OFFICIAL I HAVE A NEW (FILM RELATED) TOY THREAD!!

The cat will have to move out to make room soon if this carries on! :LOL:

Yessssss, wot a brill idea(y)........I could kick both of mine out and have room for another LF outfit :D

BUT I know how much I'll miss their fur all over my negs, scanner, lenses etc :rolleyes:
 
I had a moment of madness and bid on a Polaroid 110 with a view to building another portable 4x5. Unexpectedly, I won the auction then had a relapse of common sense and contacted the seller to cancel my bid. I don't like messing sellers around but as the next bidder was only £1 less than me, I don't feel too bad!

I really haven't got the time to start another big build like the 110 at the moment but I might do another one later in the year. I've also got a few sub-miniature custom ideas going round my head at the moment along with a completely unrelated network storage unit I've designed for a company I work with.
 
Last edited:
My new Olympus OM20.
Ok, so I technically posted a photo of this yesterday in the bargains thread, but here's a nicer one and I got batteries and film in it and shot a few frames today.

Back to the 80s by Alistair Beavis, on Flickr

Liking it so far.
 
Better buy than the OM10 as the top plate controls are better also you don't have to buy a silly adapter to use manual speeds.
 
Impressed with Nobby's battery adapter thingies to change the px625 to a 640 size. Much better than the dodgy spacers that are in the hi-matic at the moment.

Just waiting for the weather to improve...
 
Just waiting for the weather to improve...

I wouldn't hold my breath while I was waiting if I were you! Cold, wet and miserable sums it up round here at the moment, and the forecast seems to be more of the same for the weekend! :(
 
Last edited:
I bought some spares or repairs cameras and there was a black OM-1 in there. It had the mirror locked up, which was just a case of turning the switch, but when I wound it on the shutter tripped automatically. The mirror went up during the shutter's travel and then the shutter tripped.

I opened the base of the camera and watched the operation a few times, moved something slightly, that prevented the mirror from moving on wind on but the shutter still fired.

The shutter button was not moving much but when I pressed it I could see some play, so I looked at the end of it's path where it didn't seem to make contact with the bit that tripped the shutter. This seemed to be flat against the back. I moved it into position and wound on but the same thing happened.

Further along, near the contacts for the motor drive there are two pivoting levers, when I move these toward the back manually, and then wind on, I can see that the shutter release stays in place, ready for the shutter to be pressed but after being pressed, they go back to where they were, and the shutter continues firing on the film advance.

Sorry about the length of this, and if it rambles on a bit. Hopefully you can figure out what I mean and throw some light on my issues.
 
Picked up this Nikon L35AF2 last week. Can't get the exposure counter to work but otherwise seems in great condition. Roll of Poundland currently going through.

Well, not a terribly successful purchase. Took the film out, fired the shutter a couple of times to see if I could get the counter back to zero and then the shutter stuck firmly in the down position.

Bought on eBay so have contacted the seller and hopefully returning.
 
A loan from the very kind StephenM - a 17mm Tamron lens! I've been out with it on my trusty Cosina today, and the field of view is ridiculous.

They are ridiculous, I've got a Nikon 20, and on 35mm film its as daft as a brush....lol
 
AGFA Isolette II.

Not new exactly - but this was my first camera - given to me by my Dad who bought it whilst in the RAF (possibly in Kuwait) in the late 1950s. I was about 12 or 13 when I got it I think - so about 1974/5.

It's been lost for many years and was found in the loft yesterday whilst searching for something else!

Looking forward to whapping a film through it :)

i-GfmkjxG.jpg
 
Last edited:
That looks in pristine condition, Dave!
 
That looks in pristine condition, Dave!

It is - just some green gunk around the brass parts of the leather case. Other than that it looks exactly as it did the last time I used it about 30 years ago!

Currently loaded with FP4 and waiting for a nice day - alas - today wasn't it!
 
Me too. Or a big M7, at a push... ;)

Oops, this isn't the fantasy camera thread, you've actually got your mitts on one, J?

