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Post by unclebill on Dec 5, 2006 19:34:00 GMT -5
Taken with a Olympus OM-1, Vivitar Series 1 75-210 Lens with Forte 200 film processed in HC110 Dil B for 5 min.  |
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Post by John Parry on Dec 6, 2006 7:53:40 GMT -5
Oh - I like those boats Bill !
A very nice composition indeed. Interesting lines, silhouettes, shadows, reflections. All go to make this a great shot. Well done.
Regards - John
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PeterW
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Post by PeterW on Dec 6, 2006 10:16:48 GMT -5
The best non-electronic cameras Canon ever made .... probably.
PeterW
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Post by doubs43 on Dec 6, 2006 11:43:20 GMT -5
The best non-electronic cameras Canon ever made .... probably. PeterW So the Olympus OM-1 was made by Canon? Geeeeez..... the things you learn on this board! (Just teasing, Peter)  Very nice picture John. It has better resolution that I usually see from a zoom. Walker |
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Post by paulatukcamera on Dec 6, 2006 17:42:42 GMT -5
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PeterW
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Post by PeterW on Dec 6, 2006 21:52:05 GMT -5
Hi Walker.
Perhaps I'd better explain why I like Canons.
When I was a Journalist with IPC (or Iliffe as it was when I joined in 1964) we had about 20 photographers. Company policy was normally to buy Canons but photographers could have a different SLR of a similar, or cheaper, price if they really wanted, and provided it lasted long enough. To those boys a camera was a tool, and they used them hard.
When I joined, most were using Canon FT or FX, later FTb. I think only a couple chose Nikons. Even with TTL metering on the FTb most still used hand held meters, usually Westons. All of them carried a back-up camera body.
The cameras were changed every three years on policy - probably to do with writing down allowances, and the fact that only the bodies were changed not the lenses, but Canons and Nikons were the only ones that lasted the course, even though they looked rather well-worn.
A few photographers tried Pentax, I forget the model, but whatever was current in the 1960s, and two tried the OM1.
The Pentaxes lasted on average a year before Bowens, who serviced the cameras, declared them 'worn out, uneconomic repair'. The two OM1s barely lasted six months. The company declined to buy any more Pentaxes or OMs.
When I left in 1979, most were using Canon F1s with motor drive. Big and heavy, but lovely cameras. What they're using in this digital age I've no idea, nor how long the cameras last.
I'm not knocking Pentaxes or OMs because I know its not fair to compare these life cycles in hard pro use with amateur use. They shot, on average, 5 or 6 36 exposure rolls a day except at events like airshows, Grand Pix motor racing, or motorcycle racing where 12 to 15 rolls on each of the two days was average. But it does point to the rugged reliabilty of Canons and Nikons.
Mainly, Canons were preferred to Nikons because of the faster lens changing. At the time Nikon was using that early external pin linkage which was reckoned a lot slower, and more fiddling, and the 'ears' on the lens were not liked.
Now you know why I like Canon. Though I must say that when my son John (who hasn't had much time recently to post anything on the Board) went for a digital SLR he chose the Pentax *ist DL2 over the equivalent priced Canon because of the better viewfinder and the reported better colour balance in test reports. I've tried it, and I've got to admit, I like it a lot. I didn't find any noticeable 'digital lag'. Only time will tell how reliable it is.
PeterW
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Post by Randy on Dec 6, 2006 23:41:19 GMT -5
We have sleeping boats in our harbour also, they have blue plastic wrapped around them.
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Post by doubs43 on Dec 7, 2006 2:56:05 GMT -5
Peter, that's a great explaination. I've always held the Canons in high regard despite never owning one other than an old rangefinder model that was pretty much worn out when I bought it in Korea. I've looked closely at several FTb Canons and each time I've managed to maintain a bit of sanity and resist the urge to add yet another lens system to my collection.
The Pentax Spotmatic was introduced in 1964 and I'd be surprised if that was the model your friends wore out as it's a quite rugged piece of equipment. Still, anything mechanical can wear out or break.
The local camera store owner - the only one close to me - once told me that his Canon Sales representative was at his store for a customer demonstration and when it was over he stayed around to have a few nips of old John Barleycorn. He was somewhat in his cups when a customer came in with a Nikon FTn and they got into a discussion about the quality of the Nikon versus the Canon F-1. The customer insisted that the Nikon was superior at which point the Rep grabbed a Canon F-1 and swung it by the open door against the wall..... hard! "Do ya think yer Nikon could stand that? Or this?" And again he slammed the Canon into the wall. He then closed the door, handed the Canon to the customer and told him to try it. It worked perfectly. The owner was horrified because it was HIS Canon! He said the customer returned a few days later and bought two F-1's. He swears it's true and I have no reason to doubt him.
