joakim_gleisner

I just received a Mamiya 645E and there appears to be something wrong

with it. These are the symptoms: (1) As soon as the battery is

inserted the camera emits a whirring noise. (2) All the shutter

speeds in the viewfinder are lit up. (3) The winding crank is stuck

and does not move in any direction, despite the fact that the frame

window shows and 's'. (4) Nothing happens when I press the shutter.

 

Does anyone know what this might be, and perhaps what might be done

about it? Apart from this the camera looks fine and I would hate to

have to send it back.

Not sure if this is allowed, but I have an X-570 in Excellent+ condition for sale, along with 50/1.4, 35/2.8 and 24/2.8 Rokkor-X lenses. In my oppinion this is the best manual camera ever made, but I'm selling in order to get anpther medium format camera.

A couple of months ago I bought a very nice-looking MD Rokkor 85/2

lens to use for portraits, but after a while it became clear that it

didn't focus close enough for what I wanted to use it for. Because of

this I'm now selling it (got an ad up on photo.net if anyone is

interested) but am unsure of what to get instead.

 

What I've been looking at so far is either the 100/2.5 or the

135/2.8. Does anyone know if either of these focus closer than the

85/2, or is there some other lens that is even better for portraits?

Almost certain that is a lith print, especially since Bryan has been hanging out with Anton Corbijn. Look at his pictures if you want to see more (and better) examples of the same thing.

I'm reading the same book and this is what it says on page 22:

 

"There must be hundreds of combinations of films and developers. I tried many combinations until I received a letter from Liliane DeCock [one of Adams's assistants] several years ago. She said that Ansel Adams was making prints from 35 mm negatives that looked almost like they were made from 4 x 5's."

 

Picker then goes on to say that this is what he has used since, and that no other combination appears to give higher resolution or better contrast.

I have been thinking about getting an X-570 in addition to my XD-11,

and recently had a chance to look at the similar X-700. While I

really liked the feel of the camera, one thing that bothered me was

the very noisy shutter. Does anyone know if this is normal? I would

have imagined that the X-700/X-570 would be a bit quieter than an XD

due to the horizontal fabric shutter curtain.

This wasn't meant to be a thread about the 50/2 but here's another exemple of its bokeh. I realise that the picture above isn't ideal for showing its characteristics, so here's one with some out-of-focus trees in the background:

 

<br><br><img src="http://gallery.photo.net/photo/2375950-md.jpg"><br><br>

 

One thing I've noticed is that the discs don't necessarily all look the same. In this picture, some of them are fairly uniform with nice blurred edges, whereas others are more donut shaped. Another thing is that the bokeh actually improves considerably if you stop down the lens. You no longer get round (or oval) discs due to the shape of the aperture blades, but the brighter rim that can be seen on some of the discs disappears.

Well, let's continue on the bokeh theme. I know the 58/1.2 has a very

good reputation in this regard, but what of the various fifty's? My

50/2 is occationally quite good (see the example below) but so far I

have had no experience with any of the versions of the 50/1.7 or

50/1.4.

 

Is either of these better than the other? Is the MC version

preferable to the MD version? Or should one just forget about it all

and go take some pictures? :)<div></div>

Eric, that's one of the best shots I've seen here in a while. Would you mind telling us film/developer details as well? It really has a very nice look to it!

Ouch! I'll have to look out for the kitten snot. :)

 

For those who have both the 1.4 and the 1.7, would you say there is a difference in how they perform wide (or almost wide) open? I shoot a lot more at f2 than at f8, so if the slower lens was better in that regard I might prefer it over the faster one.

 

Well, today I'll be checking out a number of lenses, so maybe I'll know more this evening.

Yeah, I had the old version with the metal focusing ring. It wasn't only the weight and the yellow glass that put me off it, though; at least two people actually said the huge front element freaked them out, which wasn't so great as I wanted to use the lens for street portraits. The 50/2 has been better in that respect, at least, since it is a lot less conspicuous.

