justin_smith2

I used to have a Smena 8M. If I recall correctly, you must hold down the shutter button while turning the rewind knob. Hope this helps!

"Then answer the fockin question, David. Else, why bother replying?"

 

--Exactly. Surely the time it took to post the ad image (although interesting) would have been better used to post a link that would have been helpful to Raid. As he is a university professor, I am sure that Raid is aware of, and has even used, Google.

 

The problem I have with search engines/web crawlers is the sheer amount of junk I have to comb through in order to find that worthwhile nugget (even using Boolean searches). That fact makes forums like this a valuable resource for sharing knowledge.

I beleive that the confusion is arising from the fact that in the US, Wal-Mart sells a brand of 35mm film labeled with the Polaroid name. The word on the street is that this 35mm film is made by Agfa.

 

Never tried it, but it sells for around $0.77 for 24 exposures.

I've been experimenting with a diffuser I made from a plastic juice cup (something like $2 per 6 at Wal-Mart) which has a "frosted" white appearance. The cup is made of polypropylene, so I placed it upside-down in the oven on a cookie sheet at about 200 degrees F for around 10 minutes. When the plastic starting sticking to the cookie sheet slightly, I took the cup out with a dish towel and pushed it over the head of my Sunpak 444D and held it until cool. In my limited testing, it stays on well and even "pops" on and off.

It would be helpful if you could post your exact model of Canonet; if you are uncertain, try taking a look at this site

 

<p>http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/camera/series/f_net.html

 

<p>Good luck!

Gene, you continually amaze me with the shots you get from these toy cameras! Is it true that the Daffynon lens gives better contrast and color rendition than those with a Tweetycor?

Larry, that is a beautiful shot - very "Breakfast at Tiffany's".

Does anyone have experience with the tiny Zenit C(S)? Looks like the perfect SLR for rangefinder fans.

It appears you have an Argus 21 Markfinder, very similar to the later C4 and C44 (which added the rangefinder). You may find some more info at this webpage http://jsurp.tripod.com/id13.html

I have seen similar circular bokeh at f4 from my (former) Smena 8M, which has the triplet T-43 lens. IIRC, this lens was a Tessar clone, but I may be mistaken.

I purchased a GO Photo brand P&S at Wal-Mart last summer for $14. It has a removable waterproof case(to 6 ft, I think)and flash. It takes "ok" pics for a plastic-lensed camera. (Figured I couldn't go wrong for a re-sable underwater cam that cheap.)

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Sorry, in my previous post I forgot to mention that the rolls are 36 exposures. Makes for a little better deal :-)

I was in my local Kroger supermarket (US) this past Tuesday and the

the store brand 35mm C41 film was being sold for $1.00 per roll for

200 & 400 ASA speeds. This is repackaged Ferrania that I have not been

really happy with in the past (grainy, sometimes see a color shift)

but is good enough for general camera testing or snapshooting.

Maria, I really like the dog shot! It looks like you don't need any help getting Lomo photos! I now understand your problem with the Smena - the aperture ring should not be turning when you focus (at least mine didn't). You might try placing a small piece of gaffer's tape touching the aperture ring to provide some friction to keep it from moving.

 

The quality control on these cameras is not the best - I removed my film counter gear because the teeth did not mesh properly and caused the film hang on advancement. I also removed the lens and slightly tightened the screws holding the shutter blades because one would not close every time. Lastly, I flocked the interior with Krylon ultra-flat black paint to minimize internal reflections and incraese saturation (you may have noticed some "light" bars which tend to frame some shots in sunny conditions).

Maria,

 

Congratulations! I used to have a Smena 8M (since given to my brother) and it was a lot of fun. IMHO, Lomo-esque shots have a few basic qualities: high color saturation, long shutter speeds (sometimes), and are often grab shots "in your face". Keeping this in mind, I would use a cheap print film with good saturation characteristics, like Fuji (I was happy with ASA 200 Super HQ), set the shutter on "B" and hold it open to experiment with longer shutter speeds, and get closer to your subject.

 

The Smena 8M viewfinder is basically a chunk of glass with no provision to match the angle of the the 40mm lens "sees", and you will actually capture a wider angle than what is shown in the viewfinder, so don't be afraid to get close.

 

If interested, you can view a few of my modest Smena & SuperSampler pics <a href="http://www.lomohomes.com/prof_utonium" >here</a>

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James,

 

Try this website http://www.professionalphotography101.com/

 

This gentleman authoring this site is a commercial photographer, and has a few lessons here on shooting food. There is a lso a link to the National Food Stylist Directory on this page. Good luck!

Please excuse this newbie question: if one is shooting C41 monochrome film, scanning and adjusting in PS, then why not just shoot C41 color and desaturate/adjust curves in PS? Thanks!

Jorn, I never took the opportunity to attend nor took the sign (I was tempted but didn't think the Lord would look too favorably on that action :-)

 

CE, thanks for the compliment! I've been lurking in this forum for a while and have really been digging your stuff!

I used to have a Smena 8M (given to my brother) which had the same T-43 40mm lens. It was my first fully manual 35mm camera, which I purchased for $7.50 on the Bay. Gives good, slightly strange color saturation, and was a blast to use. Thinking about picking up another to keep in the car.<div></div>

Great idea! I made my own beanbag a while back by using a zippered neoprene sunglasses case that I purchased for $1 at my local Dollar Tree store. I filled the case with plastic resin pellets (I work for a plastics recycler) and it works well. As a bonus, the case has a clip for attaching to belt loops,etc., when not in use.

I agree with Giampiero; I can only get usable shots at ISO 400 with my Canon A70 when shooting in B&W mode. Color shots have unacceptable noise, and desaturating them only makes the image worse. Although my camera has a smaller sensor than your 20D, the same concept applies.

I'll second the Smena responses. I had a Smena 8M which (I believe) had a triplet lens. Shots were fairly sharp and had some vivid, strange color saturation on cheap film, but were definitely not Holga-esque.