Author Topic: I just picked up... (Read 844005 times)

Kai-san · « **Reply #3850 on:** August 30, 2019, 07:31:27 PM »

The Rollei Blackbird Creative was back in stock at one of my favourite on-line shops, so I picked up ten rolls. Haven't tried this one before, but it's an orthopanchromatic film which adds a bit of drama. It can be shot at ISO 25 to 100, I will stick with ISO 100 at this time of the year.

Bryan · « **Reply #3851 on:** August 30, 2019, 07:53:57 PM »

Nice projector Peter, now you need some film to watch. Clean the film path, otherwise those auto feed mechanisms will chew it up. That looks a lot like the projectors they used when I was in school.

Indofunk · « **Reply #3852 on:** August 30, 2019, 08:19:39 PM »

Quote from: hookstrapped on August 30, 2019, 06:40:01 PM

On my morning walk this morning I decided to get a guava cream cheese pastry at the Cuban bakery before heading home and look what I found on the sidewalk next door

Bell & Howell Model 1552B 16mm projector. Man, it's heavy but I wasn't far from home fortunately. The only question was whether it worked...

Yup.

(My fellow scavenger was thrilled that they also left beer brewing supplies out for the taking. Everyone was happy!)

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?

??

hookstrapped · « **Reply #3853 on:** August 30, 2019, 08:52:59 PM »

Quote from: Indofunk on August 30, 2019, 08:19:39 PM

Quote from: hookstrapped on August 30, 2019, 06:40:01 PM
On my morning walk this morning I decided to get a guava cream cheese pastry at the Cuban bakery before heading home and look what I found on the sidewalk next door

Bell & Howell Model 1552B 16mm projector. Man, it's heavy but I wasn't far from home fortunately. The only question was whether it worked...

Yup.

(My fellow scavenger was thrilled that they also left beer brewing supplies out for the taking. Everyone was happy!)

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT???

Sorry, but the other guy had dibs on the beer making supplies!

Francois · « **Reply #3854 on:** August 30, 2019, 09:18:45 PM »

Had one years ago and yes, they are heavy. I can't count how many times I hurt myself just moving this thing!

hookstrapped · « **Reply #3855 on:** September 01, 2019, 02:39:25 PM »

Revere Eight Model 80 movie camera.

https://we.tl/t-wmrNs62YtG

Regular 8 aka Double 8 from the mid-50s (before Super

. The part where I couldn't get the reel back on was due to *D'oh* the fact that it's made so it only goes on the top spindle with the reel flipped. The way it works is you have a 25' reel of 16mm film but it only exposes half the width of the film. Then you flip it over, hence the safeguard, and run it through again to expose the other side. When you get it developed they slit the film length-wise and splice the two 25' sections into a 50' reel. About 4 minutes in length total. Ingenious.

Francois · « **Reply #3856 on:** September 01, 2019, 09:51:01 PM »

Exactly.

EarlJam · « **Reply #3857 on:** September 02, 2019, 07:27:34 PM »

Quote from: Bryan on August 30, 2019, 03:33:57 AM

Catching up on my "just Picked Up" inventory over the past few weeks. Each camera was $15 or less.

Konica C35. I still need to go over this one to figure out if it's working. It does need new light seals.
Konica C35 by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

I've found that Duracell 675 hearing aid batteries work pretty well. Also, I somehow managed to not discard the manual that came with the C35 I bought new in 1970, so I'm happy to answer any questions or send you scanned pages if you need them. They're fun little cameras and the lens is very good.

Bryan · « **Reply #3858 on:** September 02, 2019, 10:37:32 PM »

Quote from: EarlJam on September 02, 2019, 07:27:34 PM

I've found that Duracell 675 hearing aid batteries work pretty well. Also, I somehow managed to not discard the manual that came with the C35 I bought new in 1970, so I'm happy to answer any questions or send you scanned pages if you need them. They're fun little cameras and the lens is very good.

