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 Above the Valley by Andrew Balch, on Flickr
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Nov 30, 2018 23:55
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Dec 10, 2018 14:22
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 6x12 pinhole
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Dec 14, 2018 07:52
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unpacked robinhood fucked around with this message at 18:45 on Dec 18, 2018 |
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Dec 18, 2018 18:42
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Dec 19, 2018 08:35
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more pinholes  
Sludge Tank fucked around with this message at 11:34 on Dec 19, 2018 |
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Dec 19, 2018 11:30
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Dec 20, 2018 09:18
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Something a little different (now that the alt process thread is archived). I took 4x5 photos of some nanoblock toys I built, then made cyanotype contact prints. I used wine tannin powder for toning.   
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Dec 20, 2018 15:24
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Dec 24, 2018 07:09
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k-zed posted:Something a little different (now that the alt process thread is archived). Whoa, awesome!
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Dec 26, 2018 23:35
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Dec 27, 2018 23:20
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Dec 28, 2018 12:17
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A local store recently got in a CLA'd Yashica Mat 124, which also had a new mirror put in. I'm not sure on the price, but assuming it's not outrageous I'll probably pick it up. It'll be my first foray into medium format, anything I should know about or keep in mind going in?
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Dec 29, 2018 06:17
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CodfishCartographer posted:A local store recently got in a CLA'd Yashica Mat 124, which also had a new mirror put in. I'm not sure on the price, but assuming it's not outrageous I'll probably pick it up. It'll be my first foray into medium format, anything I should know about or keep in mind going in? Are you coming from digital or 35mm? I'd say just be aware of reciprocity for long exposures, it's something to google up.
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Dec 29, 2018 06:36
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VelociBacon posted:Are you coming from digital or 35mm? I'd say just be aware of reciprocity for long exposures, it's something to google up. I've got experience with both. I've read a bit about reciprocity compensation, but I don't do a ton of long exposure stuff anyways so I'm not sure how much I'll need to know about it.
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Dec 29, 2018 07:00
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CodfishCartographer posted:A local store recently got in a CLA'd Yashica Mat 124, which also had a new mirror put in. I'm not sure on the price, but assuming it's not outrageous I'll probably pick it up. It'll be my first foray into medium format, anything I should know about or keep in mind going in? I’m itching to get into medium format as well, so I’ll be looking for something similar. Unless you want a toy camera, it seems like the Yashica TLRs are one of the most economical ways to shoot 120 with reasonable quality.
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Dec 29, 2018 10:58
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Framing for 1:1 is different than for 3:2, it takes a moment to readjust your usual composition impulses.
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Dec 29, 2018 11:03
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Everything will be backwards in the viewfinder. You get used to it after a bit but it can be frustrating initially. Parallax error is an issue when shooting anything within a few meters. The viewfinder is two inches above the taking lens. For a tight portrait you would frame on the forehead instead of the nose, for example. There's no real aids in the viewfinder for parallax. Even if the meter works it has a very limited EV and ISO range and might take weird batteries depending on the age of the camera. TLRs shoot great freehand but don't be afraid to take a tripod with you. Waist level finder is a misnomer; unless you have Superman's eyes you will be bringing it up to your face to focus. The magnifier really helps. The focal length gives you pretty thin DOF wide open and getting critical focus can be tricky with only a mat screen; don't be afraid to stop down. You'll still get really nice defocus at f/8. Edit: Get a lens hood; the Mat will flare if the sun is anywhere in front of you though it often ends up looking pretty good and "vintage" I suppose. Those plastic knockoff hoods that slot into the Bay filter slot will work fine but won't allow you to use a filter. You can still get original hoods rather easily that grab the filter ring from the outside. I use a Bay 1 to 49mm step up ring. The ring is a bit pricey but has probably saved me money by using conventional filters instead of hunting down Bay 1 filters. The usual generic round 49mm lens hoods you can find on E-Bay work fine with that setup and have no vignetting even with a filter added. Sauer fucked around with this message at 15:36 on Dec 29, 2018 |
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Dec 29, 2018 15:27
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President Beep posted:Unless you want a toy camera... What are current options on 120 toy cameras? I ran a friends Holga (The one with all the colour flashes) for some rolls a while ago and had one hell of a blast doing it, I really miss having a camera I can shoot without all the gravity of "This is serious photography"...
