hoyin_lee1

Peter Parker's camera in the Spiderman movie (a brassy Canon New F-1

with AE Finder FN):

<p>

</p><img

src="http://www.netbeet.ne.jp/~kakusan/Canon/Parts/F1front.jpg">

Peter Parker's camera in the Spiderman movie (a brassy Canon New F-1):

<p>

</p><img src="www.mediakyoto.com/.../cla_came_e/ grp/canon_nf_1.gif">

I don't find the finder useful either. Besides the problem you

mentioned about not able to see the entire frame with glasses, its

shape and size prevent the use of a flash next to it on a double-shoe-

-that's a disappointment as I use fill-flash a lot in my

photography.

Just want to share some of my own travel experience in China:

<p>

</p>(1) Travel as light as possible, especially when you're exploring

on your own; keep everything together in one bag.

<p>

</p>(2) Bring wideangle lenses; an ultra-wide of 21mm or wider is

extremely useful.

<p>

</p>(3) Print films are readily available but good slide films, such

as Velvia, Provia, Ektachrome, etc., are not (they are available, but

you have to know where to find them), except in the

more "international" cities like Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai and

Beijing.

<p>

</p>(4) Film format; I haven't tried carrying more than two systems

but I would like to try bringing a 6x6 TLR in addition to a 35mm SLR

or rangefinder. I do have friends who bring their Hasselblads on

trips to the mountains to photograph the landscape; one carries a

Hassy SWC with his Nikons or Leicas on most trips, although he moans

about the weight at times! Given that you're won't be travelling to

China again soon, I would suggest that you bring the two camera

systems you mentioned, as they don't seem too unmanageable and you

can carry all of them in one bag.

<p>

</p>(5) Politically, China has loosen up a lot, espeically now that

it's entered the WTO. There're no minders or secret police watching

over you and you can photograph almost everything, except military

installations in certain sensitive areas (that applies to many other

countries, not just China). On certain official tours, I do have

official "hosts" following me everywhere (most were just regular

university students but on one occassion I had the deputy director of

the local party school tagging along!), but they were just being

hospitable in the Mainland-Chinese way, and were in no way keeping an

eye on me!

<p>

</p>Have a good trip!

Dealers here in Hong Kong are bringing in the M7 in small batches,

and, according to the ones I've spoken with, they're sold out within

days. Current Hong Kong price: HK$ 16,500 (about US$ 2150), but it's

expected to drop when the camera is avaliable in bigger quantities.

The P-word: now I know what my Londoner colleague is saying all the

time!

Step-by-step illustrated instructions on how to load a screw-mount

Leica: <a

href="http://www.mediakyoto.com/camerashopper/lrc_e/b_e/b01_e.html">ht

tp://www.mediakyoto.com/camerashopper/lrc_e/b_e/b01_e.html</a>. Hope

this helps.

I had an EM a long time ago (a gift from dad; he meant well, bless

his heart!) and didn't like it for two reasons: (1) it's like a point-

and-shoot with aperture-priority automation--you have no control of

the shutter speed (the only choices of shutter speed are B and 1/90

second); (2) mirror slap is too heavy, especially for a small light

camera, which means the chances of camera-shake is greater.

<p>

</p>If you're looking for a small light Nikon SLR, you can do worse

than to buy a F80 or F65 (N80 or N65 in the US). Or you could check

out a FG, which is like an advanced version of the EM (they're of

similar shape and size), but offers auto-exposure modes as well as

manual--but check to see if you find the mirror-slap too great for

your liking.

Another vote for Photo 2; tough choice between Photos 3 & 4, but my

personal preference is 3.

Won't it be nice if . . .

<p>

</p>Me: "Geez, honey, I already have so many cameras; I guess I

shouldn't get that Leica M7-P."

<p>

</p>She: "Don't be silly, if you want it, I'll get it for you, now."

<p>

</p>Hey, dreaming's no crime!

Chris, here's one to add to your list: the county of Kaiping in

Guangdong province, China. It's a potential UNESCO World Heritage

Site (in fact, the county government is applying to have the place

listed as one) with some 1,800 <a

href="http://www.kaiping.gov.cn/dl/default.htm">"watchtower-

houses"</a> (eclectic Chinese-Western style fortified tower dwellings

built by wealthy overseas-Chinese in the 1920s and 1930s), located

everywhere outside the county capital (Kaipingshi). The townships of

Chikan, Tangkou and Xianggang are a must-see. Went to these places

last month armed with a Minolta CLE with an Elmarit-M 21mm/2.8 ASPH,

a M-Hexanon 28mm/2.8 and an Elmar 90mm/4. Turned out that the 28mm

and 21mm (in that order) were the most useful, and the 90mm hardly

used. In hindsight, a 24mm or 25mm would have been much better (oh

why did I leave my Voigtlander 25mmf/4 home??)