Thanks for the offer Earl but considering the similarity to my Minolta Hi-Matic F I think I’m already quite familiar with it. They look like they came off the same assembly line. They must have had some kind of manufacturing agreement long before they officially merged into one company.

Minolta Hi-Matic F by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

Konica C35 by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

Francois · « **Reply #3859 on:** September 02, 2019, 10:50:56 PM »

And those cameras can be surprisingly robust.
I have one I bought for under a dollar because it had been dropped.
The focus was almost non functioning, the battery door missing. It's dented in a bad way, the hot shoe was held with blue tack. A real mess.
I managed to straighten the lens ring enough using a dowel and a hammer. Now the focus is extremely smooth and the camera works like new. (but it really looks like doo-doo)

astrobeck · « **Reply #3860 on:** September 10, 2019, 02:17:54 PM »

Picked this up yesterday after asking Ethan for it the day before!
I gotta get busy and make some sawdust! Pinhole build on the way!

https://www.cameradactyl.com/buttergrip/mamiya-rb67-graflex-magazine-mounting-flange-for-homemade-camera-builders?fbclid=IwAR3Aw0DaiXzMnDYuYMWb31t1x9V3NsXgPmTkTVAmkVCBsHdCiqcZ7kGB3VU

Francois · « **Reply #3861 on:** September 10, 2019, 03:10:52 PM »

Wow, that is definitely an interesting thing.
Can't wait to see what it's like.

hookstrapped · « **Reply #3862 on:** September 14, 2019, 06:09:27 PM »

Mamiya C220 / 55mm f4.5... Back in wide-angle medium format after selling my Mamiya 6 / 50mm

ManuelL · « **Reply #3863 on:** September 14, 2019, 07:22:43 PM »

I have a Mamiya C33 and loved it (unfortunately it is broken now). The focussing can sometimes a bit tricky on the Mamiya TLRs. I had a lot of pictures with some front focus. Not sure why. I have read the same thing from some other people. But I think it was probably a user error and not necessarily the alignment.

hookstrapped · « **Reply #3864 on:** September 14, 2019, 08:31:54 PM »

Well, I went to clean the ground glass and mirror and when I removed the ground glass 7 washer shims went flying. But I'm pretty sure I knew where they belonged and was able to return them to their previous screws. Also, I intend to only use it for 55mm and its maximum aperture is f4.5 so I have a bit of DOF slack. Still I want to run some test shots with it racked out and the subject about 5 inches from the front of the lens to check the focus.. .

Francois · « **Reply #3865 on:** September 14, 2019, 09:37:53 PM »

You could just colimate the lens. It's easy enough to do and much faster and cheaper than running a whole roll through.

hookstrapped · « **Reply #3866 on:** September 15, 2019, 12:51:12 AM »

Quote from: Francois on September 14, 2019, 09:37:53 PM

You could just colimate the lens. It's easy enough to do and much faster and cheaper than running a whole roll through.

Good idea, thanks. I dug up some acetate-like material from my shoebox camera days and the taking and viewing lens focus were the same. No adjustments needed.

Francois · « **Reply #3867 on:** September 15, 2019, 02:39:34 PM »

I must say that the cat in the hat is the best collimation target I've ever seen

Bryan · « **Reply #3868 on:** September 16, 2019, 04:54:27 AM »

A few new cameras. The first is a Voigtländer Superb, a camera I've been interested in getting for a while now. This one was listed as working and it is in excellent condition but unfortunately it's likely going back to the seller. The iris has a loose leaf so it's not usable. From what I understand these are very difficult to work on so there is no way I would try it myself. I got one quote to fix it for about double what I paid for it. I really like the design of this camera so I will probably continue to keep an eye out for one. Many that I see for sale are in rough shape, this one is one of the best I have seen.

Voigtländer Superb by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

This next one is an Ensign Ensignette No.2 C De Luxe. It dates to about 1913 and takes 129 roll film. Kodak discontinued 129 film in 1951 so I'm not going to find any fresh film for it. The reason I got it is because someone started to modify it to take 127 film. They may have used it with 127 film the way it is but I think it needs more modifications before I use it. If anyone has an old 129 spool lying around let me know, that could help with my modification.

