paul_richardson9

<p>Yeah, getting a camera where the screen can be switched off would definately be a bonus (although Im sure CHDK allows it on most cameras anyway.)<br>

I wont be bothering with recharable AA batteries, so that wouldnt be a worry. Could it still occur on cameras which use a rechargeable batterypack, such as NB 5L?</p>

<p>I'm trying to keep it as portable as possible, so unfortunately an AC adapater or car battery isnt an option.<br>

What do you think would realistically be the maximum length of timelapse I should be lookin at? Fancied trying to shoot some sunrises and such, so maybe 1 picture every 10 seconds for an hour? Not sure if many of the cheap cameras would be up to that though.</p>

<p>Hey,</p>

<p>Been looking at getting a cheap point and shoot to mess around and do some timelapses with. I've been looking at the ones that can run CHDK due to the added wealth of options that it offers.<br>

Does anyone have an idea of any cameras that run it, and have a decent battery life? Preferably run off AA batteries, though rechargeable is OK aslong as it lasts for quite a while. The list of all the cameras is here:<br>

http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ</p>

<p>So far from the ones I've looked at I think my best bet is an a480, though im not sure what the battery life would be like running timelapses.</p>

<p>Any help appreciated!</p>

<p>That link I posted wasnt actually my camera! The ony I got has taken a ding to the lens unit, knocking the lens off center and the aperture blades out of alignment.<br>

Rangefinder and lightmeter both seem to work ok too. Shutter was really slow, but some lighter fluid soon sped it up, speeds all sound pretty accurate too. Im liking the fact that its a fully mechanical shutter, so if the battery runs out your not screwed!</p>

<p>Your idea is a good one though John, but unfortunately I live outside the US, and shipping would cost be nearly three times what the camera is on sale for! Out of interest, how much is postage to a US address?<br>

<br />I have looked at some listings on ebay and noticed another bust up body selling in the UK, though it has a few days left on it yet. Might bid on that if it stays cheap, and do what you suggested about dismantling it.</p>

 

<p>Yeah, I figured that could be a possibility, so tried turning it both ways, to no avail!<br>

Only other option I can think of doing, is heating up the advance lever with a soldering iron in the hope it makes the cap easier to unscrew. Not sure if its the best of idea though.</p>

<p>If the worst comes to the worst I might take it into uni and drill it out. Could easily make a replacement part on the CNC machine that would fit again!</p>

<p>Hey,<br>

As the title suggests, does anyone have any idea how to remove the film advance lever on a Taron Maquis?<br>

I have tried using a rubber gromet under pressure to unscrew the small metal plate on the advance lever, but it doesn budge at all. The second picure on this page shows the setup: http://basepath.com/Photography/Taron.php<br>

Also tried prising off the metal cap, but it doesnt work.</p>

<p>Anyone got any ideas?<br>

<br />Cheers!</p>

<p>bought a taron marquis for a tenner on ebay, with 'slow shutter speeds'. Lightmeter and rangefinder still seem to work OK though.</p>

<p>I took the front element out and cleaned the shutter blades (was a LOT of old grease on them). The shutter works ok now, but one of the aperture blades is misaligned, so I will need to rebuild it.</p>

<p>In the process of trying to figure out how to take the film advance lever off, it looks like it should be a friction screwdriver jobby, but it just doesnt seem to budge. Anyone had any similar issues before with these sorts of things?</p>

<p>woops, I meant f1.8 lens!</p>

<p>Out of interest, has anyone used a taron marquis?</p>

<p>Noticed they have a f1.8 shutter, but theres little information about them on google.<br>

<br />On a side note, watched a vivitar 35es sell for £90 on ebay yesterday, plus the seller didnt even say if it was in working condition or not. Rediculous!</p>

<p>Thanks for the replies so far!</p>

<p>Ive narrowed it down to one of: Minolta 7sII, Konica Auto S2, Vivitar 35ES or Minolta Hi-Matic 7.<br>

Going to do some more reading around on them though, but in the meanwhile does anyone have any experience shooting in low light with them? Ive heard it can be difficult to focus with some rangefinders (in low light).</p>

<p>Hey,<br>

I've been looking into getting a cheap as possible rangefinder, with a fast lens (under f2). Preferably with as much manual control as possible, and a built in lightmeter. Also, an iso of 800, and some slow shutter speeds would be nice (a few seconds).<br>

I know I cant have everything, so im obviously willing to make some compromises. So far I've found the minolta 7sII, vivitar 35es, and the yashica electro 35 series.<br>

I already have a canonet 19 which pretty much fits the bill, but im reluctant to use it as its in near-perfect condition and I dont fancy ruining it! I dont mind buying a beat up camera as long as it works, as it will probably end up being abused somewhat anyway.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, the think tanks seem to be out of my price range (sub £80).</p>

<p>Didnt mention it previously, but definately needs to be a backpack. Im going to be using it for a short trip (5 days), so I will be carrying it around with my everywhere.<br>

Probably a decent multi-compartmented hiking rucksack would be best, although it might be harder finding one that fits airline regulations.</p>

<p>Hey,<br>

Basically I'm looking around for a decent sized (around 30 liters ish), bag to put my equipment into. I've been looking around at used camera-designed bags, but also had a quick look at some rucksacks.<br>

