Topic: I just picked up...

[Aksel]

I lost in to temptation so it´s going to be a wiiiide summer! Roadtriping around the Balkans with this thing on board. The question is how much film to bring, 4 exposures per roll kind of makes it a real filmwasting tool 

[cs1]

What a wonderful machine! The looks alone are incredible. I'm sure you'll have heaps of fun with it.

[Francois]

The 617 really produced superlative images.
I think there was a special graduated filter made for it in order to even out the exposure across the field.

[Kai-san]

Wow Aksel, that is the coolest of all panorama cameras! Josef Koudelka is lugging around two of those (or maybe the GX617) when he's out shooting. What lens is that, a Fujinon SW 105mm or something else? I suppose you will need those 120 films you tried to sell earlier..... 

[Aksel]

Yea, it´s with the 105/8 lens and it came complete and in the box, filters etc. Now all I have to do is getting used to operate the thing hand held. I have two cases of fuji 400h + just scored  a bag of fresh porta 400 220 so I should be good Kai-san, I suppose 220 film is preferable in this beast to get 8 frames per roll, rate it at 160 and hope the lens delivers from wide open.

[Indofunk]

Does that thing take 6 by SEVENTEEN photos??    How do you know how far to advance the film?

[Francois]

Yep, you read right!
seventeen centimeters long...
film advance is by a metered crank so you don't have to watch the red window. Four cranks per image.
http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Fujica_Panorama_G617

[zapsnaps]

"Four cranks per image?" Sounds like some of my moody models.

But very cool camera

[jharr]

Ready to make some developer!

[jojonas~]

HO HO H O O HO OH, merry christmas!

[Francois]

Lol 
That made my first morning smile today!

[jharr]

HO HO H O O HO OH, merry christmas!

NICE! I love Christmas in July!!   

[Aksel]

"Four cranks per image?" Sounds like some of my moody models.

But very cool camera

The best part is the dual shutter release, you crank it, cock the shutter in the lens and fire it - then you need to fire the shutter in the camera before you can give it four new cranks. It is in essence a wider fuji GW690 body with a large format lens up front. 
Cranky cameras of the world,  unite! HO HO H O O HO OH 

[Late Developer]

I had a Fuji 690iii for a while. Great camera but the shutter sounded like someone beating a metal skip with a lump hammer.  I was told it was because it had some fangled contraption with the double release and that you could disconnect one of them and make it a whole lot quieter.  I never got that far.  It was too much of a lump to lug round for me, at the time.  Awesome lens, though.

[jharr]

...the shutter sounded like someone beating a metal skip with a lump hammer.

I have no idea what either of those things are, but yet I get the point. 

[Francois]

I had a Fuji 690iii for a while. Great camera but the shutter sounded like someone beating a metal skip with a lump hammer.  I was told it was because it had some fangled contraption with the double release and that you could disconnect one of them and make it a whole lot quieter.  I never got that far.  It was too much of a lump to lug round for me, at the time.  Awesome lens, though.

The noise comes from a counter that's located under the base that indicates when it's time to service the shutter.

[Flippy]

I just spent a load of money on a big lot of unusual Exakta stuff, including some hard to find lenses - Westrogon, Isogon, Terragon and more. Excited for it to arrive. I'll probably end up selling half of it to get back some of the money I spent to get the really hard to find stuff though.

[cs1]

Today, my father in law handed me 2 rolls of Fuji Fujichrome 100, 4 rolls of Fuji Sensia 100, and 2 rolls of Kodak Elitechrome 200 (all 35mm) which is brother found in a drawer. I'm looking forward to trying those films. However, I need to find out more about them first (expiration, best use case for each film etc.).

[Aksel]

Thats nice of him! Love it when people give away stuff like that instead of just tossing it in the bin.
I love the Sensia 100!

[jharr]

After receiving the venerable Kodak 35RF in a trade with Bryan, I wrote a little review on my blog (aka "my mom's Sunday morning read"). Soon after, a Kodak 35 (non-RF) showed up on my doorstep. I didn't buy it, nor was I expecting it. It just showed up. It turned out to be from fellow film waster (though not a forum participant), Mike Connealy. He writes a much more interesting blog than mine, so go have a look. Anyway, I have a roll of expired Tri-x in it now and will append my previous review with my thoughts on this once I get the results.

In parallel, I have been shopping for a postcard (122) camera. I was originally looking for a Kodak 3a, but then discovered the Ansco 3a and found one at a bargain basement price. It turned out to be in near mint condition. Now I just need to roll up some film to feed it. Results to be reported soon.

[Jeff Warden]

Aksel has a camera I want to try.  I want to see a 6x17 negative!  What a cool camera.

[Bryan]

In parallel, I have been shopping for a postcard (122) camera. I was originally looking for a Kodak 3a, but then discovered the Ansco 3a and found one at a bargain basement price. It turned out to be in near mint condition. Now I just need to roll up some film to feed it. Results to be reported soon.

