henry_gardner

Try Capital Color, 1916 Wilson Blvd, Arlington (Rosslyn), Virginia.

(703) 528-3873; http://www.capital-color.com

E-6 only, up to 8X10. Very fast (normal service 3 hours), will push and pull, excellent work, pleasant workstaff, several light tables with Schneider loupes, reasonable prices, and they stay open to 1800!

Wayne Gardner

I spent most of a day with Sal at the Smithsonian's Garber Air & Space storage facility in 2002, on the Leica photo shoot Mitch Zeisler organized. He took a liking to the collapsible rubber lens shade on my 50mm Summilux, and we got on well the rest of the day. He sent a photo he took of me and grandson Conor that day on an M7 he was trying out--he reported that all exposures were on automatic mode, and they were "spot on." We communicated all few times since then, and he was always quick to respond with a kind word or technical advice. His responses to this forum were always informative and never sarcastic. Always a gentleman, I'm sure he and General Roy Moss have reconnected--and are continuing their friendly disagreements.

 

r/ Wayne Gardner

We are visiting Helsinki, Finland, next week for wife's mother's

funeral. (Hotelli Helka)

 

Any suggested shops for used Leica gear, repair if needed, and film,

both 35mm and 120?

 

Wayne Gardner

65/15. Began with Uncle Louis' Universal Mercury II (single-frame), 1953-58; Nikon SP, 1958; Nikonos II, 1966; Hasselblad 500 CM, 1970; Leica M2 & M4, 2000; M3, 2002; Hasselblad SWC/M, 2003. Still have all cameras except Mercury II. Favorite? The one in my hand at the moment; they're all great.

If you choose SLR, take the prime, but in f1.4, and also a zoom. You can leave one or the other in your apartment, but it would be nice to have flexibility. For landscapes and street photograpy you will use 28mm-35mm; for people you want to remember use 50mm-70mm; use a 1.4 in low light.

 

I second the mechanical rangefinder suggestion. You did not say where you would be, but fixing a battery-operated camera in some areas could be problematical.

 

I went to Finland as a missionary 1960-63, and carried a Nikon SP rangefinder with 35mm f2.5, 50mm f1.4, and 135mm f3.5, plus a Rolleicord 6cmX6cm. I rarely used the Rollei, and mostly used the 50, followed by the 35. These were the only cameras I owned at the time, having bought the Nikon kit in Japan when I was a Marine PFC, and the Rollei in Germany when I was a corporal. Even though the SP is mechanical, I still had to fix the film-advance mechanism, which was a weak point until ca. mid 60s when Nikon came out with new gears for the F SLR series (many parts were common to both SP and early Fs). I should have bought a Leica M3 for reliability (which is what I now use: M3, M2, and M4.), but the SP has its nice features too (I still have it).

 

Take Kodachrome slides for longevity: mine are still bright, no fading, after 40+ years; the Ektachrome and especially Agfachrome have faded. You can scan them for prints later. Nowadays I shoot lots of Fuji Velvia, Provia and Astia, but that's because there's a 3-hour regular-price E-6 lab 1 km from my office. Take lots of photos; they will be priceless to you when you get to my age (65).

 

Good luck, I hope you are successful in both your mission and your photography.

 

r/ Wayne Gardner

For a rough comparison, look at your car's speedometer: 35mm is to 6X6 as mph is to kph.

 

Wayne Gardner

Thank you all very much for your insight. Very refreshing to have such informative and polite comments, which in general typify the Medium Format user group. The Leica users are for the most part polite and helpful also, but there some overly sarcastic and a few foul-mouthed ones as well.

 

Yes, I suppose it is mostly inertia that has kept me from using the Hasselblad much, although I find Leica M's very quick and handy (as was the Nikon SP, until the rangefinder went bad).

 

I'll probably wait for the right 150mm lens and a 45 prism viewfinder, and perhaps, someday, an SWC.

 

Thanks, again,

 

Wayne Gardner

A friend has offered me a Rolleiflex SL66 system: 50 HFT, 80, 150,

and 250 mm single-coated lenses; two 12-24 film magazines; WL metered

finder; two extra finder screens; neck strap; 50/60 hood; three 80 -

250 hoods; circular Rolleipol; Rollei yellow and red filters; and a

set of extension tubes; package price: ca. $2,500. Gear is well used,

but not abused, probably ex++.

 

I am an old rangefinder user: Nikon SP since 1958; Leica M3, M2, and

M4 since 1990. I have a mint Hasselblad 500CM w/ 80mm I bought in

1971, but have hardly used it. I am considering getting more into MF

for portraits and was thinking of adding a 150mm lens to the

Hasselblad, but the SL66 intrigues me as it has so many lenses with

it. I would much rather have an SWC for wide angle, however.

 

How sturdy and desirable is the SL66? I love Leica M's, but for

portraits and huge enlargements, I recognize MF strong points,

especially where portability and handiness are not issues. Looking at

past threads, I gather that most users feel Hasselblads are sturdier

and perhaps more reliable, plus flash synch at all speeds is a plus--

although SL66 macro and Scheimpflug compensation are also handy

features.

 

With rangefinders I shoot mostly people, portraits, environmental,

landscapes, street photography, automobiles, airplanes, and

occasional sports activities of grandchildren and friends' children.

I am not a professional, just an active amateur photographer. I shoot

mostly color negative film--Portra NC 160, NC 400, UC 400, Fuji

Press, Fuji NPS and NPH, with some Velvia and Kodachrome, but I

prefer B&W for portraits and some street photography. I have a Leitz

V35 enlarger, but it does only 35mm, so I would have to add another

enlarger to do B&W. Digital photography and color darkroom work have

limited interest, as I am red-green color deficient (along with 1 of

15 other American males of west-European background).

 

Is this a good price from a private seller? Compared to Hasselblad

prices, even as depressed as MF supposedly is, it seems attractive.

When I checked HEC's web site, it looked like the retail value is ca.

$4,000. Based on my interests, how do you feel the SL66 would fit me?

 

Thanks, Wayne Gardner

I received an email from Roy Moss' children that their father passed

away 26 March 2003. Roy's wife passed away recently in February.

 

Roy was a past president of the Leica Historical Society of America

(LHSA) and a former editor of Viewfinder, LHSA's quarterly journal.

 

Roy and I served in Vietnam in the Marine Corps: he was a lieutenant

colonel then, and I was a junior captain. Through our common interest

in photograpy we became good friends, I with a Nikon SP and

Hasselblad 500CM, and he with his Leicas. Roy retired from the Marine

Corps as a major general and lived thereafter in Mount Pleasant, near

Charleston, South Carolina.

 

He was an excellent photographer and frequent contributor to

Viewfinder. Leica AG considered him a worthy evaluator, and he used

and evaluated both the M7 and new MP for them.

 

I considered him a good friend and will miss him and our frequent

Leica discussions (through Roy or with his advice I eventually came

to own M3, M2, M4, V35, and various lenses).

 

His funeral will be announced in the Charleston newspaper.

 

R/ Wayne Gardner