jodys

September 13, 2012

No on the Nikon F series because of the faulty meters. Same for the Minolta SR-T series (meter linkages get gummed up). No on the Konica Autoreflex series because the lenses don't stop down when they get the slightest bit dirty. No on the Pentax Spotmatic because the meter is often faulty. What's left? Canon F- series, the F1 and FTb. I once had to re-tension a 2nd curtain spring on an FT, but that's the only issue I've ever had (that didn't involve a camera with water damage). I do have a dead meter on an earlier Canon, and I've had to clean and lube the F-1N. But none of my Fs and FTbs have ever had an issue. I haven't had enough Olympus SLRs to have an opinion, and I've had so many issues with my GDR cameras that I won't mention them. The only Leicaflex I've ever owned is dead, as is my Rolleiflex SLR.

September 13, 2012

I have a Sonnar 75/4 (Robot mount) that is a pretty close match to my Summar, it is coated but not very well and has some internal haze. You may have to try several individual lenses to get one that is to your taste. Or smear a touch of vaseline on the front of a modern lens.

August 30, 2012

I bought the cheap lens spanners off fleabay, as others have said don't waste your money. Plus, they don't reach the rear element in a TLR, I've had to improvise.

August 30, 2012

All right, I don't have a Smena 8M, I have a Smena 8 (Cosmic 35). And no, it doesn't smell. Yes, it takes pretty good B&W photos, especially when you consider what an unremarkably crappy piece of plastic it really is.

August 30, 2012

Damn. Now I have to go upstairs and smell one of my cameras. I have used mine quite a bit though, and I've never noticed any offensive smell. Perhaps my personal aroma drowns it out?

August 17, 2012

<a href="../photodb/user?user_id=1156089">NICOLAS RENON</a> , Aug 16, 2012; 09:21 p.m. Jody, I would be interested to know how to adjusted the rangefinder as it is THE problem I would try to solve.

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The rangefinder rests on a pivot, with 3 adjustment screws. There are no separate adjustments for vertical and horizontal; any slack in any of the 3 screws needs to be taken up with one or both of the other, which affects both vertical and horizontal. The difficulty is that the focus wheel is in the top cover, which needs to be re-installed to test your new alignment each time you make a change. Focus does not rest on any easily-verifiable point with the top cover removed. So you spend half a day taking off the top cover, making a minute adjustment to these 3 screws, re-installing the top cover (difficult), and testing. Very time-consuming and frustrating.

Presumably Voigtlander had some sort of jig or apparatus used for this in the factory, but there is no easy fix for a DIY-er.

August 16, 2012

<a href="../photodb/user?user_id=7237910">Spiros Agapitos</a> , Aug 13, 2012; 11:39 a.m. Really??? Jody what setup do you have, camera and adapter?

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Originally used with F1-N, with and without 1.4X-A and 2X-A teleconverters, usually with an extension tube as well because of that ridiculous close focus distance, for a few thousand shots, usually wide open or f8.

Then I got a cheap FD-EOS adapter from China, threw away the glass, and used it as an extension tube/adapter. I used that for a year or so on my original digital body, the D30 (not 30D). Crop sensor, of course, only this time I could bump up the ISO a little and shoot up to f11.

If you look in my gallery, folder 'Swiftcurrent Nature', you'll see quite a few shots made with this lens, most with the F1-N. Offhand, the only D30 photo there is the high-key bear.

August 16, 2012

Mine works the way it's supposed to (I think!), when the barn doors are closed, you press down, it doesn't advance the film, and the plunger stays down.

They are magnificent performers when working, but hellishly difficult to service. I tried adjusting the rangefinder on mine, I spent an afternoon working on that and finally said "close enough". It isn't really close, but I gave up. My lens also has some separation, as does the prism in the rangefinder. Neither seems to affect performance, I'm told the separation is quite common. Yes the rangefinder uses a glued prism, not a half-silvered mirror like most.

August 13, 2012

Is chromatic abberation (purple and green fringing) a common issue with this lens???

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Absolutely not. Never had it on a single photo, several enlarged to 16x20. Either on film or digital (crop sensor).

