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Nelson said:
I had unscrewed the lens to put a filter on it, I believe, and I evidently had it misalined when I put it back on. I was very disappointed when I was able to see the developed slides.
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Ah! You mean when you put the lens back on the camera,the body's rangefinder was not coupled to the lens in the correct position. I was trying to understand how the lens could be cross-threaded without being noticed immediately. I kept a C3 after repairing the shutter cocking "ribbon" internally. The owner decided to trade it in on another camera we had in stock. That "brick" now sits on a shelf here as part of my "eyewash" display. Pre-war version, to the right of the Leica, hiding behind the yellow Kodak filter case and SLR.

shelf2.jpg
 
DrEntropy said:
Ah! You mean when you put the lens back on the camera,the body's rangefinder was not coupled to the lens in the correct position. I was trying to understand how the lens could be cross-threaded without being noticed immediately. I kept a C3 after repairing the shutter cocking "ribbon" internally. The owner decided to trade it in on another camera we had in stock. That "brick" now sits on a shelf here as part of my "eyewash" display. Pre-war version, to the right of the Leica, hiding behind the yellow Kodak filter case and SLR.

View attachment 73626
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That Miranda looks just like my fathers Miranda now hidden in my storage area. I probably have the worlds most compete set of like new Miranda macro accessories, most of which probably haven't been used in 50 years. Perfect bellows, extension tubes, I can put the lens on backwards, even close the aperture in time with the shutter with a special adaptor. No idea why he bought every option in the store, any of the pictures in his thesis could have been done with just the bellows.
 
70herald said:
That Miranda looks just like my fathers Miranda now hidden in my storage area. I probably have the worlds most compete set of like new Miranda macro accessories, most of which probably haven't been used in 50 years. Perfect bellows, extension tubes, I can put the lens on backwards, even close the aperture in time with the shutter with a special adaptor. No idea why he bought every option in the store, any of the pictures in his thesis could have been done with just the bellows.
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That's amazing, Yiz. I could likely challenge your statement about having the world's most complete set, I still have the dual-rail bellows, adaptor rings, extension tubes, waist-level finders, lenses, etc. The Miranda "system" was what as a late teen and aspirant pro photog, I could afford. It rivaled Nikon in versatility, lenses certainly had the optical quality to produce sharp images for publication. A model G first, an F for a spare, the attachable light meters and the different viewfinders. The Sensomats came later, in the late '60's. All still with me but passed down to the S.O. when I could finally move into Nikons while working as a photojournalist with the USAF and later in my civilian career. Now the Mirandas are packed away, the shutter curtains having deteriorated to uselessness. All "evidence of an ill-spent youth" at this point. I'm sure your dad's images served well to enhance his thesis, they could rival anything any of the other systems of the day could produce.

And as a bit of trivia: It was Soligor that made the Miranda lenses, branded as their own. The Sensomat in the above shot has a 105mm ∱-2.8 "Miranda" lens, Soligor glass. Sharp-as-a-tack portrait lens and was very good for candid work.
 
DrEntropy said:
That's amazing, Yiz. I could likely challenge your statement about having the world's most complete set, I still have the dual-rail bellows, adaptor rings, extension tubes, waist-level finders, lenses, etc. The Miranda "system" was what as a late teen and aspirant pro photog, I could afford. It rivaled Nikon in versatility, lenses certainly had the optical quality to produce sharp images for publication. A model G first, an F for a spare, the attachable light meters and the different viewfinders. The Sensomats came later, in the late '60's. All still with me but passed down to the S.O. when I could finally move into Nikons while working as a photojournalist with the USAF and later in my civilian career. Now the Mirandas are packed away, the shutter curtains having deteriorated to uselessness. All "evidence of an ill-spent youth" at this point. I'm sure your dad's images served well to enhance his thesis, they could rival anything any of the other systems of the day could produce.

And as a bit of trivia: It was Soligor that made the Miranda lenses, branded as their own. The Sensomat in the above shot has a 105mm ∱-2.8 "Miranda" lens, Soligor glass. Sharp-as-a-tack portrait lens and was very good for candid work.
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My childhood was documented with a 105mm f2.8 Miranda lens :smile:
When I was packing up all the stuff to move out for renovations, clicked to shutter a few times. The shutter curtains look like they are in perfect condition. Dad took very good care of his stuff. I suspect the macro stuff never was used outside of various university labs, but the camera and more normal stuff traveled around the world a few times, camping, canoeing. The original leather Miranda cover still looks good and the camera is perfect. I should run a roll of film through it after I move back into my apartment.
 
70herald said:
I should run a roll of film through it after I move back into my apartment.
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Absolutely! Join the "Groups>hobbies>photography" group Basil set up and post the result of your trial!

The Mirandas were the only system cameras on the market with a "Three Year Guarantee" as well. Some folks carped about them being fragile, but in the time I was using them they never failed to function. All but a very few of the photos having my by-line in the local rags were taken with those cameras, I used them while in the first couple years of USAF work too. The "powers that be" expected us to use Graflex medium format cameras, bulky, unwieldy things. They treated the Nikon F kits as if they were gold, we had to "requisition" them and justify their use. And the "kit" was a standard 50mm and a 135mm. Very limiting AFAIC, so used my own gear a lot. Images of mine that went into "Airman" magazine were taken with Miranda cameras and lenses.
 
Hmmmmm doc. My Contax with Carl Zeiss lens and my Roli 35mm would also be contenders for great cameras.
Still have both of them.
 
