summitar

<p>My point is that a moderately priced camera will meet the needs of most amateurs.<br>

40 years ago, I worked in support of the NRO, the National Reconnaisence Office (Spy satellites). For this type of photography, astronomical costs might be justified. I wish I had just my Canon A650IS and could get back the $15,000 - 20,000 I spent on cameras I really didn't need.</p>

<p>And here is a photo taken by my wife with here Canon Powershot A620.</p><div></div>

<p>I am an enthusiastic emateur photographer. I like to document family events and memories of places that I visit. Among my top end cameras are a Nikon F4s, Leica M6, and a Nikon D200. But I don't like being a pack animal for photo gear when I am flying. <br>

My wife and I took a 7 day river cruise on the Danube this past November from Budapest to Passau, Germany. My wife carried a Canon Powershot A620 and I had a Canon A650IS. We were delighted to when we returned and got our copy of National Geographic Traveler, and on the cover was a photo of Chessky Krumlov, a place we visited.<br>

Here is the Nat Geog Traveler cover.</p><div></div>

<p>Great photos, Gene<br>

First off, I mailed your book on Thursday and you should have it on Monday or Tuesday.<br>

My father came to the US as a 12 year old from Scotland because there wasn't enough poverty to go around. He started in the WV coal mines where there was enough poverty to go around and then followed his older brother to the chemical plants of Niagara Fall, NY, where I was born. Niagara Falls is the birthplace of the electrochemical industry but also the home of the Love canal.<br>

I was in Kindergarten on Pearl Harbor day, but I recall the city as fairly prosperous in a blue collar sense as I was growing up. I went to the University of Buffalo, and went into the Air Force after graduation. I returned frequently to visit parents and brothers. My parents have passed and my brothers have retired to the south and I have no idea whether I will ever return. My last visit was in 2004 for the 50th reunion of my high school class. The city is dying with most people on welfare. The city fathers keep hoping for some gimmick like Bingo to revive the city but nothing works.<br>

They don't seem to recognize the historical significance of the area. First of all, there is no more magnificant sight in North America than Niagara Falls. As for history, Fort Niagara, built by the French in the early 1700s is the finest fort I have ever seen in the US. The most important battles of the war of 1812 were fought on either side of the Niagara river. The Canadians have done a much better job on their side of the river and Niagara-on-the-Lake is regarded as Canada's prettiest village.<br>

It is sad to see a city go down the tubes. I now live in a suburb of Seattle and we must have the most billionaires per capita in the world but this region is also falling on hard times. I blame greed.<br>

My wife has never been in NYC or New England and I hope to show her the sights this fall.<br>

Thanks for all your wonderful photos, and once again, I urge you to write a book,</p>

<p>I assume you are talking about AA batteries. I have many rechargable AA batteries of various brands and various mah rating. I group them all interchangably without concern for the ratings, with the following caveat.</p>

<p>I have had 4 Canon Powershots that use 4 AA batteries. When I put in recharged batteries, I DO make sure that I am using 4 identical batteries. I hope this is clear. I don't mix various brands together in the camera, but I may use 4 identical 2500's one day and 4 2200's the next day. I also tend to ignore which charger I am using, but again I do NOT mix different battery types in the charger at the same time.</p>

<p>I haven't had any problems thus far, but it would be nice to get some authorative guidance. I tend to look at the mah rating as an indication of ow long they last.</p>

<p>Be careful to not lay your cameras on the floor, or you may be "Stompin at the Savoy". I think the Savoy performed quite well.</p>

<p>Since you are the main man, Gene, I would like to send you one of my photo books. NO, I am not going to start a politically incorrect thread! I was shifting some stuff around, and I came across a book I hadn't seen in a while. It is a paperback on Argus cameras published in the mid-50s written by an author named Tydings. I seem to recall that you occasionally use an Argus, although my memory is slipping.</p>