August 7, 2012

If that WIld Heerbrugg lens on the front of that is a wide angle that covers 4x5, it is worth some serious cash. But you'll need to get some specs on it.

July 29, 2012

Canonet 28, Iloca Rapid, Olympus Pen D3, LOMO Cosmic 35 (for the small formats).

July 23, 2012

I expect the film either 1) isn't winding at all, if it popped off the take-up spool after you closed the door, or 2) isn't engaging the sprockets which are what the locking mechanism is taken from. Rewind the film (not all the way, unless you have a gizmo to retrieve a film lead out of the canister), open the back and reload, but advance to the 1sr frame with the door open so you can see exactly what it's doing.

July 16, 2012

'I'm taking photos of people so ugly it's a question whether my equipment can even handle their ugliness or it will break. (Attempt to take their photo)

'Damn! My camera just broke.

'I guess your face proves my point! ;~))

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I like it. I'm going to old Montreal just to try this.

July 16, 2012

Condition, condition, condition. They're all pretty much the same camera, but you need to know: do they work, are the rollers and such in good condition, have they been modified for modern batteries, does the shutter work, do they come with a (working !!!) flash? Sometimes, if you just want to take pictures, it's better to buy from a reputable seller with a full return/refund policy, than to try to find a bargain. I've bought 3 of these locally in the last couple of weeks, all of them require repairs, including rechargeable battery replacement in the 1 flash that I got. I'm hoping to get 1 good, working camera from the 3, so what does that 1 camera cost me? The price of all 3, plus whatever parts I buy, plus my time. ~150-200 USD.

But they are great cameras, so I don't mind.

July 10, 2012

I have several stock responses, depending on the situation:

1) I'm a tourist

2) I'm an artist, it's what I do

3) For my own enjoyment / for fun

4) I'm a rare camera dealer trying out my wares (and show them my 1930s or whatever camera I'm shooting with)

5) F*** off! (with or without a smile)

July 7, 2012

I believe some windows used on boats that have to remain clear in all weather are actually spinning discs? You could construct I high-speed spinning filter in front of your lens, attached to some sort of poncho that covers the rest of your camera.

July 4, 2012

So now I have to go looking through my box of BHFs to see if there's a BH lurking in there? I know I have the plastic shield for the flash, I wasn't aware of the danger though. I suppose I should have been, because that was my favorite toy as a child and my parents would occasionally buy me film. Come to think of it, they never gave me flashbulbs.

June 21, 2012

<a href="../photodb/user?user_id=7156863">Samuel Middleton</a>, Jun 21, 2012; 08:32 p.m.

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Don't need a darkroom for processing B&W film? I thought you had to be in total darkness to load it into the tank? Is that what a changing bag is for? Sorry for all of the questions. I really want to learn photography. Not to sale or for a profession but just for the fun of finding and setting up shots. Also how does buying a 100 ft roll of B&W film work? Do I have to load it into the film canisters myself?

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I wait til dusk or darkness and use a closet to load negs into tanks. Same thing for loading 100ft rolls into a bulk loader. From then, everything can be done in the daylight. Look for a 'daylight bulk loader' on ebay or classifieds, they're usually under $10. I have 3 or 4 I've picked up here and there. You'll need reloadable cassettes also, I think I paid $1 each for mine. I go through on average 500ft of B&W a year like this, I run it through high-level scanners ($200 - 350 new, not the Epson V750). Just make sure your scanner has hardware dust & scratch removal, and scan your B&W shots in 'color' then desaturate to taste.

June 10, 2012

Never heard of it either. Nice!

June 5, 2012

I can vouch for the warnings not to unscrew anything near the lightmeter dial. It really is a pain to re-assemble.

I took mine apart a couple years ago, and I no longer have the camera. I wish I had made notes, but I didn't remember it as being all that difficult, except for the lightmeter part. The glue must explain your difficulties.

May 30, 2012

On the Praktina older models, an additional benefit of the drive is that it makes the diaphragm fully automatic by opening up the lens after each shot. The combo looks awkward, but it actually works very well in the hand.

