tim obrien

The lens on my 127 is a "Nettar" or maybe it's an early Novar, and not very good. This is not to be confused with the 120 Nettar line of Z-I cameras, of which I partake and enjoy very much.

If you don't want the VP Tessar camera (should that be what it turns out to be), please offer it to me for your price in it plus postage. I would love to be shooting with a Tessar in that format.

BTW - Ya done good.

tim in san jose

Donald is right on with his advice. We need to know what the format is to give you better advice. I ahve replaced the groundglass on my 9x12 Trona with a spring back for 3x4 and use standard Type5 double sided film holders in it. As Donald says, 150 is a bit long for 9x12 so this advice is suspect. Measure out the plate holders you have inside edge to inside edge and report back.

tim in san jose

Here is my guess...

It has a 70mm Tessar on it. I might suspect it's a 127 Vest Pocket Ikonta as all the "A" models are listed with 75mm lens mounted on them.

Nice camera either way. I have a Vest Pocket with the Nettar lens and it's... well, it doesn't come out very often.

Good buys, all.

tim in san jose

Yep, I need the whole wind knob for the same camera. Seems there aren't many of those in a junk state.

Of course, anyone of you could prove me wrong. <grin>

tim in san jose

LFN - Bought a $4.75 bottle a year ago, have processed 2 hundred plus rolls/loads of sheet film, use it as part of a presoak for W2D2+, still have half a bottle. Come on now.

tim in san jose

The only Yashica with a 35mm adapter is the 635. There is no way to make the 124 into a 6x4.5.

tim in san jose

I saw the post. I am only teasing our esteemed moderator.

tim in san jose

Mr. Painter said...

"Not intended as a lecture to you or anything.....It's just that I have wasted a lot of money buying different Films & Developers when I should have just been shooting TriX in Rodinal and working on my shooting."

Never happen. The investigation into the process is just as valuable as the end product itself. We all grow from the knowledge we aquire, both shooting and processing. Your knowledge on this board is AMAZING.

tim in san jose

When you're a bottom troller like me, you don't get taken very often. I don't expect much so I am seldom disappointed. Some wonderful bargains have come out of EBay. A brand new $7.00 2x3 Graphmatic, a set of new 2x3 film holders for $6.00, a color transmission densitometer for $10.00 plus shipping, $70 for a Kalart Press camera that WORKS!. Some things that didn't work out as planned, a vest pocket Zeiss Ikonta that was really awful, but then again it might have been like that new, three cameras shoved in a fiber bag and shipped from England, or whatever remained of them when they got here, etc.

Buy low, don't lay it all out.

tim in san jose

Me thinks you just have a thin skin Lex. *L*

I wonder what bad drugs that guy was on?

tim in san jose

You didn't catch a fish. You can't prove it. Nope. Oh yeah? Show me the pitcher. I run rings around you logically.

tim in san jose

Everyone has an opinion, but let's just answer the questions...

I would try any modern 150 to 210 lens on your Graphic. I shoot a Fuji 150/6.3 W from the mid 80's. For a more classic look (at the cost of any movements) would be finding either an Ektar or a Raptar 127mm lens. Both are very nice and very sharp.

4x5 Film

FP4 - Classic looking tradition film.

Classic200 - Very nice film out of Germany. It's main strongpoint is it's cheap.

Efke25 - The fine grained wonderful tone film out of the Balkans.

2x3 You are shooting roll film now but you might try HP5 for speed and Classic200 for nice tones in a sheet film format.

tim in san jose

1. Can anyone point me to the right place for instructions using this camera. This is my first step into MF and am not sure if my frame advancing was correct. Will have to wait and see.

You have a red window on the back. Roll the film untill you see a '1'. Set shutter speed, cock shutter, choose aperture, focus and frame, trip shutter. Advance till you see the number '2'. Repeat until you get to '12'. After '12' roll off the film and open the back. Tighten down the film (roll it a bit while holding the end of the paper), seal it.

2. Where to get the pictures scanned.

Professional lab.

