clarence_l

This rare lens is for the giant fuji 690 rangefinder system. It will give you a slightly "tele" field of view on your 690 camera. In great condition. Comes with original cap, Kenko UV filter and home-made rear cap.

Hello, I'm thinking of putting a better lens on one of the old, cheap polaroid land rangefinder cameras.

Eastcamtech puts 127mm Rodenstock lenses on their converted cameras:

http://eastcamtech.com/Pol250.htm

I was hoping to compensate for rangefinder inaccuracy with a lens with a shorter focal length instead, though.

Would it be possible to use a lens like one of the Polaroid / Tominon lenses used with the Polaroid MP-3 / MP-4 copy cameras?

There are auctions selling those lenses right now:

http://cgi.ebay.fr/Polaroid-Copal-75mm-Macro-Lens-for-4x5-Camera-UP-TO-6X_W0QQitemZ370003714738QQihZ024QQcategoryZ30076QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=170176893617&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=007

I suppose a lens that is not 114mm would lose infinity focus if I were to just mount it on the lens standard, but I don't mind, since I will be using this mostly for portraits.

Could anyone advise if this is possible? Thank you.

Clarence

There isn't much light right now here in London, and it doesn't last long either. I recommend bringing ISO1600 films if you don't want to stop shooting at 4pm. If you're worried about fogging you can have them processed here. Snappy Snaps at 23 Garrick St (near Leicester Square tube station and Covent Garden) is cheap and good and caters to a professional and amateur clientele.

Pied Bull Yard has the classic camera shops and Tottenham Court Road nearby and to the west has more modern offerings, though Kinglsey Photographic and West End Cameras there do sell second hand film cameras. Prices tend to be ridiculously expensive if you're from overseas, so I wouldn't bother shopping for gear here.

If you fancy going to a less touristy but safe and interesting place, I can recommend Camden a few tube stops up north, which is where I live. It's crawling with tourists, but attracts a different crowd from the Trafalgar Square / West End type.

Clarence

I hope it's not too late, but Rodinal is still being produced. I just bought some.

Clarence

Thank you very much, Matthew and Brian, for your answers. The dimensions will be especially helpful. I suppose I'll have to keep looking. In the meantime, I'm using a pair of pliers to open and close the locks because the arm has broken. It's not usually too troublesome.

Once again, thanks.

Clarence

<p>Hello,</p>

<p>I need to find a leg lock to replace the broken one on my Manfrotto

/ Bogen 055 / 3021. Unfortunately it's the old model, using the old

locks with the pivoting levers, and so I cannot use the parts for the

new locks which are more easily found. I'd been unable to find the old

locks anywhere, but I just spotted this on ebay:</p>

<p><a

href="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7533916813&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1">http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7533916813&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1</a></p>

<p>Does anyone know if this will fit the upper joints of the legs on

an old manfrotto?</p>

<p>Thank you.</p>

<p>Clarence</p>

Hello,

Thank you very much, Nadine and Tom for your answers. I understood both of you perfectly, so don't worry. I had conducted handheld lighting tests before, but I had never done one with ambient light exposure. It has taught me a valuable lesson, I suppose.

I eventually decided on getting a monopod because SLR bodies with flash sync speeds of 1/125 and above are generally too expensive for me. I suppose it should give me about two stops more of shutter speed, which would make holding a 135mm lens still enough on 1/60 possible.

Once again, thanks.

Clarence

Hello,

Thanks for the response.

I recently processed some photos that I had taken using my Vivitar 283 to provide fill flash. I noticed that on the shots with my 135mm lens, both foreground and background were much blurrer than on the shots using the 35mm lens. I believe the maximum flash sync of 1/60 and the ambient light were responsible for this.

So I'll probably have to start using a monopod, like you said, when I'm using my long lenses.

Once again, thanks.

Clarence

Hello,

I have some questions about using hand-held flash:

Assuming that one is holding the camera by hand normally, why is it

that when one decreases the shutter speed when using flash, in order

to let the background become better exposed, the background doesn't

bleed into the sharp foreground due to camera shake?

Why is it that the foreground doesn't blur either from the exposure

time after the flash has shut off?

