steven_endo

Up until a few years ago, I was playing coed softball. I liked taking photos at the games, so.... My plan was to use an old, wheeled ice chest i had that was missing the drain plug (so useless for carrying ice). I planned to install dividers for various lenses and other equipment. They're sturdy enough to sit or stand on, keep equipment cool and sealed from dust and water, easy to roll around and/or pick up, and innocuous enough to avoid attracting unwanted attention (unless it's a hot day and everyone is thirsty). But I quit playing soon after coming up with the idea so never followed through...

Does the A-1 have a stop down lever? If so, perhaps it is set to stopped down which would put the lever behind the lever on the lens...

Oh, I realize that. But to go from nothing (?) in the R, to one auto stop down lever in the FL, to the various controls on the FD (including one "reserved" pin that was never used) is fascinating. Makes me wonder if Canon was planning the FD mount when they designed the R or FL mounts (possible or probable?) or if they just found a way to stuff all the extra pins inside the mount. And then, of course, dumping everything to make the EF mount which was a sad day for me...

The "A" or "○" position on the lens aperture ring is the magic. On the back of the fd lens, there is the aperture signal/control arm located on the side, in a long slot. As you turn the aperture ring, the arm rises or falls with the aperture. This arm couples with a lever at the side of a manual, match-needle metering camera's mirror box that moves the circle that indicates the f-stop in the viewfinder. When the lens is set to "A" or "○" on the EF, New F-1, F-1 with Servo EE Finder, and AE-1, the signaling arm becomes a control arm. A tiny little pin in the lens pushes a button in the camera's lens mount ring area which signals the camera to go into auto mode. When the shutter is fired, the camera closes the aperture and the control arm drops as usual. But the corresponding arm on the side of the mirror box stops and locks at a level that corresponds to the f-stop recommended by the meter. The arm in the mirror box thus stops the lens' control arm at the correct f-stop. Until the lens is set to "A" or "○", the arm in the mirror box is unused. That is why there is no manual match-metering in the auto exposure camera bodies besides the New F-1. It is amazing to me that Canon was able to convert the R/FL mount into the FD mount.

Looks like the previous owner added wiring for an external battery pack. Further, that looks like a vintage Tamiya RC car battery pack connector for a 6-cell (7.2V) nicad pack.

Thanks for letting us know... 😞 I am finally settled in my new house and was planning to contact Mr. Oikawa... I found the thread in which the member posted about his retirement. He also said that he would post up the technician/company recommended by Mr. Oikawa. Eagerly awaiting that...

As others have said, my guess is it happened during processing. But I can think of how it might have resulted from user error... After pressing the rewind button, OP started to crank the film rewind. Just as the first third of the last frame entered the canister, OP was hit on the head and briefly blacked out. OP's crank hand uncontrollably twitched and OP accidentally pushed down on the back lock button and pulled up on the rewind crank, opening the back. OP then regained consciousness in an instant and instinctively squeezed the camera because it was falling from his hand which closed the back, thereby saving the rest of the film. He then continued winding unaware of what had happened. Or.... There was a problem during processing. :D

Using a circular polarizer with film is no problem. AFAIK, TTL metering through a polarizing filter is no problem as well, regardless of the angle of the polarizer EXCEPT for Canon F-1, new F-1, FT, FTb, and FTbn. Because of their beam-splitter light meters, TTL metering is a PITA with a regular polarizer. The owner's manuals for these Canons recommend using a circular polarizer.

FYI Just did a quick ebay search on "toshiba camera flash". Found a bunch of flash units with that connector.

After giving it some more thought, it was NOT a flash bulb flash. It was an electronic flash. I think I had to throw away the flash after leaking batteries ruined it. I may still have the cord...

I could swear I've seen or actually have one of these. I think it's for my vintage Toshiba hot shoe mounted flash bulb flash. The flat blade has the wedge shape because as you insert the cord into the flash unit it retracts the hot shoe connection. I believe the contact needs to be retracted or the solid, non-hot shoe will short and fire the flash. I wish I could find my box of camera "stuff" to be sure...

