danac
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Everything posted by danac
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Thank you. It's good to know there are still folks around who can work on vintage Pentax film cameras.
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I just processed the first roll of film from the new/old FTb-N. My conclusion is that after years of using the center-weighted meters of the A series cameras, it's going to take some getting used to the 12% meter that is also found in the F-1. I need to pay attention to exposing for the shadows. Or like the manual suggests - take two meter readings (one for the highlights and one for the darkest shadows) and take the average. I'll need to take good notes too.
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I'm looking for a near perfect Pentax Spotmatic circa 1969. But there's no point in doing so unless it can be serviced by a master technician that specializes in this model. Is there such a person?
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The FTb-N came today! It's wonderful! After putting in a new 1.35v Wein battery the meter worked perfectly. There wasn't even the tiniest scuff mark or scratch on it. Even the old style 50/1.8 FD lens was flawless. It looks like new and all for just $140 plus shipping. There is hope for eBay yet folks. When the new roll of Delta 100 (set for 200 asa) gets exposed and developed it can be determined whether of not there are problems. Deb and I took thirteen images so far today. This camera is everything hoped for and the F-1 is no longer in the running at least for now.
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After much intense study and all of your help - I get it. But there is no 4x5 view camera, sheet film, hand-held meter or bigger enlarger in my future so I'll just carry on as before and hope for the best.
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Absolutely.
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My first camera was a Spotmatic purchased in Tokyo in 1969. I loved that camera! I seem to have taken my best images with it. The camera and lenses were stolen in 1979. I have never gotten over it. I simply have to own one again before I leave this world. It has to be like new though as that's how I remember mine. The Canon AE-1 that replaced it is forty-one years old and looks like it just came out of the box for the first time. That is how to take care of things you love. The examples on eBay look like they were dragged out of the bargain bin barrel at the local pawn shop. Someone somewhere must have a well loved or at least well liked, well cared for Spotmatic that they're willing to part with. That's the camera I want preferably a chrome body. The model would be the simple SP with the screw on M42 lens mount not the II or F.
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That's about what I expected. Period Takumar lenses are cheap enough so no problem.
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I need a converter that would allow the use of Canon FD lenses on a Pentax Spotmatic body. That one is the reverse.
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Is there such a thing?
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Jim: Detroit in the late '50s and early '60s was and will always be my favorite city. Since then it has become the absolute worst one. In Summers of long ago I often departed from that station for McKeesport, PA behind stunning blue and yellow Baltimore & Ohio F unit diesel locomotives.
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The book I have been studying on and off is: The Practical Zone System For Film and Digital Photography by Cris Johnson. I have learned much from him but not enough to be convinced that the system works well with roll film. The Ansel Adams quote is a familiar one. Whether behind the lens or in the darkroom I always proceed as if the master was looking over my shoulder. There is a photo of him on the wall of my darkroom.The same goes for the piano when playing his favorite composer Alexander Scriabin's preludes and etudes. On Monday a new/old Canon FTb-N will arrive. It is my first manual only camera since the Pentax Spotmatic was stolen in 1979. That is a camera that will once again enable more intimacy with exposures. Can't wait! This has been exactly the fine discussion that I hoped for.
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Mei Mei A-1 50/1.4 100TMAX
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Lots to think about here.
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So there are three separate focusing screens for spot, partial and center weight modes (among many others) and you must physically remove it from under the finder in order to switch to another one. Is this correct? Looking at a youtube of this procedure looks easy enough but it's certainly not convenient.That means that whenever you purchase an F-1, you may not get the screen you want. Finding a used screen in clean unmarred condition could be a problem.
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About 95% of my photographic endeavors is and has always been with black & white film. Using Canon manual focus SLRs from the '70s and early '80s has never lost the glow. Being a semi-serious amateur, for the last two and a half years I've gone back to developing my own film and prints after a hiatus of thirty-five years. My hero of course is Ansel Adams but he speaks a language that I only minimally comprehend. That is his and Minor White's Zone System. I strongly suspect that a useful understanding of the Zone System would make one capable of better negatives and prints. But every time I attempt to study the process, it bounces off my brain like a bug hitting a windscreen at 65mph. What are your thoughts about the application of this enigmatic system?
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So far the most desirable advantage of the F-1N over the other contemporary Canon bodies seems to be the choice of three metering angles.
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I like the idea of using the FTb-N for a while to test the 12% metering. I'll run a quick roll of 24 through it, process immediately and study the results. Jim: Why did you eventually settle on the standard finder over the optional one?
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I'm confused as to the availability of aperture priority metering in the F-1N. Does the unmodified stock camera have this capability or does it absolutely need the AE Finder FN for it to have aperture priority mode? JDMvW: I like the features of the T90 but not the look. My mind is still stuck in the late '60s to early '80s. I love the look of the Japanese motorcycles of that period. My Suzuki TU250X has that retro appearance. I even own a '66 MGB roadster and a '72 Alfa Romeo GTV. The camera bodies of that time have the same irresistible appeal. All: My A-1 does most of these things with
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