<p>No expense. I will be happy to mail it to you if you want to send me your address at<br>

xkennedy@gte.net<br>

If you are not interested, that's OK too. I have never had an Argus, but I might have bought one in my high school or undergraduate years if I had known more about photography. I was so illiterate that I thought that 35mm film produced only slides, and I wasn't about to invest in a projector and screen. In fact, I didn't own a 35mm camera until I was stationed in vietnam as a 30 years old. It was a Konica auto S2, and even at $35 brand new in 1966, it was and is an awesome camera. Some people cherish the brick, however. Why is it that the US can't seem to build anything that is both neat and affordable? Think that inability may some how explain our current economic status? </p>

<p>But I am not going to expand on that.</p>

<p>It is nice to know there are still some hoborable persons in the world All of the cameras shown here look great. I have over 100 cameras and all have quite good original coverings except for a Vitessa that is missing the covering over one of the barn doors. Unfortunately, CameraLeather does not do Vitessa.<br>

What I could really use is someway to repair or redo some of the enameled black finishes on some of my retinas, heal some nicks in metallic surfaces and a repair of some Zeiss bumps.<br>

However, I am pondering getting a red or blue leather for my Minolta XD11.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Parick, thanks for the invitation. </p>

<p>The 757/f-22 is known as the Flying Test Bed or FTB. It was the first 757 built for flight test and it was explained to me that such first aircraft tend to be over-spec'd so as to err on the safe side. Therefore, it could probably be returned to original status. It would probably only be performed if they wanted to use it for some new program. It is currently being used as both a flight and ground lab. In my next message I will include some photos. Before we flew the FTB, we had a radar and other sensors mounted on a 5 story tower across the street from the Musem of Flight, which is also at BFI. It worked quite well, and we used flights into Seatac from the north as targets of opportunity. The main limitations were reflections from the ground and adjacent buildings. Besides local flights on the FTB, I flew with several times down to Edwards AFB in California, where we could operate in conjunction with other systems. The FTB could also dispense chaff. It was quite a fascinating system and has a fantastic huge phased array radar. We often flew with the two Boeing T-33s to provide both a target and so the T-33 could get onsite photos. One of the T-bird pilots was a retired USAF colonel who shot down 3 Migs in vietnam while piloting an F-4.<br>

My daughter started out in pilot training and went through the 25 hour yank and puke test in a Cessna 172, but after a few hours of inverted negative g flights in a T-37, decided it would be easier to marry a pilot than to become one. She then went into the medical service corps as a hospital administrater and she and her husband spent the last 5 years of her career in the pentagon, he on the joint staff and she in the Office of Sec/Def for Health Affairs. She was a key player in drafting and sell the Tricare health plan which I and my wife now enjoy. My $2000/month miracle drugs for arthritis are free and was a total knee replacement. Not even a copay. Tricare pays for what Medicare doesn't, including prescription drugs, either $3 or $9/month, depending on generic. I am on about 14 precription drugs, and a 90 day supply of Nexium in $9. Rite-aid also lists the cost without insurance, and for this drug, the cost would be $552, which is obscene. After she retired as a LtCol with 20 years (She was a lock for 0-6), her husband continued on for the full 30 years, and his next assignment was air attache in madrid, Spain. We visited them twice - great assignment, but if she had stayed in, there was no slot for her in Spain. He retired as chief stand/eval of 8th Air Force was flying T-38s up until weeks before his retirement. He is a great guy, whose father, as a member of the 82nd airborne, piloted 3 combat glider flights during WW2, D-Day, Operation Dragoon, and Operation Market Garden (a bridge too far). On the D-Day flight, they were in heavy clouds with the two rope going off into the clouds ahead. Unbenounced to them, the crew in the towing C-47 were killed by flak, and and the tow plane went into violent maneuvers that eventually snapped the tow line. They landed many miles behind enemy lines, but after a week, made it back safely.<br>

Well, to me, March 1st is psychological Spring, and photo weather is rapidly approaching. I have not used most of my cameras but will try to do so in the coming months. I worry that my Leica's will be sold for about $5 on my demise. Do you have any good ideas on how to avoid this. Maybe one of my kids will become interested, but it is unlikely.</p>