Yes, picked it up yesterday with the 75mm and 150mm. I've been umming and arring over one for years, so finally gave in. Very impressed so far - lovely and tactile and the 75mm is so light. I already like it a lot more than my old Mamiya 7ii which seems very bulky in comparison.

I'd love the 50mm, but that will have to wait until someone wants my spare kidney, or other gear gets moved on...anyone want my spare Pentax 6x7 + 105mm?! It's going cheap (i.e. a bit beaten-up) :D
 
Just got a very nice Nikon 50mm f1.4 AFD lens for the F4, time to roll some expired film through it.
 
Well I think you should fully try the wonders of digi and sell your F4 to me at a cheap price o_O ;)
There's a chap who used to work for DigitalRev and has his own youtube channel now who's giving away an F4 as part of his thank-you for reaching 250,000 subscribers. You could be in with a chance of winning it by leaving a comment on this video. ;)
 
There's a chap who used to work for DigitalRev and has his own youtube channel now who's giving away an F4 as part of his thank-you for reaching 250,000 subscribers. You could be in with a chance of winning it by leaving a comment on this video. ;)

What about "I'm very old and always wished I had a F4 before I died, would you grant me this wish?" o_O :rolleyes:
Anyway I might not need a F4 and might forgive the FM for ruining three future comp shots, as "one of those unexplained things"..as I tried about 10 times with a spare film and it winds on perfectly even holding onto the rewind knob and it doesn't slip..but I'm taking no chances and am using a Fuji with 100mm lens (used the Nikon 105mm last time) and retake the same comp shots, then rewind the film and put it in the FM and then use it up to test again.
 
Last edited:
Yes, picked it up yesterday with the 75mm and 150mm. I've been umming and arring over one for years, so finally gave in. Very impressed so far - lovely and tactile and the 75mm is so light. I already like it a lot more than my old Mamiya 7ii which seems very bulky in comparison.

I'd love the 50mm, but that will have to wait until someone wants my spare kidney, or other gear gets moved on...anyone want my spare Pentax 6x7 + 105mm?! It's going cheap (i.e. a bit beaten-up) :D


I wrote a post last night but got sidetracked and it ended up not getting posted, something along the lines of steeling yourself for the fight for a 50, how I'd be your second, asha the cut man and Snap&Surf the water bucket boys....lol
Woodsy was ref, but he had it in for you
It is expensive but...I dunno, its no less distorted than any other 6x6 50, its nice to have but I'm a little bit over it really...

no, not that much over it

:)
 
I wrote a post last night but got sidetracked and it ended up not getting posted, something along the lines of steeling yourself for the fight for a 50, how I'd be your second, asha the cut man and Snap&Surf the water bucket boys....lol
Woodsy was ref, but he had it in for you
It is expensive but...I dunno, its no less distorted than any other 6x6 50, its nice to have but I'm a little bit over it really...

no, not that much over it

:)

They are running at about £500...pretty much the same as a 50mm Hasselblad CF lens. I'd like one, but I know I'd only use it once a year, so probably going to stick with the 75mm and 150mm for now.
 
I went to the Photography Show.

I stopped (several times) at the DIsabled Photographer's stand, where they have a wide selection of cheap cameras, lenses - everything photographic.

I bought a 135mm Primotar in Exaka mount. I have a soft spot for Exaktas - my first SLR was an Exa IIB which I sold and replaced with an Exakta Varex IIB in 1967. I still have the Exakta, but the shutter needs repairing...

On another visit to the stand, I saw a 200mm f/4 Travenar lens (Exakta fit) which I quite fancied, so I asked the price. It was being sold as part of a kit with an Exa500 camera at £35. For sentimental reasons, I decided to take it. The Exa 500 was the later version of the IIB, with a top shutter speed of 1/500 (rather than 1/250) and an instant return mirror. So, I hand over the money and get an Exa500 (with 50mm Domiplan lens) and 200mm Travenar. Plus the rest of the kit: 30mm Lydith lens , 200mm Tamron lens, one set of manual extention tubes, one set of auto extention tudes, one set of bellows, what appears to be a microscope adaptor, and two mount converters to use Exakta lenses on a Canon.