Ensignette No.2 C De Luxe by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

Francois · « **Reply #3869 on:** September 17, 2019, 11:12:08 PM »

Loose aperture leafs are definitely a deal breaker.
Some cameras are notorious for breaking the pivots on those. I have a Yashica Lynx with the same problem and I don't know what I'll do to fix it.

MiguelCampano · « **Reply #3870 on:** September 19, 2019, 05:06:43 PM »

Just picked up a few packets of Microphen. If everything goes well, I'll use it as my go-to developer from now on. Any tips/suggestions on how to use it/recipes would be awesome!

ManuelL · « **Reply #3871 on:** September 19, 2019, 06:39:22 PM »

My father found a box of films and 9x12 glass plates from my grand parents from the 1930s and 40s. Started scanning them now. Most have no artistic value, but still quite interesting to see the family from that period. Scanning film that has been tighly rolled up for 70-80 years is a real pain by the way.
In the box I also found a closed roll of film (Agfa Isopan Din 17). Not sure if it is unused or used, but undeveloped. I have not yet decided what to make of this. I could give it a stand development, but even if there were pictures on it, it is very unlikely they are still there on a ISO 40ish PAN film after 75 years. I could also shoot the roll and just add 75 stops (or maybe 25 more for reciprocity for good measure). Or I just keep the film as it is, maybe save it for the next solar eclipse in 100 years at which time it will have just the right sensitivity to shoot directly into the sun. Not sure.

ManuelL · « **Reply #3872 on:** September 19, 2019, 06:41:57 PM »

By the way - Peter with his Mamiya pictures above made me repair my Mamiya C33.

Bryan · « **Reply #3873 on:** September 19, 2019, 08:00:45 PM »

Quote from: ManuelL on September 19, 2019, 06:39:22 PM

In the box I also found a closed roll of film (Agfa Isopan Din 17). Not sure if it is unused or used, but undeveloped. I have not yet decided what to make of this. I could give it a stand development, but even if there were pictures on it, it is very unlikely they are still there on a ISO 40ish PAN film after 75 years. I could also shoot the roll and just add 75 stops (or maybe 25 more for reciprocity for good measure). Or I just keep the film as it is, maybe save it for the next solar eclipse in 100 years at which time it will have just the right sensitivity to shoot directly into the sun. Not sure.

I assume it's 35mm film. Try pulling out enough to get at least the first few frames and just develop that. If there is nothing on the film shoot the rest. You may loose one shot by cutting through it but at least you will know if you need to just develop the rest. If you shoot it I would meter it around 1 or 2 ISO. Slow films tend to hold their speed better than faster film and the I find that the degradation of speed is not linear. Cutting the speed in half for every year out of date is good for the first 30 or 40 years. I often use an ISO of 2 to 5 for films older than that. You could also try bracketing shots in the range of 1 to 5.

ManuelL · « **Reply #3874 on:** September 20, 2019, 05:06:10 AM »

Thanks Bryan! Thats a good idea! Will give that a try.
I anyway wanted to put the leader in a stand development to see if it will be stable or the emulsion swims away after an hour.

Francois · « **Reply #3875 on:** September 20, 2019, 03:37:58 PM »

Old films had gelatin that wasn't as well hardened as today's.
I had a similar experience with some 1980's HP5
I have an old book of development times. I'll look into it.

Bryan · « **Reply #3876 on:** September 20, 2019, 04:08:22 PM »

Old emulsions definitely don't harden as well as new stuff but I wouldn't worry about it coming off unless it was stored in horrible conditions. If that's the case your going to have other problems as well.

Francois · « **Reply #3877 on:** September 20, 2019, 04:34:59 PM »

I've checked but the old book I have doesn't go that old.
But in another one by Gevaert they give tips.
Keep the temperature as low as possible. Use a developer that is not very alkaline. Keep development times to a minimum.

