stuart d

David & Thomas - thanks for bringing these to our attention. While the results might not be uniformly excellent (and some really are quite mundane), it's always interesting to see what uses people put their Xpans to. It certainly gives me some ideas about what works and what doesn't.

 

I was looking through a back issue of Black & White Photography (the UK publication) last night & saw an article about a guy who shot different aspects of Moscow using his 6x17 camera. It talked about the challenges of using a panoramic camera in a city and the dilemma of how the format (used in landscape mode) cuts the tops off buildings etc. Some of his photos worked well; others not so well.

 

Pete - I think the Fuji version of the Xpan is the TX-1. I'm not sure if the Xpan II's equivalent is the TX-2, though.

Different coloured Soft Releases from Tom Abrahamsson.

I seem to remember that Erwin got his knickers in a twist when his newsletter containing details of the MP found its way onto various discussion forums ahead of Leica's official announcement. I haven't seen a newsletter from him since then.

Just like a box of soap powder - new and improved. What next? Coupons? I mean, it's not like Leica could be accused of 'Everyday low pricing'.

I won't forget my 1st 24 hours in Chicago when I moved from Newcastle (England) across the pond 8 years ago. I landed late in the afternoon on January 16th having heard the horror stories, and left the airport to find it was a 60 degree day. Next morning it was kinda breezy when I went to my new job in the Sears Tower, and even on the 12th floor I could feel the building move. Scratch that - the damn building creaked and groaned in the wind. By late morning it was time to go to the Federal Building to get my Social Security number, and I was drenched in a torrential downpour. By the time I left work that evening the temperature dropped to minus 10 degrees (F) and my soaked raincoat froze. I think I begged to be taken back to O'Hare to get a flight back to Blighty.

 

Little did I know that this was just a taste of what was to come...

 

Great town, but I couldn't take the winters. Or the summers, for that matter. Now I live in Colorado. Much happier. Um...sorry. Best of luck, and all that.

Patrick,

 

To the uninitiated, the incredible range of film/developer/technique combinations is overwhelming. I know I used it as an excuse to avoid B&W work for a while, until yet another roll of XP2 came back from the lab with scratches all over it. I started off with a single film & developer, and went to the Massive Dev Chart as a starting point. The first few rolls were kinda disappointing, so I tried changing one variable at a time till I found what works for me.

 

Since then I�ve tried different combinations of films, EIs, developers, temperatures and agitiation techniques, and I�ve settled on three films (FP4+, Tri-X and Neopan 1600) and one developer (Xtol) for most work. My results are more consistent than when I tried 10 different films and 5 different developers. Don�t get me wrong � I�m not a mad scientist who loves to perform countless experiments � this took me maybe 20-30 rolls of film over the course of 3-4 months. Virtually all the rolls turned out to be printable, irrespective of the developer and technique used. They may not all be perfect exposures, but the only catastrophic failures I can think of were HP5+ in Rodinal 1+25 (golf-ball sized grain), and HIE in D76 (IR seems to be a crapshoot, and I don�t have the patience for it).

 

I get to develop films about twice a month, and for me the biggest hassle used to be mixing the powder-based chemicals from scratch each time. I still mix Xtol from powder, but it�s long lasting so I only need to do it once every 3 months or so. For all other chemicals I switched from powder to liquid concentrate, and it�s cut my setup time from 1hr+ to less than 10 minutes.

 

Once you get past the initial fear of screwing up, it�s quite satisfying to produce your own results.

 

Cheers, Stuart

Colour film: Fuji Press 800 or NPZ, both of which handle mixed lighting very well. Rate them at EI 640 if light conditions permit, or EI 800 if you have to.

 

B&W film: Fuji Neopan 1600 rated at EI 800 or Ilford Delta 3200 rated at EI 1000 to retain shadow detail.

If it's purely a peference for black chrome, and you want to use the camera, why not buy an M6 classic or an M4-P?

It stands for Meßsucher.

I just got the same message too.

