daniirwan

September 2, 2009

Thank you so much dear all, for the very helpful replies! I appreciate each & every single one of it...indeed, now I know more about M42 bodies than I did before! :D

S.P: Your suggestion of the Praktica L series is good, I'll look into them for sure. If you are recommending them so heartily, then they must be good :D Thank you!

Louis: Thanks so much Louise, for suggesting me the Ricoh Singlex II! Indeed, it is the camera that I find to be most attractive in this discussion. Alas, none is listed on eBay now :( They only have the Singlex TLS...which has a cloth shutter I think..I might be wrong though. And the shutter speed dial & ASA dial on the front of the camera? What were they thinking? Hey one question Louis: Does the Singlex II's metering work correctly with 1.5V modern silver oxide batteries with no recalibration?

Tony Lockerbie & to all the others, thank you so much again! I'm kinda interested in the Vivitar 420S/L too...never knew about that camera before! Hehe..something new learned everyday. ANd I'll definitely be getting my SP500's shutter curtains fixed sometime in the near future, no doubt. Thanks again!

August 29, 2009

Hi all! I'm in a predicament..and I think (or rather I hope) you guys can help me. I have a very modest collection of classic manual cameras, which consists of about 5 SLR's from the 70's era. 3 of those are in M42 mount, and they are the one I love best because of the gamut of fabulous, cheap lenses that are available for them. I have several nice M42 lenses now, and I'm looking to add more in the near future. However, somehow I feel that 3 M42 bodies are not enough..and it doesn't help that each of them have their own problems/limitations. So here comes the predicament, sorted by camera model (these are the ones I have now):

1. Asahi Pentax Spotmatic SP500 : This one has shutter curtain problems, whereby at 1/500 or 1/750 (the speed one click past 1/500), the whole right half of my photos are completely dark, unexposed. I don't know if my local repairman can repair this..somehow I doubt it. Other than that, it's perfect...I have sorted out the battery replacement problem and it's a real joy to use. But the shutter curtain issue seriously diminishes the pleasure I get from it...

On to the second one...

2. Fujica ST701: This one comes close to the Spotmatic. The VF is better/brighter, the size/weight is less than the Spottie and the lens is fabulous. The meter is still alive, but…I haven’t found a replacement battery for it, and the solutions I have found on the net (using a silver oxide batteries with O rings, compensating with the ASA dial) all didn’t work. The meter is still wonky and gives readings that are way way off the mark. So I have to use it with my handheld meter, a Leningrad 4, which to me is not ideal. I’d like to be able to use in-camera metering.

And lastly…

3. Fujica ST605: This one works well…so much so that it’s the one I have used the most. Modern batteries (no battery issues!), small, light, compact, good VF, accurate light meter, it almost has everything going for it, except for the….top shutter speed of 1/700. With my penchant for fast lenses and fast films, it’s a no-go. Plus, it’s not as ergonomic to use as the Spottie or the ST701, somehow…I can’t describe it. But it rather feels cheap compared to those two.

So, gentlemen (and ladies)…what do u guys think is the BEST all mechanical/manual/classic M42 mount SLR? I’d also greatly appreciate it if you can recommend me the aforementioned beast for the next time I click on eBay in my browser. Ideally, it should:

- Be all metal, no plastics! I’d like to be able to throw it at an oncoming baddie and inflict some

serious brain damage

- Be able to accept modern/readily available batteries without any excessive modifications

- Have match needle metering…I’m a sucker for it..not so much for the LED’s

- Have a vertical traveling metal curtain shutter, like the Yashica FX3…I have a feeling (or is it a

misconception?) that they last longer and are less prone to develop problems than cloth shutters.

- Have no lens mounting issues, like the Fujica ST801 which supposedly have locked lenses problem

when mounted with different glass apart from their EBC Fujinon line.

- Have a great or at least, decent, viewfinder. No Prakticas or Zenits please!

- Have a top shutter speed of at least 1/1000.

- Cheap! (or at least not as expensive as the Spotties are nowadays)

- Reliable!

Haha, somehow I feel like I’m asking too much…but that’s what I need, mostly. Don’t recommend me another Spottie, I know how great they are and I’m bound to buy another one sooner or later. I’d like to hear about other models apart from the Spottie. I’m looking forward to hearing from you guys, and also your suggestions…heck, I think if you friendly lot here can’t help me out, then no one can! :D

Thanks in advance guys.