In the light of that lot, the 24mm Samyang TS lens is just an appendix.
 
Last edited:
I saw that stall @StephenM but stupidly didn't stop and have a look. There were a couple of wheel-chair photographers there and I thought a crocked hand probably didn't count!
 
I went to the Photography Show.

I stopped (several times) at the DIsabled Photographer's stand, where they have a wide selection of cheap cameras, lenses - everything photographic.

I bought a 135mm Primotar in Exaka mount. I have a soft sopt of Exaktas - my first SLR was an Exa IIB which I sold and replaced with an Exakta Varex IIB in 1967. I still have the Exakta, but the shutter needs repairing...

On another visit to the stand, I saw a 200mm f/4 Travenar lens (Exakta fit) which I quite fancied, so I asked the price. It was being sold as part of a kit with an Exa500 camera at £35. For sentimental reasons, I decided to take it. The Exa 500 was the later version of the IIB, with a top shutter speed of 1/500 (rather than 1/250) and an instant return mirror. So, I hand over the money and get an Exa500 (with 50mm Domiplan lens) and 200mm Travenar. Plus the rest of the kit: 30mm Lydith lens , 200mm Tamron lens, one set of manual extention tubes, one set of auto extention tudes, one set of bellows, what appears to be a microscope adaptor, and two mount converters to use Exakta lenses on a Canon.

In the light of that lot, the 24mm Samyang TS lens is just an appendix.

So there wasn't a 10 x 8 stand then, or were you being stalked by your better half?:D:D
 
If there were any large format cameras, I didn't spot them. The biggest I saw was a Mamiya 6x7 in a second hand display cabinet. Linhof & Studio were sorely missed (by me, anyway) as they always had such lovely cameras on their stand. Much better than the Nikon, Canon, Pentax etc. that you otherwise see.

My other purchases were a number of books (this show and the previous incarnation are excellent places to see books that you don't see in bookshops except on rare occasions. The biggest one was Sebastiao Salgado's Genesis, which nearly didn't get bought as the first time we saw the stand (I was with Sue) the crowds were three or four deep. The second pass there was only one person there, buying. Apparently when his talk ends, everyone dashes out to buy the book...

I picked up a couple of camera guides to Ikontas (which I don't own...), a few old magazines (Miniature Camera magazine for Sept and Oct 1939, which made interesting reading in view of world events at the time), a revised edition of the Focal Encyclopedia Desk Edition, a book on historical colour processes, the latest edition of Ctein's book on digital restoration of old photos, and some new titles from Rocky Nook.

A box of A3 printing paper about completes the haul, although I see that the new pile of books has 14 books in, so there were a few more than I just listed.

We picked up less advertising material than in previous years. In some cases, I suspect I didn't see it on the stands, because except for the last day it was so crowded that seeing smaller stands was difficult. Some manuafactures (well, Nikon) were intent on "saving the planet" and din't have brochures, just a small sheet giving where to go to download them. I was interested in knowing what their range of tilt shift lenses was, but the rep was able to tell me the focal lengths. After that, I didn't bother enquiring at Canon. I regret that it seems difficult to get TS lenses, as they would make small format cameras more useful (to me).

I still like the thought of using a proper camera though. I can fit a sheet of five by four film in my pocket notebook, which makes it obvious what a small size it really is. After discovering that at least one 10x8 camera weighs less than my first 5x4 which I carried around, the weight doesn't seem much of a problem. It might when I get old though.
 
Last edited:
I went to the Photography Show.

I stopped (several times) at the DIsabled Photographer's stand, where they have a wide selection of cheap cameras, lenses - everything photographic.