I'll keep looking as I can't find another book I'm thinking about...

ManuelL · « **Reply #3878 on:** September 20, 2019, 09:02:54 PM »

Thanks for the tips Francois! My Das sometimes used an hour long developments to create some effects with the desolving emulsion. So I expect the older film could be not very stable.

Francois · « **Reply #3879 on:** September 20, 2019, 09:29:29 PM »

I always find this a bit funny because you can get the same effect within minutes using a strong solution of sodium carbo after the film has been developed and fixed.

Francois · « **Reply #3880 on:** September 29, 2019, 09:29:17 PM »

Mom went garage sale hopping and she picked up one of the nicest things to come my way in a while.
It's an old Agfa Isola I in pretty good shape. Complete with a B/M lever, 2 apertures + a built-in yellow filter and zone focusing.
It's got a collapsible lens and double exposure prevention system. Single coated triplet lens.
It's like a better built Diana. Can't wait to try it out

Bryan · « **Reply #3881 on:** September 30, 2019, 04:19:41 AM »

Is the yellow filter always in place or is there a way to move it?

Francois · « **Reply #3882 on:** September 30, 2019, 02:10:32 PM »

It's hooked up to the aperture lever. It goes from sunny to cloudy to yellow.

hookstrapped · « **Reply #3883 on:** September 30, 2019, 04:30:38 PM »

That Agfa Isola is purrrty

Well, after many decades of photography I have finally discovered the joys of shooting a TLR. It started with a Minolta Autocord, then wanting a wide angle medium format a Mamiya C220 with 55mm lens, and now a Koniflex with an 85mm Heliar that I hope will provide some nice portraits.

The Koniflex is pretty rare and it was offered at a good price, so I jumped on it. The magnifier panel was bent at its hinge so rested too high and out of focus, but after some rather extensive disassembly and hairy reassembly (inaccessible tiny screws, clips, and nuts), it's back together and right. The seller did not note this, but did note that the Bulb setting doesn't work -- just as well as there is no way to attach a cable release (I viewed this Japanese video on youtube where four fairly obscure Japanese TLR's from the 50s were discussed and demonstrated and the Bulb setting on his Koniflex didn't work either). All other shutter speed settings seem fine. The aperture blades are oily so I'll be looking for someone to service that.

Sandeha Lynch · « **Reply #3884 on:** September 30, 2019, 08:12:20 PM »

Whichever you find yourself using for portraits try and get some push-on or bayonet close-up lenses. There's the parallax issue, ofc, but using a TLR close up gives excellent results.

Francois · « **Reply #3885 on:** September 30, 2019, 09:15:34 PM »

Oily aperture blades are not a problem unless we're dealing with an SLR.
On the SLR's, the aperture needs to rapidly switch between open and close, so dry blades are a must.
But on other cameras where the aperture is the set and forget type, all it does is make it a bit harder to move when you adjust it.

Now if it was shutter blades, that would be a whole different thing.

hookstrapped · « **Reply #3886 on:** October 01, 2019, 12:05:33 AM »

Quote from: Sandeha Lynch on September 30, 2019, 08:12:20 PM

Whichever you find yourself using for portraits try and get some push-on or bayonet close-up lenses. There's the parallax issue, ofc, but using a TLR close up gives excellent results.

I have Rolleinar 1 and 2 sets for the Autocord, but I'm intrigued by the Heliar on the Koniflex. I think the Voigtlander Superb also has a Heliar.

Sandeha Lynch · « **Reply #3887 on:** October 01, 2019, 10:29:16 AM »

I had a Heliar on my Voigtlander Brillant. I didn't like the mechanics much but the lens was nice.

090712_del1_12 by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr

hookstrapped · « **Reply #3888 on:** October 01, 2019, 03:26:42 PM »

Quote from: Sandeha Lynch on October 01, 2019, 10:29:16 AM

I had a Heliar on my Voigtlander Brillant. I didn't like the mechanics much but the lens was nice.

