Recent content by Nicos Rex

The F3 and MD-4 combination does it for me. To get the proper Nikon Chorus effect you need 3 or 4 of them going at once!

The MTL 5 was a sturdy but basic camera (like just about all Prakticas) and was around in the early 1980s. As I recall it was a tad on the cumbersome side to use as it used stop-down metering but certainly possible to get very good results with it. Sadly the case is probably worth almost...

Long time since I have used Ektachrome 100 but from memory it hits reciprocity failure fairly early and is not really very reliable above 1 second. I am suffering from a severe overdose of rich food, not to mention gin and wine so not completely with it but you will also certainly need a...

I can understand the desire for fast glass but you need to ask yourself the extent to which you are really limited by what you already have. From what you say you have issues with lugging a lot of gear around, replacing any of your existing kit with anything appreciably faster will not help in...

How true, how true. Of course you really need to rid your life of the corrupting influence of these evil entities. Since I am a public spirited chap I will take off your hands the fruit of that veiny organ of Satan's body known as the Nikon Corporation. I am sure that you will be able to...

You could also consider the lovely Nikon FE - very well built, delightful handling and match-needle esposure metering (it pains me to say it but in some ways it handles better than my F3).

I went all misty eyed when I saw that picture of the Retinette 1b. My Father bought one in 1961 and used it heavily to document my brother and I as we grew up. In 1968 he got a Nikon F and made a deal with me. If I could build my own pinhole camera and make an acceptable image with it the...

I can confirm (having owned both) that there is no possibility of using your ETRS bits on an SQa. (Apart from "universal" things like cable or air releases)

Once you have digested Undersanding Exposure then start to look for the Ansel Adams series The Camera, The Negative and The Print. Whilst there is some stuff in there which is not applicable to digital photography the bulk of it is still relevant. In particular, the common thread which...

In my experience the scanners used for hand luggage don't have an appreciable effect except with very fast film. The shielded bags which can be used to protect film are not a good idea. I had a conversation a few years ago with one of the security chaps at Stanstead and he confirmed my...

XP2 is not to everybody's taste, but if it suits you then it certainly offers an inexpensive and simple option as far as the processing is concerned.

The issue with very short (less than 5 mins) developing times is that the normal few seconds margin for error that we all work with become a far greater proportion of the overall time and thus lead to lack of consistency. Over such short timings any inconsistency in your agitation technique...

I use ID-11 for just about everything. Rumours that I use it as a floor polish and dessert topping are completely unfounded. When I want to push process (especially HP5) then I use Microphen

Despite the appeal of the bigger negative, perhaps you should reconsider 35mm over MF. Your dislike of a part-finished roll sitting in the camera could be overcome by using smaller rolls as most types are available in 12 or 24 exposure lengths. This would open up a huge range of cameras...

The bellows have a tendency to crack and to come away at both ends. The shutters become less accurate over time - particularly if the camera has been stored for a long time with the shutter cocked. Depending on the folding mechanism used it can be easy to accidentally bend the supports at...