult* appeal for such a MF camera would be the vignetting and the less than optimal resolution of its plastic lens.

 

Sorry to change the subject, but I found the composition of the above photos to be well done. The vignetting adds nicely to the image of the bridge. I loved the composition in the photo with the borders of the fountain and the softening of the focus towards the edges, but was distracted by what appears to be a light leak.

 

In conclusion, I hope someone really does start a fad with these $25 shooters, just to boost 120 film sales.

I picked up a $15.00 Agfa Billy Record II that needed a thorough cleaning. This is the first photo taken with it after cleaning it up. It's a small grocery store, a couple of blocks from my home. Not bad for a 6x9 camera with a three element lens and no light meter.

 

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