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Yes, the famed auto-aperture pin later copied (?) so well in the M42 mount. My camera has the lever in the mount, but the only lens I have where this is supported is the Schacht Travenon, and now that I've tried it I realize it doesn't work (the lens, the camera body is fine). I see how the motor drive would have that effect though.

Kozma: I've never heard of Uncle Ziama, but I believe Hans Doofenshmirtz may live next door to me now.

May 30, 2012

Praktina bayonet lenses are among the cheapest of their respective kinds, these days.

As I have written at length elsewhere, this model and its FX predecessor is the leading candidate for the earliest designed-to-be-a-system camera in 35mm.

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I knew there are a lot of high-quality German lenses out there in Praktina mount, and I was just looking to see of any of the digital nutters have made a Praktina/EOS/Nikon/M4-3 adapter for these that will drive the price through the roof. For now though, we seem fairly certain to continue seeing a range of top-notch glass for these at decent prices.

The camera itself is magnificent, on the inside. I do find the spring that drives the slow speeds to be a little under-powered (looks like a tiny master clock-spring); I wasn't able to get my 1/4 and lower working properly and I don't really want to disassemble the entire mechanism to do so. But the build quality is definitely superior to the other period KW cameras I own. And, that's a magnificent spring motor drive.... I don't know if I'll be able to resist the urge next time one comes up on the big auction site. I will buy a period Biotar/Tessar though, as I didn't get a 'normal' lens with this.

May 30, 2012

My best guess is that someone added a home-brew Praktina bayonet to this lens.

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If anyone did this, that person is a master machinist. I believe the rear aluminum piece that forms the bayonet mount also has the female part of the focusing helicoid.

For comparison, <a href="http://forum.mflenses.com/viewtopic.php?t=7061&view=next">here </a>is a period Zeiss Jena Sonnar 85/2. I think the intent to copy is pretty obvious.

May 30, 2012

I picked up a few pieces at the Toronto fair last Sunday, I've pretty much finished cleaning them up and jiggling the slow speeds & apertures, so I thought I would post a couple of photos before I go out shooting.

The question: re. the Praktina bayonet mount, I know the Zenit Start had a similar bayonet where lenses may or may not fit from one camera to the other. However, the only FSU lens made for that bayonet was supposedly the Helios-44; other lenses in M39 could be mounted via an M39-Start Bayonet adapter. And in the lists of lenses made for the Praktina, I see no FSU lenses. From <a href="http://www.praktina.com/plens01l.htm">The Collector's Guide to Praktina System</a>, the manufacturers were: Carl Zeiss, Meyer-Optik, Angenieux, Enna, Feinmess, Isco, Kilfitt, Schacht, Schneider and Steinheil. So why do I have a Jupiter-9 8.5cm f2 lens mounted on my Praktina? No it doesn't have an adapter from M39. FWIW, the Jupiter-9 serial no. is: 5600074. I take that as lens #74 made in 1956. The Zenit Start was made from 1958 to 1964.

The Praktina and lenses: <a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a8/Kingsmeg/IMG_2025.jpg" alt="Photobucket" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a8/Kingsmeg/IMG_2027.jpg" alt="Photobucket" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a8/Kingsmeg/IMG_2024.jpg" alt="Photobucket" border="0" /></a>

Finally, just to show the family resemblance: <a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a8/Kingsmeg/IMG_2028.jpg" alt="Photobucket" border="0" /></a>

May 28, 2012

You came away a lot better than I did. My haul from the fair was 1) Praktisix + Biometar 120 + Sonnar 180; Praktina FX + 3 lenses + extension tubes; Praktiflex FX (no lens); Kiev 10 Automat + standard lens (working!); Leica II-III eveready case; Toyo Omega 45D; odd bunch of filters and cases. Total cost: $225. And I went there to sell.

I passed on the 2 pieces I should have bought: a 24cm Heliar in shutter, and a Lizzar's 1/2 plate focal plane shutter. And the Werra, and a couple other things I really needed. What can I say, my wife was there with me. I left with more money than I brought. Maybe I didn't do so badly after all.

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