eddie g.

This may be a dumb inquiry, but although I am used to the waistlevel

finder and my hand spotmeter on my rollei 2.8F, it would be nice to

retrofit a prism finder with center-weighted metering on it for

compactness and easy metering. My Kiev 60's prism is too small for

this task. Are there any other metered prism finders that perhaps can

be rigged on the top of rollei's?!

A bit of clarification: sun is daylight and floodlamp is tungsten film. You can makeup whatever memory aid you want for those symbols as long as you remember what they are!

That's just a reminder to yourself as what film you're using: slide, negative, color, b&w. You're better off taping a piece of your film box on the back of the camera.

I like to get a 50"x50" wall mounted projection screen for showing my

mostly landscape 35mm slides to my friends. The room is not terribly

big (sits about 10, and all will be looking at the screen from a 10-

60 degree angle), but it's long enough for the slide frame to fill up

the screen. Which type of screen is a good one for this purpose?

Silver/Grey, Matt White or Glossy White? I am confused. And who makes

a good one? It seems like Da-Lite is the one that Samy's (near my

house) carries.

 

Thanx...

The Rolleicord TLRs (except for Vb) have dim viewfinders. However, you can get them fairly cheap (paid $70 for my 'cord IV) and add a $120 intenscreen with split-center grid focusing screen so you don't have to guess the focus. Make sure the mirror is good and clean. It is extremely light and faithful.

 

I have the 'cord III, 'cord IV, 'flex 2.8F and Yashicamat 124G. The one that I use the most for night time photography is the 124G. Fairly good, birght screen with f2.8 viewing lens. The 'cords and 124G are very sharp if you stop them down to somewhere around f5.6 to f11. Make sure to wear a hat if you're shooting where there is some kind of light over your head, or get a googgle viewing hood, or a black towel.

Oops, forgot to add an important piece. For the wildlife get the 540EZ or 550EX flash (depending on your camera's ATTL or ETTL capability) and a "Better Beamer" flash extender (see www.birdsforart.com).

I like to vote for Tamron SP 24-135mm. The 24mm end is good for a lot of landscapes as well as indoor party shots - I can't do without 24mm end. I spent 4 days in Yosemite with only this lens on my EOS 5 (I was too lazy to change lenses) and came back with superb pictures. For wildlifes look into Sigma 400/5.6 APO Macro, a Sigma 1.4X EX APO converter and a nice tripod (I highly recommend Bogen/Manfretto Jr. tripod at $90). When it comes to telephoto photography I am a fan of prime lenses. All of the lenses I mentioned are budgeted for the amature photographers, return very good results and have good closeup shots (they call it macro, I like to avoid calling anything smaller than 1:1 a true macro). Both lenses are reasonably priced in the used market and also have 72mm front filter element, so you only need 1 set of filters (if you decide to buy any filters). Henry's camera sells the new 1.4x converter on ebay for $99, which is a great price and comes with 1-year US or 7-year Canada warranty.

John,

 

Second thought on this. My Japanese-made M42 adapter does not allow the lens to fully turn onto the socket. Same goes for my Japanese-made M42/FD adapter. I used to think of this as a nuisance since my Zenitar's built-in wideangle shade was not place above the horizontal frame of the picture and caused vignetting, so I ended up unscrewing the shade off the lens and screwing it in the correct place after the lens was fully secured onto the M42 adapter and on my camera.

 

What I'm trying to get to is that perhaps your lens turns too far into the socket and that's why it may hit the mirror on its way up and hang it up. Try keeping it loose on the M42 adapter by 1/4 turn and see if that resolves the hangup problem. If that works then put a duct tape (or a large thin metal washer) over your M42 adapter where the lens sits so it won't turn too far into the socket. Focusing should be still ok as long as the spacer is not too thick.

I don't like Kenko Aux lenses. Have a 0.5x HI one and it's quite blury on the edges.

 

Take a look at Russian made Zenitar 16mm lenses (copy of Nikkor lens). I have one, and I just love its picture quality and its small size. You can get a brand new one off of ebay for less than $150 with M42 mount (pentax screwmount) and spend another $20 to get a screwmount-FD adapter. Well worth the price. It also comes with rear mounted filters (for b&w photography mostly).

 

Will try to post some pix I took with this setup later.

I can't shoot level pictures without the grid screen, macro or normal. I have it on my M645, Rolleiflex and EOS 5. It's a MUST have for me. Take a look at what www.intenscreen.com (Beattie) has to offer if you desire a brighter screen. Have to compensate for extra light on the sensor though.

 

Only the higher end pro cameras have 100% viewable screens. So, that's not a factor in having or not having the grid.

