In reply to jharry3 :
In our photojournalism classes, we had to always print the entire negative--no cropping allowed in the darkroom. The prof wanted to see those ragged edges. That totally forced us to work on composition.
In reply to jharry3 :
In our photojournalism classes, we had to always print the entire negative--no cropping allowed in the darkroom. The prof wanted to see those ragged edges. That totally forced us to work on composition.
In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :
Ah, the 50 f2. They're okay. Perfectly good for what you need and can grow with. Figured it was a 50/50 chance as they share a body with the f1.7 so with the caps on they look identical. At f5.6 and tighter the images will probably be all but identical with either.
Looks identical to the K1000 I have from decades ago. I loved mine. It needs to have the felt seals and mirror cushion replaced.
The Sony A7M2 I recently bought has a similar feel. I ordered a K-mount to E-mount adapter to see what the digital world looks like through my old Pentax lenses. It should make for a fun afternoon.
Have fun. Make sure you share some of the pictures.
So, my update.
The A-1 and K1000 are both at Kiwi Camera Service in Orlando for work. The K1000's light meter isn't working, and both cameras need seals, cleaning, etc. Hope to pick them up soon.
And this just arrived yesterday. (I got weak.)
Whoa. An F1!!! I have not seen one of those in years!!!
I am now going to have yo dig out my A-1 and see if it works. First stop will be a battery.
In reply to dean1484 :
Yes, the F-1 was a bit of an impulse buy once I saw the prices. I found it on eBay and had a friend who knows a lot about cameras on the line. Buy it, he said, so I did.
I hope to pick up my A-1 soon as it needed the usual clean/lube/adjust plus new seals. I used it through school but it had been sitting since the mid '90s. It fired up with a fresh battery, but the shutter sounded horrible. I hear that's common. Fingers crossed that I can pick it up this Saturday as it's an hour away in Orlando.
The shop took a quick look at the F-1 and said that the seals look good--not brand-new but not bad. Run a roll through it and see, they said. So I need to get a battery--few different ways to go there--and try it. Hope to have some time this weekend.
I had an AE-1 Program and a completely manual Pentax when I was younger. When I went to college I took Photography 1 and 2 and learned a billion things. I was even a photographer for our newspaper for a while. I bought a Canon EOS and knew all the places for film and developing supplies. Did my own darkroom work and learned how to manipulate things old-school. There is nothing like the smell of Dektol in red light at 3am because you have forgotten time like you're in a casino.
It still feels like I'm cheating with my DSLR, but I don't care. I'm having fun learning the digital side now.
I would suggest something with a built-in meter like an AE-1 and don't be afraid to experiment with different films. I went deep into B&W because that's the easy button in the darkroom. I had a crapload of filters. Experiment with opposite color filters with black and white. Using a red filter will add contrast to the sky or trees. IR film will make chlorophyll look white. Have fun. It's an adventure, and if more of us don't keep it alive it may become a lost art.
Cameras have been cleaned and serviced--just picked them up tonight.
Thank you, Kiwi Camera Service.
In reply to David S. Wallens :
Do you know if he does mail in repairs. I would love to get my K1000 resealed and cleaned but there isn't anyone local that fixes them.
Toyman01 + Sized and said:In reply to David S. Wallens :
Do you know if he does mail in repairs. I would love to get my K1000 resealed and cleaned but there isn't anyone local that fixes them.
I believe so but I'd say call to confirm. It was definitely service with a smile. Plus they have a sweet dog there.
In reply to David S. Wallens :
I'll give them a shout tomorrow.
Light seals are easy. I went on Amazon and bought 1.5mm and 3mm thick light seal foam; it comes with adhesive backing. I then borrowed a rotary cutter and board and cut my own seals from that material. Getting the old seal material out is a lot of scraping with toothpicks (wood is good at not damaging things), metal picks (for when a toothpick isn't strong enough) and lighter fluid (to soften glue and crud). I have maybe $30 in materials to do this which is less than the cost for half an hour's time at a nice shop I found and have worked with in Topeka.
Cleaning I consider "the less done, the better" and if a camera were really gross I would send that in somewhere. Same for anything that seems like a malfunction (light meter wonky, shutter speeds off, etc).