I was perusing Craigslist and came across a listing for the 24mm, f1.4. Asking price is $25,000.00! Seller claims it is comparable to eBay listings so I checked... and i was shocked to see that, listing prices on ebay indeed range from $15,000.00 to $27,000.00. WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON???? Are aspherical lens elements really THAT desirable? After a little more checking, apparently it is the B/L, SSC aspherical lenses...

Could it be because the B/L lenses may be (are?) more robust because they have more metal components? Or, perhaps, because the B/L mount is much simpler than the "bayonet" design of the FDn lenses, they're easier to modify? TBH, I have no idea what exactly is done to modify Canon lenses to make cine mounts.

Instead of Loctite, I think i would try a little bit of teflon tape or the liquid teflon sealant. It's intended application is for sealing plumbing pipe threads. Not too much, just enough to fill the voids between the threads. If you want to create tension between the plate and camera body, use a wave washer, not a lock or star washer. Wave washers are basically bent flat washers and won't scratch the base plate. However, it will still keep the quick release plate from sitting flat against the base plate which will cause other problems.

This post got me curious about FD lens prices so I checked out KEH (haven'tlooked for a few years). WTH is going on with FD prices??!!? 85mm, f1.8, BL lenses used to go for less than $100. $500 for UG rated lenses? Are the cinematic lens conversions driving the prices?

The first fd lens I bought with my own money was the BL f1.8, 85mm. Loved the photos of my friends i took with it. Gave great perspective and DOF whether close up or whole body length. I've since purchased an 85mm, f1 2L but haven't really taken any portraits to compare with the 1.8...

The ultimate color (for me, anyway) was the Olive Drab F-1n. I first saw one in Japan in a camera shop in 1980. I wanted to buy it soooooo badly but I was worried what the customs duty woukd be so, I passed. I regret doing so, to this day...

LOL Now we're debating A-series vs. F- series. When do we start Canon vs. Nikon?

Getting back on track, if you're going to use a grey card for your landscapes, then we're back to the FTb. With its clear delineation of the meter sensitivity area, you won't have to worry about "stray" light affecting your meter readings.

Hmmm... Does this mean Oikawa-san recalibrated the meter to use the 1.5V 625A battery?

Yeah, apparently, all human palms have pretty much the same reflectivity regardless of your ethnicity. But the palms reflects about 35% which is why you need to open up one f-stop. But, yeah, if you're going out to specifically photograph landscapes, it makes sense to take an 18% grey card.

I agree with the others who have said that once you get used to the 12% metering pattern, it becomes very easy to meter the areas you want to highlight. I might even go one step further and say then when you really get used to the 12% meter, averaging meters become the PITA. Since you've found that metering off your palm works, I would stick with that for "averaging" metering. When I am outdoors and I want to take a scenic photo, I always use the metering off my palm "trick" as long as I can get my palm in the same light as the scene. But if you're dead set on trying an averaging meter, you should probably try to find a working EF (the fd camera body, not the digital lens series). It has a bottom-weighted averaging meter which should be better for landscape photography. The problem, of course, is finding a working body.

According to the manual for the Power Winder F, you should not use anything other than AA alkalines. This is because the winder relies on alkalines' low, max current output to stop the winder at the end of the roll. As for the other drives and winder, that is not an issue since they all have reverse counters. BUT, I don't know if the lower voltage/higher current is compatible. Especially in the New F1 since the camera also electrically connects to the drive batteries for Shutter Priority mode.

Many years ago, I did a similar "ball park" test. However, intead of just using a bright light pointed at a white wall, I used an electronic flash. At the x-synch speed (1/60), you should be able to see the full frame. At 1/125, you will only see the left 1/2 of the frame. At 1/250, the left quarter of the frame, etc. It's easier than judging brightness. Admittedly, this will only test the exposure relative to 1/60. But it will tell you if the curtains are working correctly.

Wow. After going on a buying spree of fd lenses and F-1 bodies a few years ago I stopped checking KEH and ebay for lenses and bodies. Because of this thread, I logged on to KEH's website and was shocked to see an EX condition, BL, 50mm, f1.4 listed for $260. IIRC, those were going for only $100-$150 a few years ago. I have a nfd 50mm, f1.4 (came with one of the F-1N) but was hoping to get a BL, 50mm, f1.4, just because I like the BL mount. But now, I guess not... Also, it seems they don't have as many, if any EX+, LN-, or LN graded fd lenses or bodies...