What are you going to do for film, convert it to take your 70mm stuff?

[jharr]

In parallel, I have been shopping for a postcard (122) camera. I was originally looking for a Kodak 3a, but then discovered the Ansco 3a and found one at a bargain basement price. It turned out to be in near mint condition. Now I just need to roll up some film to feed it. Results to be reported soon.

What are you going to do for film, convert it to take your 70mm stuff?

Rolling 70mm onto 122 spools is one option (I made some backing paper). Slitting down some 105mm Recordak is the option I am excited to try though. It will take bright light and slow shutter speeds, but fortunately T and B both work perfectly!

[Bryan]

In parallel, I have been shopping for a postcard (122) camera. I was originally looking for a Kodak 3a, but then discovered the Ansco 3a and found one at a bargain basement price. It turned out to be in near mint condition. Now I just need to roll up some film to feed it. Results to be reported soon.

What are you going to do for film, convert it to take your 70mm stuff?

Rolling 70mm onto 122 spools is one option (I made some backing paper). Slitting down some 105mm Recordak is the option I am excited to try though. It will take bright light and slow shutter speeds, but fortunately T and B both work perfectly!

I have cut down 4x5 sheets to do a single shot in a 616 camera.  I blocked the red window and put some backing paper behind it.

[Aksel]

Aksel has a camera I want to try.  I want to see a 6x17 negative!  What a cool camera.

I`m hauling around the underground here in Oslo now, working on a small series "end of the line" - urban landscapes at the end of each underground line. Should be some looong negatives in the scanner sometime during the summer 


I got lucky this weekend, 30 rolls of Neopan 400 for cheap. I love Neopan!

[Nigel]

Aksel has a camera I want to try.  I want to see a 6x17 negative!  What a cool camera.

I`m hauling around the underground here in Oslo now, working on a small series "end of the line" - urban landscapes at the end of each underground line. Should be some looong negatives in the scanner sometime during the summer 


I got lucky this weekend, 30 rolls of Neopan 400 for cheap. I love Neopan!

Oh, so do I. I have four rolls in my fridge I'm saving for 'a special occasion' - I'm just not sure what it is!

[Kai-san]

Aksel has a camera I want to try.  I want to see a 6x17 negative!  What a cool camera.

I`m hauling around the underground here in Oslo now, working on a small series "end of the line" - urban landscapes at the end of each underground line. Should be some looong negatives in the scanner sometime during the summer 


I got lucky this weekend, 30 rolls of Neopan 400 for cheap. I love Neopan!

Congrats Aksel! I saw the ad on Sunday morning but decided to pass it up. My fridge is totally full of film and if I'd put them in the freezer there would not be space for food! I saw that you sold on the Acros rolls, I'm not so keen on them either. But the Neopan 400 is very nice, I have a few left from the last haul.

[Bryan]

Argus A-Four from a thrift store for $5.  The shutter cocking lever was stuck but I was able to fix that easily. 

Argus A-Four by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

[Aksel]

I got lucky this weekend, 30 rolls of Neopan 400 for cheap. I love Neopan!

Congrats Aksel! I saw the ad on Sunday morning but decided to pass it up. My fridge is totally full of film and if I'd put them in the freezer there would not be space for food! I saw that you sold on the Acros rolls, I'm not so keen on them either. But the Neopan 400 is very nice, I have a few left from the last haul.

Thank you Kai-san, I´m almost out of b/w 135 film and Neopan is my favourite so... I know people love the Acros, not my cup of tea but thy pretty much pay for the Neopan I keep when I resell it  Turned out the chap selling it had 60 more rolls of the 400 so I bought them as well, should be good for about two years consumption now.

[SLVR]

Not much of a SLR guy but I picked up a Nikon Nikkormat FT2 that was gifted over from my Uncle. Came with the standard 50mm F1.4 Nikkor too!

Running a test roll through it to see if there are any issues with it. Meter is a bit jumpy at times, but I think I'll put a silver oxide battery in it rather than the alkaline that it has now and see if that makes a difference.

[jharr]

The first SLR I ever used was a Nikkormat FTn with a 50/1.4. Made in the 60's, I got it in the 80's and I'm still using it today. Congrats on the acquisition.

[SLVR]

it seems very well built. I did try the silver oxide battery and the meter is smoother but still jumps. After googling a bunch I figured its the resistor ring but there isnt much information out there on disassembly or anything like that.

Still searching. But if anyone's got any idea of how I can disassemble the front lens mount with pictures that would be great. Not a lot out there for some reason.

[Francois]

Maybe you don't need to disassemble it in order to clean it. Maybe just pushing some contact cleaner around it will fix the problem.

[jharr]

it seems very well built. I did try the silver oxide battery and the meter is smoother but still jumps. After googling a bunch I figured its the resistor ring but there isnt much information out there on disassembly or anything like that.