I like my Spotmatics and my OM's but I also like my Nikons. An oft overlooked camera that seems to be built like the proverbial brick - and weights as much - is the Ricoh Singlex. I own several and the shutters on every one still work great. One is missing the self-timer lever but is otherwise fine. They sell pretty cheaply too.
Walker
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Post by vintageslrs on Dec 7, 2006 10:14:44 GMT -5
Peter My good man, Thank you very much for sharing why you like Canons......your reasons are excellent ones and your experience is much appreciated.......And I have to say it is hard to argue with your logic........... And it has inspired me to get my FT, FTb and my AE-1 off the shelf and use them!  Just curious....why did it take so long to get this explanation out of you? ;D thanks much Bob |
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Post by unclebill on Dec 7, 2006 12:03:32 GMT -5
Wow a picture of parked boats provokes quite a thread. My first Manual focus camera was a Canon AE-1, traded it in for Nikon F with a Tn meter head. If I stuck with a FD I would have gone with a Canon F1 but I could not find any in this part of the world, so off to the world of F mount I went.
Bill
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Post by vintageslrs on Dec 7, 2006 18:34:16 GMT -5
Peter W. Proof that you indeed, inspired me..... Blackwater Dam.....Webster, NH taken today:  with Canon FT Canon 50MM F1.8 Fuji 100 Bob |
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PeterW
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Post by PeterW on Dec 7, 2006 19:30:28 GMT -5
Hi Bob, you wrote: I'll be surprised if your FT and FTb don't soldier on for a good while yet, but despite my love of Canons I have to report that I had problems with the electronics on an AE1, and a shorting battery check switch which drained the battery in a few days on an A1. A new printed circuit flex board solved the AE1's problems - back in the days when Canon UK still had stocks of spares. The service people there told me it would be easier and cheaper to fit a new board than mess about trying to trace an open circuit resistor or capacitor. Surprisingly it wasn't all that difficult to fit, or I was just lucky, because miniaturised electronics are far from being one of my strong points. After consulting Canon's service department about the A1 draining its battery they diagnosed a shorting battery check switch, and as they hadn't got any they advised me to snip the wires off and insulate the ends with shrink tape, and do without it as being the easiest and cheapest way out. I did, and the battery now last and lasts. In those days Canon UK's service people were very helpful, and still are, but they have no parts at all, not even on order from Japan, for anything pre-EOS, and I understand that parts for earlier EOS electronics are getting scarce. All the older spares they had were turned over to an outside company, whose name I forget but Canon will give it to you. Neither Canon nor the other company have any service/repair manuals for older cameras, only their library copies, but you can find many of the manuals online if you trawl round the internet. That was Canon's advice too, so they're obviously not worried about copyright. Christian Rollinger has loads of Canon literature on his website www.canonfd.com/And it's a case of cannibalising old junkers for any bits needed, if you can find any old junkers. They're pretty scarce too because old mechanical Canons just soldier on and on. My oldest is a 1960 Canonflex RP, still going strong. At the moment I'm looking for a top cover for a second T70 body I picked up for pennies because the up/down switch (Canon calls it the 'swift switch') which controls the ASA and shutter speeds will go up but won't come down unless you switch off and switch on again, and even then the speeds won't go below 1/25 sec. Canon told me it's bonded into the plastic top plate, and was never available as a separate part, and they hadn't got any new top plates to offer me. I downloaded a copy of the T70 repair manual from Christian Bollinger, so if anyone's got a broken T70 with a good top plate and switch ... Why didn't I mention all this before? Don't know, really. No-one ever asked. PeterW |
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PeterW
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Post by PeterW on Dec 7, 2006 19:45:26 GMT -5
Hi Bob,
Nice Picture of Blackwater Dam. Is the redish colour in the rocks and grass natural autumn tint? Fuji film is usually pretty good for colour balance, but if it's a shade off and you've got PS or a similar editing program try playing with the red saturation and lightening the red a little. No, its not cheating. You could do the same thing with filters in an enlarger. BTW, what's the white blob in the foreground?
PeterW
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Post by vintageslrs on Dec 8, 2006 8:26:27 GMT -5
Peter W. The blob in the foreground is a glass globe shade from an outdoor light fixture. The reddish/brown tint is fairly accurate. The ground near the rocks tend to be that color due to the granite, the iron and mostly the decaying pine needles. Bob |
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Post by vintageslrs on Dec 8, 2006 14:13:08 GMT -5
Here's another one from yesterday:  Again...Canon FT Canon 55mm F1.8 Fuji 100 Bob |
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