tjfuss

<p>It doesn't have to be insect repellent... even simple hand lotions have emollients that will soften applied coatings / paint. Rubberized coatings are particularly susceptible. We did lots of testing at Kodak back in the day when we made cameras with rubberized paint on the covers.</p>

<p>Before spending big bucks, check to see if the contacts on the lens mount are clean! I had a lens that would sometimes give that same error and lightly cleaning the contacts with a pink pencil eraser set it right.</p>

<p>Specifically, the body looks like a IIIf rd (red markings on the flash synchronization dial on top). Similarly, the lens shown on the camera appears to be an Elmar with "red scale" which is considered by some to be more desirable.</p>

<p>The "extension rings" are not what we typically think of as extension rings for close-focus use. They are lens hoods.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>The other trouble point is the connection to the selenium cell. Sometimes cleaning the contact can bring them back to life.</p>

<p>I use a Fuji XE-1 as a backup camera with a Canon 10-22mm EF-S wide angle zoom adapted but the Canon 5DII gets most of the shots. It's a bit limiting with the aperture stuck wide open but then, that's the usual setting anyway. Zone focus works fine for the wide stuff.<br>

I have two issues with it though: different control layout between the camera bodies and the shutter lag time.</p>

<p><img src="http://www.pixel-wave.com/images/tjf.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="405" /></p>

<p><img src="http://www.pixel-wave.com/images/Braun_Quinon_50mm_9662.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="1080" /><br>

The 50mm f/1.9 version was available in DKL mount (Kodak Retina Reflex / Braun Reflex). As I recall, it's performance was first rate.</p>

<p>Thanks Andy! I'm pleased to know that my 24 years in camera design and manufacturing weren't for naught. (grin)</p>

<p>Unless the adapter has optical elements, it should have no impact on the crop factor at all. The physical size of the sensor in the Fuji is smaller than a full 35mm image frame causing the "crop" factor of about 1.5<br>

A 50mm lens used on the Fuji x-pro 1 would have about the same field of view as a 75mm lens on a full frame 35mm (or full frame DSLR).<br>

I don't know if Fuji used an anti-scratch coating. I've not had any issue with the X-E1 but my camera rides in a shoulder bag more than around my neck.</p>

<p>Stacking adapters works fine for me. I'd also lean toward hacking the cheap adapter instead of grinding away part of a vintage lens.</p>

<p>The Cambo Ultima system works very nicely, I use it with a Leaf Aptus back with the Mamiya mount. The downside is that the accessories are hard to find. It's taken a couple of years scanning fleabay internationally to scrounge together a nearly complete system.</p>

<p>The Linhof M679 looks like a current solution in the Porsche / Ferrari class (drool).</p>

<p>The "Leica Copies" book by HPR has a small section on Italian Leica copies including the Kristall and Wega. The book states that the Kristall R was the last product offered. It featured a combined viewfinder / rangefinder and was made in 1954.</p>

<p>The manufacturer is listed as Chinaglia Domenico, Belluno. "It is presumed that a total of about 4,000 of the seven versions of the Kristall, and approximately 2,000 of the three Wega models were produced." (per HPR)</p>

<p>The book does not show a photo or specifications list for that model but standard lenses for the preceeding model were Krinar 3.5/50mm, Som Berthiot 2.8/50mm or Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 2/50mm.</p>

<p>I've been enjoying the Minolta MC Tele Rokkor-PF 100mm f/2 on my Fuji X-E1. Sadly, they're not easy to find unless you stumble into one at an estate sale ;-)</p>

<p>The f/2.5 version is no slouch and a lot less spendy.</p>

<p>Aside from lighting considerations, I'd highly recommend using X-Rite's Color Checker Passport. It makes getting accurate colors a lot easier (which can be surprisingly difficult with layered watercolor washes).</p>

<p>David, I've done something like this in three different iterations now. The first (low budget version) was a Calumet 4x5 with most of the rear standard removed. I fabricated a mount and bag bellows to couple a Canon 5DII body. I used various medium and large format lenses on the front. It was particularly useful for front tilt when doing table-top product photography. Yes, shifts tended to be limited.</p>

<p>The second version was a big upgrade... a Cambo Ultima 35 with the same 5DII attached. Still a wide range of lenses in play - with or without shutters.</p>

<p>Finally, I've added a Leaf Aptus back and use lenses with shutters and flash sync to trigger the back. This combination yields all of the movements I could want since there's no mirror box to cause vignetting. Sadly, it's a heavy rig - especially after adding the geared tripod head! I won't be backpacking with it.</p>

<p>I have some photos of the first two versions on my Flickr photostream in a set labeled "hybrid / tandem camera" at <a href="http://www.flickr.com/tjfuss/">www.flickr.com/tjfuss/</a></p>

 

<p>For a very wide lens, I'd nominate the 20mm Vivitar in M42 mount. It's a pretty reasonable value, not hard to find and the two copies I've owned were both very good. My current copy works fine on the Canon 5D II.</p>

<p>How about an old Canon 011A from the AE-1 era? It's a slim rectangular package measuring 4 inches tall, 2 1/2 inches deep and just 3/4 inch wide. The foot adds another 3/8 inch to the height which is great for helping to keep red-eye to a minimum.</p>

<p>Powered by a pair of AA batteries, it has a guide number of 13 (ISO100, meters) or 46 (ISO100, feet).</p>

<p>Alongside the Kodak Ektra, I'd nominate the Super Kodak Six-20. The mechanisms that control the automatic aperture and shutter cocking were ingenious but famously unreliable.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>When they fill up the better part of a spare bedroom?</p>

<p>(don't ask me how I know this...)</p>

<p>I have an old bellows unit from a Lindahl filter holder/vignetter that approximates a compendium shade rather well. Although simply hand-held right now, I'm planning on some modifications that will attach it to my Cambo Ultime 23.</p>

<p>The American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) has a feature called "Find a Photographer" on thier website.</p>

<p>It seems to me that these discussions of bokeh generally treat it as a background vs subject distinction. I've always thought of it as the subjective quality of any out of focus area - starting with the transition from critically sharp.</p>

<p>Those wondefully rendered soft backgrounds make the bokeh characteristics easy to perceive / describe and serve as an indicator of how those same characteristics affect the <em>slightly </em>out of focus parts of the subject. To me, some lenses just seem to render three dimensionality better than others and it seems to be tied to how well the very out of focus areas are rendered.</p>

<p>Yes, it's scary that they're able to vote. Scarier still that they're able to reproduce.</p>

<p>That looks quite nice! Putting this lens on a DSLR with APS-c or even a full frame sendor is still sampling from the central axis of coverage so there won't be all that much improvement in corner sharpness when stopped down. At least, it won't be as noticable as it would be on the full 3A sized image.</p>

<p>Inside is going to be a tough one - especially the way that bag tapers up to the top. If you're talking about an angled shot (not looking straight down), I'd try a small slaved flash in the bottom with tissues or something to diffuse it (and control the output).</p>

<p>As an alternative, I'd maybe try some sort of light painting with an LED flashlight that's daylight balanced to more or less match the monolights used outside.</p>