I bought a 135mm Primotar in Exaka mount. I have a soft sopt of Exaktas - my first SLR was an Exa IIB which I sold and replaced with an Exakta Varex IIB in 1967. I still have the Exakta, but the shutter needs repairing...

On another visit to the stand, I saw a 200mm f/4 Travenar lens (Exakta fit) which I quite fancied, so I asked the price. It was being sold as part of a kit with an Exa500 camera at £35. For sentimental reasons, I decided to take it. The Exa 500 was the later version of the IIB, with a top shutter speed of 1/500 (rather than 1/250) and an instant return mirror. So, I hand over the money and get an Exa500 (with 50mm Domiplan lens) and 200mm Travenar. Plus the rest of the kit: 30mm Lydith lens , 200mm Tamron lens, one set of manual extention tubes, one set of auto extention tudes, one set of bellows, what appears to be a microscope adaptor, and two mount converters to use Exakta lenses on a Canon.

In the light of that lot, the 24mm Samyang TS lens is just an appendix.

Hi Stephen do you want a Topcon Uni body (free), some of your exakta lenses might fit......as I doubt I'll ever find a Topcor lens at the bootie to fit it. Seems to work ok although odd when you see an iris closing down and opening.
 
Thanks for the kind offer, but I'll pass as I'm not really a camera collector (except for ones I have some attachment to). The Topcon bayonet mount was the same as the Exakta, although I seem to recall that lenses transferred were mounted upside down. I don't have any attachment to Topcon, although as I tried (and failed) to replace my dead Exakta with a Miranda F I have a Miranda soft spot. I failed to snap one up at the Disabled Photographers' stand at an earlier show and rather regretted the £10 I saved.

However: I do now have two Meyer Lydith 30mm lenses and two Meyer Domiplan 50mm lenses, and hope to soon have a second Zeiss Biotar 58mm f/2 (I have one on a Kine Exakta, and I think that one comes with an Exakta Varex IIA that should arrive in a few days) so subject to checking which I'd prefer to keep, I can offer you some Exakta lenses for your Topcon(s). :)
 
Thanks for the kind offer, but I'll pass as I'm not really a camera collector (except for ones I have some attachment to). The Topcon bayonet mount was the same as the Exakta, although I seem to recall that lenses transferred were mounted upside down. I don't have any attachment to Topcon, although as I tried (and failed) to replace my dead Exakta with a Miranda F I have a Miranda soft spot. I failed to snap one up at the Disabled Photographers' stand at an earlier show and rather regretted the £10 I saved.

However: I do now have two Meyer Lydith 30mm lenses and two Meyer Domiplan 50mm lenses, and hope to soon have a second Zeiss Biotar 58mm f/2 (I have one on a Kine Exakta, and I think that one comes with an Exakta Varex IIA that should arrive in a few days) so subject to checking which I'd prefer to keep, I can offer you some Exakta lenses for your Topcon(s). :)

Thanks for the offer but I've so many duplicate camera systems, last count I had sixteen 28mms, and must have at least fifteen 50mms :rolleyes: My copy of the Lydith was razor sharp, but sent it back because I could hardly move the focusing ring. Just one more lens for my collection I'm looking for at the bootie and is the Tokina 17mm.
You probably know that the Helios 44s are a copy of the Zeiss Biotar, if you have both it would be interesting if you can see any difference...distortion, sharpness, bokeh (swirly?) etc
 
My original Lydith (bought new) did visit a repairers some year ago as the focusing mechanism had seized, so perhaps this was/is a common fault? I don't have any Russian lenses though to compare the Biotar with; I suppose because I've never owned/used any 35mm interchangeable lens cameras other than Exa/Exakta and Olympus OM, and when I was using the Exakta mount (1965-1974) I could only afford four (cheapish) lenses. My OM system has rather more. The only other (35mm) lenses I have are a Canon 55mm f/1.2 (FD mount) and in Nikon mount a Nikon 50mm f/1.4 and Samyang 14mm.
 
Back
Top