matt_blomqvist

<p>I made a list of requirements for a good travel camera:</p>

<ul>

<li>small(ish) size</li>

<li>good enough lens</li>

<li>very quiet shutter (important!)</li>

<li>light meter is a plus, ASA dial to 1600ASA</li>

<li>aperture priority is better than shutter priority (for me)</li>

<li>self timer and automatic long exposure times for low light (with a small travel tripod)</li>

<li>sturdy construction</li>

</ul>

<p>I've noticed that when on travel I take a lot of photos in low light situations. I don't like to carry a flash so I need a fast enough lens, some fast film and a small tripod.<br>

Olympus XA is very good. I was particularly happy for its small size, low noise and low light capabilities. Olympus 35 RD has a much better lens but I sold it for a reason I cannot recall any more. I tried Rollei 35 on some recent trips. It's a very good camera with a great lens but it lacks a self timer which means restricted low light photography. Currently I'm using Yashica Electro 35 GX as my main travel camera. It's about the same size as the Olympus RD but aperture priority which I prefer. My only gripe with it is that its meter can only make it up to 800ASA. I would desperately need at least 1600ASA. So I'm eyeing towards the Konica Hexar AF as my ultimate travel camera.</p>

 

<p>Yeah, like Jeff said. Sounds like a POD problem. Get it serviced and expect like 30 more years on your GSN.</p>

<p>I use a Rollei 35 with Tessar. The lens is in my opinion a typical Tessar; sharp and not too contrasty for b&w film. The small folding rubber hood is great if you can find one. Attached is a photo I took recently with it. Neopan 400@1600 in Xtol.<br>

<img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4077/4743706052_99b3cd3dea_b.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="674" /></p>

<p>Shanghai GP3 is a decent film. It reminds me a lot of Foma 100 Classic. I tend to shoot it at 100 ASA and soup it in Rodinal 1:100 stand development.</p>

<p>Taken with a Rolleicord V this summer.</p>

<p><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4139/4799340059_c414ed7e87_b.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>I'm a 50mm user primarily but to Italy I think I'd take a 35mm lens instead because many places are really tight and narrow over there. And a 2-stop ND filter if you're using ASA400 film.</p>

<p>I've been playing with an idea to get a Pentacon Six TL with a 50mm Flektogon lens.</p>

<p>I've had a few GSN-type cameras too and as much as I liked my photos I was not a fan of the rather bulky camera body. I've had a GX now for a few months and it's really much better shooter than its predecessors. The size, although it's not the smallest camera around, is not a problem and I swear the lens is even better than the one in GSN. I particularly like the 52mm filter size as I own a lot of filters of that size. One more thing: the GX viewfinder has automatic parallax correction!</p>

<p>Lovely photos and a great story! Thanks for sharing it.<br>

I have a Zorki-1 exactly like yours and I use it with pleasure from time to time. My only gripe with it is how hard it is to load AND unload that little bugger. I'll manage the loading but for unloading the cassette I usually need some sort of a tool like small scissors or pliers. My fingers are not up to the task (ouch!). </p>

<p> </p>

<p>I had some pretty bad skin problems lately and I noticed that my skin became irritated when I was handling fixer. My skin started to react immediately when I was in the same room where (Agfa Agefix) fixer was handled. After using some heavy ointments what my doctor ordered I bought Ilford fixer instead and now my skin is better but not normal. To be on the safe side I changed my developer from Rodinal - very toxic - to Xtol - not at all toxic - but after a few rolls I knew I cannot live without Rodinal so I changed back. The change of developer didn't have any affect on my skin. So in my case the culprit - I think - was the fixer.</p>

<p>Congrats for the new 'Cord! It's a lovely camera and surely deserves a good CLA. The lens shows its best qualities fully open (f/3.5) when photographing people. Another vote for Rick Oleson's screens from me.</p>

<p>Well, as an afterthought the Rollei 35S might fit the bill too. The meter goes up to 1600, it's ve-ry small, very quiet and the lens is legendary. </p>

<p>Hmm.. I wonder what might be the problem. I can usually get my P fixed here in Helsinki (perhaps not the finder though) but maybe you might want to contact Will Van Manen in Holland. He is well known and respected in European classic camera society.<br>