Gliderman8 said:
Hmmmmm doc. My Contax with Carl Zeiss lens and my Roli 35mm would also be contenders for great cameras.
Still have both of them.
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No argument there, Elliot. Carl Zeiss glass is superb, they've a quality all their own. I've used a Contax rangefinder in the past (a friend's) and been surprised by the result. Never cared for the SLR Contax line. Seemed "clunky" to me, not comfortable in my hands. They (Zeiss) now make a manual focus Planar 50/1:1.4 in several different mounts but too pricey for anything I'm doing today! 😉

And that little Rollie 35 is a great pocket camera. A few pals had 'em as "walkabout" cameras.
 
DrEntropy said:
No argument there, Elliot. Carl Zeiss glass is superb, they've a quality all their own. I've used a Contax rangefinder in the past (a friend's) and been surprised by the result. Never cared for the SLR Contax line. Seemed "clunky" to me, not comfortable in my hands. They (Zeiss) now make a manual focus Planar 50/1:1.4 in several different mounts but too pricey for anything I'm doing today! 😉

And that little Rollie 35 is a great pocket camera. A few pals had 'em as "walkabout" cameras.
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I wish someone made a digital back for my Contax..... replace the back and convert to a modern digital with F-stops and impeccable optics. OK, I'll stop dreaming.
 
DrEntropy said:
No argument there, Elliot. Carl Zeiss glass is superb, they've a quality all their own. I've used a Contax rangefinder in the past (a friend's) and been surprised by the result. Never cared for the SLR Contax line. Seemed "clunky" to me, not comfortable in my hands. They (Zeiss) now make a manual focus Planar 50/1:1.4 in several different mounts but too pricey for anything I'm doing today! 😉

And that little Rollie 35 is a great pocket camera. A few pals had 'em as "walkabout" cameras.
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I have Zeiss glass on my Panasonic LX 100
 
Gliderman8 said:
I wish someone made a digital back for my Contax..... replace the back and convert to a modern digital with F-stops and impeccable optics. OK, I'll stop dreaming.
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You know Contax had a couple DSLR models released before folding their tent, don't ya?

Looking back to the late '60's when I was a part-time "counter weenie" in a Ma & Pa camera store, it was the early days of SLR emergence. The owner didn't keep a lot of the high-end gear in stock, we sold mostly Yashica, Minolta and Pentax units. The "bargain basement" camera was Practica, a product of Germany's Eastern Block, but optics were the pre-war Dresden Schneider glass formula, IIRC (check out how the Japanese managed to acquire the "Pentax" brand name!). The camera bodies were pretty cheezy, felt "tinny" compared to the Japanese ones. Light metering was done with a photoelectric cell mounted at the front of the pentaprism. But the glass was half-decent.

It's interesting that Zeiss managed to sustain itself while the other makers got "absorbed" into the likes of Yashica/Kyocera, etc.


Basil said:
I have Zeiss glass on my Panasonic LX 100
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Does it get any exercise now? :D
 
DrEntropy said:
You know Contax had a couple DSLR models released before folding their tent, don't ya?

Looking back to the late '60's when I was a part-time "counter weenie" in a Ma & Pa camera store, it was the early days of SLR emergence. The owner didn't keep a lot of the high-end gear in stock, we sold mostly Yashica, Minolta and Pentax units. The "bargain basement" camera was Practica, a product of Germany's Eastern Block, but optics were the pre-war Dresden Schneider glass formula, IIRC (check out how the Japanese managed to acquire the "Pentax" brand name!). The camera bodies were pretty cheezy, felt "tinny" compared to the Japanese ones. Light metering was done with a photoelectric cell mounted at the front of the pentaprism. But the glass was half-decent.

It's interesting that Zeiss managed to sustain itself while the other makers got "absorbed" into the likes of Yashica/Kyocera, etc.



Does it get any exercise now? :D
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I didn't know that doc. I did know that they had some interesting backs that could be switched out, primarily for scientific work. Also, they had special mirrors with graph lines etched in. I used my Contax 139 to make some slides when I owned a typography and pre-press shop. The graph lines on the mirror made it a snap to align the image prior to exposure.
As I recall, the Contax was the commercial end of the Yashica line.
Now mine is like all the rest.... gathering dust.
 
Basil said:
Yes, but not as much as I thought it would when I bought it. I use it mostly for situations or events where it isn't practical to take a full-sized DSLR.
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That's sort of why I asked. Thinking about something like it for just such occasions. But I'd likely take the DSLR and a "short" zoom anyway. 😉

Gliderman8 said:
Now mine is like all the rest.... gathering dust.
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I just recently had my F-2 Nikon serviced, ran some B&W through it and my FE. Processed it this AM. A fun nostalgia exercise! Did a "kitchen sink" development, film now hanging in the bathroom shower to dry:

filmdangle1.JPG
 
DrEntropy said:
That's sort of why I asked. Thinking about something like it for just such occasions. But I'd likely take the DSLR and a "short" zoom anyway. 😉



I just recently had my F-2 Nikon serviced, ran some B&W through it and my FE. Processed it this AM. A fun nostalgia exercise! Did a "kitchen sink" development, film now hanging in the bathroom shower to dry:

View attachment 73655
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The good old days. I have a couple of rolls of in-date Kodachrome that I should also shoot.
 
Elliot said:
The good old days. I have a couple of rolls of in-date Kodachrome that I should also shoot.
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You'll have a heck of a time finding a place to process that!

Dwayne's Photo - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
I still have two film cameras, a Canon FT with 3 lenses and a Ricoh with self-advancing film. Both work fine Also have an enlarger, trays, film clips, etc. Anybody want them?
 
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