matty
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Posts: 126
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Post by matty on Aug 8, 2014 6:04:08 GMT -5
I try to be a photographer but fail a lot of the time. That is the good thing about digital I can shoot hundreds of shots and get maybe 3 or 4 decent images I'm happy with. My daughter on the other hand has got the makings of a really good photographer, she has a marvellous eye for images and gets the framing spot on. Hopefully she will try to get some formal training as well. Mickey, try out some of the Air Force photographers from our side of the pond, the RAF photo competition has some brilliant shots. www.raf.mod.uk/gallery/rafphotographiccompetitions.cfmMatty
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matty
Lifetime Member
Posts: 126
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Post by matty on Aug 8, 2014 5:53:15 GMT -5
I like to get working cameras where possible, I will try minor repairs but know my limits. Also, I stick to film formats that I can get readily and get developed easily, 35mm and 120. As with Phil the local supermarket does d and p for 35mm at a reasonable rate, 120 is a little more pricey but the print shop in the nearest big town does do d and p, last roll I put in was £10 for black and white.
I keep saying that I will use all the cameras that I buy but realise that this is not very likely as the collection grows faster than I can shoot. I think there are about 5 cameras with part used rolls of film in them at the moment.
As to visual condition I am not too bothered, I am happy to live with rubbing and brassing on a camera, normal signs of use. Everything does get a good surface clean but I don't like restoration unless it is to enhance the working of the camera, blacking inside of a lens hood, etc. The last lot of gear I bought has had an extra scrub, some of it has gone on ebay as surplus to requirements but the previous owner had been a smoker and having given up many years ago I find the smell really uncomfortable now. The Praktica I'm keeping has had a good rub down and is sat on the table by the back door and will be recleaned later on today. The camera box it came in will be scrubbed down and repurposed by the wife into a work bag for when she does the local craft fairs, the compartments will be really handy for her jewellery tools and as it is a hard case bag will make a handy worksurface/coffee mug holder.
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matty
Lifetime Member
Posts: 126
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Post by matty on Aug 8, 2014 5:24:34 GMT -5
Went to see my Dad in Yorkshire last week and thought I'd try out the local carboot sale to see if I could find any bargains. Drew a blank on the bargain front but did find a regular stall run by two gents dealing in vintage cameras. They had a good range of stock at decent prices (of course the stuff I wanted was beyond my means, well I could have afforded the Hasselblad if we only ate toast for the rest of the month.) Anyway well worth checking out if you are in the area, Sunday mornings, North Cave, just outside Hull on the A63. Matty
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matty
Lifetime Member
Posts: 126
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Post by matty on Aug 7, 2014 7:28:59 GMT -5
Hello Truls, If you are considering a lens spanner I would go for one of the more expensive ones, the cheap set I bought certainly live up to the old adage, buy cheap buy twice. They did the job on the Jupiter 9 I wanted to take the front element off but promptly bent on the Minolta beer can I tried them on next. I must admit I bought them solely to try my hand at doing a little bit of lens repair so they weren't a total loss and the Jupiter results did give me the confidence to try my hand at doing some more complex repairs. I'll be buying a better set in the near future. The set Phil has posted looks better than mine as the allen screws will give a firmer base to the spanner. Regards Matty
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matty
Lifetime Member
Posts: 126
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Post by matty on Aug 7, 2014 6:26:30 GMT -5
I was going through my latest car boot find yesterday, a box with a Praktica PL Nova 1 with a Meyer Optik Domiplan 2.8/50 (the camera and lens that I wanted) a Praktica LTL with the Pentacon 1.8/50 (already got one) and at the bottom another Pentacon 50 and a Carl Zeiss Jena 2.8/50 and started thinking about brands in the former DDR. My real question is what difference is there between the different brands seeing as they were all made by state factories? I know Meyer Optik became part of the Pentacon group in the late 60's and their lens were then branded as Pentacon but how independent was the Zeiss factory from Pentacon and were the lenses any better? I've always been happy with the results from my Pentacons, I haven't tried the Meyer Optik 50 yet but like the results I had from my 29mm and 135mm. I've spent a lot of time looking for a working Zeiss (I finally managed to find a couple over the last year)now I've tried them I'm not sure I can really see that there is much difference. Hope someone can answer my question. Matty
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matty
Lifetime Member
Posts: 126
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Post by matty on Jul 16, 2014 15:58:06 GMT -5
I could do with some help with my Canonet please. I've had this sat on the shelf for a while, it was in a job lot bag with a Minolta that I had from the local auction house. The shutter and aperture blade were stuck so its been sat until I've found time to have a look at it. Last night I took the rear lens element out and soaked the aperture blades and shutter with Naptha. The shutter freed up quickly and fires properly now. The aperture blades started moving and I got a lot of old oil off the blades. I left it all to soak overnight but this morning the blades keep getting stuck when I stop down to f16, they reopen when given a gentle prod and spring back to f2. Is there something else I need to check or is it a case of carrying on with soaking and working the aperture until it moves properly? Thanks Matty
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matty
Lifetime Member
Posts: 126
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Post by matty on Jul 14, 2014 13:25:04 GMT -5
Too many to choose from they are all gorgeous, some personal favourites: Olympus OM1N, best looking of of the OM series Yashica FXD, my first proper camera after the Zenit TTL, still got it, still love the look, pity the vinyl cover tends to fall apart Asahi Pentax Spotmatic, clean classic lines Minolta SR1 for the same reasons as the Spotty Controversal but I love the Zenit 3M, there is just something about that vaguely agricultural Soviet shape. Matty
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matty
Lifetime Member
Posts: 126
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Post by matty on Jul 13, 2014 10:41:49 GMT -5
The can I picked up doesn't say anything about not using on cameras. It does say it cleans and protects electronic equipment. So not sure what it is now, it doesn't seem to have caused any problems with the Spotty but I don't think I'll use it on anything else till I can find out what is in it properly.
