raghu_kuvempunagar

Modern: Konica HG28

Classic: Nikomat FT3

Bonus: Fuji GS645W

 

Arista Edu 400 in all three.

It's amazing how a nearly 100 year old camera shines in your hands Rick! Nice work!

Last week I wanted to test shoot Nikomat EL. I shot two rolls of Arist Edu 400 but turned out I made a foolish mistake while loading one of the rolls and that was ruined. The other roll came out well. This weekend I want to use Fuji GA645Zi with Ilford FP4 Plus. I like the weight of the camera - it's lighter than Nikomat EL with lens mounted, and sharpness of the lens is extraordinary. On the other hand, auto focus is bad and I've to try 2-3 times to get the focusing distance right. Loading 120 film on to Patterson plastic reel in the dark bag has been a hit or miss of late for me. I will probably practice a few times with a dead roll before trying my luck with live roll. If the light remains good I might also use Olympus 35 EC with Arista Edu 400.

The T70 is rugged and easy to use, reliable and ergonomically preferable to the curvy T90, in my opinion, and the big, bright uncluttered viewfinder is a delight, along with a feather-touch shutter release. A good example is also easy to come by at a quarter the price of a T90. It's just a a fine camera for a photographer who wants to compose images and nail them without being too burdened down by a plethora of choices.

 

Another vote for Canon T70. Nice grip, adequate heft, bright viewfinder, and simple controls make it a real pleasure to use. I think I got mine in excellent condition for $10 or less.

Weather wasn't ideal but managed to do a test shoot of my newly acquired Nikomat EL.

These 675 zinc hearing aid batteries are only 1.38V according to my multimeter... maybe that's why the batt test isn't worknig?

I found these and ordered websites says it replaces the PX640 and are 1.5V.

Let's hope after all this.....

(3 x Lr52 exell alkaline battery 1.5v, 335 mah (A640PX) =)

 

I've a 35EC2 and what I do for battery is this: stuff good amount of aluminium foil into the negative part of the battery chamber and place 2 LR44 batteries in series with aluminium foil in the positive part. Haven't measure the voltage/current but it seems to work - results look fine to me with the B&W and C-41 films I shot on this camera.

Hello everyone. Raghu my developer is Obsidian Aqua (OA), "invented" by Jay Defehr about 10 years ago. It is a simple Cathecol / sodium meta sulfite mix, with sodium carbonate used to "activate" the pyro staining. OA is a DIY. concentrated, long keeping, liquid mix which seems to maximize shadow detail without blowing high lights. Combined with digital scanning, the negatives have a VERY wide range that fit my "modified" Zone System of exposure. During post processing,[ATTACH=full]1186918[/ATTACH] I add a very low value of what my software terms "Bandicot" toning. . to me a mix of brown, sepia & selenium. This toning is not in files used to produce prints.

Try OA ! It is cheap, about 2 cents per roll. My "standard" : 1 ml of OA (with the carbonate) @ 13 minutes. A 3 min pre-soak in distilled water is used BEFORE the developer. Water stop & alkaline fixer only. Aloha, Bill

Thanks for sharing this info Bill! I've never tried OA, someday in the near future I should. Your work with OA is indeed very inspirational for me.

For the 9th. Fed-2/Jupiter-8, UFX100, OA & V600 scan. Aloha, Bill[ATTACH=full]1186617[/ATTACH]

Great composition! Lovely tones! What's your secret sauce? :)

How is it going Rajmohan? Hope you are able to get started and evolve a process that works for you.

Rick, the third pic is a masterpiece!

I've used commercial C-41 film cassettes that I collect from a local lab to load film. These

cassettes have the film tongue out that can be taped to film and used with a bulk loader. I reuse them 2-3 times and then throw them away. No scratches or other issues.

0. Though it may seem intimidating initially, the process of developing b&w film at home is rather simple; you just need to figure out a setup and workflow that works best for you; and you do that by developing a few rolls of film, learning from the experience and making adjustments based on the learning.

1. If you go for plastic tank and reels, make sure that the reels are dry before you load film in the dark bag; otherwise you'll literally sweat. Paterson plastic reels can be a nightmare for loading 120 film for some or at least in the beginning. There's ample advice on forums on how to make it easy to load 120, but you need to figure out what works for you. So practice with non-critical rolls till you get it working for you.

2. Plastic tanks seem to keep the temperature of the developer solution within 1-2 C of the starting temperature for 10-15 minutes. When the ambient temperature is very different from developer temperature, this could be an important factor in your decision.

3. Don't worry too much about temperature. You can get the temperature you want by mixing appropriate amount of refrigerated water with with water at room temperature. Or if room temperature is too low, you can heat the water for some time. Note that adding developer to water increases its temperature a little bit (~2C in my part of the world), so factor this into your temperature calculation.

4. Whichever developer you choose finally, please stick to it for at least 10 rolls even if your results don't compare well against the great pictures you see made with other developers. If possible stick to one camera, one lens, and normal contrast scenes. I would suggest starting with Rodinal (or HC-110) because of the ease of preparation (you can use a clinical syringe to draw the right amount of syrup) and long shelf life.

5. Even a slight contamination of chemicals can screw up the results. So take adequate precaution.

6. Even the best developed negatives can suffer if you a) don't remove them carefully from the reel after washing and b) don't hang them properly to dry. So adequate precaution at each stage will go a long way in making the entire process reliable.

7. David Vestal's The Craft of Photography is an excellent book full of great insights and tips.

Great suggestion! Merging will make the thread stronger.

<p>Lovely tones, <em>Ross! </em>Nice!</p>

This page gives some technical details of this lens including a diagram of its construction:

 

http://olypedia.de/Rolleinar_(5)_-_Zoomobjektive#Zoom-Rolleinar_MC_Makro_1:3.2C5.2F35-105_mm

 

It was allegedly manufactured by Tokina. Will appreciate any feedback on this lens from the forum members.

<p>I couldn't find many examples of pictures taken with this lens. Is it a good lens? </p>

<p>Nice tones you're getting out of Plus-X, <strong>Mike</strong>. Happy new year!</p>

<p>Nice picture of the camera and of the flowers! Now I want a Fed-2. :)</p>

<p>As always very nice pictures! Enjoyed them all.</p>

<p>Petri Racer<br />Fuji Superia 400 (Expired 2002)<br /><br /></p><div></div>

<p>#3<br /><br /></p><div></div>

<p>#2<br /><br /></p><div></div>

<p>Try again</p><div></div>

<p>#2</p>

<p>Petri Racer/Fuji Superia 400 (Expired 2002)<br /><br /></p>