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

[Mr Badger]

I’ve looked at that strap on eBay several times but never bought it as assumed it would be cheap and nasty. Maybe it’s just cheap...!

I wouldn't want to hang something heavy or expensive off it just in case one of the plastic buckles or the stitching failed, but for an old A-series Canon SLR with nothing bigger than a 70-210 zoom on it, it appears perfectly adequate, and it's nicer than I was expecting for £4 inc. postage! It looks and feels a bit 'economy class' next to my pro-spec Canon strap with embroidered logo and non-slip type lining, but that one retails at over £30 (I didn't pay that for it, I hasten to add!), so you pays your money and takes your choice really.

 

[Asha]

I wouldn't want to hang something heavy or expensive off it just in case one of the plastic buckles or the stitching failed, but for an old A-series Canon SLR with nothing bigger than a 70-210 zoom on it, it appears perfectly adequate, and it's nicer than I was expecting for £4 inc. postage! It looks and feels a bit 'economy class' next to my pro-spec Canon strap with embroidered logo and non-slip type lining, but that one retails at over £30 (I didn't pay that for it, I hasten to add!), so you pays your money and takes your choice really.

You got an item number/ kinky ? ..... I might check it out myself as an alternative for the snapshot

édit : i meant linky but I think the wording looks better as it is lol

 

[Mr Badger]

You got an item number/ kinky ? ..... I might check it out myself as an alternative for the snapshot

édit : i meant linky but I think the wording looks better as it is lol

It seems the seller I bought from has sold out! I can't vouch for this seller but this shows the same item. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2Camera-...936552?hash=item1cf5eb8268:g:yU4AAOSwsDxfhVzY There's one for a shade less than £4 but the seller's feedback is a little bit lower, so it's up to you! Do check they'll send to France first before buying!

 

[Shugpug]

Managed to score a grain focuser and a set of old set of Kodak polycontrast filters for $5 each... The research I've done since pulling the trigger seemed to suggest that the filters are either garbage and should go straight in the bin, or functionally identical to multigrade filters at one tenth of the price... The Naked Photographer's channel on YouTube looked the best researched (making prints of test wedges using both sets of filters) and for five bucks I couldn't quite say no...

Any thoughts or experiences from on here?

 

[Asha]

I have a set of Jessops filters which work just fine so would expect Kodak ones to be equally as good if not better.

‘If they get you started then there’s no problem imo....., you can upgrade as you go along and gain experience if you feel the need to.

i would have snapped them up for a fiver too

 

[Shugpug]

I have a set of Jessops filters which work just fine so would expect Kodak ones to be equally as good if not better.

‘If they get you started then there’s no problem imo....., you can upgrade as you go along and gain experience if you feel the need to.

i would have snapped them up for a fiver too

Thanks Asha - I found out inadvertently that I'm getting the Intrepid Enlarger kit for Christmas, so when I see darkroom stuff for a bargain, I'm going to grab them! Really looking forward to starting printing.

 

[Thmaga]

Christmas present has arrived.

Light seals have seen better days, but otherwise appears to be in pretty good nick.

 

[Mr Badger]

Christmas present has arrived.

Light seals have seen better days, but otherwise appears to be in pretty good nick.
View attachment 299713

Mind your toes!

I also love the juxtaposition of the book on cameras being next to Great Expectations!

 

[FishyFish]

Christmas present has arrived.

Light seals have seen better days, but otherwise appears to be in pretty good nick.
View attachment 299713

I am envious. Where did you get it from, if you don’t mind my asking? I’m still toying with the idea of getting one myself.

 

[PeterSpencer]

Christmas present has arrived.

Light seals have seen better days, but otherwise appears to be in pretty good nick.
View attachment 299713

I bought one a couple of weeks before lockdown. Just got the chance to use it on a last minute break in Northumberland. Amazing negatives.

 

[Andysnap]

I've had a couple, the original and a mkiii, and they produce seriously brilliant negatives. My problem with them was that they felt a little soulless, just a big box really, not engaging. This is however my fault and not the camera's and I still you with getting another one until Mrs Snap tells me to stop being silly.

 

[Thmaga]

Mind your toes!

I also love the juxtaposition of the book on cameras being next to Great Expectations!

A mixture of my books and my partners on the shelf, would've been good if I'd planned it!

I am envious. Where did you get it from, if you don’t mind my asking? I’m still toying with the idea of getting one myself.