Jonathan, here's the repairer you're looking for:

</p>Mr. Lee Cho Tat

<br>Panda Camera-Repair Service

<br>Penthouse, Double Building

<br>22 Stanley Street, Central, Hong Kong

<br>Tel: 2522 9905, 2522 9908

<br>(the building's entrance is to the left of Luk Yu Teahouse [as

you face it]; take lift to top floor and walk up two flights of

stairs)

</p>You'll find Mr. Lee the nicest and the most honest camera

repairer you can find anywhere in the world; in case you're

wondering, we're not related.

Holy Summicron, Ralph, those are great shots! Mike, your portraits

are always a delight! Alfie, how about giving us more focused shots

of your two Leicas, or perhaps shoot one with the other instead of

using your "cheap Kodak digital camera"?

Soroka, I'm sorry for your friend's loss; if he has filed a police

report detailing the stolen equipment and serial numbers, there may

be a chance of recovering the items if they turn up in an auction.

<p>

</p>Speaking of lost prototype cameras, I read somewhere about the

story of the prototype Contax SLR. It goes something like this: in

1936, Zeiss Ikon formed a team to develop a 35mm SLR camera, and in

1940, a prototype was built in great secrecy based on the Contax II

rangefinder body, but with a bulit-in eye-level prism that gave a

upright and left-right reversed image in the viewfinder. The

developement was halted during the war as Zeiss had other production

priorities. The prototype was subsequently lost in the chaos as

Dresden was invaded by the Red Army. Soon after the war, as the

story goes, a Russian officer turned up at the Zeiss factory in what

had became the East-German city of Dresden with a request to repair a

peculiar camera that featured the Zeiss Ikon logo and a fixed

viewfinder prism. The service technician refused the repair thinking

that it was a privately converted camera. Later, when the factory

people heard about it, they realized that they missed the opportunity

of recovering their lost prototype Contax SLR. It wasn't until 1948

when Carl Zeiss Jena produced the Contax S, the world's first SLR

with a built-in viewfinder prism.

I have a copy too--a gift from a generous friend. My first

impression of the book was, "My God, this looks dauntingly

technical!" But it turned out to be a very enjoyable read and a

highly useful reference book.

Besides Color Six, here's another choice: John Leung Studio on Heard

St. (UG floor, Kwong Sang Hong Building). Fotomax, although not a

pro-lab, is also pretty good.

Ben, according to Stephen Gandy, the Noctilux 50mm f/1 can't be used

on the CLE. See here for details on the CLE's lens-compatibility: <a

href="http://www.cameraquest.com/cle.htm">http://www.cameraquest.com/c

le.htm</a>.

One time my Nikon F4s misbehaved and started to expose himself (I

believe it's a he) whenever a woman came into the viewfinder. Had to

confine him to a locked drawer ever since. A very sad end to a fine

camera.

For colour slide, I use Provia 400F whenever I can. Before the 400F

was available, I used Provia 100F exposed at ISO 320 and push-process

two stops with great results. I suppose Provia 400F can be

satisfactorily pushed to ISO 800, although I have not tried that

myself. For colour film, I have used Supra 800 and PJ 800. PJ 800

seems to be slightly better than Supra 800 in terms of grain and

exposure latitude. I find Supra 800 has a tendency to become very

grainy even when slightly underexposed, but nice and smooth in bright

daylight or with adequate flash lighting. For b/w, I stay with TMAX

400 and T400CN, and have not used anything faster.

Kristian, I had the same reservation about guess-focusing when I got

the Snapshot-Skopar 25mm f/4. It turned out to be a non-issue, and I

haven't got a *single picture* that's out of focus from this lens--

that's how easy guess-focusing is with a wide-angle lens, once you're

used to it.

I have no idea what this "Cosmos" finish is made of. If you have a

Leica custom leather fetish, you'll go crazy <a

href="http://www.cameramate.com/lgal.htm">here</a>.