<p>Patrick,<br>

Thanks for insights. I was born and raised as an western New Yorker, but strived for an assignment in the Seattle area to please my wife, an ative of Seattle. I didn't envision my assignment as the leader of the air force ROTC unit at Udub as a terminal assignment, but my wife had other ideas. I really only worked on two aircraft at Boeing. The B-1B for 13 years, and the F-22 for 11 years. My son-in-law had two tours as an a/c on the B-1B. I was an avionics, software and test engineer. If you drive by Boeing Field, near the south end of the field you may spot a white 757, actually the first 757 ever built that thinks it is an F-22. It has an F-22 radar on the nose and the F-22 wing mounted directly over the cockpit with various sensors attached. Inside the cabin there is a functional F-22 cockpit. It doesn't control the 757, but all flight instrumentation is piped into it. What the operator in the F-22 cockpit can do is to control all F-22 avionics mounted on theplane and simulate weapons. There are also about a dozen engineering work stations on board, each with four displays one of which is the HUD. Two of the displays monitor data bus traffic. I flew about 40 times with it. A typical mission was to fly over the Okanagan area and often sortie against as many as 4 F-16s, who engage is maneuvers against us. My specific role was to monitor how well we did to detect, track, identify and simulate missile launch against the F-16s. Great fun. I am 72 and retired 3 years ago. If there was an arrangement where I could work 2-3 days a week, I would do it only for the camaraderie. Most of the many pilots I have known over the years have a good engineering sense of aviation. I was a weather officer in the air force and because of color blindness could not even get into aerial weather recon (hurrican hunters). But I flew a classifed air force weather satellite in vietnam (since declassified) . We were the final filter on what targets would be attacked in the north.</p>

<p>The Retina IIa is a great little camera. I do prefer the Retina IIIC because of a great viewfinder and very accurate selenium meter. I have 4 Leica screwmounts and 3 Ms. Loading film in the screwmounts is a major PITA but they are nice cameras. One my favorites is the Contax IIa. Beautiful workmanship. But I have to confess that when I went on a weeklong Danube river cruise this past November, the Leicas and Nikons stayed home in favor of a Canon Powershot A650IS for me and an A620 for my wife. As long as I stay at ISO 400 or below, the imagery is not that much different from my Nikon D200, and they are so much easier to carry. The major shortcoming is that the lenses are no wider than 35mm equivalent. Are you telling me that Glazer's is no longer in business? I get my 35mm film processed and digitized at Costco, and occasionally get some printed at 12 by 18 inches for only $2.99. As a photographer, I am a pretty good engineer (focus and exposure) but not an artist. Due to age, rheumatoid arthritis, and things like artificial knees, my cameras don't get as much workout as they deserve, but as I tell my wife, I know a lot of stamp collectors who never write a letter.<br>

As for religion, I just want people to be quiet about it. I don't care if your born again. I don't want someone else's religion forced upon me on such issues as abortion or gay marriage. I and my very Catholic wife agree that if you are against abortion don't have one, and if you are against gay marriage, don't marry one. Thanks largely to the air force, I have bachelor degrees in mech engineering and computer science and two masters from MIT, meteorology and aero-astro from the early 60s where my classmates included Buzz Aldrin, Edgar Mitchell and Charlie Duke, all future moon walkers. After MIT, I was an air force liaison officer at Goddard Space Flight Center. It doesn't bother me if people believe in an afterlife, or a personal god, because these concepts can provide comfort and cannot be proven or disproved. But I regard it as criminal and sinful to hold the firm belief that the earth is 6000 years old, that we coexisted with dinosaurs, and that all the earth's creatures were created in 6 days. The ancient age of the earth and universe, and Darwin's evolution are scientific facts, and to teach or believe otherwise is being stupid by choice and a detriment to our challenged leadership in science and technology. We didn't get to the moon on gossamer wings. I also think that belief in things like the rapture is a sign of mental derangement. Of course, in science, there is never a final answer, since all theories are subject to new data and new constructs. Whenever a person says something like "evolution is ONLY a theory", that is proof positive of scientific illiteracy. In science, theories are the best you can get. Only in religion do you get total certainty; of course it usually wrong.</p>

