peter_collins

I made a dark cloth out of material I got in a fabric store. Told the ladies the kind of cloth I needed. The confirming test was holding it up to the fluorescent lights in those four-foot bays. Took the most opaque home.

 

It was...okay. So, I bought a dark cloth on ebay and it was nice and large, with rip-stop white on the outside and black inside. Absolutely opaque and very---heavy.

 

So I put down money on a Black Jacket (possibly one word) with aluminum-colored synthetic fabric on the outside. With sleeves. And elasticized cord to permit slipping the entire camera end of the BJ around the end of the camera. I like this the best.

 

As we all say..."Works for me!" BJ has a web site. (I ordered direct.)

 

Best of luck.

My 127mm f4.7 Kodak Ektar, made in 1946, does.

For photography of natural scenes/objects, I strongly recommend Lake Superior Provincial Park, located north of Sault Sainte-Marie, ON. Been there, attended workshops there. I recommend the areas along the Sand River, Montreal River, near the pictographs, and on Old Woman Bay.

In 2003 I bought a LPL 4500 (basic model, not the II) with the VCCE head for B&W work, used, together with 4x5 carrier and a Wollensak Raptar 135mm lens, in the Midwest for $300. (I travelled about 150 miles to pick the monster up!) I bought a Rodenstock Rodagon 150mm f5.6 enlarging lens (to be used instead of the Raptar) on eBay for $91.

 

Hope this helps for establishing a price to offer.

I bought a used Tachi in May--4x5. I bought a used Rodenstock 210 and am enjoying it very much. "Dry shooting" (quoting St. Ansel) is very helpful. Do it. I have returned to LF, having owned (pre-kids) an Arca Swiss and a Nagaoka, in that order.

 

I agree with other's remarks, especially on the benefits of, and cost of, PN55.

 

I have a 7x loupe (attached to a string with a LOOP, colleagues!) from Calumet--purchased many years ago. It's quality and strength are quite nice.

Well, a word of caution.

 

I spent an afternoon looking for my best Polaroid Type 55 PRINT exposing a subject using my Nikon N70's lightmeter. I set it on 'spot meter' setting (1 of 3 ways to meter) and found that an EI of 200 gave the best result!!!

 

Go figure; this camera takes excellent color pictures using color print film.

 

I can't figure it out, but that was the scoop.

Dear helpful colleagues--

I'm re-joining this discussion to say that I SHOULD have checked the seller's feedback, but I was an eBay newbie, and naive. Naive just two months ago; only when things weren't going right did I check into the seller.

 

I seem to have obtained several degrees from the School of Hard Knocks (with no aid or scholarships) in life; this lesson is relatively cheap compared to others. I hope this discussion is enlightening to LFers beginning to use eBay

LF colleagues, please beware of any offerings from Shawn Cain of

Washington state, working eBay as "iwantstuff88." I was defrauded of

$134 by this thief. He has a large number of negative feedbacks in

the last few months, apparently because of repeated defrauding of

bidders. He cashed my postal MO; he screens telephone calls with his

answering machine, does not return calls and does not respond to

email. An email address which he uses is "stuffhunter50@hotmail.com."

 

Beware, and spread the word. Thank you.

I have used eBay to purchase a used Tachihara, a 210mm Rodenstock MC f5.6 lens, changing bag, film holders (2 lots), a Polaroid 545 film holder, filters/polarizers and an enlarger. I am generally pleased with how this has worked out.

 

I do the following: Before bidding, I watch the item(s) that I want, and over a couple of months, keep track of final prices via an Excel spreadsheet. This gives me a range of prices. I keep track of "reserves not met" so that I know the final price shown on the "my eBay" summary page is an actual sale, not the highest beneath the reserve.

 

Then there's the bidding. I'm taking my time assembling equipment, and so I avoid auction fever, and won't bid up something because it is only THAT very item which will do. New stuff/new opportunities are always coming up. I bid what my price sheet tells me is reasonable.

 

I find that eBay's principal service is to create an actual marketplace for LFers. I was an LFer "before kids" in the 70s and 80s, and then I sold my equipment. Now, getting equipment--and exactly what I want--is a lot, lot easier than the first time around. The size of eBay makes the "second hand" store inventory huge. I have found that LFers selling equipment on eBay will tell me what the warts, scratches and dents are, if there are any.

 

Perhaps eBay works best when you engage that marketplace strictly on your terms.

 

Okay, so this is really detailed and by a guy who doesn't mind updating a spreadsheet. But it makes the dollar stretch....

 

ciao for now--------------------------------------------------------

I take a plastic shopping bag with me to add "heft" to the near-identical tripod. I use a Tachi 4x5 with a 3021. I take the bag, fill it with rocks, and hang it from the ball head (I don't have a pan head with the two arms for adjustment). I know this arrangement doesn't change any wind response in the camera, but it does change the wind response of the tripod, and that can affect the camera. BTW, usually when winds are up in the Southwest, so is the dust! Because I avoid dusty days, I really haven't seen the extremes! But I don't have problems with tripod/camera movement during exposures.

This certainly re-inforces the conviction of many LFers that all great photographs can be made from the edge of a road...

No objections here to posting information concerning "non-free" workshops, etc. Brief information on same with a URL to jump to would always be appreciated.

I need a spotmeter, and I have some questions, even after reading

the 'Exposure & Meters' archives. (1) Were several models of the

older Pentax analog spotmeter made? and (2) are there worthwhile

differences among models, or years in which manufactured, especially

regarding the kind of batteries they need?

 

(Certainly the forum is rich with comments on digital vs. analog,

other brands vs. Pentax, but I'm a B&W guy, looking for a low-cost

spotmeter.)

 

Also, there is some discussion in this forum about replacement

batteries to use, but I find the discussion confusing, maybe because

Pentax made different models?? My questions: (3)Is the meter's

function changed if batteries of different-than-original-mercury-

batteries' voltage is used? (4)Are there any models to avoid because

there aren't any match or 'close match' batteries available?

 

Can anyone provide me with definitive information, or point me to the

place to get it? (Google can't pull it up for me.) Any help with

these four questions is greatly appreciated.

 

Merci mille fois!

I recently bought a Rodenstock Sironar-N MC f5.6 210mm on eBay for $255. I have been tracking some Rodenstock (5) an Schneider (6) sales (admittedly small samples) on eBay and report the following: average price for the Sironar-N MC f5.6 210mm is $252; average price for the Schneider Kreuznach Symmar-S f5.6 210mm is $291.

 

I have no comments on sharpness. However, on coating: I remember (age 58)what uncoated and single-coated optics were like, and I decided to shop a multi-coated lens.

I'm chiming in to say that I agree with the preceding post by Mark, both as to cause of the problem and how you can manage your bid.

 

I have 'done myself in' by waiting with my bid, too. I have also won auctions by deciding in advance what my high bid was, placing it, and then have found out later (once after being gone for a few days) that I was the winner.

Thanks! My question was not complete. I am seeking dimensions (incl. thickness) of Linhof IV-type lensboards, suitable for a Tachihara 4x5. The 1998 Tachihara (and later?) has a scale on the front rise for Linhof-type lensboards with either hole-on-center or hole-offset-low: I do not need information on the hole center point.

 

I am concerned with the proper thickness of the lensboard, too.

 

Thanks for the help so far.

I need the exact width, height and thickness of "Linhof-type"

lensboards as used on the Tachihara, etc. A template would be

ideal! (I haven't been able to find this on the forum.) Many thanks.