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Post by belgiumreporter on Feb 28, 2020 4:50:10 GMT -5
Looks a lot like the fiberscope adapter...My pen F both arms the shutter and advances the film in one stroke. Lenses can be found on the usual Ebay and second hand sites (not cheap though!)
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Post by belgiumreporter on Feb 24, 2020 10:08:19 GMT -5
Just curious about the diffrence between the old macro takumar 50mm 1:4 and a more recent pentax-M macro 100mm 1:4 i've decided to a quick side to side test of both lenses. The takumar macro is often hailed as one of the sharpest lenses ever made, while the pentax 100 macro is no slough either. I've found in real life situations sharpness wise there isn't any noticable diffrence, the 50 maybe is a bit more contrasty.The main diffrence lies in the magnification ratio and the angle of view.The takumar 50 here is the 1x version ( both a 1x and 0,5x versions exists) this is very handy as there's no need for additional spacer rings to get to the 1x magnification. The 100mm will "only" do 0,5x magnification.The 50's got a pre-selector diafragm while the 100's automatic. But to sum it all up in a simple conclusion: both these lenses are good performers wich these days can be had for little money. Because of the short focussing distance the 50 can in most cases only be used for non moving (live) subjects, the 100 will give you some more space between the camera and subject. The narrower field of view of the 100 is better for isolating the subject from the (disturbing) background. I do realise there's more to sharpness in a lens, light fall off, distortion, colour fringing... but with these lenses i wouldn't worry to much just go out and enjoy them, they are good enough for everyday use. Both these lenses will work without problems on modern pentax DSLR's or with a simple adaptor on just about anything with removable lenses. Btw, compared to the latest AF macro lenses in studio set ups, these oldies are a little less sharp, but then again in real life shooting you will find it hard to see any diffrence and it's more a lack of build in image stabilisation and AF that some may find frustrating. So maybe when you're not a "hard core" macro shooter with lots of money to spend, but still want something better than your kit gear for macro or close ups, these "old" macro lenses might be something to consider. I've got these lenses as part of my pentax collection, for my macro shooting i use nikkor 60/105 and 200mm macro lenses. Still it's nice to sometimes take out the oldies and use them just like a classic car enthousiast will take his classic on the road for a ride. Here's a few shots i made with the 50 at 1x and the 100 at 0.5x magnification both f11 on the pentax Kx.
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Post by belgiumreporter on Feb 21, 2020 12:30:46 GMT -5
This Compartment Case Model FB5 came with a camera set i've bought. From initial research i've found out the FB5 would be suited to hold a F camera with F36 motor drive with cordless battery pack. After attempting to fit one in this dosn't seem to be the case and only the F with plain or photomic prism will fit. The FB5 could be used for some more modern gear like an FM or F3. These cases were very well made and rather expensive but one must be aware that they are not suited to keep gear locked up in them over a longer period of time as they seal moist wich could cause lenses to develop fungus. The FB5 has Bayonet lens mounts,holds one camera and four lenses up to 300 mm though the "modern" 300mm 4.5 ED will not fit as it's a bit to long. Three lenses are securely bayonetted to the lens mounts on the baseplate, and can be easily and quickly removed with one hand, while the fourth is attached to the camera which is fitted to the holder recess on the inner side of the case. Thepocket inside the case lid holds four filters, and two outside pockets provide additional space for sundries. The tilt-away front cover allows easy access to the contents. This is the case for those who require quick lens changes. Here's a few photo's of what it looks like with vintage and some more recent gear loaded.
