rich long

Maybe I'm just lucky, but on several occasions I took the metering prism off while the lens was still attached without any problems. However, you must take the lens off before re-attaching the prism, or the chain won't be in the correct position.

 

If the chain is now broken, the repair shop is probably your best bet. If it just has a little slack on one side, try taking the lens off and re-attaching the prism before remounting the lens.

 

BTW, I've had good experience with Pentax in Denver both times I've used them.

I took a darkroom class at a local photo shop about a year ago. The instructor (employee of the shop) said that they accept waste chemistry from any individual who wants to bring it in. They combine it with their own and ship it all out for disposal/recycling.

 

I'm no expert, but I believe that you can flush your own spent materials down the drain with plenty of water as long as it's only your personal household waste (not 'business' or 'industry' waste; 'household hazardous waste' is exempt from most state and federal regulations). Too much or too high a concentration could upset the bugs at the local wastewater treatment plant, but that's pretty unlikely if you're using/disposing of relatively small amounts. Wouldn't hurt to check with the local agencies, though.

About 2 years ago, I had Pentax repair/replace the film advance mechanism on one of my 6x7 bodies. As I recall, it took about 4 weeks, including shipping time from Virginia to Colorado and back. Cost me about $250 or $275. No problems since then.

Just a thought- if you're using a roll of 220, is the 120/220 selector on the right side of the camera set correctly?

David-

 

I intended to have a point to my response when I started writing, but somehow I've failed miserably. Another example of 'usefullness' being inversely proportional to 'wordiness', I'm afraid.

 

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After first using a Canon Rebel, then an A2 and a variety of lenses for about 5 years, I decided to try medium format for my nature and landscape photography. Like you, I thought that a 124G looked like a good place to start. I bought a used one at a local shop and they gave me a 2-week trial period. After shooting with it for 1.5 weeks, I decided that it just didn't have enough of the flexibility that I'd become accustomed to (lenses from 20 to 300mm, ability to use polarizing and ND grad filters, DOF preview, etc). So I returned it for a refund. I then saved more cash and bought a used Pentax 6x7 and two lenses. The SLR seemed to be a better fit for my personal preferences.

 

In short order, I sacrificed my Canon 20mm and 300mm lenses to buy more glass for the 67, and began having even more fun with the beast. Gradually, I began to carry only the 67 while the Canon gear sat home in the closet, slowly shrinking as the pile of 67 'stuff' grew.

 

After 2 years of carrying the 67 system and tripod on my back, I realized that my nature hikes had gradually shortened to the point of being only short walks from the car (the 67 is MUCH heavier than an A2). So I bought a 4 wheel drive to get me farther off the pavement.

 

Then a friend convinced me to shoot her wedding. In preparation, I sold the rest of the Canon gear and bought a used Pentax 645n and one lens. I loved it. I carried both the 645 and the 67 on one hike at 12,000 feet in the Sangre de Cristos. Somehow I survived.

 

While recovering, I noticed that my 'keepers to trash' ratio was much higher with the 645 than the 67 (mostly due to matrix metering), and that I got more frames per roll with the 645. So I gradually sold off the pile of 67 stuff to build a new pile of 645 stuff.

 

Now I only have 645 stuff. My hikes are a little longer, and I'm a little older and lot poorer. And functionally, my pile of camera stuff is fairly similar to where I started (SLR with electronic gizmos).

 

So, based on my experience, it looks like your best options are:

a) short-circuit the entire process and stay with your Canon stuff

b) get the 124G, like it, and buy real estate with the money you'll save

c) bypass this whole vicious cycle and go straight for the view camera

 

Good luck on whatever you decide!

By the way, you CAN work the camera without film, although you probably won't need to at the airport.

 

Open the door, put your thumb on the top center of the film advance/frame counter and rotate counter past about 3 or 4 by pressing down and turning your thumb (no need to move the film advance lever). Hold the counter in place while you close the door. Now you can cock the shutter and fire it all you want until you open the door again. (This method is described in the P67 manual.)

I may be wrong, but I think that if you replace the battery the problem will disappear. I only encountered this once, and a new battery fixed the problem as I recall.

I sprung for the Pentax battery pak to use with my 645n/af500ftz at a wedding (the only one I've shot). It's expensive for a battery pak, but cheaper than the alternatives I could find. It worked surprisingly well, with fast recharge times (~1 sec) for the first 5 rolls of 220. After that, I noticed the recharge slow to several seconds, so I changed batteries.

 

It does make an annoying high-pitched hum when turned on (Not very loud, and so high you can't be sure where it's coming from. Similar to a high-end Canon flash I had a few years back). It also caused me a few seconds of near-panic when the flash quit working as the groom's mother was being escorted down the aisle just before the ceremony. It took me about 20-30 seconds to discover that the power cable had loosened up slightly from the battery pak. It's amazing how much you can sweat in that short amount of time.

 

One question- the auto-focus assist doesn't seem to work when the flash is off-camera. Is this normal, or do I have a faulty flash?

The reason for detaching/remounting the lens with the TTL finder has to do with the connection between the aperture setting and the meter (the small chain that is visible when the viewfinder is removed). Since there's no meter in the waist level finder, there's no connection with the aperture setting and no reason to remove/remount the lens.