What are the lowest limits of shutter speed when you do want to

overexpose the background behind a flashed subject, without blurring

everything in the picture from camera shake? (I presume it's dependent

on focal length)

Thank you.

Clarence

Before you decide to risk electrocution and death, try this:

Take a pencil eraser and rub the battery contacts in the battery holder to get rid of any oxidized metal. Then put your batteries back in and try turning it on. This is possibly the primary cause of Vivitar 285 and 283 problems.

If that fails, the hot shoe might not be working. Just do yourself and your Vivitar 285 a favour and get a Vivitar pc sync cord. You'll be able to continue using it for years to come until it finally does encounter final death.

So don't die before your Vivitar.

Hello,

I have a question that's tangentially related to this:

Assuming that one is holding the camera by hand normally, why is it that when one decreases the shutter speed when using flash, in order to let the background become better exposed, the background doesn't bleed into the sharp foreground due to camera shake?

Why is it that the foreground doesn't blur either from the exposure time after the flash has shut off?

What are the lowest limits of shutter speed when you do want to overexpose the background behind a flashed subject, without blurring everything in the picture from camera shake?

Thank you.

Clarence

Hello,

If you're pointing the light meter at the camera, you should be using the incident attachment, and if you're pointing the light meter at the subject, from where the camera would be, you should be using the reflective attachment, because for the latter, you're recording the luminence of the light reflected from the subject and bouncing towards the camera.

I use a Minolta Flash Meter III as well, but my exposures are on target, as far as I can tell. Perhaps you should calibrate it with a test shoot, using slide film for maximum accuracy. The calibration knob is on the back of the Minolta.

Clarence

Hello,

I looked for the flat-tip screwdriver slot that you mentioned and found it. I then unscrewed it without much difficulty. For a moment I was afraid the previous owner had epoxied it.

Thank you so much!

Clarence

Hello,

I recently acquired a manfrotto/bogen 168 head. Unfortunately it has a

1/4 bushing stuck in its socket, so I can't attach it to the 3/8

thread on my manfrotto/bogen 3021/055.

Could anyone advise me on how I can go about removing the bushing

without destroying either my (tripod's) head or my (tripod's) legs?

Thank you.

<p>Hello,

<p>I thoroughly enjoyed reading your spirited response, David. I really do plan on enjoying myself and taking good photographs, like you said, but the instinct to protect myself hardly intrudes on my life. I suppose it might be something I've taken along with me from when I was in the army. It wasn't a pleasant experience, but I learnt that I had to take care of myself and my possessions at all times. Sometimes I like to think that I've internalised it to the extent that it doesn't feel like something I do consciously, so it doesn't make my life that much more inconvenient, really.

<p><i>"If you're worried about the security of your gear in the bag, what are you going to feel like when you take it out to use it?"</i>

<p>I've actually thought about the likelihood of someone sneaking up on me while I'm composing a shot. And so I considered getting something with a waist level finder, so that I wouldn't be completely unaware of my surroundings.

<p>The comment about the Bronica was hilarious. But seriously, I've been reading everyone's comments and reconsidering my choice of Medium-Format equipment. I'm avowedly non-digital, however, and so I might take along cheap and light rangefinders that would fit in my pocket instead. Or perhaps a yashica TLR for the waist-level finder.

<p>Thanks for the advice.

<p>Clarence

Hello,

I was wondering if carrying too much equipment might be too much of a burden, especially since it wouldn't be a purely photographic trip.

Perhaps I might just get myself a Hexar AF, or an MF rangefinder. Then a simpler, smaller bag with some inserts might suffice.

Clarence

Hello,

Thank you all so much for your advice! I think camouflage sounds like an excellent idea. Maybe next time I go shooting I'll put my equipment in a Sainsbury's bag.

I've always preferred shoulder bags, and I find that if you sling them across your body (rather than on the shoulder that's the same side of the bag), the weight is shared by both the shoulder and your hip. I'll probably bring one along, then.

I've seen the chicken wire before. I thought it would be a bit less obvious if the wire were black.

Once again, thank you very much.

Clarence

<p>Hello,

<p>I'm thinking of getting a bag to carry my 35mm Mamiya SLR and

Bronica SQ systems when (or if) I do travel in Africa. I hope I'm not

perpetuating any stereotypes, but one must admit, really, that it's

not the safest place to be carrying your equipment around.

