gnashings

Sweet!!! Nice pick me up after

witnessing another victim of the digital

epidemic...

<p>Wait, its made of watering cans??? Just kidding - lovely lens, beauty camera, I am jealous and as usual very impressed with the pictures as well as spoiled by the read.</p>

<p>I think its not so much a source but can be a good home for it. Its like saying "are slums a source of crime?"... well no, but it sure feels comfortable there. Aside from the factors like tanning, etc., already discussed, I think that any time you prevent airflow and increase the likelihood of trapping damp air in one place you are increasing the chances that fungus will develop - I am an avid collector of silica packets and make sure that I throw a few in the bottom of any place my cameras spend any length of time. Perhaps its more for my peace of mind than any actual help but it makes me feel better.</p>

<p>Another vote for the Koni Omega, had excellent results with it - and I found it handles far better than the size and awkward appearance would suggest. The lenses are excellent and the rangefinder, if in good shape, is bright and snappy. Plus the film advance is just cool, which is awesome and awesomeness is a deciding factor for any serious photographer;) Of course if you get too happy with it pretending its a sawed off 870 you'll make an accordion out of your film but hey, the price of cool was never cheap;)</p>

<p>La Blunts wow :D sounds like a rapper...</p>

<p>Gross.</p>

<p>Wonderful stuff!!! thoroughly enjoyed this post, thank you so much for sharing!</p>

 

<p>ya those Leica lenses are ok i guess if you're into that kind of thing ;) Beautiful shots of a beautiful city!</p>

<p>So sick of this "new life" bull I keep reading - nothing EVER KILLED THESE LENSES. THEY WORK JUST FINE, RIGHT NOW. They don't need another photo computer to be butchered onto to bring them to life, just someone who actually wants to bother to take photographs. NEWSFLASH - Canon FD lenses fit very nicely onto a plethora of Canon FD bodies, the Rokkors fit a legion of Minoltas, etc. All bodies that are available, functional, work now and will keep working long after the flavour of the month silver bullet pixel generator you're currently crushing on becomes old news and some web site or another tells you should really buy another one. But congratulations, I am sure the prices will spike once again as the flocks of lemmings plunge towards the cliff of originality promised by using an old lens... Yey... what a wonderful bit of news. </p>

<p>Awesome to have you back! Missed your posts A LOT!!! Hope all is well with you!</p>

<p>he DID state that this was for fun and "unscientific"... Good Lord get off the guy's back. He was curious, he did something -probably more for amusement than information - and decided to share it with us. I enjoyed it. I don't think the Helios shows to have an edge, but it certainly compares favourably, and anyone who says "they wouldn't use one if someone gave it to them" is just being pompous and pretentious. Its a great lens, better than 99% of the people who use them.</p>

<p>"holiday snaps, eh? know what I mean?" :D</p>

 

<p>From now on, no matter what I am selling, I will be sure to add "may contain molecules once found the body of Alexander the Great or some other famous person! Conquer photography with this great piece!" :D</p>

<p>Everything on eBay is rare, one of a kind and my favourite - "this is the best one!" "If you know (insert brand here) you know this is the one to have!".</p>

<p>Still not as annoying as kijiji/craigslist ads with the "low ballers will be ignored!" disclaimer... really? You just acknowledged the lot of them... Or people compelled to tell you how much they don't care if they sell the item and give a lengthy story of what they will do with it if they don't... "The price is firm, if it doesn't sell (with the implication that you, esteemed reader, are an idiot who doesn't know a good thing if it hits you on the face!) I am going to _______(whatever whatever whatever). Buddy... just tell me what it is and how much you want for it - I'll either buy it, offer you how much I am willing to spend or I won't - in which case I don't care if you plan to find some far away land where you and the item can be legally married and attempt to have weird cyborg babies with it...</p>

<p>OK - end rant :D</p>

<p>Given my great admiration for you superb use of colour, i am a little surprised that "once was a cafe" is my favourite this time around! Great shots as always!</p>

<p>Its funny, I looked at the photos before I read the posts and thought to myself "hmmm... mid 70's! really?!" Aside from its obvious film camera identity, the design aesthetic would not be out of place at all right now - over a decade into the 21st century (by the way, where is my god-damned jet pack?! huh!? This century is a false advertised ripoff!!! but I digress... ;) ). It looks like Canon designers borrowed heavily from these cameras in their range of the over-grown point and shoots, and many of today's cameras of that ilk look like they are not far removed. This truly speaks to the excellence of the design, as few things truly "age well". The classics we all love are appealing precisely because they are timeless, and they look a certain way - their ability to proudly wear their age on their sleeve is the very thing that makes them so remarkable, but there is something to be said for a design that is actually ahead of its time. Hmmm.... ages well... Few things do. I know I didn't :)</p>

<p>Its really good to have you back, I know I am only one of many who know the journeys we take through your photos and insightful notes are truly cherished. Many wishes of good health and speedy recovery!</p>

<p>Only women should be allowed to wear those. Women have pretty feet. And those who don't... well, they should know better. I think its inhumane that I am forced to see man-feet. I don't make you look at my feet, why do people insists on displaying theirs to me? Its gross and uncalled for. I don't care if your feet get hot, deal with it - other parts of my body get hot too, and as nice as it would be to get a nice breeze going, I wear pants. <br>

Wow.. ya, that slipped out:) Seriously though, wear boots. </p>

<p>OK - honest to God that is not why I initially started writing this reply - the pictures, as images - are wonderful, and yes, the second one, I have to concur is outstanding among a very fine batch! The developing is hard to judge as these are just digital representations (as everything on line is), but from what I can see, kudos on a job well done - and while I love Velvia, I think nothing holds more true than "horses for courses", and I think these images would look downright kitchy if they were force fed the Velvia palette - as is the colours are plenty vivid but let the image speak for itself, rather than having to scream over the onsane oversaturated colours. that is my longwinded way of saying I like the colours, a lot!</p>