I took a punt on one from the well known auction website, from Japan so had import duties to pay etc.

I'm going to run a test roll of b+w through in the next few days..

 

[Andysnap]

I always liked the way it renders colour shots

https://flic.kr/p/AtYWrS View: https://flic.kr/p/AtYWrS


https://flic.kr/p/eyHeDU View: https://flic.kr/p/eyHeDU

Tonquin-Beach-Sunset2

Tonquin Beach, Tofino, Vancouver Island. Fuji GW690, Film Kodak Ektar 100 We have just recently returned from our first trip to BC and Vancouver Island, it will not be our last, it's a truly beautiful place.

flic.kr

 

[Andysnap]

Don't know why the last one is a click through.

 

[StephenM]

I've got a new lens, a triple convertible 305/480/610mm for 10x8. I'm hoping that there will be some rounding errors in the specifications, and the longest length will achieve infinity focus on my Canham MQC 7x5 (specified maximum bellows 609.6mm). The shutter is slightly larger than Copal 3 - I make the required hole diameter 67mm.

 

[sirch]

I've got a new lens, a triple convertible 305/480/610mm for 10x8. I'm hoping that there will be some rounding errors in the specifications, and the longest length will achieve infinity focus on my Canham MQC 7x5 (specified maximum bellows 609.6mm). The shutter is slightly larger than Copal 3 - I make the required hole diameter 67mm.

View attachment 300240 View attachment 300241 View attachment 300242

Just out of interest never having used 8x10 is f7 bright enough on the ground glass, I guess it is but I often seem to struggle with f5.6 on 4x5 but that could be the quality of my GG, or my eyes

 

[StephenM]

I'll let you know after I've sourced a board!

Ground glasses can vary a lot in brightness. My first LF camera was a 60s monorail with plain ground glass and no fresnel. That was dimmer than anything I've used since. I have no problem with f/5.6 on any of my current cameras. I was going to say that my f/9 300mm poses no problems either, but with the limited depth of field it probably wouldn't. However I do have an older 90mm that is f/6.8, which I prefer to the f/5.6 version as it's small and light, and I can cope with that as well.

I'd make a guess it's your ground glass. Can you try a different camera to see (or alternatively, not see ) if it makes a difference?

 

[sirch]

Thanks I've been considering a fresnel, I also toyed with making my own GG but I'll more vigorously consider a fresnel

 

[StephenM]

I'm probably wrong, but I thought a Fresnel would even up the light to give brighter corners, rather than increasing overall brightness? The downside is that some Fresnel screens can be very obtrusive, and although the Wista DX that was my second LF camera had a brighter screen, the very visible rings (especially under a loup) made the overall experience much less pleasant for me than the dimmer but uniform ground glass on the monorail.

The old compromise probably applies here - you can have a bright screen, but focusing becomes more difficult. Like the cross hair screens you could get in the old days for photomicroscopy, where the image would be dim with a normal screen.

 

[Asha]

I'm probably wrong, but I thought a Fresnel would even up the light to give brighter corners, rather than increasing overall brightness

No you’re not wrong.
‘If the GG is dim to start with, a fresnel will simply ensure that dimness ( aka level of brightness) is balanced across the whole surface of the glass.

@sirch , I have lenses 5,6, 6.8 and F/9.

iIf i have a struggle with ficus it is primarily due to my eyesight and then the GG.

Two cameras that I possess have fresnels yet it is one of the others without that I generally find easiest to focus!

Intrepid have recently released a fresnel screen probably due to the demand for one to brighten the GG on their cameras ( seems quite a few people struggle to focus with them) .
I can see lots of dissapointed faces when many come to realise that the money spent would possibly have been better put towards a brighter ( better quality) screen with ( possibly) a fresnel to balance the luminosity to the edges and corners.

 

[FruitFlakes]

I just installed a fresnel on my Intrepid MkIV and it helps a lot. It actually makes the standard GG look less grainy. I use a 90mm f/8 quite often (even indoors) so fresnels are pretty essential for me, even just for quickly getting a rough composition/focus established.

 

[stevelmx5]

I’ve just found a couple of images showing the brightness across my ground glass, with a fresnel, and various lenses all wide open;

90/6.8 - under cloth



150/5.6 - Camera in my left hand, pointing towards window. There are reflections/glare on the glass from light behind me.



