daveh
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Post by daveh on Mar 2, 2017 0:16:49 GMT -5
By the time of the early 60s Petri7, the move had been made to the 'standard' cable release.
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daveh
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Post by daveh on Mar 1, 2017 23:58:20 GMT -5
I had a Sigma 70-300 in Canon fitting, lent it someone....never got it back....still got the box though. I had already bought the Canon 70-300 IS lens which was overall slightly better, though I'm not sure it was better optically. Later I bought the 70-200 f4 L which is significantly better than either(and much more portable than the Canon 70-200 f2.8).
I've also got the Tamron 70-300 (Pentax fitting). I haven't looked up the history of the lenses but in my case the Sigma was bought new while the Tamron was secondhand, and quite a few years old, when I bought it. I can't quite directly compare the two. The Tamron was used mainly on the Pentax SF7, SFX and then the *ist DS.
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daveh
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Post by daveh on Jan 27, 2017 17:29:57 GMT -5
I bet the poor dog gets all the blame in your house! Good stuff, nyweb. That's the sort of thing that happens to me, even though I don't have a dog. P.s. Why did you have to choose nyweb as your name? The iPad automatically changed it to my web: I just noticed in time.
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daveh
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Post by daveh on Jan 26, 2017 7:00:18 GMT -5
And there was me thinking you had bought a new motorbike.
I saw the programme was on, but didn't watch it. It can't be easy for the 'experts' to give accurate estimates on all that comes through. I have always wondered if they disappear for a few minutes to look the item up so they don't look a complete prat when back on camera.
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daveh
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Post by daveh on Jan 20, 2017 23:19:43 GMT -5
I think what happens is that once something has been 'invented' it is improved on until there is a 'best shape'. There is always someone who will try to improve on that, or who just alters it for altering sake, but after a while of people wanting the ultra-mod, the tried and tested shape actually proves to be the best.
It is much easier to see the time on a wrist watch with hands if ones's eyesight is poor, or if totally blind the hands can be felt. A car is always happier on four wheels. A camera is better camera shaped because it fits the hands more easily, although there is more than one shape that will do that.
What does change for the better in the main is the technology under the bonnet (hood) of whatever the item is. It doesn't always prove better from the start. The early Sinclair electronic watch went though batteries almost faster than they could be made and needed two hands to tell the time. The original digital cameras gave small blocky images. For the most part the modern derivatives of both are better than the old technology.
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daveh
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Hi
Dec 27, 2016 10:03:32 GMT -5
Post by daveh on Dec 27, 2016 10:03:32 GMT -5
Andrew, I'm fairly close to you, Wirral. Welcome.
I suppose the old maxim comes into play: anything is worth what someone else will pay for it. The best starting point is to look what things have sold for on eBay. What is being asked for some items isn't necessarily close to the real value. Some will be underpriced and sell for less than they should (especially if incorrectly labelled) while others are grossly overpriced. The fact that something is old doesn't always mean it's valuable. eBay does, though, give a reasonable and relatively unbiased value for items.
I don't tend to buy that much: others on here will no doubt have a better finger on the pulse. There may be someone at a local camera club who could help. I doubt camera shops would be much help, unless there is someone who has been around a while.
Dave.
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daveh
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Post by daveh on Dec 23, 2016 0:20:07 GMT -5
Absolutely, Raybar. In effect camera phones are the new point and shoot. Smart phones are also usable in place of radio and TV and pretty much everything else. One wonders how long it will be before mission control is someone with a mobile phone.
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daveh
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Post by daveh on Dec 22, 2016 17:17:48 GMT -5
I suppose the obvious thing to do is to write to the son to see if he has any information.
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daveh
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Post by daveh on Dec 22, 2016 17:15:02 GMT -5
APS did what it was supposed do do quite well in my opinion. Sure it doesn't give the quality that a 10x8 plate camera can, but neither does 35mm. I would think most on this forum have been brought up 35mm as being the standard, but it was poo-pooed in its time by the big negative brigade. As you say digital killed it, and digital has all but killed every other film format. The sheer weight of 35mm and some roll film cameras has meant it is still worth manufacturers producing some film.
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daveh
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Post by daveh on Dec 22, 2016 17:01:09 GMT -5
John, I don't know too much about the Graflex and what I do mainly comes from what you have written, so you must be right. The problem, as you rightly say, with many issues is that something gets written and then regurgitated as the truth.
One such issue I have researched is the Malta Convoy of summer 1942: Operation Pedestal. My interest stems from the fact that the husband of the couple who were the original occupants of our house died in that operation. He was an engineer on a Holt Line ship, the Glenorchy. The Glenorchy was torpedoed in the early hours of August 13th and an early report said she was lost with all hands. In fact, from the information I have been able to gather, six, all in the engine room it would seem, were killed instantly when the ship was struck by torpedoes. A seventh, the captain, died later when he refused to leave his post. Even now there are many sources that say "lost with all hands" even though there were some 120 survivors.
Even those reports that get the numbers right, and it seems to be every one of these reports, say he was killed on the 12th of August: hardly the Glorious 12th. It is my belief that he died on 13th. I can find no evidence that the ship was hit on the 12th, and all reports say it was the 13th. I believe what has happened is that reports said the convoy was attacked on the night of the 12th, and so the 12th has stuck as the date. Of course, that night actually covers two days, the 12th and the 13th. The CWGC (Commonwealth War Graves Commission) website says the 12th.
In the end, unfortunately, there are just too many incorrect reports about the Glenorchy, and presumably the Graflex, to be able to set the record properly straight.
RIP Eric Ernest Cowley, 15th April 1902 Douglas, Isle of Man - 13th August 1942, at sea 5 miles NW of Kelibia, Tunisia.
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daveh
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Post by daveh on Dec 19, 2016 10:56:09 GMT -5
Ermak: googling Ermak comes up with a foundry and machining company. Started in 1944 the original owner worked for Honeywell. Might he perhaps tried to market cameras and such like in the early days. The company is now run by his son.
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daveh
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Post by daveh on Dec 18, 2016 13:06:06 GMT -5
Well done, John, for finding them. I looked through those pages but totally missed them. There were pages elsewhere which explained the different sitings of the auto-diaphragm lever. I shall have to find it again to see what the differences are; when I have time, that is.
In terms of the translation, the daughter-in-law of friends is Japanese so I could get her to translate. The trouble is she Iives in San Francisco: USA that is.
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daveh
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Post by daveh on Dec 17, 2016 19:52:44 GMT -5
RE Auto Topcor 135/3.5 This is the nicest lens ever. 135 and 35 side by side: The 35mm focuses down to 9".
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daveh
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Post by daveh on Dec 17, 2016 19:43:56 GMT -5
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Post by daveh on Dec 17, 2016 19:35:03 GMT -5
Soligor 35/f2.8 My brother got this lens for me when he had a year in Charleston, SC in the mid 1970s. Optically okay but certainly not the build quality of the proper Topcon lenses. Note the missing screw, photo 3. This came loose fairly early on and then fell out (never to be found again) when the thread in the lens body fully stripped. Actually I do have it somewhere; just don't know where.
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