<p>Patrick, thank you for your considerate and rational reply and I thank those who posted after you. As I think I have mentioned, Ivor Matanle is my guru and I wish he would compile all the articles that he has written in "Amateur Photography" on classic cameras into a book. I think it is "Amateur Photography" but it might be another of the excellent Brit photo magazines. The Retina IIa is the first camera I bought as a classic, in 1980. Prior to that, I had a konica auto S2 and a Canon FT-QL, both purchased at a PX in Vietnam in 1966. I still have them and they still are functional. I use a silver 1.5v battery in the Konica and the exposures appear to be consistent with my more modern cameras. The Konica originally came with a 1.35 mercury battery and my trusted local repairman claims that such a battery could not give good service.</p>

<p>I also have Retinas of the other varieties, but my favorite is the IIIC (big C). The selenium meter is spot on and I love the viewfinder with its bright lines. Although I have the 35mm and 80mm lens attachmetns, I have never used them and would like to hear from people that have.</p>

<p>I have quite a few Voightlanders, but rarely see posts made with the Vitessa's, Prominents, Vito B, Vito III, or the Vitessa T, all of which I possess. I think Matanle may have lead me astray on the Prominents, of which I have 4, and what I paid, cumulatively, would have nearly bought a Nikon D3. I would like to see more posts and discussions of the classic rangefinders.</p>

<p>Having about 150 film cameras and being over 70 years old, I have slowed down on purchasing more, unless it is a spectacular good buy. I have recently obtained a near mint Super Ikonta B (532/16) and a very nice Bronica ETRS. This being Seattle, I await the sunshine to try these cameras out. I would buy if I came across good deals on one of the Nikon rangefinders (S, S2 SP) or a Nikon 6. I am pondering buying a Nikon 5 in very good condition for $400. My reluctance is due to the large weight of the camera. I try to avoid ebay and buy from trusted sources which includes B&H, KEH, a few online sites that I have learned to trust, or local camera stores that accept film camera trade-ins. I have bought several treasures from photo.net posters, including a mint Leica M3 with a DR 50mm lens, a Rollie 35, and a Contax IIa, and various lenses and filters, all in excellent condition.<br>

I love owning, using and reading about the wonderful cameras that I lusted for in my youth but could never afford until recently. I continually fret about how to distribute these cameras to younger persons that will continue to treasure them. I once owned two of the Vito III legendary cameras, one of them inoperable, which I donated to Mike Elek, who is a brilliant classic camera guru. He rapaired it and sent me sample photos. I miss Mike who rarely posts here anymore, but whose every word is golden.<br>

Finally, as a scientist/engineer for 22s year in the air force and 24 years at Boeing, I distrust true believers. I can't disprove a negative (no one can) but I can disprove the literal inerrant qualities of the bible. The sequence of creation in the first two chapters of Genesis are in disagreement. Both can't be true simultaneously. Also, the god of the old testament is a psychopathic monster who loves to smite and slew, and who supports bigotry, slavery and genocide. We can do better.</p>

<p>Lovely photos, Scott. Since the sun is slowly returning to Seattle, I am encouraged to shoot my first ever photos from my Zeiss Ikon super Ikonta (532/16). If I can figure out how to use it.</p>

<p>Since this thread refuses to die, let me say that I never want to ever have a president who believes in talking snakes. I don't know what to make of ramadamadingdong jindal who has a degree in biology from an esteemed university, Brown U, but signed a bill that will allow religious rebuttals to Darwin's evolution. He appears to be a panderer in the Romney mold. I say tax the hell out of organized religion. They rank right up ther with stalin and roman catholic hitler.</p>