I could be wrong, but I think that the clear piece of glass (top piece of the 3 orignals) is reused, and the remaining pieces are replaced by the Intenscreen. It's my understanding that the main difficulty with performing this operation yourself is in getting the screen assembly positioned exactly so that the focus point on the screen corresponds to the focus point on the film. I believe the adjustment is made by adjusting the 4 (or is it 3?) screws that were the last to be removed when taking out the screen assembly. They should have had some type of gummy substance on the heads locking them in place... until you took them out.

Just got back from a Thur/Fri trip around the San Juans. I found the leaves around the Lake City area to be a little past prime in several areas. Went over Slumgullion and Engineer passes thinking I was a few days too late. Had much better luck at Dallas Creek/Divide and Telluride. There is snow on Mt Sneffels and the adjacent peaks, so great photo ops there. Went over Ophir pass to Silverton and saw great scenery and lots of color on both sides.

 

As Todd said, the aspens are somewhat piecemeal. Lots of gold, but still a fair amount of green here and there. In my estimation, Dallas Divide and Telluride should remain good for another week, barring any storms.

 

The jpg is looking down on Ophir (south of Telluride) from the pass. Not a great photo, but does show the colors there on Friday (8/21) afternoon.<div></div>

Thanks, Todd. That's all the incentive I need. I'm taking the rest of the week off and heading to Silverton.

 

(been planning this trip for weeks, actually, but glad to hear the timing is right).

I haven't flown yet, but will be attempting to do so in a few weeks. Depending on what I hear between now and then, I may choose to ship most of my gear by FedEx and not attempt to take it on the airplane. At least with FedEx, I can insure it and track its location.

 

It's a bad spot we're in at the moment. Most of us don't trust the baggage handling system with our expensive gear, but we may not be able to carry it on with us. I'm all for as much security as we can get right now, but we do need to find a way to travel with our gear and film.

I tried to post a jpg from Saturday's excursion around Leadville, but couldn't seem to make it work here in the 'nature discussion forum'. The image is now over on the 'critique forum' if you want to SEE how far along the aspens are in that area. As the message there says, not all leaves are quite this far along but many are.

 

I hope to take a few days off at the end of the week and burn a few more rolls.

 

Happy shooting!

No matter the time, always take your polarizer along. You won't always use it, but it can add a lot in some situations.

 

Today while I was literally 100 miles from home and looking at beautiful gold aspens and blue skies dotted with clouds, I discovered that my polarizer was in the other camera bag <DOH!!>

I can't answer for SW Colorado, but I spent today (Saturday, 9/15) in the general vicinity of Leadville. A lot of the aspens have turned, a few appear to be near peak, and some are just beginning to turn. My estimate is that around 65% are yellow-green to gold, and about 35% are green to yellow-green. My guess is that next weekend may well be about peak for this area.

Absolutely use a tripod and slow film (50 or 100), as well as a polarizer. I prefer Fuji Velvia for fall colors, and make Ilfochromes from them when I want a print. But Ilfochromes are expensive (what isn't with this hobby?). If you haven't been shooting slides, try a roll now to see if you want to use them. Can't recommend a particular print film; I'm still searching for one that I like for scenics.

 

Colors in the valley will not be at their peak yet during the second week of October, but there should be plenty of colorful trees to photograph (just not EVERY tree). If you're there on a weekday, consider a drive on Skyline Drive in Shenandoah Nat'l Park or the Blue Ridge Parkway south of the park. The colors may be near peak there due to the higher elevation. On weekends in October, the Park will be crowded with leaf-peepers, but most of them don't wander more than 20 feet from their car. Hike a half-mile or so, and you'll reduce the crowd by 99%. A short drive west of the valley will take you into the mountains bordering (or in) West Virginia. Plenty of scenics and less people than in the valley or the park. A map of the George Washington Nat'l Forest would be helpful if you head in this direction.

 

As previously stated, mornings and evenings will generally give good lighting, but don't give up just because the sun is high or it's overcast. On overcast days, you won't have the bright highlights and deep shadows in the woods that are too much contrast for film to handle. Go out and shoot, whatever the weather (with proper preparation and protection for your equipment, of course).

 

And lastly, between now and then, look at a lot of photos. Surf the web or go to the bookstore and look at calendars, magazines, and books that have images of the type you want to make. See what you like and don't like and try to figure out why. When you're out in a beautiful scenic area, it's easy to include so much in your image that it loses its impact. Try to include only the elements that are needed to make the statement you want. That's much easier said than done, but I find that studying other peoples images can help with that process. Of course, there's no substitute for practice...

 

Forgive me, I've gone on far too long.

I don't have an Arca Swiss, so this comment may be totally irrelevant.

The brochure that came with my Kirk BH-1 ballhead says:

"When cleaning, loosen the ball and move into the 90 degree position then slowly turn the ball in the socket while wiping with a soft cloth lightly moistened with WD40 - avoid using any cleaner other than WD40 and do not spray WD40 directly onto ball."

 

No guarantees, but it might be worth a try if you don't get any better suggestions.