See: http://www.kamera-service.info/</p>

<p>Olympus Trip is a nice camera - I have one and use it a lot - but I'm not sure how you'd shoot it with ASA1600. Its meter goes only to ASA400. Of course you could set the lens manually to f/2.8 but how do you know which one of the two shutter speeds available the Trip will use? By the way, it's not very quiet camera either. I wouldn't use it in the night bus. Maybe the Olympus XA but not the Trip.<br>

I think you need something like a Kodak Retina II with f/2.8 lens.</p>

 

<p>Larry, try this list: http://www.wctatel.net/web/crye/z-i120.htm#B<br>

These are wonderful little cameras. Loading film is cumbersome - at least for me - but other than that they are easy to operate. I have a pre-war 520/16 "B" (6x6) and a post-war 521/16 "B" which looks just like yours.<br>

Remember this simple trick. Always wind a new frame the last thing before pushing the shutter knob. You see, when you open up the camera the negative pressure sometimes sucks the film level convex and you loose sharpness.</p>

<p>I have a lovely looking Zorki-4K which I bought recently. The seller said it's stuck but I wanted to see if I could free it. I think someone has been playing with the shutter speed dial without cocking the shutter first. I also found out that the renovation process is more complicated than I initially thought...<br>

I have another Zorki too. It's a Zorki-1d, a small Leica II copy from the fifties. This one works flawlessly and takes sharp and crisp photos. Loading it is a little bit cumbersome though.</p>

 

<p>I have two Ikontas which are quite similar to Nettar. One is equipped with Tessar and the other with Novar lens. Both lenses are good - I can't say which one is better - and photographing with these oldies is pure joy. Try to find a lens hood and maybe a yellow filter.</p>

<p>Ahh.. what a nice Ikonta and a perfect bag for it. I have a 520/16 too but it's Novar not Tessar like yours.</p>

<p>John, where did you find a Canon locking pin? I bought a Leica one from Dag for my 35/1.8 but it doesn't fit.</p>

<p>I bought recently a nice Sverdlovsk-4 which comes from the former CCCP. It's great! It's small, cheap, bullet proof and it can be calibrated. You watch through the meter and the metering area is about the size of the one in Leica MR-4 meter, something like 90mm lens in Leica viewfinder terms. You can take incident measurement too if you like.<br>

My other lightmeter is Seconic Twinmate L-208 which is a small and nice meter too. </p>

<p>Leica III was designed to be used primarily with a 50mm lens, although you can use other focal lengths too if you insist. You need an auxiliary viewfinder for anything else than 50mm. Those extra viewfinders are bulky and generally fragile and make your camera not very fun to use.<br>

Most of the 50mm/2.8 Elmars are M-mount and cannot be used with Leica IIIf. There exists a LTM mount version too but it's quite rare. I would go for a classic, foldable Elmar 50mm/3.5 first. If you like something more modern the Voigtlander 50mm LTM lenses are very good value for money.</p>

 

<p>Rollei 35, be it Sonnar or Tessar, is a fine but not stellar performer. Mine is an early Tessar and it's a joy to use once you familiarise yourself with the few quirks it has. My only gripe with it is the light meter. It's not unreliable but it needs a certain amount of light to wake up. So I mostly use sunny-16 ( darksy-5.6 here in Helsinki) anyway.</p>

<p>No one mentioned Canon P, the most popular of all Canon's classic rangefinders. It's basically similar to Leica M2 but it has one big plus compared to it. Hinged back door. You can load a new film into your Canon P while walking. Try that with any Leica and you know what I mean. Canon P's viewfinder is rather rare 1:1 and it has 35/50/100 framelines. It is very well made and reliable camera about the size of a M-series Leica. It is still quite popular daily shooter amongst rangefinder enthusiasts.</p>

<p>You could spend rest of your life shooting in Bangkok. To me Bangkok is the epitome of Thailand, both past and present. Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai are both very nice but the next person looking at your photos couldn't tell the difference between them and any other nice place in Thailand. My suggestion would be to spend a lot of time in Bkok and take a few days trip to Saigon in Vietnam, Phnom Penh and/or Angkor Wat in Cambodia or Vientiane in Laos. That should keep you busy for a while ;)<br>

Midday light is harsh in SE-Asia so you really need to be up at fiveish in the morning to get the best of light.</p>

 

<p>$500 for this set up is a fair price IMO. Canon P is a fine camera. I have one and a Leica M4 too but I prefer to use the Canon. The 50mm/1.8 is a very good lens.</p>