I dont really mind not having a heavily padded bag, though I wouldnt buy something thats paper thin. Also needs to be airline carry on size! Dark colours too (no bright reds!), and preferably have somethign that a tripod can clip onto on the outside (doesnt need to be neccessarily designed for this puprose). Multiple comparments would be preferential, as I hate putting everything all jumbled together.</p>

<p>I've been searching around for the past few days and not found anything (closest was the lowepro rover aw 2). So any help would be appreciated!</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

<p>Ahh sweet, thanks for checking! Just need to wait for a lens now, so I can check the film counter works : )</p>

<p>If I try shooting it, (with the mirror lockup on normal, and exposure lever set to single), it wont fire, it just winds on endlessly. But if I change the mirror lockup to S or C, it winds on and fires every time. Is this normal behaviour? (Bearing in mind this is without a film in).</p>

<p>Ahh, that makes sense now, cheers! I dont have a roll of backing paper to test the back out, so will just have to try winding a roll of film through. I'm letting one warm up out of the fridge now, so will test in a few hours.<br>

Is the timing mechanism for how long the shutter stays open inside the lens then?</p>

<p>The more I look at it, the more it does look like a focal plane shutter. No other reason for that flap to be there, and it wouldnt suprise me if wikipedia was wrong..</p>

<p>According to wikipedia, the SQ series have a leaf shutter, not focal plane.<br>

The mechanism must be knackered then, when crank the handle it the pins (looking into the camera body from lens side), rotate clockwise. Upon firing the shutter, they move back anti-clockwise to their original position.<br>

It might not be apparent on short shutter speeds, but I imagine on longer ones (4 seconds for example), some part of the mechanism would move back to close the lens shutter.<br>

<br />Tried a new battery in it aswell, doesnt seem to make much difference.</p>

<p>Hey,<br>

Just wondering how the SQ-A shutter works? Is there a shutter inside the lens as when I wind it on, both the mirror and flap behind it (which I presumed to be a plate to stop film getting exposed) fire up into the top of the body and stay there. I dont have a lens to test it with, just wanted to see if the mechanism was working properly or not first.<br>

Also, how does the exposure counter work for the backs. I havnt run a film through it yet, but I figured there must be a way of manually forcing it to count frames (by rolling a cog or something?).</p>

<p>Any help much appreciated!<br>

Thanks,<br />Paul</p>

<p>Its not a format im going to be using all the time, just in certain situations/places, where I want the best quality possible. I will stick to 35mm film or digi for the more 'throwaway' shots.<br>

I never realised it cost so much to get a film of 120 developed, I think my friend is going to regret offering me film developing for free! I was just getting my 35mm developed locally, as it wasnt much difference in price as posting them to my friend, though I can imagine MF rolls getting posted his way.<br>

Most pictures just goe on the web in small formats, its only the odd shots that I want to get printed big. I should be able to get them scanned small to begin, and then at least I have the option to re-scan them if I want larger sizes for printing. But as before, its not going to be an everyday format for me, so all the shots that I take on MF, should be the ones that I want printed.</p>

<p>Makes sense beuh, shame it drives the prices of 120 backs up though.</p>

<p>Good idea, I've noticed keh has inserts aswell as backs (though no 120 ones currently), I havent found anywhere else yet that sells them!</p>

<p>Hey,</p>

<p>Been looking at bronica SQ-series backs, and noticed that the 220 ones go for a lot cheaper (like 1/3 of the price). Am I right in thinking this is because 120 is the preferred format nowadays?<br>

<br />I've also been trying to find out if you can use 120 film in a 220 back, some websites say you can, others say not. I understand that the tensioning is different due to the difference in film thickness (well lack of paper), would it be possible to alter the tensioning on a 220 back?<br>

And finally, is it still possible to get 220 processed easily in the UK? I dont mind doing mail order, aslong as it doesnt cost an arm and a leg. I go through films quite slowly too, so will only be processing them one at a time. Would need to be scanned too, as I dont have a scanner.</p>

<p>Thanks!<br>

Paul</p>

<p>I think it might not have fired, 'cos I forgot to take the darkslide out. Gonna email the seller and tell him to try it, and let him know Im not longer interested in buying it (gonna hold out for an SQ instead).</p>

<p>Picked up a battered SQ WLF from rockcameras for £22.50, figured at that price I might aswell get one. Even if I end up getting a complete kit camera kit that includes a WLF, I can always stick it back on ebay. The cheapest ones I could find were still like double the price, so looks like a bargain.</p>

<p>It was listed as an etrs, just the stock photo suggested it was an etrs-i.<br>

After doing some more reading around, Im more inclined towards the SQ series now anyway, as you can swap between 6x6 and 645. I have a broken SQ-A body only coming in the post, so I should wait and see if that is fixable.<br>

I've not seen any complete SQ kits within my budget though (£150~), as far as I can see, I would need to increase it to around £200 to that setup.</p>

<p>Ok, so it wasnt the ETRSi, was infact the ETRS, hed just used some stock photos!</p>

<p>Couldnt figure out how to get it firing though, possibly just my lack of knowledge, but wasnt gonna risk it until ive done some research on internet. Anyway, flicked the level on RH side (holding camera asif using it), which allowed it to wind on. Upon pressing the shutter button, nothing happened, but it could be wound on further.<br>

Any ideas how to fire properly? Also, is there a lock or somethign for the viewfinder, seemed a bit loose, but I guess its just a clip or something?</p>