bruce_appel

Some months back I posted looking for starting points with this

combination.Not a lot of info out there. So, in the interest of

helping others out, after doing some testing this is what I have come

up with.

35mm HP5+, ei 400, 13.5 minutes in Pyrocat HD 1:1:100 at 70 degress.

2 minute pre-soak, agitation continous for first minute,10 seconds

every 2 minutes there after.In my test negatives this gave me good

shadow detail and unblown highlights that printed well with #2 filter

in a Focomat 1c enlarger.

I need to shoot a few rolls in real life situations and see how it

works,will probably need some more fine tuning.

Hope this helps others with a starting point.

The only camera on your list that I have used is the Zenit E, and the 50mm lens on mine is sharp, real sharp.The body is clunky but perfectly usable.Pretty cool old cameras actually, with some great lenses for very little money.

I bought my sl from him probably 10 years ago. Good guy.

I bought some arusta edu 100 in 120 size. Any advice on developing

starting points using pyrocat hd?

I just bought a Contax g2, and am wondering if my old, (probably 20

yrs), vivitar 283 will work with the camera. I do very little flash

work, and hate to spend what seems like a huge amount of money for

the Contax flash.I sure don't want to do anything horrible to the

camera though.

Thanks one and all. I know what you mean about the shutter tension, it has a large impact on how quiet these old soviet rf's are. It also makes a big difference in the feel of the camera.I try to adjust mine as loose as possible and still have an accurate shutter. Thanks for the link to the sound files- big help. The bessa doesn't sound that loud, maybe just "sharper", if that makes sense.

Graham, I don't understand your response. I am asking because I would like a comparison to something that I have. If I were to buy a bessa it would have to be sight unseen as there is nowhere locally I can handle one. The idea of a cheap, relable body that works with most of my lenses is very attractive, but one of the biggest complaints posted is about the shutter noise. I am asking because I am considering buying one.

I have read a lot about the Bessa r/r2/t shutter noise, but they

always seem to compare them to a leica or an slr. The only

rangefinders I currently own are a mottley assortment of feds,zorkis

and kievs, none of which I would call especially quiet. So my

question is simple, how does the bessa compare to the feds and zorkis

as far as shutter noise goes? Lets leave out the kievs, they are a

different animal.

To answer your question, James, I have no idea what the correct spool looks like. I have two Kievs, a 4am that has a fixed spool, and a 3, that came with what looks like a spool from an agfa cassette. It works, but the cassette to cassette technique is just so much easier and quicker, that I have never really used it, or felt the need to try and find the right spool.

Sounds like you don't have the correct spool, a common problem. With my Kievs I found the easiest thing to do is to forgo the spool entirely, and use another film canister instead. This way you don't have to bother rewinding, you just wind from one canister to another.

What Al said about the movie industry is right on the money.If you do a google search about incident metering you will find a bunch of sources, some from film schools, that will really explain how to use these deceptively simple tools.Also if you go to the sekonic site they have lots of really good downloads available.About ten years ago it finally dawned on me how these meters work, (I am thick), and snce then thats all I've used. My exposures improved markedly, and I am much more consistant.

I use an incident meter for 99.9% of all my shooting.

I have to disagree about the helios 44 lens. It does not qualify as fast at f2, and being a preset lens slows down its use even more, but the one I have is amazing. These are, ( or maybe considering Soviet quality control, can be),wonderful lenses. I much prefer mine to my f2 pentax k 50mm. These are great lenses, that can be had for next to nothing. Yury, have you ever used one?

You all sure can get your knickers in a twist. This is a great shot.

Fedka, Oleg, Mike Forman are all first rate people to deal with.

Besides what has already been said, here are a few more reasons for a handheld meter. Lots of older cameras don't have meters. Lots of older cameras with meters have funky meters- seem to be one of the first things to go. Not easy, (if possible at all), to use incident metering. And blinking lights in the finder anoy the s*** out of me.

Also, I shoot with a number of different cameras, and using the same meter on all eliminates one more variable in the system.

I have the 1000 Rubinar, and wish I had gotten the MTO instead. The rotating tripod collar of the Rubinar is a real weak spot. The MTO doesn't have this. The contrast is on the low side ( easily corrected for when printing ), but it is fairly sharp. At first I was really disapointed in the lens, but quickly realized that everything has to be ROCK solid as far as tripod and such. Trying to hold down vibration in a 1000mm lens is a great test of ones technique.

I was lucky, grew up on a multi- generation family of photagraphers.My first camera was a rf minolta, really can't remember which model, a 7 ?. Anyway, when I got really serious I pinched pennies and bought an old Leica 111. At the time in the early 70's everyone wanted slr's, and the old screw mounts hadn't yet been discovered by the Japanese collectors, so they were reasonably priced.If I needed an slr I could borrow my father's canon.

Unfortunately I sold the leica outfit about 10yrs ago.......

Some of the fed 2's have a rangefinder cam that is thick enough to hit the back of the j-12. Some people just bend them up to get the clearance. I removed the the rangfinder arm on mine and thinnned the cam down with a sharpening stone. Go to the Best Stuff forum and search the archives, tons of stuff. This is not a major problem.

I have been watching this thread, and I tell you, this has got to be about the coolest damn thing I have seen in years.

I keep telling myself that it is the struggle itself that counts.That makes it easy to justify all the lousy pictures i have done over the years.

Can't say about d 23, been 30 years since I last used it. But APX 100 in Rodinol 1:50 in a Rollei is as close to b&w nirvana as I can get.

The Sekonic website has a manual you can download.

The high slide is the gizmo with holes that slides in and out of a slot at the top of the meter.It needs to be in when using the meter in bright light, like outdoors. You then use the H on the scale for your reading. The slide needs to be removed in dim light, and then you use the L on the scale to get your setting. If used in reflective mode, the diffuser is removed and the reflective adapter is put in its place. The high slide must be removed when using this, and you use the H scale.

Hope this helps.

I may very well be wrong, ( it happened once), but I think Pentax has done the best as far as lens lens compatability. With adapters you can use the old screw mount lenses on all the newer bodies, including I believe their dslr.

It has been years since it happened to me, but my sl66 jammed up. Something to do with the sequence of winding and shooting with the back off and on- something really simple, but I just can't remember it has been too long. I would play with it some before sending it off. I thought mine was a gonner, but it has worked fine for the last 15yrs. since.