paul_sorensen

If you haven't yet, I would throw a new batter in even though the battery check light comes on. Seems like its worth a try just in case that does it. Otherwise, no ideas. I am assuming that when you took the lens off and put it back on you did verify that the pin was staying in the proper place on the lens, I had one once where the pin would come out all the time causing the body to not work with a metered prism.

1. I have found that KEH is very competetive on a per item basis with eBay, sometimes cheaper, so yes, I think that their prices do reflect the depression in MF values. However, I almost always find that a large package of items will be quite a bit cheaper on eBay (when they exist) than piecing them out on KEH, so keep that in mind.

 

2. I am a film person, so I am biased, but I think that you're going to love using the MF for landscape, and the Bronica is a nice setup.

 

3. You can probably get an extension ring that will give you decent closeup. For real macro, you will want to get a dedicated macro lens for much more money. I don't know about the relative quality of 35mm Macro vs MF macro. The 50mm that comes with the rig is about 28mm in 35mm terms, so it might be good enough. I use a 45mm with a 645 setup and it is wide enough for my landscape needs. Your tripod and head should be perfect for this camera. Metering will be via a metered prism, if the kit has one or you buy one. Handheld metering is very popular with this kind of camera.

 

3A. Sounds like you have asked lots of good questions and I can't think of more right now. Have fun!

I have a Vivitar 283 and love it. They are really cheap on eBay and about $65 new from

B&H. I think I got mine for about $30 on eBay. I mount it on a Stroboframe Quickflip 120.

This is a relatively inexpensive bracket from Stroboframe that allows you to flip the flash

for vertical shots. I use a Lumiquest Ultrasoft for a diffuser. I don't generally use a flash

meter and have had very good results with the auto flash function on the 283. For the

power, the 283 is a great buy. The 285 is very similar, but it has a zoom head and variable

power for manual use.

And maybe even cheaper on <a href="http://www.keh.com/shop/SHOWPRODUCT.CFM?

CRID=10071517&SKID=RZ1300050005706&SID=newused&BID=RZ&CID=13&SOID=N&cu

rpic=0&dpsp=0">KEH</a>!

The shutter speed will be irrelevant to the flash exposure and will only matter in relation

to any ambient light that exists. If you use a slower shutter speed and there is fairly

healthy ambient light, you will run the risk of overexposing your picture with the flash

being added to the ambient light. In a situation where the light is pretty low, it won't really

matter and you can choose whatever shutter speed you care to. I have had good luck with

my Vivitar 283 and trust it when I am doing a "flash only" exposure. I have also used it for

fill flash by setting the aperture on my camera a stop smaller than what I set on the flash.

Fill gets a little dicey, however, and you end up kind of guessing.

I buy Agfa APX 100 from filmart (http://www.filmart.com) for $1.49 per roll. Not sure why

they are so much cheaper than everyone else, but I have never had a problem with the film

or their service and it is incredibly fresh (expires in 2010).

For wedding work, and with the amazingly low prices on used MF equipment right now, I

would suggest the Super or Pro version. The E does not feature interchangable backs and I

imagine you would want that for wedding work. Also, the E has auto exposure built in to

its prism, with the Super or Pro, you could get a waist level finder or an unmetered prism if

you prefer. In addition, I really like the motor on my Super and the E does not give you

that option. If you buy used, the cost difference is not too much.

Strikes me that a Rollei case might have a higher monetary value than a Seagull camera.

All I can guess is that you have a 220 insert in the back, or at the least, the back thinks so.

Have you tried to wind it with no film in it to see what happens when it reaches 30? I am

guessing that it will wind out at that point. If you have another insert, I would try that to

see if that makes a difference.

 

As for the rest of your question, I really like the Mamiya but haven't tried the others to

compare. I have heard good things about all of them. I have personally settled on a

Mamiya 645 Super, although I am likely to change my mind at some point!

I meant <a href = "http://www.keh.com">KEH.</a> They are a great used source with

excellent prices and a very good return policy.

I have the 210mm f4.0 C and it is a wonderful performer. I have two of the older C lenses

in my kit and two of the newer N lenses and haven't really seen a difference in sharpness. I

would just make sure that it is in decent shape with good glass. If B&H has one in bargain

condition I would think it would probably be a good deal, their bargain stuff in my

experience is still quite nice.

It's a bit of a haul, but if you are in Denver soon visit Denver Pro Photo at Alameda and Cherokee. They have a better selection than anyone else around here and generally better prices, often competetive with mail order. I would suggest a good starting developer to be HC110 from Kodak. It is kind of challenging to measure, but not that bad once you get the hang of it, plus it is cheap and the concentrate lasts a really long time. Do a search for HC110 here and you will find lots of info. I use Kodak stop bath, but anyone's stop will work. I recommend using a rapid fixer such as Ilford's or Kodak's and a clearing agent such as perma wash or Kodak Hypo Clearing Agent.

