jodys

<p>Personally I would buy an Olympus XA instead. Equal in nearly every way to this, nearly the same size, but uses standard 35mm film.</p>

<p>Indeed very sad to see the lens in that condition. My own Praktiflex had the Victar lens; however, someone offered me hard cash for it last year, and I took it. I rather regret it still.</p>

<p>Like you, I had a terrible time with the waist-level finder and stop-down aperture; in the end, I only shot one roll with it to confirm that everything was working as it should, but I really struggled with focus and my attempt at portrait orientation. It was my first SLR with a waist-level, my only experiences prior to the Praktiflex were with 6x6 TLRs.</p>

<p>There are 2 vintage spot meters that I know of that do fit in a pocket. I have (and use almost daily) a Bewi Zoom-Spot (zoomable spot meter, goes to 1 degree); the other is a Minolta 3 degree View Master 9 which I have also owned and used. Both are somewhat rare, take batteries that are no longer made, etc., but they are both dependable and accurate meters.</p>

<p>I was using Rollei TLRs long before hipsters thought they were 'trendy'. In fact, I was using them before most hipsters were born.</p>

<p>There are enough people chasing 'magic bullets' who have money to burn, that the camera manufacturers think it worthwhile to make up these words and market their goods accordingly. I've never seen a pro buy a camera based on what the manufacturer called it. Pros buy tools that will do the job they need to get done, period. If it's better for them to buy 10 throw-away 'entry levels' rather than one 'pro' camera, then that's what they'll do.</p>

<p>Speaking personally, I got over that whole 'magic bullet' thing and started concentrating on pictures, and I've found that my best pictures were made with obsolete 'pro' cameras on occasion (like my 12 year-old Canon D30), but as often as not I've used a P&S or even the 1950s equivalent of a P&S. However, people like me are completely invisible to camera manufacturers. I've only ever bought 2 new cameras in nearly 40 years of shooting, and I returned one of those. Both were P&Ss.</p>

<p>If I were, heaven forbid, a wedding photographer, I would be forced to use different tools. That is perhaps the one field in photography where the camera is part of the performance, and not just a tool to produce images.</p>

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<p><a href="../photodb/user?user_id=5940003">Mathew Hargreaves</a>, Nov 07, 2012; 12:22 a.m.</p>

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<p>Hi John,<br>

The Periflex line is interesting and the older models go for good money. In there anyone in the UK repairing these cameras?<br>

CHEERS...Mathew</p>

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<p>I have 2, a Periflex I and the Gold Star mentioned in the thread. I have repaired both, though that's not a job for the faint-hearted. My Gold Star is working as of last week-end, but the last time I took the I out, the shutter curtains came unglued (again). They're shelf queens, I wouldn't dream of using one daily.</p>

<p>My own additions to the list:<br>

Reflex-Korelle<br>

Vitessa 500SE<br>

Rollei Magic<br>

Canon T90 (yes, I know, not really a classic manual camera)<br>

Kiev Automat</p>

 

<p>Spend a winter in the Antarctic with an 8x10 and some sort of transportation. And a jacket, I guess.</p>

<p>If you want to experiment, the cardboard inner tube from toilet paper rolls should get you started, along with a good supply of duct tape of course. Yes, it's a lot of fun, results are all over the place.</p>

<p>I somewhat regret selling my 7s & 50mm 1.2 last year. I should have sold the lens only and kept the camera for use with my 50mm f1.4; it's a joy to use. I wish you many years happy photo hunting.</p>

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<p>I'm sorry, I've been on the road quite a bit and haven't had time for more than a cursory look at my open Agiflex. I realized the reason I left it for a while was that my shutter curtains were coming unglued, and when I tried my usual rubber cement fix, it wouldn't hold.</p>

<p>The only difficulty I found with the top plate is that there is a weird forked lever under the winding lever that has to be in a certain position to get it back on. So when you do free up the top plate, don't force it to pull it off; shine in a light until you can assure yourself that the lever is not being bent to the point of breaking. That's about all I remember from disassembly, or more accurately from repeated re-assembly trying to get the d--n cable exactly the right length to wind the camera without requiring an additional tweak of the shutter speed selector to cock the shutter. When I'm home, I can post a photo of the opened camera if there's some part you need to see.</p>

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<p><a href="../photodb/user?user_id=2072756">Lauren MacIntosh</a> <a href="../member-status-icons"><img title="Subscriber" src="../v3graphics/member-status-icons/sub7.gif" alt="" /></a>, Oct 29, 2012; 01:03 p.m.</p>

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<p>DAn . A bird in the hand is better two in the bush:</p>

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<p>A lens on the camera is worth two on the shelf?</p>

 

<p>Most P&S, certainly every Canon I've ever handled, have had other shooting modes besides Program and the green 'idiot rectangle'. Try shooting in aperture-priority mode, manually set the f-stop for what you wish, and the camera will choose an appropriate speed. Of course your d-of-f will not match a similar setting on a 'normal' SLR lens/camera combo, you will have to experiment to get the results you like.</p>

<p>I used to have a Chromium intensifier for this situation, but scanning and digital printing has made this obsolete. There is nothing more you can do to bring detail into the negs that isn't already there; whatever else you do with it is simply the mechanics of getting a thin neg to print the way you like your prints, whether with traditional wet printing or digital manipulation.</p>