Posted August 11, 2009 · August 11, 2009

Oh wow, seems I'm a bit late. Oh well, here's my 2 cents anyway...over here in my neck of the woods (Malaysia), there is a DEFINITE increase in the number of people using film cameras...and I'm not talking about the plastic fantastic ones. I'm talking about real vintage & classic gear. I recall reading a previous post about how medium format & quality 35mm gear are flying off the shelves...it's the same here! And surprise surprise, from what I've seen, approximately 75% of the film camera users here are under the age of 35 :)

It's a pity then, that pro films are quite hard to get here. The ones that can be found in shops, are damn expensive. And processing is a PITA too...there's only one (read: 1!) lab in this whole country that can do E6! :(

IMHO, all this increase in the purchase/usage of classic cameras is good news. Of course, prices will go up...but at least film will still be 'alive'. That's what counts. Hmmm, I do have to admit..I wish I had gotten into this classic cameras stuff way back then, when they were real bargains. Oh well... :)

July 28, 2009

Louis, those are really really excellent images, thanks so much for sharing. My favorite are those of your friend. And now, after reading your post, I've went & bought myself a Retinette (the exact same one as yours) on the Bay. =)

I'm putting all the blame on you, by the way...

July 21, 2009

@Francisco: I got mine for about $40, shipped. I guess the camera itself was only about $20.

July 20, 2009

@Andrew: Yup, I had a look through his items for sale just now, and indeed, he has a lot of good rare stuff. Unfortunately, it's a case of "So many goodies, so li'l money!" for me, I'm afraid...

@Louis: Haha, same here Louis...I'm a bottom of the barrel bargain hunter =) Money is definitely an object for me.

@JDM: 6666666? That would cost you approx $9999999 bucks, me thinks! =)

@Eric: I just bought this lens for 40 bucks! Darn it...

@Ernest: Good idea, heheh! Even then, I think someone would come along and buy that 'beauty ring' =)

@Steven: Indeed...from his feedback score, it seems that there's a lot of folks willing to be mickied with.

@Edwin: Hahaha =)

July 20, 2009

I'm not really sure if it's okay to post this, but I just HAD to share this with someone.

Look here:

<a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/Pentax-SM-35-3-5-Super-Takumar-Jack-Pot-no-777777_W0QQitemZ280326514242QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCamera_Lenses?hash=item4144c32642&_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116#ht_1094wt_1166">http://cgi.ebay.com/Pentax-SM-35-3-5-Super-Takumar-Jack-Pot-no-777777_W0QQitemZ280326514242QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCamera_Lenses?hash=item4144c32642&_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116#ht_1094wt_1166</a>

Seriously, I couldn't believe how much he's asking for it either. I could buy a Hasselblad 500 C/M with that kind of money, I think...

July 13, 2009

@John: Thanks for your kind comment & compliment John, I really appreciate it. I'm on the market for another TLR now, a Yashicamat would be nice. May I know what other toys you bought after you sold off yours? =)

July 12, 2009

I assume the Automat has a Tessar-type lens? Excellent photos by the way...I like #2!!!

July 12, 2009

There's something special about photo #5 & #9 for me...great work! I love 'em!

Regarding the question of whether the A1 is a classic manual camera or not..well, I reserve my comments, since I'm quite new to this. Tell you what I think though, for me if a camera was made before the 80's, even if it was released in 1979, then I'll count it as a classic =) That is, of course, just my 2 cents.

July 10, 2009

Thank you so much to all, glad you guys like it =) I'll definitely be posting up more in the future...boy can't wait to be done with my 1st roll of TMax from the A...

@Chris: Thanks for the welcome, and thanks for commenting on my photos on Flickr. It's great to find a kindred young soul who likes using vintage cameras =) I definitely do like hanging out here. I practically browse through this forum every night before I go to sleep...drives the wife bonkers, I tell you =) Haha, you got that right Chris! People do give me weird looks/glances whenever I'm out and about with my old cameras..but I get a fair share of compliments too, so it all balances out. And wow, you have a Yashica A too?! That's awesome! Yeah, I can't believe how great of a camera the A is. You know, when I was about to buy mine, a friend told me that it wasn't worth it...because of the limited shutter speeds, knob advance/rewind, etc etc...but still I went ahead and got it. Guess he didn't know any better..and this is definitely a gem of a camera. Regarding my dark WLF, I recently got it CLA'd Chris, so I think mine is naturally dark :( I'm jealous that you have a brighter WLF..oh well. And I commend you on doing your own developing/printing..I have yet to venture into those, no space for an enlarger at my place. But I think I'll try my hand at developing sometime in the near future. You have a Brownie 2A? Cool..I have heard lots & lots about the Brownies, but don't have one as of yet...next on my wishlist is a Kowa Kalloflex or a Argus 75! =D