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matty
Lifetime Member
Posts: 126
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Post by matty on Jul 9, 2014 14:41:44 GMT -5
The Alpa has gone, £242, midway in the valuation I got. I'm happy with the price. With the Jupiter 9 I sold the day before I got enough to cover the garage bill for my cam belt and some spare to treat myself to a FED1. Matty
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matty
Lifetime Member
Posts: 126
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Post by matty on Jul 9, 2014 14:35:18 GMT -5
Cor, melting camera bits, I had heard of problems with plastic shutters but not on old school shutters. I'll keep its use to metal bits, it did do a cracking job on the mirror return on the Spotty though.
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matty
Lifetime Member
Posts: 126
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Post by matty on Jul 9, 2014 6:25:40 GMT -5
I picked up a can of Lazer Air Duster from Poundland recently thinking it was a compressed air can and that it would be useful for blowing dust off lens etc. Tried it out when I was trying to free a stuck mirror return on my Spotty F. Turns out to be an alcohol based solvent, blasted out the dust and cleared the mucky lube all in one go. Handy little addition to the toolbox, especially as it has a long nozzle to get into tricky corners. Matty
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matty
Lifetime Member
Posts: 126
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Post by matty on Jul 7, 2014 15:26:49 GMT -5
It's worth £900 because there are some people with more money than sense. Matty
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matty
Lifetime Member
Posts: 126
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Post by matty on Jul 4, 2014 14:19:09 GMT -5
Again not a SLR but really ugly: The Nishika N8000, quad lens 3d camera. The only camera I have bought and actually thought why am I buying this as I handed over the money, they should have paid me to take it away. Not only spectacularly ugly but totally useless as no one does the 3d printing anymore. Personally I think all the other contenders so far have character and would be happy to have them on my collection shelves, the Nishika is hidden in a cupboard. Matty
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matty
Lifetime Member
Posts: 126
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Post by matty on Jul 4, 2014 13:59:34 GMT -5
Strangely enough Exacta cameras are one of the things on my wish list (that is the realistically achievable list, the Hasselblad isn't going to happen unless I win the lottery), I've seen a few but either too expensive for me or too broken. One day I will find one. Haven't got round to putting the seals in the Olympus yet. I really do need to have a seal day soon, there are about 5 or 6 Slrs sat on the self needing doing, a Nikon EM, Spotty F (at least I've managed to sort the stuck mirror on this), Pentax Super A and a couple of others that I can't remember off the top of my head. On second thoughts perhaps I need a day cataloging what I've got.
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matty
Lifetime Member
Posts: 126
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Post by matty on Jul 4, 2014 11:12:37 GMT -5
I did wonder about selling the adaptors separately but wasn't sure how well they would go. When I find another package like this (thinking positively) I'll try that. Its really difficult getting a clear idea of a sensible price though, I've seen them between £30 and £250 apiece (admittedly the £250 was an asking price not a sold price.) My logic was that the whole bundle would be more attractive as a package rather than selling individually, the main lens needs sorting out but whoever bought it could still use the camera in the meantime, perhaps that's just the way my brain works. Any auction is a gamble, it all depends on who sees the listing with ebay and who's looking for that specific item at the time it goes up. Anyway I've more than got my money back with the current price so I'm happy with that and still five days to go. I think I'm a better collector than salesman.
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