<p>Wal-mart. The technicians are terrible, but at least they follow directions when replenishing chemicals, and the machine is automated enough that I usually get usable negs. That's when they don't melt them in the scanner, or cut right through the frames to load them into protectors. But they're just about the only game in town, it's either send out for processing (2 weeks), pay $12 a roll with a 45-min drive each way to drop off and pick up at one or the other pro lab, or Wal-mart. Cheap crap always wins out, I guess, just because it's cheap. If nothing else, it's forced me to get a lot better with my B&W.</p>

<p>I don't have the camera in front of me, and haven't worked on it in quite a while. When I get to my desk tomorrow, I'll have a look. From memory, the spring in slow speed escapement is self-contained in the top plate and does not have to be removed to get the top plate off. Of course the winding lever return is spring-loaded, but I believe that stays in place also as you open it. So no, no nasty surprises or parts that go flying across the room when you open it.</p>

<p>I may have accidentally suggested this woman contact you, on another forum. From her post, I got the idea that the rolls weren't processed, I said you might have some words of advice. Then again, there's a lot of people out there with old rolls of Verichrome Pan, processed or not ;)</p>

<p>In any case, seeing the results, I hope everything worked out to everyone's satisfaction. Whoever took those shots had some talent, and a wonderful family.</p>

<p>Your household insurance may already cover it. Check, policies are often quite inclusive re. travel, because it's a nice sales pitch for them that rarely costs them a payout.</p>

<p>I've been trying to fix one for a few months now, I'm not able to get the cable exactly right between the winder and the shutter mechanism. Yes it is a R-K copy, it uses the same type of steel cable to activate the shutter blinds, and it breaks exactly the same way as the Reflex-Korelle. I found some fishing leaders, stainless with coating, that appear the same diameter. I was able to get it all together, but I always have to turn the speed selector a quarter-turn to finish cocking the shutter.</p>

<p>The lens is interchangeable, but I don't remember the exact mechanism to remove. I seem to think that there's a ring that unlocks the lens, which then simply pulls out? I don't remember, I have to try this again in the near future.</p>

<p>The Quebec case was wrongly decided and I am very surprised that it held up on appeal. The judge created a new right, a right to protect one's 'image', and created a right to privacy while in public places. The ruling has no basis in law. It certainly hasn't stopped me from doing street photography in Quebec, though I get a lot more challenges now. If someone wants to sue me, they can try. But they can't make me destroy my images, and neither can the police if they're called.</p>

<p>This new right of protection of one's image could be used to dispute any criminal conviction resulting, even partially, from surveillance cameras. I don't expect this new right will survive all that long, even in a climate that is somewhat hostile to photography.</p>

<p>My Canons have been plagued with mirror problems, I consider it the only real weakness in the Canon line (A-series, F-series film cameras through my own D30). I've 'fixed' several of them with mild to aggressive cleaning (solvents and/or compressed air), and an occasional drop of oil. I did eventually have to bake my D30 in my oven or an hour or so, when the sensor started going wonky from humidity. It's still going strong, btw.</p>

<p>A 'CLA' (especially on the 'bay) does <strong>not</strong> mean that the camera was torn down into individual components or assemblies, and that each was meticulously cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner, reassembled, then lubed. There may be some Leica servicers who do that, but they charge a premium for their services. Generally, if it isn't broken, no one tries to service it (*). If a rangefinder assembly is accurate and clean, no one is going to mess with it. It would take a significant blemish in the viewing area for me personally to replace the mask in question. Of course whether I would mention a blemish in an auction is a matter of personal judgment, and I can't comment on your 'bleeding' without seeing it (as a photographer, I personally tend to notice and mention this sort of thing... if I were a professional reseller, then no). Bottom line: it's a 40 year-old camera. It wasn't kept in a temp- and humidity-controlled vault for those 40 years.</p>

<p>*- I realize people who have commented on this thread will dispute that assessment. I'm talking about 'common practices', and not the work of any particular repairman or service center. Obviously some are very thorough, others are lazy, and many are incompetent.</p>

<p>I was that grandfather. Well, uncle. By request, from the father of the bride (my brother). Luckily for them I accepted, as their paid photographer screwed up so badly that the only photos they have are mine. Shot on a Canon F1N in B&W, with a manual flash.</p>

<p>When I say their paid photographer screwed up, I actually have no idea what happened and I haven't seen his photos. I knew he was a drama queen during the ceremony, and using his expensive gear as a crutch because he had no f-ing clue what he was doing. So, 'paid' perhaps, but 'paid photographer'? Not really.</p>

<p>My point, if I had one somewhere in that anecdotal nonsense, is that few amateurs with a shiny new dSLR will feel comfortable walking around the couple during the actual ceremony <strong>uninvited</strong>. They are guests, after all, and must abide by whatever customs are de rigueur at the event. They can pay dearly for being 'presumptuous'. They usually wait until after the ceremony, them mob the couple at the front of the church, etc. So when I see someone doing that, I assume they were invited, even if the couple denies it.</p>

<p>Was that 600 words to say 'current Magnum photogs suck'?</p>

<p>I also prefer shooting with the Auto S2, but I've had a couple now with bad meters. I've had fewer problems with the Minolta 7S. For B&W, I don't know if there's a real difference between the lenses. The Konica might be slightly lower-contrast.</p>