Last time I talked to the Nikon sales rep in their school of photography he said that none of their new SLRs have stop-down metering capability and won't work with T-mounts. He repeated himself three times, each time increasing the volume of his voice!! Seems like setting it to "M" is the only way to go.

I recently purchased a Bay-I to 49mm adapter for a fairly good price on ebay from Shiva somebody Trading Company in San Jose. She has quite a few for sell. They are made in India and the quality is rather good. You can find either 49mm or 46mm adapters on that site.

I also have a Japanese-made M42-EOS adapter. Have mounted it successfully on my EOS 5 with the following lenses: Zenitar 16mm, Tamron Adaptall, Pentax 55mm, P6-M42 adapter.

 

Open the camera back, set it to B and fire the shutter. See if the mirror hits the adapter or the lens. That will give you an idea.

Thank you for all your answers. Has been a great help. A bigger question: if it says Rolleinar 2 28.5mm on it (please see picture under http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo.tcl?photo_id=1157049) is it for Bay I or is it for pre-WWII Rollei's?

Three rather dumb questions for the TLR starter:

 

1. How many pieces are in Rolleinar 1, 2 and 3 (each)? Is the

Rolleinar 2 the only one that has 3 pieces?

 

2. And how do you mount these 3 lenses? I can assume that the big one

goes on the viewing lens and the two small ones go on the taking

lens, but are you supposed to stack them?

 

3. What is the magnification factor of each of these Rolleinars?

 

I have an opportunity to purchase some for my Bay I and Bay III

lenses, but don't want to pay for an incomplete set.

 

Thanx...

Hi all,

 

I am looking for a couple of small, cheap flash units for macro

photography using EOS 5's ATTL mode. Any recommendations? It can be

Canon or 3rd party. Also does Canon make a multi-flash synch cord

with hot shoes so I can take full advantage of ATTL mode without

slaving one flash off of the other?

 

Thanx....

I just checked my Rolleifix against my 124G. The answer is absolutely not. The 124G is missing both front hols and the groove on the bottom.

 

Here's my solution which allows you to kill a bunch of birds with one stone: get a Stroboframe for Medium Format (cat. no. 310-666). Its cork base plate is just large enough to cover the 4 little legs on the bottom of the 124G and keep it nice and tight. It has a screw hole in between the handle and base plate for mounting it on the tripod (mine is the US version). Also it gives you a great balance for handholding the camera and pressing the shutter release or advancing the film. Focusing is still easyily done with 2 left hand fingers. And, it facilitates adding a flash on the top of the front lenses instead of hanging it awkwardly off the side (my flash is fairly heavy). The flash cold shoe will be in front of the waistlevel finder hood (when extended) at about where the "Y" symbol of Yashica is. A very convenient place, well balanced and away from your head. And finally, it works perfectly on my large EOS 5 and Mamiya 645. With a little cold shoe ball I got for $10 I can mount my flash and rotate it for macro photography with EOS 5's ATTL metering if I want, too. To me this has been one of the best accessory purchases I have made in quite a while.

John,

 

If this is your first MF and are wondering if this is what you like to shoot, may I suggest you start with something much cheaper than M7? You may not like the way MF cameras load or work and/or cost of processing, but if you can live with those, then you're up for an eye-opening experience. I myself started with a modified Kiev 60 MLU and fell in love with the 6x6 format, then graduated into Rolleicord/Yashicamat, followed by Rolleiflex 2.8F, M645 and M7, all purchased at bargain prices. The TLR's are the cheapest way to go without any compromise in picture quality. Newer Minolta Autocord with Citizen shutters, Yashicamat D, 124, 124G, Rolleicord III or later with Schneider lenses and Rolleiflex 2.8 series with Schneider lenses are all very good beginner choices and should satisfy your needs for good, inconspicuous camera. All of these cameras have leaf shutter lenses which are very quiet and virtually vibration free and can synch with your flash up to their max shutter speeds.

 

With the f-stop set at f8 my 1952 Rolleicord has produced images just as sharp (if not sharper than) my Tamron SP 24-135 lens has on my Canon EOS 5. I now use my TLR's more than any other camera I've got, followed by M7 and M645. The only time I use my 35mm is to use the TTL flash and/or my big telephoto lens, or when I really need to go light, but need a zoom lens.

Everyone else has covered the filter selections pretty well. I like to add a few items to consider:

 

1. If you are doing fall colors and don't have too much whites in your frame, try out a Hoya Intensifier to bring out more of the browns and reds without touching much of the green or blues. Also works great on sunsets/sunrises. It's more of a personal choice for different people. I use it once a while and have gotten good results. DO NOT use this on the top of a warming filter or you get pink all over the place (I am talking from experience!)