3. I used a Soligor spot meter for my first roll. Is there a quick dirty trick here, so i don't have to carry the spot meter all the time.

Sunny 16.

Don't feel bad, it's a common problem with those Patterson tanks. I only use mine to develop sheet film, yet once every three or four loads, the damned top comes off. I think they rotate when you are inversion agitating. Haven't ruined any film yet.

I agree with Donald, use steel tanks and put a little bit of tape on it when starting. Of course, HE has a lifetime supply of black photo tape.

tim in san jose

I find the Zorki 4 to be almost a perfect camera. Great viewfinder, usable rangefinder, pleasing size and weight. It even smells good.

The only issue I have with the two I have is, they get stuck after rewinding the roll of film. The dang pin for advancing film stays in the up position even after resetting the twist thingy to normal operation. I have to futz around with it for a good bit before it returns to the dropped position and lets me shoot my next roll of film.

As such, the Retina II and my new Fuji ST605n (with a Jupiter 9) get a lot more use. But the Zorki takes unreal nice photos with a Jupiter 8 on it. It's a good buy.

tim in san jose

If you love 1+50, just think how you're going to feel with 1+250.

I'll take the 'stand' on that one.

tim in san jose

Faster than what? It has either a 6.3 or a 4.5 on it. You very seldom ever shoot down there, the lens will just look like crapola at those apertures. Shoot it f8 and above. f11 seems to be the sweet spot on my Nettars. Of course, the sun usually shine out here in Califoria so I am not constrained very often by light conditions. Often PanF finds it way into my 518/16.

I got some beautiful photos with this camera using color print film and a Sunpak flash with sync cord.

tim in san jose

Stop, fix, wash!

tim in san jose

Rodinal 1+250 for 60 minutes. Presoak for a minute or two, agitate for the first 30 seconds, go see a Monty Python short movie. Come back and finish processing (stop, developer, wash).

JMHO,

tim in san jose

I have just run some Classic200 through homebrewed 777 (recipe from the unblinking eye article). About 7 minutes at 78 degrees. This was shot between 160 and 200. It might not be optimal, but it's very nice. Soon I will take some 4x5 Classic200 and do some densitometer tests on it. I want to just make sure my developer is stable first. So far I have run 3 rolls of Tri-X 120, a half dozen sheets of 2x3 HP5 and a half dozen sheets of 3x4 Classic200. The HP5 was a bit over developed (Highlights just a bit blown out) the Tri-X looks OK, but not spectacular, although the shots made at a solid E.I 200 are pretty intense, and the Classic 200 is better than Rodinal developed Classic200. I am excited to explore what this developer can do.

tim in san jose

Gerard,

Vincent is pulling yer leg. Keep those puppies for something special.

tim in san jose

Those sliding doohazs are the legacy of the old Graflex back. If you find a roll film holder for this camera, it will sit in the opening and the slides will slide down and keep the roll film holder secure. If you find some Graflex film holders, they are a bit wider than standard film holders and have slots milled in the sides. The sliders fit in these slots. It would be nicer to find the groundglass for your Graflok

The issue is calibrating your rangefinder. Perhaps you can find someone with a back to lend you while you verify the RF.

tim in san jose

Jeff,

Which Retina II do you have. Mine doesn't have a flash sync on it. I have 47mm Ektar with Compur-Rapid shutter. Takes durn nice pitchers though. But only during the day.

tim in san jose

Well Lester, I wouldn't git too fond of APX100, it'll break yer everlovin heart when Agfa trashes the rest of it's film business.

That said, I would suspect the Xtol would give wonderful negatives, but I haven't tried it.

My choices for APX100 are W2D2+ then Rodinal 1+50. Both work amazing well with this emulsion. Total tonality is how I describe it, as well as being an extremely sharp, medium grain film. It is something special.

BTW - The guy who owns the Vietnamese restaurant down the street is named N.G. any relation?

tim in san jose

Sorry 10ml of Rodinal gives you 1+50. It's late.

tim in san jose