For photo opps, try Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, and the Broadmoor hotel, if you don't mind the touristy stuff. Sorry, can't help you on the camera store or food front.

Three words Jim: North Atlantic Drift. The current flows from the Gulf of Mexico to the British Isles and keeps it relatively warm in winter and cool in summer.

Brian,

 

Demand for - and prices of - enlargers has fallen sharply since the arrival of digital cameras and film scanners, but the V35 hasn't seen much of a price decline recently. For the basic enlarger, V35s have been selling on ebay for between $500 and $800 regularly over the last 18 months or so. Prices fluctuate from time to time, but somewhere between $600 - $700 is probably in the ballpark.

 

However, your extra negative carriers, the slide carrier, and the cover would definitely add up. It may be worth parting them out for separate sale. The slide carrier would probably fetch $50-$75, and the negative carriers tend to fetch between $100-$150, but it really depends which ones you have. The cover is anyone's bet. I recall seeing one go on ebay for nearly $200, which is quite frankly ridiculous. But they come up so rarely, that you might just want to try listing it with a low opening price, no reserve, and see whether a bidding war ensues.

 

Of course you could always see if someone here makes you an offer for part or all of the outfit.

 

Best of luck, Stuart

Been stuck in a timewarp Jerry? About 3 years now. If you don't believe me, then look at <a href="http://www.leica-camera.com/imperia/md/content/pdf/objektive/datenbltterm-objektive/6.pdf" >THIS</a>

Phil - Although John states that he uses a 35mm lens on his M3 without goggles, you shouldn't infer that you can use the goggled lens without them. The goggled versions are cammed differently, and so focusing is only correct when you use the lens with the goggles attached.

 

As for pricing, an M6 classic and 35 cron would cost you a good $500-700 more than this outfit. An M6 TTL and 35 cron would probably add $200 to the total. Depending on its age, the M6 classic may need a CLA. So, if you can live with the external meter and the goggled lens, the M3 outfit sounds reasonably priced. But a Voigtlander 35mm lens might be a decent compromise to add to a newer M6 body.

David,

 

The uniform is supposed to be one of the Scottish Highland Regiments. There are two types of Scottish bagpipe, Highland and Lowland. These would be the Highland pipes, as they have the bag and the bellows. The Lowland pipes, like the Northumbrian pipes, have no bag. The piper has to keep a constant flow of air with the bellows. I think that Irish pipes are more similar in nature to the Scottish Lowland and Northumbrian pipes. BTW, Irish kilts are plain in colour - they don't use a tartan or plaid pattern.

"Plain old Liptons" - shudder! That's not tea Heather, that's a poor imitation. PG Tips, Typhoo, Yorkshire Gold, or the proper Tetley (not the fake stuff sold here in the US under the same brand name) beats a cup of coffee any day. Thanks to the declining Dollar, I'm paying comparatively stupid amounts for imported British teabags. What makes it worse is seeing the UK price on the packaging - less than a Pound for a box of 40, and yet I'm paying $7-9 for it. But it's still a damn sight cheaper than anything at Starbucks.

I've bought more than my fair share of accessories, but there are only three that I use on a regular basis - Lutz's SHADE to cut the VF flare on my M6, Luigi's half case, which improves my grip on the camera, and TT's Rapidwinder for a little extra height to the body when using a longer lens like the 90 cron.

Yes, check the pawn shops. I called around perhaps 2-3 dozen in the vicinity of the airport, along with the local camera stores. It cannot hurt to try. In my case the camera (M4-2, MR-4 meter & current gen 50 cron) never showed up. Like you, I made the mistake of not writing down the serial number of the M4-2, but I did have it for the lens. Because I left it on a plane, I filed a missing item report with the airline, but strangely the police told me they weren't interested in taking a report from me. My insurance agent was really helpful, and they allowed a new-for-old replacement, so I wound up getting an M6 TTL and 50 cron. The deductable was $500, but the Leica Day discount and rebate absorbed most of that differential.

 

Since then, I have written down serial numbers of all my equipment.

