Pssst Dr.E

[aerog]

Old...clunk clunk

From my desk:

 

[DrEntropy]

What a lovely old LUMP, Scott!!

Mine's a black one, WELL worn but completely functional. I kept one of each, FTn, F2 and F3... an FM in there too.

That brought a smile. THX. :wink:

 

[NutmegCT]

You young fellas - bet you don't even use silver nitrate, albumen, collodion and magnesium powder any more. Now back in my day ...

 

[DrEntropy]

I've a Brick sittin' on a shelf in th' hovel as "eyecandy"... along with a 4x5 Speed Graphic, a Leica D-series, a Brownie and some old folders. No leather case for the Brick, tho. :frown:

Oh, I have USED 'em all at some point, too.

 

[aerog]

I've got a couple of older ones, and a 20s vintage Kodak box camera that still works pretty well.

Next to the Kodak this is my oldest -a large format, 1942 Fairchild K-17 w/153mm lens, previously owned by the US Army Air Force. I'm trying to track down where it was used, but I haven't had much luck.

 

[judow]

We have several vintage camers including the "Polaroid Land Camera" and the "Brownie." When and if I ever learn how to post pictures, I might include a few photos. Also have an old 8mm projector that works and was used a VMCCA meeting to show footage of old cars and Route 66. Don't know why we've collected them except to say they bring on a lot of nostalgia.

 

[jsneddon]

Nostalgia indeed....

 

[aerog]

Nostalgia indeed....

Yup. I've gotten rid of all my SS tanks and reels. I had a few 2-reel and 4-reel tanks. Had a collection of plastic patterson stuff too (got them cheap, lousy stuff to load and clean).

I had one of those bulk loaders too.

I've got two big boxes of dark room equipment I keep threatening to sell. Every time I look at the market prices of the lenses I decide to just hang onto it all.

My 50/1.4 on the F was always a good lens but I never had it modified. Now that the aperture rings are pretty much unavailable you have to machine them manually to make the AI conversion. I did that to a '74 Nikkor Q.C 135/2.8 I have (used a dremel and a saw to do it), then cleaned the lens up inside and out. It is a surprisingly good lens, even to the pixel-peeping standards of today. I've been shooting with it all month (click here for my month-long 135mm gallery), kind of nice to have around.

 

[swift6]

I'll have to post a picture of my 1902 Kodak Postcard Box camera. My Great Grandmother bought it new. My Grandmother used it on a trip to Yellowstone in 1917. It used 126 roll film which I haven't been able to find, even from the obsolete film vendors, so I have to cut a sheet of film at a time to use it. The bellows are still quite light tight and everything on it functions. Its the pride of my collection. We still have the photo album from Yellowstone in 1917 too. :wink:

 

[jsneddon]

My 50/1.4 on the F was always a good lens but I never had it modified. Now that the aperture rings are pretty much unavailable you have to machine them manually to make the AI conversion. I did that to a '74 Nikkor Q.C 135/2.8 I have (used a dremel and a saw to do it), then cleaned the lens up inside and out.

I have every intention of converting the 35/2.0 shown on the body above but I've been too lazy to put it in a box. I LOVE that lens. The 105 is a keeper too but with the multiplication factor I don't know that I'd use it much for portraits anymore. I hear good things about this guy in Michigan that still does the conversions for 30 or 40 bucks:

https://www.aiconversions.com/compatibilitytable.htm

I'm not against doing it myself with the old Dremel but there is _something_ about the D50 linkage or mount plate that people warn about that is unique to the D50 and similar era Nikons that don't have metering tabs.... they warn about it getting stuck on the camera or breaking something..... and I'm just not ballsy enough to actually try mounting it and rendering something useless.


<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]
I've got two big boxes of dark room equipment I keep threatening to sell. Every time I look at the market prices of the lenses I decide to just hang onto it all.[/QUOTE]

Me too. just going to hang on to it for a while. you never know. The boy is taking some photo class with the local 4H this fall so maybe some day it will be used again.