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Dec 29, 2018 16:17
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Primo Itch posted:What are current options on 120 toy cameras? I ran a friends Holga (The one with all the colour flashes) for some rolls a while ago and had one hell of a blast doing it, I really miss having a camera I can shoot without all the gravity of "This is serious photography"... http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Blackbird,_fly Lol. Oops. It’s 35mm. See? I really don’t know poo poo!
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Dec 29, 2018 16:30
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Get a Holga. They're readily available from a variety of shading vendors. There's also Lubitels which are inexpensive, light and are utter hell to focus. Pretty good lens though.
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Dec 29, 2018 16:41
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I get the impression that Ciro-flexes are a notch or two above Holgas, but not really on par with (and cheaper than) other less expensive TLRs like Yashicas. Maybe a good intermediate option?
President Beep fucked around with this message at 17:31 on Dec 29, 2018 |
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Dec 29, 2018 16:46
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With a Lubitel you actually can blame the camera for your crappy photography! 
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Dec 29, 2018 17:18
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President Beep posted:I’m itching to get into medium format as well, so I’ll be looking for something similar. Unless you want a toy camera, it seems like the Yashica TLRs are one of the most economical ways to shoot 120 with reasonable quality. There's also the folding cameras like from Mamiya, Voigtlander, Agfa, Zeiss, etc. I have a Mamiya Six - I like that it focusses by moving the film plane instead of the lens. This requires a backing plate and therefore holds the film way flatter than the other systems. They can be found pretty cheap on eBay and when folded up they're really compact, which makes them easy to take everywhere.
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Dec 29, 2018 19:09
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Mamiya Six looks like a real good buy if you can find one in decent condition. I was heavily considering one until my local shop got in the Yashica. I also had my eyes on the Minolta Automat and the Mamiya C330. I just love the style of TLRs! If by some chance I don't enjoy the shooting style of TLRs, I'll probably look into a Six. If only it had a meter... Sauer posted:Everything will be backwards in the viewfinder. You get used to it after a bit but it can be frustrating initially. Parallax error is an issue when shooting anything within a few meters. The viewfinder is two inches above the taking lens. For a tight portrait you would frame on the forehead instead of the nose, for example. There's no real aids in the viewfinder for parallax. Even if the meter works it has a very limited EV and ISO range and might take weird batteries depending on the age of the camera. TLRs shoot great freehand but don't be afraid to take a tripod with you. Waist level finder is a misnomer; unless you have Superman's eyes you will be bringing it up to your face to focus. The magnifier really helps. The focal length gives you pretty thin DOF wide open and getting critical focus can be tricky with only a mat screen; don't be afraid to stop down. You'll still get really nice defocus at f/8. Thanks for all the tips! I generally shoot street and landscapes, so parallax correction isn't super important since I generally shoot fairly far away. I have been wanting to dabble in portraits though so I'll try to compensate for it more than I think I should. I also didn't know about the flare up issues, so I'll grab a hood. I figured that the meter wouldn't be the most accurate thing in the universe, but it'll at least give me a rough idea and I can adjust it from there. I'm fairly decent at guessing exposure so I'll mostly just use it as a guide.
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Dec 29, 2018 20:15
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Rot posted:There's also the folding cameras like from Mamiya, Voigtlander, Agfa, Zeiss, etc. Very cool! Thanks for the suggestion. Having something more compact would be a bonus. Are folders as dependent on proper periodic CLAs as TLRs seem to be? e: holy poo poo—you weren’t kidding about the affordability on those things. Might be getting into MF sooner than I thought. 