 

Oh, and don't forget to have fun!

I think that the Mamiya RZ67 would be ideal. The only problem I see would be finding a shift lens that won't kill most of your budget. You can get a nice used setup for about $1000 from KEH, and lenses are not too bad used, but the 75mm shift is really expensive ($3200 at B&H) and apparently not too common used. Everything else you need would be easily covered for your price if you buy used.

I just looked at the original auction on eBay (I am assuming it is item 3859929639). It looks to me like it is a legitimate listing unless someone took over this guy's account. I also suspect that he may think that he gets to negotiate with you about the purchase price. Perhaps if he really wants to sell it at your price he would be willing to consider escrow or paypal. I would not be happy to send out that kind of money in a money order or cashier's check.

The second chance offer should show up for you if you go to your My eBay page. Look under the buying area. Whether they actually intend to follow through with it is another matter. I got a second chance offer from someone who didn't understand the program and he wanted quite a bit more money than what his second chance offer was for. I was pretty upset but didn't leave a negative because it would probably have resulted in a retaliatory negative.

 

I would obviously be very leery of this situation unless the seller has a bunch of feedback for high dollar auctions where the items were paid with money orders. Kind of risky if you ask me.

I had the same issue. I was able to get it into sleeves by squeezing it until it rolls a bit the long way and then stuffing it in, but it wasn't easy. Once in sleeves it flattens out more or less eventually if you have it squeezed in a notebook or under a stack of books. It was for this reason and also the softness of the emulsion that I stopped using it.

Since this camera does not have interchangable backs there is not an option I know of to get a polaroid back on it. There are Polaroid backs for the Super and Pro lines, perhaps you might want to look into upgrading your body at some point. I had the 1000s and ended up selling it to buy a Super for that very reason. Your lens(es) and inserts will work with the super or pro, but not the rest of your kit.

Rodinal developer from Agfa. A real classic, it has been around for well over 100 years. You will find lots of info on it if you do a search here on photonet. I use it with Agfa APX 100 and I love it, high acutance, noticable grain but very nice grain. If you are using medium format, I think it is a great developer with the right films. It is used at very high dilutions and lasts forever, so it is a great value as well.

The PD prism will work, but it only has speeds up to 1/500. The PDS prism or the AE prism are ideal. Both support the 1/1000 top speed of the 1000s. I had an AE prism and was kind of dissappointed that it didn't allow for metered manual use, you either have it on or off. It also has no exposure compensation, just a AE lock button. I think that the PDS prism is nice. Also, the prisms for the Super and Pro models do not fit at all on the 1000s, just the first generation prisms.

Make sure your insurance is up to date. :)

In regard to your second question:

 

You can replentish Diafine if you want. You will notice that after you have used it for a while, solution A will end up being lower than solution B. That is because the solution A that sticks to the film and is lost to that bottle ends up in the solution B bottle.

 

If you are replentishing the solutions (which you do not have to do) you are supposed to add the same amount of fresh product to each solution. Therefore, you would need to throw away some of the contents of your solution B bottle in order to have the same amount of room as you will have in your solution A bottle.

 

It is also fine to just use the diafine until you no longer have enough to use. Eventually you will have too little remaining to be able to develop a single roll of film. Some folks just toss it then and start with a new package.

What are you having trouble with. Are you able to get it started but it stops after a bit? That would likely be moisture or junk on the reel. If you can't get it to load because the film wants to bow in the middle and you can't get both edges in, that is likely a technique problem. I still have problems occasionally with thinner films such as Efke, Foma, and Forte, and I avoid them.

 

I also have found it to be very helpful to use my right pinky to hold the roll of remaining film away from the reel. Sometimes it will roll right up to the reel and basically pull the film out. I think that practice is indeed key. Also, SS might work better for you, I have never tried them with MF fiolm and can't comment.

A corection on what Bueh said, your inserts will work with a pro or super model, I have used the same inserts with all three. I have been using a Super for a few months and think it is great. The AE finder is better, if you like that, the interchangable backs are great, and it handles really well with the power drive grip. One negative is that they don't work with a standard cable release unless you get an adapter or the top of the line drive grip.

I don't use the Pentax, so I don't know if this is possible...but, can you use depth of field preview on the lens or the body with another lens to see what f5.6 is like? Seems to me that should give you the same result without having to deal with rental, etc.

What I found to be the most interesting and useful aspect of using a waist level finder is kind of hard to describe. For whatever reason, when I use a WL finder, I feel like I am looking at a photograph, rather than the viewfinder of a telescope. I think that it is from being back a little bit and being able to judge the entire frame more completely. Whatever the reason, it made a huge difference in my photography and I think it even affected my photography when using an eye level prism type camera. I strongly recommend getting something like a TLR even if you only use it a little because you will be practicing that way of seeing and improving your shooting.