These cameras remind me of the days that you would pick up a photography magazine and then look at the adds in the back. You then call the store and ask for a catalog or even mail them a catalog request form cut from the magazine. Most stores were in NY City. You then get the catalog and spend many hours poring over it looking for things and comparing things to specials in the Magazines. Then you finally order. If you were lucky you had a credit card but most likely you mailed them a check with the order form clipped from the back of the catalog and filled out. You then would wait 2-5 weeks for the package to arrive. The build up while waiting for somthing to arrive was a big part of things. When it did finally arrive it truly was an unboxing event. I remember when I got the A1. I think I had it with me non stop for a month after I got it. It was that exciting.
When ever I pick up one of my old cameras it is not just about all the memories it has preserved and the fun I had chasing that perfect photo but about a time in my life. A simpler time that is special to me.
Shooting film brings me back to this time. Things took longer. Things traveled by post not by email. Photos were taken but you really did not know if you got the shot until you developed it. It was different. Not better than now but different.
Every once in a while, when shooting film, I "know" I got the shot. But many times I don't. And sometimes I think I know and I'm wrong. The metering systems on these cameras is nowhere near as good as on my now nine year old DSLR. And with film proper exposure was a much bigger issue.
I still enjoy the challenge.
In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :
Metering systems? Bah! Electronic witchcraft. Sunny-16 or bust.
Sunlight? What is this, a parade?
I shot that like a lot of evening shots; 1/30th second (because that's about as steady as I can shoot), pushing Tri-X 400 by probably 2.5 stops in Clayton F76+, with my Pentax M 50 f1.7 at f1.7. I love shooting at night and pushing film to get the effective speed I need to make it work. And in low light like this, the meter in all of my film cameras are basically useless. I'm very aware of Sunny 16 and it's not that helpful either in a bar.
Been shooting with expired film that I got for free. I inherited my dad's Minolta SRT Super a few years ago with a 50mm F1.4 along with a 35mm and 135 over 5 years ago. Really need to clean the viewfinder as it is really dim in some spots, but it works great. The lightmeter is accurate with a CRIS mercury battery adapter. Also picked up a Minolta X700 a few months back from the local camera store, which is a different experience with the Program modes, but at the same time I can use my MD/MC lenses. But I really prefer the feel of the SRT. Both Minoltas I found the diopter that allows me to use them without glasses. I had a tough time focusing them wearing glasses which is why I am sort of hesitant of using other film cameras.
In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :
Love the low-light stuff. Thanks for sharing. I remember shooting some 3200 at a BMX race a million years ago. In theory, the prints and negs are here somewhere....
Night shooting is fun. Pretty sure this was TriX through a Canon L1 with a Canon 50/1.9 collapsible.
Night shots and long exposures are the kinds of shooting I love doing with film. Night shots that aren't also long exposures are much more of a "take your best guess and roll the dice" proposition. I don't know about my Pentax MX but my Ricoh XR7 and various Chinon k-mount cameras all meter rather off when it gets quite dark out. If I really wanted to get serious about it I'd be spending many hundreds of dollars on a camera body instead of $50 or so.
So I have this Olympus OM10 that I was given by my mom. Is it worth messing with? Will it need some love before I use it?
That OM10 is lacking the Manual Adapter (I had to look this camera up) so you can't manually set the exposure time, but that isn't a huge issue if you're starting out. The light seals all around the film door on the back should be checked (they most likely need to be replaced) along with the mirror damper pad (look that up online to see what that's like) and *do not* touch the focusing screen during the replacement of the damper pad. Like just don't. I wish someone had yelled at me the first time I thought I'd clean one with isopropyl alcohol and it fogged up a cheap Chinon I bought.
Anyway it probably needs seals and it'll need batteries and the battery compartment contacts probably need to be cleaned. At that point I'd try shooting it without film just to see what happens. It might need more attention but the above are things you could do as a novice for low cost.
That camera is not one of the more desirable Olympus models so they're available cheap on the used market. But they don't seem like bad cameras per se. Just not sought after like an OM2 or OM1, etc.
In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :
Sounds good. Yeah it sounds like it was the first of less expensive OM series. I wish I had the manual adapter but I don't maybe I can find one for cheap on eBay later. I do have two lens. I'll mess around with it a little. Could be fun alternative to my micro 4/3s setup I have been slowly putting together.
The ticket might be to find another Oly with the Manual Adapter and a lens attached in a focal length you don't already have. When the time comes. And a lens that isn't a known dud (like a lot of 28's and 135's were back in the day, along with a lot that were great).
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