President Beep fucked around with this message at 20:42 on Dec 29, 2018 |
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Dec 29, 2018 20:34
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From my research, folding cameras' usual failing point are the bellows. I think they get brittle with age and pinhole light leaks start showing up, especially on one's that have sat for a long while. Apparently they're somewhat easy to patch up, but it's a matter of finding the light leaks before they mess up some shots.
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Dec 29, 2018 21:02
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President Beep posted:Are folders as dependent on proper periodic CLAs as TLRs seem to be? Not sure, I'm pretty bad when it comes to CLAs and such. My basic process is: buy a camera from a Japanese seller with high rating, after staring at the pictures for a day or two. I don't buy the cheapest but I don't buy the most expensive either. When the product comes, I'll run the dials and switches, do a janky half-assed exposure check using my digital camera that's probably barely better than not bothering, and if everything checks out I go out and shoot. This method has served me well when I got my Bronica, my RB67, and Six. The Mamiya Six I got needed it's rangefinder mechanism cleaned, which was easy enough, and cocking the shutter against speed settings over 1/300th was really stiff, so I disassembled the shutter mech and realigned a shim that seemed to be out of place. The mirror inside the rangefinder probably should be replaced but I'm getting by with the dot of tape trick.
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Dec 29, 2018 21:06
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gently caress it! Found a Bessa I for $35 and snatched it up. Advertised with clean glass and light tight bellows. Sticking shutter at 1/10 and under; I’m fairly handy, so I may end up trying to fix that myself. Never done zone focusing, but it looks like there’s a couple of range settings that make it easy-ish to work with. Hell yeah!
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Dec 29, 2018 21:12
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CodfishCartographer posted:A local store recently got in a CLA'd Yashica Mat 124, which also had a new mirror put in. I'm not sure on the price, but assuming it's not outrageous I'll probably pick it up. It'll be my first foray into medium format, anything I should know about or keep in mind going in? I've had one for about 2 years, it's my main medium format camera and I've probably put over a hundred rolls through it. I'm biased, but I think they're really nice cameras and just as effective as the rolleiflexes people pay double or triple for. The fact it was just CLAd is even better. They're really sharp, silent because of the copal shutter, and lightweight compared to other TLRs. The light meter has worked fine for me unless you're in difficult conditions, in which case knowledge of exposures is going to be more important than the light meter itself. I think it needs a converter for the battery, since they originally took mercury.
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Dec 29, 2018 23:47
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Karl Barks posted:I've had one for about 2 years, it's my main medium format camera and I've probably put over a hundred rolls through it. I'm biased, but I think they're really nice cameras and just as effective as the rolleiflexes people pay double or triple for. The fact it was just CLAd is even better. So pumped to pick it up  And yeah, from what I can tell they use old mercury batteries, but I've got some new weincell batteries for my Minolta SRT 102, so I'll probably just use those since that camera has mostly been replaced by my Bessa R.
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Dec 30, 2018 00:07
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The leaf shutter is a really nice feature of these cameras. On a busy street you'll feel it go off but you won't hear it. They're great if you like using a flash as you get flash sync at all speeds. 1/500th flash sync is fantastic. Folks don't recognize a TLR as a camera in this day and age so good for candid shots where a typical SLR puts everyone on edge. You can shove a cell phone practically up someone's nose and they don't care but even a tiny Pentax MX automatically makes you A THREAT!!! I get loads of older, always European for some reason, folks coming up to chat about my Yashica Mat. Its fun. Sauer fucked around with this message at 02:42 on Dec 30, 2018 |
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Dec 30, 2018 02:36
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Good news: got the Yashica Mat 124 and it seems super nice and clean! Glass looks brand new, and the focus screen was replaced with a bright clear new one. Bad news: the light meter doesn't seem to work. I tried taking the focusing hood off and cleaning the contacts, and testing putting a battery up to said contacts, but no dice. Doesn't seem like the end of the world since apparently the meter on these isn't the best, but is a little disappointing since I didn't know about it. Seems like the store owner may not have known about it either, when I asked if he had a battery to test out the meter at the shop, he didn't - so maybe he hadn't tested it either. I'll see if maybe he'd be willing to give me a discount on a handheld meter or something, which probably wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to invest in anyways. Anyone know of any success stories for repairing the meters? I did some research online and found that usually it's just a matter of cleaning contacts - since that didn't work I'm afraid it might be something busted in the meter itself, which seems like it'd be a harder fix.