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Post by belgiumreporter on Feb 18, 2020 10:40:01 GMT -5
The Canon booster (maybe it should be called light metering booster) is by today's standards an odd looking camera accesoire. Back in the day when slr's didn't had a build in meter it wasn't uncommon camera makers made clip on lightmeters wich fitted on top of the camera. In a later stage slr's became equipped with build in metering. Canon however, decided to take it a step futher by introducing the "booster" wich extended the metering range of the build in meter dramaticly. It was made for use on the Ftb and the later version of the pellix. The main advantage of this device (apart from the extended metering range) is it's coupled to the internal meter (via a plug wich fits in a socket inside the battery chamber) making it a ttl meter. This in some cases could give an advantage over a hand held meter. However... the booster isn't coupled to the shutter dial and readings aren't visble in the view finder wich makes the device rather fiddely to use. Some tech specs: metering range is extended to EV11 1/2sec. at f22 and EV -3.5 15 seconds at f1.2 (100ASA). there's two battery chambers for type 625 mercury cells one for the metering the other for illumination of the dial. Little info is to be found on the booster, even the canon museum doesn't mention it, wich doesn't mean it's a rare item. Still i'm glad i've found one as it's a nice piece of vintage inginuity wich overcame some of the problems in early slr photography.
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Post by belgiumreporter on Feb 14, 2020 6:29:22 GMT -5
When going through some drawers filled with camera parafernalia, this Belora Bella 66 popped up. I have never given it a second glance as with so many of these "simple" cameras, it dosn't fit in my collection. But let's give it some credit. Simple it is with two shutter speeds and B, apperture 8 or 16 and a Rodenstock achromat lens wich dosn't state the actual focal lenght. Film transport is by thumb wheel, with double exposure prevention. I didn't shoot this camera myselve, but i've seen some great results achieved with it, sharp contrasty and fine tonal range B&W shots. These good results could be brought back to the large film format (120/6x6) and a decent lens with a small apperture. This Bilora still has the customs "lead" on it, this was a practice used untill the late sixties where portable goods neede to get this customs(douane) lead seal as proof it was inported in Belgium via the right channels and the taxes due on it were paid. With this seal on it the camera could leave the country and brought back in without having to pay the taxes once more. In those days and even today Belgium has a very punitive tax system and buying in neighbouring countries could save you (a lot of) money. All in all the bilora is a good looking camera and would make a nice asset to any vintage point and shoot collection.
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Post by belgiumreporter on Feb 13, 2020 17:31:46 GMT -5
Here's two shots i've made with the coolpix 9900, my all round travel companion and snap shooter wich replaced the P600 .
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Post by belgiumreporter on Feb 13, 2020 10:17:30 GMT -5
When looking for anything Yashica Lynx 14 related on the camera collector forum, i was unable to find anyrhing on it. Time to put things right so here's some brief info and a pic of said camera. The Lynx 14 has some interesting features wich in my opinion make it one of the, if not the best fixed lens Yashica rangefinder camera of the era. It is fully mechanical, only needing the (obsolete) mercury battery to power the meter.The lens is a somewhat odd 45mm 1:1.4.wich focusses down to 0.8meters (2.6ft) The central shutter has a speed range from B to 1/500sec and it has a parralax controlled rangefinder. Film transport is smooth (enough) so what is there not to like? Well the first thing you notice when first picking up the camera is the weight and size, definatly not a camera to put in your pocket, then, in my opinion the shutter isn't all that quiet, not that it makes that much noice but it has a rather unpleasant metallic sound to it.The rangefinder spot is good, but not great and lastely on this brief summary, the diafragm ring has no click stops and can easely be moved accidently. this leaves us with a camera of wich i think is definatly worth checking out, there dosn't seem to be much love or hype for it on the net wich keeps prices low if you can find one. They are easy to test, no battery needed so either the shutter works or it dosn't wich means it is broken. Cheking the rangefinder is straightforward.With the shutter at B the aperture blades can be checked. Prices range from thrift store/garage sale low to 120$ Ebay and even this isn't outrageous if your into this kind of camera.I've sold all my "electro's" but keeping this one. (sadly no black version available )
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Post by belgiumreporter on Feb 13, 2020 7:12:12 GMT -5
For me the ultimate version is the "4" it's got the clean lines of the original design, interchangable lenses, coupled rangefinder with frames for all three available lenses, build in light meter and...it's green Here's one, gegenlichtblende and all...