178/2.5 Aero Ektar - Tripod mounted, pointing towards window

 

[Kneller]

Picked this up on ebay yesterday, tracking is showing it should hopefully arrive tomorrow.

My second film camera following my dad's old Olympus OM-10.

Looking forward to getting out with it!

 

[Asha]

For those who talk about selling a kidney to fund their photography, this beautiful Canham T657 outfit has cost me all my organs
Well ok a slight exagération , but the sale of my Canham DLC was necessary to raise a bulk part of the funds.
No problem as this 5x7 outfit comes complete with its very own 5x4 reducing back so I the DLC is effectively surplus to requirements .

Movements are substantail
The rise is less than on the DLC which I may notice in use but otherwise, for it has everything going for it.
It doesn’t appear to have had much use tbh.

At a price new of over three thousand pound sterling ( inc postage and import from the States), I’ve got myself an almost new version for half that price.

Appologies if the images show sideways on your screen.... they are vertical on my phone!!

 

[john.margetts]

A Pentax Program-A. This is very similar to my Pentax ME-F (but without the autofocus). The exposure controls are the same but this camera dies full auto exposure as it can alter the aperture on the lens in program mode.

The lens mount is a version of the Pentax K mount with contacts for controlling the aperture - 6 contacts in all (and in a different place to the contacts on the ME-F mount).

All seems to be working well, including the electronics. Test film awaits (2017 dated Agfa Vista).

 

[Asha]

A Pentax Program-A. This is very similar to my Pentax ME-F (but without the autofocus). The exposure controls are the same but this camera dies full auto exposure as it can alter the aperture on the lens in program mode.

The lens mount is a version of the Pentax K mount with contacts for controlling the aperture - 6 contacts in all (and in a different place to the contacts on the ME-F mount).

All seems to be working well, including the electronics. Test film awaits (2017 dated Agfa Vista). View attachment 300854 View attachment 300855

Looks very tidy John

 

[john.margetts]

Looks very tidy John

But they are getting expensive. When I started buying film cameras, about 2006 or 7, I was paying between £5 and £10 a time for very nice cameras. This one cost me £28 for just a body. A part of me would like to try large format photography but when I look at those prices I have to go and lie down.

 

[Asha]

would like to try large format photography but when I look at those prices I have to go and lie down.

Yes it can be quite frightening when one thinks about it ....Hence why I try not to!

Saying that, whilst out with the new ( to me) Canham yesterday , I did very roughly rattle around in my head the values, both new and used of the LF cameras and lenses that I possess.
Had I been drunk, it would have sobered me up!

I didn't bother to add in filmholders and other accesories etc for fear of giving myself a cardiac

 

[flook999]

A part of me would like to try large format photography but when I look at those prices I have to go and lie down.

I'm just starting down that road, only shot digital for the last 17 years or so. Initial set up isn't as expensive as you would think, lens, lens board, 4x5 intrepid brand new, 5 DDL all for the princely sum of £500. Still to add a loupe and a cable release, but off and running at that point for less than £600.

Add in a Stearman Press dev tank and some chemicals, total cost circa £150

So a total of £750, my alternative purchase was a panasonic 100-400 for my Oly, second hand about £900, and a OMD EM1 mk2 at about £650

Obviously you have the ongoing film costs, and in my case a scanner (which will hurt), but you don't exactly machine gun through film with LF

Of course I may be back in 6 months time a broken man, divorced and with a mountain of debt.....

 

[Shugpug]

Obviously you have the ongoing film costs, and in my case a scanner (which will hurt)

Give scanning with your digi camera a go first - a Pixl-latr's a damn site cheaper than any scanner I can think of, and works pretty damn well, especially for 4x5.

 

[flook999]

Give scanning with your digi camera a go first - a Pixl-latr's a damn site cheaper than any scanner I can think of, and works pretty damn well, especially for 4x5.

I did consider this, but knowing my propensity for being a lazy bugger if something isn't straightforward it's probably not a great idea

I'm looking at this as a 10 year purchase, and as I work freelance through my own ltd company, I'll save 40% of the cost when you take out the tax and VAT, so even with a V800 that's about £45 a year.....that's what I'm telling myself anyway.

