danimal

<p>I like my 6 3/8" Kodak Anastigmat, which covers 4x5 and cost $35 mounted on a lensboard.<br>

I've had good luck with one of <a href=http://www.mountainlight.com/rowell/gr_camera_bag.html>Galen Rowell's</a> favorites, a 28–80mm ƒ3.5–5.6 AF-D.<br>

My 105mm Kodak Ektar is a real sharpie, it cost me $125, including a nice 2x3 Crown Graphic.<br>

The 35mm/f2.5 UW Nikkor is almost free, and produces great images.</p>

<p> </p>

<blockquote> Hi Danny, </blockquote> actually, you have a couple of choices. For standard, cardboard mounts that you'd use in your magic lantern-type projector, you can try <a target="top" href="http://www.inkjetart.com/sp/index.html">Ink Jet Art</a>. You can get nice <a target="top" href="http://www.lightimpressionsdirect.com/">presentation mats</a> for 2x3 and 6x12 transparancies from Light Impressions. Good luck. <blockquote> <blockquote> Dan </blockquote> </blockquote>

<blockquote>Roger,</blockquote><a target="top" href="http://www.marinecamera.com">Marine Camera</a> has a new design housing for the Hassy. They used to carry the old one and might be able to line you up with a used housing, too. <blockquote> <blockquote> Dan </blockquote> </blockquote>

<blockquote>Gregory,</blockquote>since you are looking at third-party strobes, why don't you take the opportunity to go to a handle-mount unit? The F-1 has what I have always felt is an weak and awkward shoe adapter. I bought a Sunpak 544 handle mount strobe and it is <b>great</b>. The thing has all the tilt and swivel you can ask for, a guide number of 160 at ASA100 and variable power settings down to 1/64. I use the thing a lot, since I can dial in a little fill light in daylight, or use just the right power setting for mixed-light indoors. Covers 35mm, and the filter kit includes diffusers for 28mm and 20mm lenses. And, once I got used to carrying my F-1 by the strobe in my left hand, it just feels right; a solid camera and strobe combination. I think I paid US$90 on ebay for a like new specimen, in the box with the filter kit.<blockquote><blockquote> Dan </blockquote> </blockquote>

<blockquote>James,</blockquote>

you can find great resources for the F-1 on the web. Click, read and learn. Here's one good one:<br>

 

<a href="http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/canonf1/index.htm">Photography in Malaysia: The Canon F-1</a><br>

 

Christian Rollinger has the F-1 manual in english and other languages. Just go to:<br>

 

<a href="http://www.canonfd.com/f1oma.htm">Canon FD, the F-1 Manual</a><br>

 

<blockquote> <blockquote> Dan </blockquote></blockquote>

John,

welcome to the new, environmentally friendly, millenium. Mercury

batteries are past tense because mercury causes heavy-metel poisoning.

That's bad. However, tons of cadmium are dumped into landfills every

day from old NiCd batteries and guess what? Cadmium is a heavy metal,

too. I don't get it.

Anyway, if you have money to burn, either the Wein aircell or the

C.R.I.S. adapter are great. Both tend to be costly, either because of

the up-front cash outlay of the $30, or the constant replacement of

the aircells. Aircells only last a few months, even if you don't use

them. At $5 each, that adds up.

The best bet is to find a real PX625 mercury cell and use that. They

went out of production in 1999, but their shelf life is around ten

years so you should be able to scrounge some up. Then, never forget to

turn off your meter or always use a lens cap to prevent the precious

electrons from leaving home.

The next most excellent soultion is to use a PX625A alkaline cell.

These read anywhere from a 1/3 stop to couple of stops off, depending

on who you ask. This error can be calibrated out the next time you

have your camera serviced. Or, you can use your handy-dandy in camera

calibrator-the light meter itself. You can compare the light meter

against an accurate handheld meter and use the ASA dial to zero out

the error, or you can use the battery-check. If you'd like to know how

to do that, fire off an e-mail to danimal_57@yahoo.com and I'll walk

you through it.

Another option is to use a handheld meter. They're nice to have

anyway and they're very accurate.

Why do you need accuracy? Because you're shooting slides, of course.

Modern negative film is so tolerant of exposure error that you can get

by with an inaccurate meter or just guess, using the "sunny 16" rule.