@Jeff: Yes Jeff, I agree with you...but not just versus 35mm I think. A friend of mine has a Hasselblad 500 C/M, and if you put my photos taken with the A and his pictures taken with the 'blad side by side, I think I'd be hard pressed to determine which was taken using which camera! And the A costs a fraction of the 'blad too!

@Louise: Thanks so much! You're one of the regulars here whose posts I really enjoy reading =)

@Ralf: I really appreciate your comment, Ralf..thank you.

@Chuck: Thanks a lot, I highly value your input!

July 10, 2009

Hi Mike! Good job! I guess you really can't judge a book by it's cover..or in this case a TLR by it's leatherette, haha.

Awesome photos..I like #3 the most!

July 9, 2009

Hi Jeff! Just want to share with you my experience with my Yashica Electro 35 GT. When I got it, I can hardly hear the famous (or infamous, depends on which way you look at it) yashica thump sound. Basically, it wasn't there. Then, I got it CLA'd and still the thump was not present. However, all my pictures that I took with it after the CLA was flawless, exposure-wise. Then, I took it for another CLA (don't ask, long story short the first guy I went to did an awful job cleaning my lens). So after this 2nd CLA, the thump was present...but not all the time. Sometimes when I advance the film, it's there and at other times, it's just not. I even asked the guy who CLA'd my camera about the POD, and he just said not to worry. This left me a bit nonplussed, but nevertheless, all my photos came out okay. So basically, I think whether the thump sound is there or not, it doesn't matter. I also think the POD problem is a bit 'overrated', I would say.

At first, I was quite concerned, having read all the info regarding the POD problem & how it apparently affects exposure adversely. But after countless rolls, and the thump sound being so incosistent in it being present or otherwise, I have ceased to care =)

Hope this helps.

July 9, 2009

Hi all! I think this *might* be my 1st post here, but I'm not sure. See, I've been hanging around this forum for quite awhile now and reading the posts here has become a routine part of my day. All I can say is that I think this forum is awesome and that there's a bunch of real helpful & knowledgeable people around :)

Ok, with that out of the way, I'd like to share some pictures with you...it'll be my 1st time posting photos on photo.net, so bear with me. A bit of background info: I'm a 29 year old guy running around with a 50 year old camera :) The Yashica A is the oldest camera I have in my collection as of now, apart from an Auto Takumar lens that was produced in 1958 =) I really enjoy using this camera, and I'm in love with the big negatives I end up with. The viewfinder is kinda dark and has some fair amount of vignetting, and it's basically quite useless if I want to shoot at night, but apart from that...I'd say that the A is my favorite camera right now.

So without further ado, here are several photos that I took using my Yashica A TLR, all on Kodak Ektacolor Pro 160 film. Hope you guys enjoy it & tell me what you think. Constructive criticisms are always welcome & appreciated.

1.The rocks on the beach at Redang Island, Malaysia

2. A child's chair, left in a decrepit, abandoned building in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

3. An old man, siiting all by his lonesome in the streets of Kuala Lumpur. He was eating oranges =)

4. A portrait of my friend, Izwan and his much beloved Canonet.

5. A shot along a pontoon jetty, Redang Island, Malaysia.

There's quite a few more photos that I took with the A on my Flickr, have a look if you're interested:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dani_irwan/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/dani_irwan/</a>

I'm halfway through my 1st roll of B&W film that I've put in the A sometime last week (Kodak TMAX 400). Needless to say I can't wait to get that developed! =)

May 18, 2009

Congrats on your acquisition Peter! That looks like a nice one! I'm eager to see some shots that you take with it, particularly with 35mm adapter.

I have a Yashica A myself, and I love it. Lemme just say that the Yashikor triplets are nothing to sneeze at either...I've had tack sharp results with mine. The WLF on the A is a bit dark though, you really have to squint to see it except in bright sunlight.