I'll also only buy the scanner once I'm convinced LF is for me

 

[flook999]

Give scanning with your digi camera a go first - a Pixl-latr's a damn site cheaper than any scanner I can think of, and works pretty damn well, especially for 4x5.

reconsidering this now, OMD EM1 mk2 apparently has a pixel shift mode and is cheaper than a v800 scanner..........still need a copy stand, lightbox and pixl-latr but still, it's tempting

 

[Shugpug]

reconsidering this now, OMD EM1 mk2 apparently has a pixel shift mode and is cheaper than a v800 scanner..........still need a copy stand, lightbox and pixl-latr but still, it's tempting

I still use my tripod rather than a copy stand (I use my phone and a bubble app to level it), and started out with a tablet screen and a screen torch app, before getting a very cheap light of and the pixl-latr - the pixel shift mode (or your can stich together half or quarter sheet scans in post processing) gives very acceptable results IMO.

And you get a new camera too - win win!!

 

[flook999]

I still use my tripod rather than a copy stand (I use my phone and a bubble app to level it), and started out with a tablet screen and a screen torch app, before getting a very cheap light of and the pixl-latr - the pixel shift mode (or your can stich together half or quarter sheet scans in post processing) gives very acceptable results IMO.

And you get a new camera too - win win!!

I have to say the "new camera" option is very tempting, it was a toss up between that camera and the 5x4 in the first place. The pixel shift mode might just swing it, I have zero interest in buggering about with multiple scans and stitching via software, hence why if I went the scanner route it was going to be very expensive. Same with the copy stand, setting up a tripod with all the potential for error and repeating the scanning would just frustrate me, and I expect enough of that in the picture taking itself

No rush at the moment, still about 6 weeks at a guess before the intrepid arrives and at least another month or so before I have anything to scan

One question though, does the pixl-latr actually hold a 5x4 neg flat? The "how it works" video was typically blase about the technical aspects of its use

 

[excalibur2]

hence why if I went the scanner route it was going to be very expensive

The market for film scanners is quite good, so a thought:- if you buy a scanner like the Epson V700, you could always re-sell it and might even make a profit or at worst lose a few £££s...depending what you paid for it.

 

[flook999]

The market for film scanners is quite good, so a thought:- if you buy a scanner like the Epson V700, you could always re-sell it and might even make a profit or at worst lose a few £££s...depending what you paid for it.

That was my original intent to be honest, but I've looked a couple of times on ebay and nothing doing. I have a few weeks yet to make a decision. The simplicity of a 5x4 scanner attracts me, but the possibility of killing 2 birds with one purchase with the OMD EM1 mk2 is difficult to resist (apologies if that's fighting talk in here )

 

[excalibur2]

That was my original intent to be honest, but I've looked a couple of times on ebay and nothing doing. I have a few weeks yet to make a decision. The simplicity of a 5x4 scanner attracts me, but the possibility of killing 2 birds with one purchase with the OMD EM1 mk2 is difficult to resist (apologies if that's fighting talk in here )

Two on Gumtree..one in Hereford for £120 and says he will deliver up to 40 miles if you live near there.

New & Used Printers & Scanners for Sale in Hereford, Herefordshire | Gumtree

Discover amazing local deals on new & used printers & scanners for sale in Hereford, Herefordshire ✅ Shop hassle-free with Gumtree, your local buying & selling community.

www.gumtree.com

 

[flook999]

Two on Gumtree..one in Hereford for £120 and says he will deliver up to 40 miles if you live near there.

New & Used Printers & Scanners for Sale in Hereford, Herefordshire | Gumtree

Discover amazing local deals on new & used printers & scanners for sale in Hereford, Herefordshire ✅ Shop hassle-free with Gumtree, your local buying & selling community.

www.gumtree.com

Good price thanks, but unfortunately I'm about 140 miles north :/

 

[Shugpug]

One question though, does the pixl-latr actually hold a 5x4 neg flat? The "how it works" video was typically blase about the technical aspects of its use

Yes - there's a diffuser piece of plastic which sits against your light source, and the outermost layer/frame sits over that securely (there are keyed areas between the various bits of plastic). The cut out is the right size to display the negative with the rebate sandwiched between the bits of plastic.

Crap explanation, but I can grab some phone shots to demo when I'm home tonight?

 

[Kneller]

My Minolta X-500 turned up today, and I'm over the moon with it. I've loaded up a roll of HP5 and I'm hoping for the chance to get out over the next couple of days with it. It'll be my first time pushing film, so looking forward to seeing how it turns out!


Minolta X-500 by Josh Kneller, on Flickr