Ray S

Interesting but too big for me I think.

What are CLAs?

This is exactly what my friend has built in his spare bedroom. He uses a macro lens but is seriously considering a multi thousand dollar duplicating lens at some point in the future.

Thanks! I will probably shoot mostly static subjects, but natural scenes, versus street/man-made scenes. i'm definitely being careful about selecting the system I go with based on the lenses available and whether they can be useful for me.

Wow, thanks! I'll definitely keep this all in mind.

For scanning the images, one route I'm considering is a flatbed scanner like an Epson v600 which scans medium format film. Alternatively a good friend of mine actually photographs images/film rather than scanning them. He has a full setup for both 35mm & larger medium format film. it's no simple setup mind you using an array of flashes, light distribution boxes, etc to get the shot properly. He used to work at a commercial film lab so he's pretty knowledgeable about what he's doing. As for having a local lab develop film, where I am (Nor Cal) the closest shop that can develop film same day is 70 miles away in the Bay Area. You can drop it off in the morning and they can have it ready later in the afternoon. ALL other options I've investigated no longer develop film on premises and have to send their developing out which means 3 weeks before getting developed rolls back. :( This is why I've begun developing my own film at home. My setup can accomodate medium format film so that's another reason I'm seriously considering this now.

I agree a resistor alone is not the best option. I'd use a diode to regulate the voltage.

Hi everyone, Thank you for all the input. I've also been doing additional research but first let me explain why I'm doing this... or at least why i 'think' I'm doing this. LOL. My first camera was a Canon AE1 program slr and its kit lens back when it was available new however, I really didn't understand what I was doing with it and just shot it in ful program mode. To top it off that camera was stolen within 6 months of purchasing it. Fast forward to the age of digital and I bought my first. Digital camera. A 1.3MP Fuji point and shoot LOL. It didn't matter that it was such a low end camera. I was hooked! Digital allowed me to learn the principles much more quickly and I quickly moved from a simple p&s to a 'prosumer' class non-dslr camera. Then DSLR's got cheap and I bought a Nikon D70. Then a D300, D300s, Fuji XE1. XT1, D500. Then I discovered my dads 1960's Canon QL17 and my passion for film photography was reignited. Since then I've gotten my own QL17 later pre-GIII, a QL17 G-III, and a Yashica Electro 35 GTN. I've also recently begun developing my own film using a Paterson tank & Unicolor C41 developing kit. I know the same tank can be used for developing medium format film so I'd like to try my hand at shooting MF. So I mentioned the additional reasearch I've done. I found an article on www.photographybay.com which goes over the different MF size ratios, brands supporting each of those ratios, the common lenses available, and their 35mm equivalent. Based on that, I'm considering either a 6x6 format or 6x7 format with a wide lens (45mm/55mm or 30mm/40mm/50mm respectively) since I'll be looking to shoot primarily landscape/nature photography. That said, your objective and also any biased insights are all greatly appreciated.

Thanks John & Marc, John, I checked the PX27 and although it looks like it could be the right size, it's unfortunately 6v which is >4x too high. :( Marc, thanks for the insight on that thread. I think I'll try using a wein cell (already using one for my Yashica Electro 35 GTN) but incorporate an aluminum block below the battery to act as a spacer... well, once I get my dad's camera repaired. :) Speaking of repairs, I did find this write-up on repairing canonet camera fixed lenses (http://blia101photo.blogspot.com/2013/12/canonet-ql25-sticky-shutter-repair.html). It seems simple & straight forward but I'm still determining if I want to try that. Otherwise I may send it to a shop I found online in Vermont (http://lezot.com/canon-canonet-repair-service/) who will fix it for $99 + S&H. Thanks again for the help and any other insights you can share.

Hi all, My father bought a Canon Canonet QL-17 new back around 1965. I now have the camera and want to have it repaired so I can use it. Items that appear to require repair include... The aperture blades & shutter which appear to be stuck (non-moving). I'm hopeful it's just the original lubricant being very old and therefore sticky. The battery compartment needs repair as it appears to have had a leaky battery in the past. Speaking of batteries, I'm not sure what battery it requires. I can definitely confirm it is not a 625 button cell that later QL17' use.. Dimensions are about 9/16x1/2" (cylinder shape) unlike the 625 button cell which is the same diameter but only 1/8" tall. In fact the battery has no model info stamped on it. Also, does anyone have a manual for this specific 2nd gen model? TIA! Ray

Hi All, I just tried to search for any threads on this but found the "Search Community Posts" does not seem to allow me to narrow my search to just this forum & I didn't find my question within the first couple of pages of recent posts so I guess I'd better just ask... I'm an experienced photographer shooting mostly digital and more recently shooting and developing my film using an older 35mm rangefinder (Yashica GTN Electro 35 & Canon QL-17 GIII). But now I'm curious to try my hand at medium format especially since the cost of used gear is decently low right now. My question is, how to choose what medium format size I should be considering? I've read the (common?) formats are 645, 6x6, 6x7, 6x8, & 6x9. Is there anything online I can read that goes into what the pros/con's of each format are if any? Also, are the lenses interchangeable between the different formats or is it like the FX vs DX issue in current 35mm dslr cameras? Oh, my intended use will mostly be landscape photography with occasional informal portraits thrown into the mix. TIA! Ray