May 14, 2009

This is an excellent thread, kudos to Chris for staring it! I've just turned 29 this year...and I still remember fondly the stuff from my childhood, some of which has been mentioned here, e.g the Smurfs, TMNT, He-Man, GI Joe, etc etc. Haha. Growing up, my dad bought a slew of 35mm film cameras, almost all of them the P&S variety, and even an APS camera when that came out. We even had one of the first digital cameras in the 90's if I'm not mistaken, a really odd-shaped Kodak with a tiny LCD. He had only one film SLR which he used to take photos of me when I was about 3-4 years old, and that one I remember..it's a Yashica FX3. But I disgress... Well, how did it all start for me? Hmm, lets see. Up until last year, I didn't have any urge at all to venture into photography as a hobby. But then, all out of the blue, I splurged on my first DSLR, a Nikon D40. While it was nice, and I can say that camera was what awakened my interest in the field, I never really did like it that much, I think. I can't say why...perhaps I felt it was soulless. Anyway, in January of this year, while trolling a local photography forum, I found a thread regarding the Yashica Electro 35 GSN. I read it and I was hooked. Before that, I had no idea what a rangefinder was..but then I just had to have one. About a month later, after a lot of time scouring eBay, I got one. Even though it's not fully mechanical, there's just something about shooting in film that just thrills and takes a hold of me. It fascinates me endlessly that these cameras, made before I was even born, could take pictures that are so good. They look beautiful too, perhaps I just love old things...and the mechanisms, man...perhaps Chuck Foreman said it best, "mechanical poetry"...I love that. And that's how it all started for me.Of course, I get weird looks from my mates when I pull out one of my cameras, they're all rocking the latest DSLR's which costs 100x than what I'm using. For me, regressing from digital to film doesn't feel weird at all...it fells more like coming home =) Living in Malaysia, it's virtually impossible to buy these stuff from yard/estate sales, which are quite common in the States & Europe, I take it. Most have to be bought from the bay. Nonetheless, now, I have a really small collection of classic & not so classic film cameras, about 6 in all, some RF's, a TLR, most of them SLRs...and yup, one of them is my dad's old FX-3, the camera that saw me ever since I was a kid. =)

May 13, 2009

Wow! I really envy you! Wouldn't mind buying one of those lightmeter off you =)

May 13, 2009

I really like the picture of your coworker Allan! It just reinforces what I always thought should be the aim of portraits, that is to show at least a li'l bit of the person's inner self/soul. Excellent! And I'm glad that you seem to have found your long lost friend in the TL E...I really should get me one, hmmm...=)

May 13, 2009

@Andrew & @Peter: Wow, that was such an amazing info guys...thanks a lot! I wasn't even aware that Minolta used such archaic nomenclature...just adds to the Minolta Mystique, I think! =)

@ Mike: Point taken Mike...do not discount Celtics! =) Thanks for your feedback!

@Andy: Thank you very much for the kind words and encouragement Andy! I'm really looking forward to getting it and shooting with it! Minolta Madness? OMG...what I have gotten myself into? =)

May 12, 2009

@Andrew: Thanx for the suggestion! I wound indeed prefer a 50/1.4 over a Celtic, heheh. I've just scouted ebay, and I see that the 50/1.4 MC comes in different 'flavors', namely they have PG, PF and X suffixes. What do they mean and which is best, if any?

May 12, 2009

How's the Vitomatic IIa Lauren? Any photos from it yet?

May 12, 2009

@Andrew: Yeah Andrew, it is quite a deal! Can't wait to get my 1st ever minolta....hmmm, now I'm wondering what lens should I get for the SRT202....how does the Celtic lens measure up?

May 11, 2009

Thanks all for the feedbacks and replies...while all the praise for XD/X series are kinda overwhelming, I think I'll settle on the SRT202 for now. I just got informed that a friend of mine is selling his SRT202 body only for approx USD30! =)

May 9, 2009

G.A.S is..erm, deadly indeed, Lauren, haha. Nice collection u got going there..let us know how it all turns out ok? I've got myself a Vitomatic IIa too, waiting for it to arrive in the mail =). Hope it's a user..

May 9, 2009

I just recently got into the vintage camera collection vocation, haha...got a really small collection now consisting of a Yashica Electro 35 GT, a Yashica FX3, a Yashica A TLR, a Voigtlander Vitomatic IIa, a Fujica ST701 and also a Spotmatic SP500.

I've heard nothing but good things about both the SRT202 and the XD7/11, but when it comes to a pinch, which one would you choose? I'd appreciate any feedback/opinions/experiences greatly! Thanks in advance!

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