There are also special tools available for getting the leading edge out of the cannister.

OK, thanks! Would that be the lenses with the suffix "ROKKOR PG" or "ROKKOR-X"?

Thanks for the replies. I've actually owned a 58/1.2 at one time but returned it due to the fact that the glass was distinctly yellow. I also found it to be rather large and heavy, which is why I'd prefer one of the later MD's (despite all the plastic).

 

If the 50's are much the same when it comes to sharpness, I think I'll go with the 50/1.4. As you say, it's not very expensive, and it would be nice to have the extra stop.

For the last couple of years I've been using a 50/2 lens on my SRT-

101 and XD5 cameras. Lately I've come to understand that this may not

be the best lens Minolta ever made, so I've started looking around

for something better. The choice now stands between the 50/1.2,

50/1.4, 50/1.7 and possibly the 45/2. I'm mainly concerned about

sharpness at the wider apertures, but it would also be nice if the

lens was reasonably flare resistant.

 

Has anyone made any comparisons between these lenses, or do you have

any personal favourites among them? Any information or opinions would

be greatly appreciated!

A nose dive at 210 is truly epic. (323.3)

OK, I think I'll try to do that. Thanks again for all the help!

Let's get it right, once and for all: Candice Bergen.

Well, that's what I find a bit annoying; according to KEH the camera is in excellent condition.

 

It is also interesting to hear that your "new" XD is very quiet. Even if I disregard the shutter delay (which, I agree, does not seem to affect the shutter speeds), there is a lot of noice and vibrations when the mirror returns. I wonder if that, too, could be fixed by a skilled camera repair person.

Thanks for the replies. I've now examined the camera a bit more, and what happens is that a small lever near the bottom of the lens mount (presumably there to stop down the lens before the shutter fires) moves for about a quarter of a second before the picture is taken. This results in a very noticable ka-chunk sound at faster shutter speeds (where the "ka" is the lever moving and the "chunk" is the mirror going up and then coming down). At slower speeds you get more of a ka-click-chunk sound, since you can hear the mirror going up as a separate sound.

 

All other film cameras I've tried or used, including my old SRT-101, have been near instantaneous when pressing the shutter. The XD-5 feels more akin to the cheaper digicams, which can't be right for such a well-made camera.

On the advice of some members of this forum I recently ordered a

Minolta XD camera from KEH. Today it arrived, and while it seems

great in every other respect, I noticed it has terrible shutter lag

(around 200-300ms). Does anyone know if this is normal for this

model, or does it need servicing? Unfortunately, sending the camera

back is not an option, since the shipping would probably cost more

than the camera itself.

Yeah, I recently bought a lightmeter from B&H, and it ended up costing almost twice the original price. Not only did I have to pay for the shipping and import taxes, but also taxes on the shipping fee and additional customs fees. I live in Sweden, though, so it may be cheaper if you live in the Netherlands.

Thanks for all the replies! I think I'll keep looking for an XD, but only buy one if I find one in really good shape.

 

By the way, recently I've been comparing the Minoltas to the Olympus OM-2, and it seems only the Olympus has exposure compensation in 1/3 stops. Is this a big disadvantage for the Minolta, for example when shooting slides? I've never actually used a camera with aperture priority, so I don't know exactly how they work, but it seems to me it might be tricky to get really spot on exposures with only full stop compensation.

I have been looking for an XD-11 or XD-7, but have failed to find one

where I live. Instead I've gotten hold of an XG-1, and now I'm

wondering in what ways these two cameras differ. From reading over at

the Photography in Malaysia, I've come to understand that the XD

cameras were somehow more advanced, but do they also differ in size

and feel? Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated!

I have one for sale, and want $1000 for it, including shipping. It's the black CT* version, optically perfect and in good cosmetic condition. I bought it from one of the top camera stores in Sweden six months ago, and while the the lens is very sharp and nice to use, I just prefer my slightly wider 80mm.

 

If you want to get in touch, my email address is joakim_gleisner (at) hotmail.com