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#Post#: 83200--------------------------------------------------
35mm cameras
By: abercorn Date: January 2, 2014, 6:30 am
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Those of us who believe that buying a car without a starting
handle option is asking for trouble are often deeply suspicious
of spending money on things we can't fix ourselves. I know this
can extend to other parts of our lives especially photography. I
also tend to prefer mechanics to electronics I have recently
developed a case of Compulsive 35mm Camera Purchasing Syndrome.
Usually alcohol fueled and often from eBay on a Saturday night,
I'll put some photos up later today.
About 10 years ago I inherited my late father's pride and joy, a
Contax 167M with wonderful Zeiss Lenses, a much underated SLR
but a bit too electronic for my liking so I backed it up with a
Pentax MX from the early 1970's.
A recent work project involved having to photograph on a gas
terminal. as electronics is a no no and involves heaps of
paperwork, even an LR44 battery, I went a bit mad buying Soviet
era rangefinder cameras and now have a Fed 4, a Zorki 3 and a
Kiev 4. The Zorki is physically very close to a Leica 2. after
WW2, the Russians helped themselves to the Leica production
lines at Dresden and the Contax/Zeiss ones at Jena. The
machinery, technology and expertise were all moved to Russia
(employees relocated whether they wanted to or not) and this
started the Soviet optics industry. Over the next 40 odd years
excellent quality lenses were churned out. These rangefinders
are really nice bits of kit, very well made with excellent
attention to detail and some superbly Soviet modifications
making them stand out from their decadent western bourgeois
counterparts.
We use the Kiev (a Contax clone) on a daily basis for
photographing in the live gas refineries. The zorki and Fed are
used more out of interest. I'm a huge fan of rangefinders over
SLRS, both have their advantages but there are more 'fiddliing
around' opportunities with a rangefinder :smile1
I've recently added an Olympus OM10 with accessories and a
splendid aluminium flight case for about £40.
I've got so into 35mm photography again that I've even recently
sold my Leica Digilux 2 digital rangefinder. We've still got a
wee Leica D2 point and click which does take superb snaps,
bought last year from ebay for £100. I drool over affording a
Leica M series digital rangefinder though.
Having said all this I am also a hypocrite and do see the
advantages of Spotify over the 1916 gramophone that sits in the
living room and some mornings the cut throat razor just seems
like too much hassle over the saftey razor option! ;-)
#Post#: 83209--------------------------------------------------
Re: 35mm cameras
By: hippydave Date: January 2, 2014, 11:32 am
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some of them make my partica mtl5b sound almost modern
#Post#: 83215--------------------------------------------------
Re: 35mm cameras
By: Dave Date: January 2, 2014, 12:08 pm
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I used to have a Russian Zenit 35mm SLR camera that had no
electronics or batteries in it whatsoever. I've still got a
Ricoh XRX3PF SLR but haven't used it in over 10 years. When the
interwebz and digital cameras came along I never bothered with
film again.
Shame really cos prints that were taken a hundred years ago
still exist but digital pics can be wiped out in an instant by
computer gremlins.
I think the period of history we're going through will become
some sort of dark ages in the future. People will be able to
pick up, look at and read stuff from the 20th century and before
but there'll be nothing left of this time when all the computers
have gone pop or are obsolete so that no one can view what's on
them.
#Post#: 83217--------------------------------------------------
Re: 35mm cameras
By: abercorn Date: January 2, 2014, 12:18 pm
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I was waffling on so much about my cameras that I forgot about
my question...
If you are in this forum then you may well be able to answer...
Now I'm taking all these 35mm shots I'm thinking about investing
in dark room equipment for black and white at least.
I'm looking into enlargers and have come across an old soviet
type that is able to be transported in a suitcase...this appeals
for 3 reasons -
1/ It's portable....
2/Soviet era optics are usually very good quality and well
engineered unlike ...say....soviet shoes.