<p>Fun topic, as always with Gene. But to me, Ray Bradbury is always "Martian Chronicles. I loved the authors of that vintage, including Asimov, Heinlein, Fredrick Brown, and John C Campbell, editor of Astounding Science Fiction, and author of "Who goes there?", the scariest story of all time which was made into a a couple of movies and retitled "The Thing". The version that come out in the 1950s was the classic, with the thing played by James Arness. I am 72 and I wonder how many of us grew up with "Jack Armstrong, the All American Boy" and Captain Midnight and his secret decoders. Or the shadow, gangbusters, inner sanctum, the thin man, the fat man, the whistler, and Fibber McGee and Molly.</p>

<p>Very good question. My answer is similar to Gene's. Quite a few are in cardboard boxes from the liquor store. I especially like the boxes that are divided into six compartments. Some are in the kind of lunch cases that kids use for school, which are well padded, and often come with those blue ice thingies that you precool in the freezer. Very handy for summertime shooting. Some are in fairly sturdy plastic bins that you can buy at Staples. I would love a lighted glassed in bookcase, but worry about displaying some of the more valuable ones in such plain sight. I know that there are about a half dozen under my bed including a Pentax K1000, Leica IIIc, Kodak IIIC (large C), a Konica auto S2, and a Voigtlander Prominent. I keep on intending to catalog them, but never seem to get around to it. They may all go for $5 at a garage sale, since my wife is mainly concerned with getting them out the house, including a mint Leica M6 classic. I keep hoping one of my children or grandchildren will develop a love for film but that is unlikely in this digital age.</p>

<p>Well, I hope not too many feelings were bruised. I realize that racism is not confined to the south, and I have known quite a few southeners who were not racists. But the fact remains that racism was an established fact in the south until the late 60s. <br>

I had voted for every republican from Goldwater up to and including Bush in 2000. I still consider Eisenhower the best president of my adult life. (I was 20 years old in 1956 and was not able to vote for him.) I must admit that I voted for JFK in 1960, but hey, we Kennedy's have to stick together even though I am Scottish and was raised as a Presbyterian, not Irish nd Catholic.<br>

There are not many things positive I can say about GWB, but he is not racist. It finally dawned on me that by 2000, the GOP was owned by southern fundamentalists. Since I consider religious fundamentalism whether Christian, Jewish or Muslim, is dumber than dirt and totally intolerant, I now vote democrat. I am a retired air force colonel, with a daughter who is a retired lt colonel married to a retired colonel, and my son is an army captain who served two tours in Iraq, 12 and 15 months. I also served in a stupid war, Vietnam.<br>

I think mainstream religions serve a great purpose in comforting the afflicted, but fundamentalist religion is devisive, I now worship Mother Nature and am married to an ardent Roman Catholic, who likes to disagree with the Pope on issues that are not basic doctrine. Jesus never said a word about abortion,birth control, or homosexuality although such things were not uncommon in his lifetime. My wife thinks that the Pope will able to speak with authority on birth control and abortion only after some cardinal actually gives birth to a child. Until then, papl opinions on such subjects are akin to the old ban on eating meat on a Friday, which was ended with a stroke of the pen.<br>

I will now get back to classic cameras and try to refrain from controversy on this forum, especially after posting on Politic.com with a few stiff ones under my belt.<br>

Cheers. It was kinda fun.</p>

<p>I wish I could forget the apartheid bigotry that I saw in the deep south of the 50s and 60s. The current special on HBO "Right America..." portrays it more vividly than I can. There should be a bounty on televangelists.</p>

<p>There us a special running on HBO as we speak, entitled "Right America..." that shows the face of real redneck America, and it is something we should all be ashamed of. I am ashameded of redneck jesus freak bigots and I will rebuke them at every chance. I am a retired air force colonel who served in vietnam and my oldest daughter is a retired air force lt colonel whose husband is a retired air force colonel, and my youngest son is an army captain who just completed his second tour in Iraq.</p>