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Jan 1, 2019 22:15
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CodfishCartographer posted:Good news: got the Yashica Mat 124 and it seems super nice and clean! Glass looks brand new, and the focus screen was replaced with a bright clear new one. Bad news: the light meter doesn't seem to work. I tried taking the focusing hood off and cleaning the contacts, and testing putting a battery up to said contacts, but no dice. Doesn't seem like the end of the world since apparently the meter on these isn't the best, but is a little disappointing since I didn't know about it. Seems like the store owner may not have known about it either, when I asked if he had a battery to test out the meter at the shop, he didn't - so maybe he hadn't tested it either. I'll see if maybe he'd be willing to give me a discount on a handheld meter or something, which probably wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to invest in anyways. Anyone know of any success stories for repairing the meters? I did some research online and found that usually it's just a matter of cleaning contacts - since that didn't work I'm afraid it might be something busted in the meter itself, which seems like it'd be a harder fix. If it's a selenium meter it'd probably be inaccurate anyways. Still I'd go back and make a show out of returning it for being 'faulty' and then agreeing to keep it once they refund you a fair amount. I just repaired the meter on my 6x7, where the issue was a broken wire that I soldered. It was a little bit of a PITA, and if there wasn't an obviously broken wire then I'd likely be completely SOL. I don't imagine many people repair the meters in old MF cameras on the cheap these days. I agree that a handheld meter is probably the best thing to use regardless.
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Jan 1, 2019 23:38
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VelociBacon posted:If it's a selenium meter it'd probably be inaccurate anyways. Still I'd go back and make a show out of returning it for being 'faulty' and then agreeing to keep it once they refund you a fair amount. It's a pretty small local shop so I didn't make a big fuss, but the dude's nice and the camera was a good price in the first place. I talked to him about it and he comped me a free handheld meter and some rolls of film, so I'm happy. I probably could have gotten a partial refund if I was stubborn but eh whatever. Time to go shoot some garbage!
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Jan 2, 2019 00:25
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CodfishCartographer posted:It's a pretty small local shop so I didn't make a big fuss, but the dude's nice and the camera was a good price in the first place. I talked to him about it and he comped me a free handheld meter and some rolls of film, so I'm happy. I probably could have gotten a partial refund if I was stubborn but eh whatever. Time to go shoot some garbage! The handheld meter is going to be a lot better for you anyways because the meter on a camera like that, even if it were still accurate, is going to be very primitive in terms of how center weighted it might be etc. I should probably learn to use a proper handheld meter but I'll just keep shooting films with huge latitude and not worry about it too much.
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Jan 2, 2019 00:30
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Jan 2, 2019 06:44
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So a couple weeks ago I bought a Kiev88 with a broken light meter and today I got my first 120 test roll back from the lab! I have to say, for how impractical the Kiev is, it's very satisfying to shoot with. I'm also really enjoying the larger negatives and the square prints. Hopefully I'll manage to find more opportunities to shoot medium format.  
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Jan 5, 2019 19:01
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A Kiev 88 with a light meter? Are you talking about the metered prism? If so, junk that and use the waist level finder instead. It improves the ergonomics 200%, reduces weight about a billion percent and makes your pictures 30% better to boot.
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Jan 6, 2019 05:21
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| # ? May 14, 2024 12:56 |
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I bought a Kiev 60 from a gentleman on this forum a few weeks ago, it was broken (knew that in advance), I broke it more while trying to fix it, Arax has it now fixing and upgrading it. Can't wait to get it back and use that fisheye lens that came with it. Desperately holding back my GAS on getting a regular wide angle and a portrait length telephoto. Former Soviet gear is like delicious fatal foreign fruit.
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Jan 6, 2019 05:26
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