<p>There seem to be several considerations:

<p><b>1) Which is more innocuous, or less prone to being noticed?

<p>2) Which is more secure, or more resistant to theft?

<p>3) Which is more practical?

<p>1) Which is more innocuous, or less prone to being noticed?</b>

<p>I wouldn't want to announce that my bag contains camera equipment,

or that I'm a tourist, and so the billingham, lowepro and tamrac bags

are out of the question. If I were to get a domke, I would deface it

with tape and paint to conceal the brand. Having said that, which

attracts more attention to thieves: backpacks or shoulder bags large

enough to carry my cameras?

<p><b>2) Which is more secure, or more resistant to theft?</b>

Assuming that I would be the target of thieves, regardless of whether

I'm carrying a backpack or shoulder bag, which would be easier to

secure against them? When I walk on the streets of London I always

take care to keep my shoulder bag in front of me, and not at my side

or behind. I'm afraid that if I carry a backpack, the straps could

easily be slashed without my noticing, and I would be five hundred

quid poorer in equipment. Are shoulder bags thus easier to protect?

<p><b>3) Which is more practical?</b>

This question is directed in particular to those among us who are

experienced in travelling. I'm certainly not planning to go on any

safaris or nature walks, but I realise that I would probably have to

do alot of walking around, and a shoulder bag isn't too conducive for

that. In your personal experience, which has served you better?

<p>If I sound paranoid, I am. Every time I leave my room in central

London I double lock my equipment in a suitcase. I apologise in

advance for asking any questions that have already been asked, but I

really haven't been able to find answers to my fears.

<p>I appreciate all the help you can give me. Thank you.

<p>With My Regards,

<p>Clarence Lee

Hello,

I've also been considering the issue of factoring lenses into weight calculations as I'm considering whether a Manfrotto 486 is sufficient for me, or if I'd require a 488.

I realise that the weights of lenses are usually easily available, but for telephoto lenses, it could mean that the center of gravity shifts significantly away from the camera body, where the tripod head mounts.

I'm considering getting a Bronica SQB with a 180mm lens. The mass would be approximately: 1025 grams + 865 grams = 1890 grams or 4.17 pounds. The Manfrotto 486 is rated at a capacity of 13.2 pounds, but I wonder if I'm being a little paranoid when I suspect that it might not take a tele lens as easily.

Thank you!

With My Regards,

Clarence

Thanks for the advice, Ben. Unfortunately I can't afford any new strobes at the moment. Also, I'm wondering if anyone in the UK could repair the Alien Bees or White Lightning strobes should anything happen to them.

After looking around for quite abit, I'm considering that waiting for a used Bowens or Prolinca monobloc kit may be the best option for me, in terms of cost-effectiveness (and also especially if no one on this side of the pond can repair Paul C. Buff strobes easily). Elinchrom is of course, way out of my budget; Courtenay has closed down; and I've heard pretty awful stuff about Interfit.

Do let me know your thoughts. Cheers.

Clarence

Hello,

I recently spotted some used White Lightning heads up for sale and I

was considering purchasing them. However, I live in London and I was

wondering if anyone in the UK is able to repair these units should

something happen to them (and they are probably at least 10 years old

so I would expect some problems, eventually).

I'm only just starting with studio photography, so any advice would be

useful. Any offers of used studio equipment would also be welcome.

Thank you.

With My Regards,

Clarence

Hello,

I'd be really careful about opening it up. Even if you've pressed the flash test button many many times after you've turned it off, and nothing happens, there could still be a lethal charge left in the capacitors, and it won't disappear overnight, or even over a few weeks or months.

You'd have to put some sort of load between the contacts I think, to get rid of the charge safely. There are instructions for this online but I'm not well versed in electrical equipment so when the contacts on the shoe of my Vivitar 283 gave up on me I bought a slave trigger to use with it instead.

With My Regards, Clarence

Hello,

Corrosion on the contacts in the battery compartment may be a contributing factor. Rubbing the oxidised metal clean with a pencil eraser can help.

With My Regards,

Clarence