 

Again, best of luck. It's early days, so don't give up yet. And in the meantime, it sounds like some very generous forum members are helping with a loaner for you. This is one hell of a community we have here.

Wentong,

 

I know that sickening feeling all too well. 2 1/2 years ago I left my first Leica on a plane. It never showed up. I was devastated. But the insurance took care of it, and the replacement was better than the original. Have you checked your insurance to see whether it covers this situation? Best of luck.

So Vic, have you done a census to determine the percentage of females (employees and customers) at said establishment who have pierced labia? What was your opening gambit? :-)

 

Funny you should mention Panera. They were shut down in Boulder, CO for nonpayment of taxes.

 

Oh, and James - shame on you. Now I've got a hankering for Good Times burgers & frozen custard. Guess I'll have to wait till Friday...

 

Back to Starbucks - check out this link: http://www.illwillpress.com/sml.html

I'm in favour of this new layout. W/NW and FS seemed to have taken over from discussion for a while. This helps me browse by category quite nicely.

David,

 

The V35 is arguably the best 35mm format enlarger that was ever made. But it was discontinued a number of years ago, and good examples at a reasonable price are few and far between. Spare parts are extremely expensive if you buy them as 'new old stock' from Leica, and they tend to be difficult to buy used.

 

The V35 is a diffusion enlarger using a 12V 75W halogen lamp. It has the option of 1 of 3 modules or heads: Colour, Vario Contrast (VC aka multigrade), and B&W. You said it doesn't have a color adjustment, but it should have a dial on the left hand side of the head. If the dial brings up grades 0-4 or 1-5, then it's the VC head. If the dial moves a red filter in and out above the lens, then it's a straight B&W module, and you'll either need to use graded paper or add the multigrade filters below the lens somehow. The VC module is far preferable to the B&W module. And I found through experience that VC heads don't come up on the used market on their own very often.

 

You need to check out the enlarger you've seen very carefully. For example, do the electrics work? Does it have all the parts other than the lens eg negative carrier? Does the head move up & down smoothly? does the head lock at any height by twisting the vertical adjustment knob on the right of the control arm? etc etc). Ideally get a 50mm lens to make sure you can focus it. How clean is the enlarger? What is the model number on the lamp housing at the back of the head? During its life, the V35 had 2 types of Philips lamp. The early model was Philips type 6604, but it's long discontinued, and it's difficult to get it updated to the newer lamp housing (Philips type 13139). Walk away if it doesn't have the newer lamp housing.

 

Finally, how much does the seller want? It's difficult and expensive to find the 40mm Focotar lens separately, but I understand that it can be made to work with some 50mm lenses. I'm not sure, but it may have to be recalibrated to work with a 50mm lens, so that is likely to be expensive.

 

If it has the VC module, is complete other than for the lens, and it's in good working shape, I'd offer no more than $350 for the V35 chassis. Considerably less if the chassis is well worn or it only has the B&W module.

 

Hope this helps, Stuart

I bought my first new Leica on a Leica Day a few years ago, and I recall the dealer telling me she would have to order the M6 and 50 cron. Her reasoning was that although the customer got the discount immediately, Leica only compensated dealers on their next order. She couldn't afford to keep a large inventory of new equipment on hand, either before or after a Leica Day special. This way she wasn't out any money until someone else decided to buy a new camera from her.

 

Perhaps your dealer is suffering from excess inventory and slow sales.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if sales are slowing down as a result of the multiple price increases we've experienced here in the US the last 2 years. Note that Adorama are selling many Leica items for less than MAP, but you have to enquire for their actual selling price. Maybe other big stores will start competing on price too, but only if their volumes justify it.

I assume it's not a Leica finder, as they are sold with a small leather case. If it is, then you can buy the case separately. If it's for a Voigtlander 21, then there's a great little 2-section case that V/C makes. The lens goes in one end; the finder goes in the other.

 

Another option - go to a jewelry store & get one of their little velvet type drawstring jewelry bag. The finder will fit nicely in the bag, and it's nicely protected from dirt & scratches while in your camera bag/pocket/whatever.