This April I shot a roll of Kodak Max 400 through my prewar Contax II

up in Yosemite and used estimate exposure. I was very pleased with the

results. I spent yesterday printing the negatives and the 8x10s are

beautiful. That old Carl Zeiss sure knew how to make a lens!

Let me know what you think. I regularly use a 1971 F-1 and I love

the camera. They're well designed and built and, in my opinion,

reasonably priced compared to other pro cameras. It's a shame that the

batteries have been needlessly banned.

 

<p>

 

Dan

Steve,

you must be focused past infinity, otherwise you would be seeing part

of the foreground in focus. If your Polaroids are Ok, then the

problem is confined to the way that your film holders are mounting in

the camera, right? For the film holders to be in a position past

infinity focus, they must be placing the film too close to the lens

when the standard is racked all the way back to infinity. Odd, that.

You know, if you're just checking focus you can use photographic

paper instead of film. That would be a lot cheaper if you need to do

a lot of trial and error. Good luck.

 

<p>

 

Dan

Hi,

you might try Brad at www.usedphoto.com. He's got a Canon FD 80-200

listed for $110. The usual disclaimer applies: I have no commercial

intrest in usedphoto.com.

 

<p>

 

Dan

Abbie,

manuals are available from John Craig at craigcamera.com for a

reasonable cost, or for download at a site called manualsrus.com,

again for a small fee. Christian Rollinger has many Canon maunals on

his aptly names site canonfd.com for free. I've never had an A-1 and

never used a winder, so I can't be of any help to you there.

 

<p>

 

Dan

Hi Eric,

I can't comment on the Calumet, but I have a GVII and like it a lot.

It is cheap, well built, and capable. Check the link below for

details:

 

<p>

 

http://graflex.org/articles/graphic-view/GraphicViewII.html

 

<p>

 

 

My GVII has a removable Graflok, which is nice for both portrait and

landscape work. If your classes require macro work you might want more

bellow draw, since the 16" bellows on the GVII wiill run out at about

2x lifesize with a 200mm lens. I don't use the standard tripod

adapter, as my camera has a solid tripod block. The Graflex tripod

adapter adds to the purchase cost of the camera and they aren't very

common. They aren't common because they're not very good when compared

to a modern tripod head, so most of them ended up in the trash a long

time ago. Here's a link describing what a Graflex tripod adapter is

and how to modify it for use with a modern tripod:

 

<p>

 

http://www.bigcamera.com/articles/GraphicViewTripodFix.htm

 

<p>

 

I was saddened to hear of the death of O. Winston Link, suitably

outside a train station in New York. His work with the Graphic View

stands as some of the landmark photography of the 20th century.

Godspeed Mr. Link.

 

<p>

 

Dan

Jim,

the specs you see are probably due to the deterioration of the light

trapping foam that the mirror comes up against at the high point of

its travel. Remember: This does not affect the quality of your

pictures, since it's part of the viewfinder system. Do not fool with

the mirror itself, because the silver coating is quite fragile. Your

best bet would be to use a blower to try and remove the specs from the

under surface of the focusing screen. But if the foam is falling apart

you'll keep getting more specs until you have the camera

professionally cleaned. The FTb's a good camera, take good care of it.

 

<p>

 

Dan

Keith, here's a site with a lens table.

http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Nook/4792/copyright_texts/LargeLens.html

Dan

 

<p>

 

<b>X</b>

Hello Kathy,

it's probably a good idea to check with the professor who will be

teaching the class to see if the photo lab is equipped to handle 4x5

film. If they are not, you're out of luck with large format. If the

professor is supportive of your large format ambition, you might want

to look into something like a used Graphic View ($200) or Toyo's entry

level 4x5 ($500). You'll need a lens, meter and tripod. They can be

costly. Large format is an expensive way to learn.

You might consider the more traditional route of Beginning

Photography, using a 35mm camera. For under $100 you can have a

completer setup of camera and lens. The cameras usually have a

built-in light meter and with 35mm a tripod is not required. Good used

cameras that I would consider are Canon FTb, Olympus OM-1, Minolta

SRT-101 single lens reflex cameras. Rangefinder cameras might be worth

looking into, as well. A Minolta Hi-Matic 7 or Canon Canonet QL17 are

nice cameras that have manual controls, in addition to automatic

exposure.

Drop me an e-mail if I can help. Good luck with your class.

 

<p>

 

Dan