<p>I think owning a spot meter is a wonderful idea and money well spent - I think just pointing it at a bunch of scenes teaches a great deal, because it shows just how much difference there is in various parts of the scene, something that I think we sometimes need a real, empirical example of in order to fully grasp.<br>

I've never had much use for an incident meter outside of a studio, and to be perfectly honest, really only resorted to one for strobes and flashes. It certainly isn't going to be ideal for landscape unless you have a lot of time and an assistant willing to talk to you on a cell phone from wherever it is you are trying to photograph:)</p>

<p>Having said all that - The Ultimate Exposure Calculator is so much more than any light meter - it is a teaching tool put together by a (in my humble opinion) very wise man. I would suggest that just reading the preamble to it will teach the average amateur photog more than months of trial and error. And for night time exposures, I have relied on it pretty much solely when I wasn't willing to trust my hunches, and was always amazed by the spot on results I got. Keep in mind, "spot on results" are very subjective in night photography or even sunrise/sundown photography. I highly recommend it regardless of any light meter purchase you may make.</p>

<p>The most important part about metering light is really not the measurement, but the interpretation of that measurement and applying it in order to yield the image you are trying to make, the one you "see" in your mind. </p>

<p>And a photocomputer as a polaroid is a wonderful idea as well. It will definitely help you get in the ball park. Especially useful for tricky light, painting with light (and I mean on an industrial scale lol, not the classic black box variety) and difficult mixed light sources. But it does take away from the mystique of it a little bit, since you get a little pixelograph preview of the photograph you are attempting to make.</p>

<p>I think you'll be surprised how much of a non-event this will be - I would give it a little extra time and and use stock or 1:1 and prepare myself for how... normal it all goes.</p>

<p>Maciek, you must me far more demanding/discerning that I am, I find the little GIII to be about as good wide open as anything else of that era, save for some truly outstanding - and usually high end/high price gear. Perhaps its mainly due to how I use a fast lens wide open - handheld, pushing the edges of what is acceptible hand held - in those conditions judging lens sharpness on its inherent optical qualities is like judging a ballerina on how well she dances in army boots during an earthquake...</p>

<p>I'm with Walter. Secondly, you can NOT take them with an image capturing computer (ingrained in the public psyche as a "digital camera"), so if multiple exposures are your thing, film is the only medium. </p>

<p>Thirdly, you can take double exposures with ANY 35mm camera, simply by engaging the rewind lever or button and then moving the film advance lever, cocking the shutter but not advancing the film which is disengaged - but the registration of frames may not be..uhm... perfect:) But it can be done.</p>

<p>Many thanks to you and the garden folk, and likewise all the best in 2012, may it be better than the last for one and all:) (until the world ends in December anyhow... but i digress;) )</p>

<p>Rick, lovely shots and a write up. I always wondered what quality it was that made me so drawn to your write ups, and while there are many, I think the fact that they remind me of Peter Egan's columns about cars and motorcycles is among the chief reasons. </p>

<p>And now for the part that I think will make me sound silly - that Helios is one of my very favourite lenses. I actually like the way it does just about everything. Maybe its sentiment - this was that 50 that I really learned to see through and I think no other one really came close in familiarity (too many lenses, too many cameras, too much bull crap really - one Zenit, one Helios and a hunger for discovering photography produced so much more for me than all my other gizmos and gadgets - which is no verdict on the gizmos and gadgets, but rather on the mentality). Still, I always found this lens to be a very strong performer and, subjectively, a very pleasant "looking" optic. I know that if i had to take a shot that just had to come out, I would take that lens. Its just me, but I like it that much. No one ever accused me of being smarticular;)</p>

<p>Love the shutter release myself - Sarah, I wonder (and by no means is this meant to be showing any gender bias, simply the law of averages) if its just not handy for smaller hands? My mitts are on the larger side, and every time I hold a praktica I think "wow... why didn't everyone put this there?!". Mind you, I would think that this would help, not hinder, those with smaller hands... Hmm... just thinking out loud.. and off topic - sorry Marius!</p>

<p>Rob, honesty laughing out loud as it was the first thing that came to mind when I saw it!!! Peanuts rocks!</p>

<p>My feelings towards this camera seem almost cliche when perusing the comments - but I guess its hard to expect anything else when an instrument such as this comes along: elegant, timeless, simple... I love this camera. I have never had the pleasure of shooting one, and only handled one briefly at a camera show - but I would be shocked if something that embodies the "form follows function" principle so well did not work as well as it looked.</p>

<p>Louis, this was a wonderful write up, but I have to tell you - amidst the multitude of great pics, all of which could be the pride of most photographers, the yellow flower rises above. I kept coming back to that photograph over and over, and every time I find something else to love about it. The composition is amazing in more ways than one - not only in the simple, basic (albeit oh so important!) aspect of geometric relationships that most of us think of when the word "composition" is used, but also the use of light and shadow as part of that composition, complimenting the shapes and arrangement of the objects, taking on a life of its own as an element in its own right. But... the part that really stands out is the use of colour - perhaps because it is an area I find sadly lacking in my own photographic acumen - but I think that only serves to underline its excellence to me, an excellence that is so apparent to everyone, I am sure. It is accurate to say that the yellow flower has me green with envy:) Kudos, Mr. Meluso and thank you for sharing all these gems, the camera, the other pics - but especially that one!</p>