3/it was made by the glorious workers of the dictatorship of the
proletariat in a factory powered by the wonders of uncontrolled
uranium fusion which will impress my Eastern Bloc Car obsessed
friend, Sam Glover.
has anyone used an enlarger of this type before? If so, are they
any good.
now, rather than ask this question on a photogeek forum where it
will probably start a discussion around prisms and fixer pH etc
etc :rolleye0012:
I thought ah! I know, I'll ask the question at the OLSLRF which
I have just joined as I bet there is someone there who has come
across an enlarger of this type here..and then i forgot to ask
the question.
I'll get the photos of the cameras up later.
#Post#: 83219--------------------------------------------------
Re: 35mm cameras
By: abercorn Date: January 2, 2014, 12:24 pm
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Zenit 35mm!
phwaooarrr >rock<
great for defending yourself from mugarz as 2 kilos of brass on
the end of a leather strap makes a superb cosh and will still
work afterwards!
I also have a Richo XRX3PF SLR, really nice to use
I think your point about digital media is a good one. One of the
reasons why I like using film is as film and developing costs
money I put greater care into taking photos. It's more
interactive!
#Post#: 83226--------------------------------------------------
Re: 35mm cameras
By: mikecoppicegreen Date: January 2, 2014, 2:05 pm
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I'm slowly getting back into 35mm, after a gap of several years.
My first slr was a praktica with a removable pentaprism, but
now its minolta autofocus that uses the same lenses as my sony
a77.
as to the enlarger, it's years since I used a darkroom, sorry.
At the end of the day its all about the lens, obviously, but
also the diffuser ( or condenser? ) so that you get even
exposures. If you can see some prints from the enlarger before
you buy, you may get an idea about the diffuser. If prints
lighten towards the edge, then the diffuser is not good/ set
up.. If the lens is toast, you have a fair chance of finding
another one that fits, I would have thought.
hope this helps,
Mike
#Post#: 83228--------------------------------------------------
Re: 35mm cameras
By: Calum Date: January 2, 2014, 2:29 pm
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Still use 35mms; a Minolta XG-M my dad bought new in 1981 and a
Canon AV-1 I picked up cheap as a stop gap one weekend when I
didn't have time to look at the Minolta (it was broken with a
jammed shutter after a drop!!). Been working through quite a few
old expired rolls of film recently.
HTML https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/969448_10151355613167805_1406676151_n.jpg
HTML https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/971659_10151355613682805_507203790_n.jpg
#Post#: 83229--------------------------------------------------
Re: 35mm cameras
By: abercorn Date: January 2, 2014, 2:50 pm
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Minoltas are excellent. One of my mates has a digital back plate
for his old 80's vintage Minolta and swears by it. I had one of
those Minox cameras with the 'drawbridge' lens mechanism - used
to take great photos for such a wee camera. The definition you
have in those photos is superb.
#Post#: 83299--------------------------------------------------
Re: 35mm cameras
By: Sunny Jim Date: January 3, 2014, 5:00 pm
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I got rid of my darkroom equipment a couple of years ago, having
gone digital in 2005. I have some large stove enamelled chemical
trays that now get used for cleaning Land Rover and Railway
parts. That said, I still have 3 Pentax MX bodies with various
lenses that I am loathed to throw out, they do go for a few
pounds on Ebay, presumably to people who like that kind of
thing! Was the Pentax MX the last all mechanical camera? Yes it
had build in light metering, but if the batteries went flat, you
could just get out the old Gossen Sixtomat and set the exposure
manually. They actually had cloth blind horizontal shutters too.
Interestingly, I have got some proper darkroom prints of Railway
subjects from 100 or more years ago, so obviously copies off
glass plate negatives. I have tried scanning them to enlarge the
detail (such as reading works plates) but they just look fuzzy.
Examining the print itself with a magnifying glass, you can
actually read all the detail with no problem! It is possible to
get digital photos printed, but the prints may deteriorate over
time, whereas glass plates have already survived well over a
century.
A bloke came round the railway back in the Summer last year with
a couple of russian 35mm Leica rip-offs - I hadn't seen any for
years!
Sunny Jim
#Post#: 83320--------------------------------------------------
Re: 35mm cameras
By: genem Date: January 4, 2014, 9:12 am
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I've an Olympus OM1 stashed somewhere but I've not used film
since I bought a digital, probably '99 or 2000 ?
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