090712_del1_12 by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr

3D pop!

Flippy · « **Reply #3889 on:** October 07, 2019, 07:35:37 AM »

Local shop had a Primoplan 1.9/58 attached to an Exa. It was pricey, but not so pricey as they usually go for on ebay (surprisingly) so I had to bring it home.

Bryan · « **Reply #3890 on:** October 11, 2019, 07:39:14 PM »

Just got a bunch of Bantams at an Estate sale, everything for about $150. I've been wanting a Bantam Special for a long time, pretty excited about this. They seem to be in good working order but I need to go through them more.

Francois · « **Reply #3891 on:** October 11, 2019, 09:24:45 PM »

You just gotta love bakelite

And when I think I met a lady of a certain age last weekend who didn't know what bakelite was!

Bryan · « **Reply #3892 on:** October 11, 2019, 09:48:17 PM »

Quote from: Francois on October 11, 2019, 09:24:45 PM

You just gotta love bakelite
And when I think I met a lady of a certain age last weekend who didn't know what bakelite was!

The flash Bantam is metal and Bakelite, the Bantam Special is cast iron.

I just did some research and it looks like I got both the pre-war Bantam Special with the Compur Shutter and the rare post 1941 model with the Supermatic shutter.

Pete_R · « **Reply #3893 on:** October 12, 2019, 12:15:23 PM »

Just got this, not for me, but someone else who asked me to look out for one for them. Needs some attention but nothing major (I hope). I'm now looking for info on getting at the shutter if anyone knows of an information source. I assume it's similar to an Electro, which I've done plenty of, but nice to have something to work from.

Francois · « **Reply #3894 on:** October 12, 2019, 02:15:26 PM »

If you find info on this let me know. I have one with a loose aperture blade that's sitting on my shelf and I'm scared of opening it..

EarlJam · « **Reply #3895 on:** October 12, 2019, 05:01:17 PM »

I had an Electro some time ago and thought about trying to make it work again. There's an ancient thread on Rangefinder Forum about the Lynx 5000 shutter, which is apparently one of the common-for-the-era Copal MXV.

https://www.rangefinderforum.com/classics/forum/messages/6899/6017.html?1140102631

http://pheugo.com/cameras/index.php?page=copalmxv

Bryan · « **Reply #3896 on:** October 12, 2019, 05:17:27 PM »

My Father had a Lynx 5000, he used it to take pictures of a bunch of obnoxious little brats. The shutter stopped working so he got something else. He gave it to me a few years ago so I tried to fix it. I dug into it and found that someone tried to fix it but caused more harm than good. Now it sits on the shelf. If I remember right I was able to get into it but it wasn’t the easiest shutter to work on.

Pete_R · « **Reply #3897 on:** October 12, 2019, 05:31:13 PM »

Quote from: EarlJam on October 12, 2019, 05:01:17 PM

I had an Electro some time ago and thought about trying to make it work again. There's an ancient thread on Rangefinder Forum about the Lynx 5000 shutter, which is apparently one of the common-for-the-era Copal MXV.

https://www.rangefinderforum.com/classics/forum/messages/6899/6017.html?1140102631

http://pheugo.com/cameras/index.php?page=copalmxv

Thanks for those. The pheugo site also had this

http://pheugo.com/cameras/index.php?page=lynx5000

Francois · « **Reply #3898 on:** October 12, 2019, 09:15:12 PM »

Thanks. That's going to be printed and inserted in my repair folder for when I have the guts to start work on this one.

Pete_R · « **Reply #3899 on:** October 13, 2019, 09:30:44 AM »

Quote from: Francois on October 12, 2019, 09:15:12 PM

Thanks. That's going to be printed and inserted in my repair folder for when I have the guts to start work on this one.

There was a broken link on the rff site to a relevant article. I managed to find it in the web archive. It deals with your specific problem.

https://web.archive.org/web/20120713095757/http://www.kyphoto.com/classics/yashicalynx.html