Still searching. But if anyone's got any idea of how I can disassemble the front lens mount with pictures that would be great. Not a lot out there for some reason.

I have a shop manual for the FTn. I can copy the relevant pages and send them if you like. Not sure if the mount and chasis would be identical, but it might get you started. PM if interested.

[SLVR]

pmd!

[Bryan]

I just picked up this Carl Zeiss Jena DDR 50mm f/2.8 Tessar lens, not the Chinon SLR.  The Chinon SLR is the first SLR camera owned.  I purchased it around 1987 from a college roommate that needed money to buy weed.  That's probably why he dropped out of college, no money and too much weed.  The Chinon had a Chinon lens on it with a damaged filter thread so I never used filters on it.  I think I'll bring it back into service since I have so many M42 lenses now.  Everything still seems to function good on the camera.

Chinon SLR by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

[Francois]

If you want to fix that lens with the bad threads, you might be interested in this
! No longer available

[Bryan]

If you want to fix that lens with the bad threads, you might be interested in this

The tools alone would cost way more than the lens is worth, plus it's buggered up pretty bad.  I thought about cutting out the bad part but even that is not worth the trouble. 

Anyone want a Chinon 50mm lens in M42 mount for free?

[Blaxton]

In Porto, one has many options for film-based photography shops.  Perhaps not the most distinguished of the options is a little shop called "Máquinas de Outros Tempos".  It's humble in a lot of ways but, distinguished or not, the selection of cameras from another time is large and the service is first-rate.  (The prices are competitive as well.)  I picked up a Rollei 35 there that turned out to have issues.  I returned it and received an exchange in better condition, with some extras.  I am very satisfied with the somewhat extended transaction and, after many years of pining, now have a wonderful little pocket-camera.

[Bryan]

Every now and then I search Craigs List garage sales for "cameras".  This weekend one came up that happened to be on my way home from work so I headed that way.  It was late in the afternoon so I didn't hold out hope of much being left.  The sale turned out to be in a run down trailer park in a semi industrial area so I really wasn't expecting much at this point.  When I got there all they had was a damaged zoom lens so I asked the guy running the sale if that was all the camera gear he had.  Turns out he hadn't brought out everything yet so he started looking for a box of stuff.  He pulled out a small box to rummage through, this is what I got:

- Kodak Brownie Hawkeye.  I'm going to paint this one, I have an Idea for colors.  It should clean up nice.

- Heavy Brass lens.  I'm not sure what this lens goes to but it's amazing how heavy it is.  I think it may be an old projector lens.  There are no markings on it.  If anyone has any idea what it's for let me know. 

- Argus viewfinder for 35mm, 50mm and 100mm.

- Leica IIIc with a Summitar f/2 5cm lens.  The camera needs a CLA and a new beam splitter for the rangefinder.  A lot of chrome has come off but it should be a good usable camera once I get it worked on.  The lens needs an overhaul, there is some haze but I think it may still be usable. 

I got the whole lot for $30. 

[zapsnaps]

Nice find!

[Francois]

Jealousy... 

[Bryan]

Thanks to the help of some projector enthusiasts over at the 8mm forum I think we figured out what the brass lens is.  It's probably a condenser lens for an old 35mm movie projector.  It sits between the lamp and the film gate to concentrate the light onto the film.  The image is then projected thru the main lens. 

I sent the Leica IIIc and the Summitar lens to YYe Camera for servicing and cleaning so my $30 deal turned into $300 pretty quick.  I hope he can get that lens cleaned up so it's usable. 

[Francois]

Yeah, but it's still a Leica....

[Francois]

Not to be left out of the new toy parade, I went last week to a bookstore and fell in love with this little guy and all his travel accessories

[Pete_R]

Just acquired this. 21mm Zuiko. I already have a 24mm but wanted something a bit wider. This is the earlier single coat version but will do me.

[thatguychad]

Ugh, everyone's getting the wide lenses I want. I've been looking for something in the ~20mm range for anything I have a mount for.

[Bryan]

Just acquired this. 21mm Zuiko. I already have a 24mm but wanted something a bit wider. This is the earlier single coat version but will do me.

Very nice, can't wait to see something from it. 

[Pete_R]

Just acquired this. 21mm Zuiko. I already have a 24mm but wanted something a bit wider. This is the earlier single coat version but will do me.

Very nice, can't wait to see something from it.

A few on my Flickr taken this morning in Bath. Can't post them here though.

[Bryan]

Just acquired this. 21mm Zuiko. I already have a 24mm but wanted something a bit wider. This is the earlier single coat version but will do me.

Very nice, can't wait to see something from it.

A few on my Flickr taken this morning in Bath. Can't post them here though.

Those look great Peter.  I just purchased an Auto Tamron f/4.5 21mm from the evil auction site in M42 mount.  I have never owned a Tamron, I doubt it's Zuiko quality but they seem to have a good reputation.