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Post by belgiumreporter on Feb 11, 2020 10:03:44 GMT -5
Apparantly the Hasselblad prism could be easely adapted to the C33, this set up is lightyears better than the mamiya porro prism. However for focussing accuracy the loupe in the waist level finder is still hard to beat, but that still leaves you with the left-right switched image. Here's a shot of the work bench with the proof of concept set-up:
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Post by belgiumreporter on Feb 11, 2020 9:15:28 GMT -5
Here's another one in Esquel-Patagonia it's getting harder to find these shops, and once you found'em they are mostly converted to cell phone shops, still boasting the Kodak or Fuji colours of days gone by.
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Post by belgiumreporter on Feb 11, 2020 9:04:07 GMT -5
I have to confess i was reluctant on using my cell phone as a camera, but now i've got the new Motorola Moto G7 power things have changed as the quality of the images has come up to a standard i can live with. The cell phone camera has become a usefull tool to get those snapshots you normally wouldn't make because you didn't want to take a decent camera along. In hindsight i am glad i got over my aversion to cellphones and was glad i had it along on my recent trip to Argentina as the pics i've made with it may not be up to exposistion or publishing standards, they do bring back some good memories. Still, i'll be leaving soon to travel around India and the cameras that'll come along will still be the D800, coolpix9900 and a nikon keymission170 (for when the going gets tough). Along with the 12-24/24-80 and 70-300 lenses wich dosn't mean i wont be using the cell phone camera but that'll be mainly for selfies to send to the homefront. Here's a few cell phone shots i took in Argentina
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Post by belgiumreporter on Feb 10, 2020 10:36:41 GMT -5
I often wondered how these expensive Nikon and Swarofski monuculars with adapter perform. For the price of say a Swarofski monocular one could easely buy a decent tele lens, so is there any point in having an adapted monocular or is it more a case that if you already have one, it can be used as a not so good telephoto?
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Post by belgiumreporter on Feb 10, 2020 10:27:10 GMT -5
As one of the last victims of bancruptcy the only thing left from Rollei is the brand name wich is now used on cheap GO-PRO copies and a tri-pod range. Is it sad that a once so famous brand has gone to the dogs, or is this just the way things go in a fast and highly competitive market? It's not like other camera brands haven't gone before them like Exacta, Pentacon, Contax, Zeissz Ikon, Voightländer... wich now in the best case live on as heritage brands, mostly owned by cosina . Leica and Minox seem to be the only German camera brands that are able to survive, both of them producing specialised cameras for the enthousiast and or lenses for all kinds(third party) applications and so are other German lens makers as well. The thing is after all the Germans are gone, the Japanese brands are becoming under stress, Minolta, now Sony is doing very well, but Pentax and Olympus are struggeling to survive. The rumours of Nikon being in financial trouble are getting stronger as well. Is this because there's a shift towards mirrorless and will DSLR's in the future become a niche product like rangefinder camera's today? Furthermore will cell phones with sophisticated build in cameras and dedicated software make point and shoot cameras obsolete? Only the future will tell... Maybe Rollei had some bad luck, nobody needed a digital TLR...
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Post by belgiumreporter on Feb 10, 2020 9:29:29 GMT -5
Guess i'll finally need to order a set of rubber stoppers to be able to remove the front lens ring. Then either i'll have to do the polishing myselve or take the front lens to the optician shop across the street to have the job done, if it is not to expensive.
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Post by belgiumreporter on Feb 2, 2020 11:42:40 GMT -5
Couldn't resist saving this F1 from the scrapyard. The F1 has a small hole in the shutter curtain of wich i am sure it can be repaired everything else works OK. Now the FD 17 mm wich came with it is another problem. it is OK save for the front element wich is badly scratched, nothing deep but the coating is ruined. Just to be sure i tested the lens, but at any given aperture it is worthless. Now i ask myselve should i go through the trouble of trying to retore the front element, knowing with a re-polish the coating will be gone, maybe even disturbing the curvature of the element... I'm inclined to give it a go just for the experience and see what comes out, it's not that i haven't got any other 17mm lenses so i don't need this as a working lens. or should i just leave it the way it is and keep it as a conversation piece in the collection? By the way the F1 with the 17mm has cost me 10 Euros or 12 dollar if you like.
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