<p><em>"The more you talk, the more obvious it is who the bigot in this conversation is."</em><br>

<em>T</em> hank you for your admission. I accept your apology.<em><br /> </em></p>

<p><strong> <em>How should we regard people who instead cling to bronze age fairy tales?</em> </strong><br>

<strong>How about if we just leave them alone. Are they hurting you in some way?</strong><br>

Yes, they are. They don't seem to realize that the US was intentionally founded as a secular nation by founding fathers who tended to be Deists, not Christians. Fundamentalists would like to turn us into a theocracy, as long as it is their <em> theo</em> that is selected.<br>

They seem to want to have evolution not taught at all in public schools, or to have creationism or intelligent design also taught as scientific alternatives. Their is NO controversy in the scientific commenunity regarding the validity of Darwin's evolution. The fundamentalists also are bigoted towards gays, and they try to overturn roe v. wade, so that abortions can return to the back alley.<br>

Fundamentalism is a threat abroad, and a threat at home. Ignorance should not be encouraged or subsidised.</p>

<p>Curtis, check out politico.com if you think racism has vanished. I agree that everyone has a right to believe what they want. It does not follow that what they believe has to be respected. The survival, security and prosperity of the US depends on we being in the forefront of science and technology. Science has demonstrated overwhelmingly that evolution is scientific fact and in fact, evolution is the basis of modern biology. That the earth is over 4 billion years old is also fact based on many independent fields of study. How should we regard people who instead cling to bronze age fairy tales? The Roman Catholic church is hardly given to current fads. Yet hey have accepted Darwinian evolution as valid. Why do fundamentalist prefer to be ignorant?</p>

<p>Gene, Your barns are so upscale that I would be happy to live in them. This is a barn from my home county.</p><div></div>

<p>The name of the store that has the books is Half Price Books, and the phone number is 425-702-2499.<br>

My wife and I watched the movie "Secret Life of Bees" the other night and it got me all wound up. The story was set in South Carolina in 1964. I was born and raised in western NY and after college ROTC, I was stationed in the segregated south of the late 50s and early 60s. I remember george wallace and lester maddox and bull connor. I lived in Georgia, Florida and Alabama. I remember the freedom riders and Medgar Evers. Please tell me how you can reconcile being a violent cruel racist and a Christian. Of course, these rednecks were christianist, and certainly not Christian in any sense of the word. They were evangelical fundamentalist ignorant scum. They were and are the American taliban.</p>

<p>Didn't really mean to cause a firestorm. In the US, we are commemorating the 200th anniversary of Abe Lincoln and Charles Darwin, who were both born on Feb 12, 2009. The US is unique in the industrial world by having a large chunk of our population who missed out on the Age of Reason. They are largely confined to a region of the country where family trees tend not to be forked.</p>

<p>I am a devotee of the late Jack O'Connor, the shooting and hunting editor of Outdoor Life for many years. I would happily trade about 75 of my better cameras for a Winchester model 21 side-by-side in reasonable condition. In the 1952 edition of Gun Digest, the first edition I owned, the shotgun went for $325 in field grade. When I was second john in the air force in 1958, that was about my monthly pay.</p>

<p>I live in the Seattle area and we have a chain known as half-price books. I regularly check in with 4 of them. I recently picked up a Leica Handbook, 1962, to go with the other 8 or 9 Leican handbooks I already have by Williard Morgan, as well as Leica, the first 60 years.<br>

Visiting one of the stores today, I saw on the shelves Ivor Matanle's book on Classic SLRs (large paperback) for $13.48 and also a hardcover book on the Contaflex in good condition for $25. I already have 2 copies of Manatle's book and have no desire to own a Contaflex. If it were $10 or less, I would buy the book for the hell of it. If anyone is interested, please respond here and I will provide the phone number of the particular store. I don't know if they do mail order. If not, I probably could help as long as you pledge that you believe the earth is 4+ billions years old and that you accept evolution. This may seem like a strange request, but I remember the last 8 years.</p>