 

2. The simple UV/Haze filter is pretty good to have. You can get some that are both warming and UV/Haze in one.

 

3. If your budget allows stick to German coated or multicoated filters made from the same glass material as the Zeiss/Schneider lenses. Rodenstock, B+W and Heliopan are excellent choices. These are hard coated for many years of usage. If you take a good care of them they will last almost forever. Singh-Ray makes wonderful square filters (split ND, etc.) Don't put a cheap filter on the top of an expensive lens. You will degrade its image quality.

 

Has anyone had any experience with Singh-Ray's blue/gold polarizers or Cokin's yellow/blue polarizers?

The light, medium or heavy settings under filter tab is for grain reduction. Don't think Vuescan has dust removal option.

If you really want the MF rangefinder you may want to look into Mamiya 7 instead of 7ii. Will save you a few hundred bucks. The differences between the two cameras is not worth the extra premium of 7ii. I got my used M7 for $575.

 

The lenses on 7/7ii are slow. Although the quiet and vibration-free operation of the shutter helps, but you sill should think about faster film for it if handholding.

 

The 80mm lens is the shortest lens for this camera. Even with this lens my M7 is bigger than my EOS 5 with a 24-135mm zoom on it. Also, being a rangefinder, focusing is not as fast as a SLR. I just tried to do some street photography with it over the last weekend and the only way I could do it quickly was to preset the distance, use a high f-stop, frame and shoot without refocusing.

 

If you want a inconspicuous medium format you may want to look into TLR's instead. Half of the time people don't know you're taking their pictures because you're looking down into the camera. Position yourself at a 90-degree angle to your subject, turn the camera so the lens is facing your subject (they would think that you're looking away from them -- at something else) and take your pictures. Has worked great for me.

I have a Rolleicord as well as a 'flex 2.8F. One is Bay-I and the other is Bay-III. What I did was to get a Bay-I to 49mm and a Bay-III to 49mm adapters (off of ebay). Now I can mount any 49mm filter I want (including FLD, Intensifier and Tiffen 812 which are too new to be available in those old mounts) on these cameras without paying the premium for the Bay-x filters. Also, you can get a 49mm screw-on lens hood for about $5. You can find the Bay-II to 49mm or 46mm adapters fairly easily, too.

My Hoya HMC Pro (their top of the line) is not nearly as good as my Rodenstock, B+W and Heliopan filters. I highly recommend the german filters in place of Hoya or Tiffen, and being 52mm in diameter, they are not too expensive.

Raymond, this has to do with lower speed 120 roll films, but based on the recommendations of others, give Konica Impressa 50 a shot at its base ISO 50 setting and at ISO 40 setting. Also, if you can find any, try out Agfa Optima Prestige 100 (pretty darn expensive and hard to find). I have both of them in the freezer, but have not tried them out yet. The Vista 200 gave good results in my point & shoot. Too bad it only comes in 35mm format. I am waiting for my prints off of Agfa Optima II 100 to arrive shortly.

 

Craig, forgot to mention about Velvia: I used to be a Velvia fan till I tried to scan them. For some reason this is one of the hardest slide films you can scan off of. Everything comes out darker than it should be. Seems like the VueScan with its "long exposure pass" do ok with this film, but have not fully tested it yet. Also, you have to be careful with using filters on Velvia. It's a saturated film and is sensitive to filter use. Skin tones may also come out too pinkish. You are better off with Elite Chrome Extra Color or 100VS or Fuji Sensia/Provia. I love the Provia myself. The slide film that I found easiest to scan off of is Fuji MS100/1000, but it's out of production. You may be able to find the expired, but cool-kept film at www.freestylecamera.com for $0.50 a roll if you want to give it a shot. Heard it performs the best at ISO 400 setting (2-stop push). I used it at its base rating of 100 and got good results with my old Rolleicord III.

According to my Pentax Spotmatic IV spotmeter the difference between the normal reading and the telephoto/wideangle aux lens readings (the big fat ones) is 2 stops. I have both wideangle and telephoto aux lenses made by Lentar, which I believe is a copy of what you have.

 

Although I agree with Todd about the drop in the quality of the pictures when you add these aux lenses on the top of your Yashicamat, one of the only pictures I shot with the wideangle lens came out pretty darn good. I had it at f5.6 with tyristor flash (indoor on Fuji NPH 400 and Yashicamat 124G). I've had these aux lenses for a couple of months now and have only used them once or twice, mainly the wideangle one.

 

To figure out the magnification factor, pull a big fat measuring tape open (or make big marks on a cardboard box), set your camera on a tripod and measure the width on the tape/box from one corner of the viewfinder to the other with and without the aux lens. The ratio of the two is your magnification factor.