Heck, Dr E has a bessler two-post 4x5 enlarger that he has threatened to get rid of. Back in the 80's my buddy and I would have driven the 1500 miles to pick it up before the words even finished leaving E's lips. Now.... I think dang... that would STILL be cool to have but.... nah.... Not even worth the price to ship.... and I have a monster 3-lamp dichroic color head with the fancy voltage regulator for that enlarger that HE could have....

It's all just dying away.... There will be the hold-outs and specialists, and hobbyists for quite a while but for all practical purposes...

Dare I say it?

Film is dead.

 

[DNK]

One of the best the ol Nikon F. loved them things. Someone stole mine many a year ago.

 

[DrEntropy]

My 50/1.4 on the F was always a good lens but I never had it modified. Now that the aperture rings are pretty much unavailable you have to machine them manually to make the AI conversion. I did that to a '74 Nikkor Q.C 135/2.8 I have (used a dremel and a saw to do it), then cleaned the lens up inside and out.

I have every intention of converting the 35/2.0 shown on the body above but I've been too lazy to put it in a box. I LOVE that lens. The 105 is a keeper too but with the multiplication factor I don't know that I'd use it much for portraits anymore. I hear good things about this guy in Michigan that still does the conversions for 30 or 40 bucks:

https://www.aiconversions.com/compatibilitytable.htm

I'm not against doing it myself with the old Dremel but there is _something_ about the D50 linkage or mount plate that people warn about that is unique to the D50 and similar era Nikons that don't have metering tabs.... they warn about it getting stuck on the camera or breaking something..... and I'm just not ballsy enough to actually try mounting it and rendering something useless.


<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]
I've got two big boxes of dark room equipment I keep threatening to sell. Every time I look at the market prices of the lenses I decide to just hang onto it all.

Me too. just going to hang on to it for a while. you never know. The boy is taking some photo class with the local 4H this fall so maybe some day it will be used again.

Heck, Dr E has a bessler two-post 4x5 enlarger that he has threatened to get rid of. Back in the 80's my buddy and I would have driven the 1500 miles to pick it up before the words even finished leaving E's lips. Now.... I think dang... that would STILL be cool to have but.... nah.... Not even worth the price to ship.... and I have a monster 3-lamp dichroic color head with the fancy voltage regulator for that enlarger that HE could have....

It's all just dying away.... There will be the hold-outs and specialists, and hobbyists for quite a while but for all practical purposes...

Dare I say it?

Film is dead. [/QUOTE]

I've AI indexed dozens of Nikkor lenses. Swiss files and patience. And I'd charge money for the work in most cases.


My enlarger is an old Omega D3... two or three condensers, lenses, blah-blah-blah... all just so much ballast now. Stainless tanks/reels, some plastic ones (a "ten-up" JoBo among 'em IIRC) two or three "daylight loaders"... "drum processor" for 8x10 and 11x14 prints... all that MONEY!!! :madder:

anybody need a gallon kit of E-6 chemistry???


...how 'bout a six-pack of "Billy Beer"?!?

 

[aerog]

anybody need a gallon kit of E-6 chemistry???

The lab here mixes in 15-gal batches, and they go through it like crazy. I was down there the other day and they got 2000ft of the stuff in to process. Sheesh!

 

[DrEntropy]

woof. At this point I'd doubt you can buy 1-gallon mixes anymore. They cut out all the pint stuff a while ago, IIRC.

If your lab is still goin' at that rate mebbe Jim ain't quite correct (yet).

You're further east and south than the "Drawer Z" guys, so what lab?

 

[aerog]

They're for doing aerial film. I was standing around the other day and the 2000ft came in from Alaska. They've been doing a ton of the stuff for a couple of years now, in 5" wide and 9.5" wide film... they also had some test film with a super heavy thick base - still E6 though.

Some folks really want positive films for color and IR. I don't know why though, they're scanning it all. The modern negative materials scan great, they're cheaper, and have more latitude. Who knows.

 

[kennypinkerton]

Here's one of my oldest cameras... a Kodak Brownie 8mm Movie Camera with the Turret Lens (isn't pretty on the outside, but the mechanicals still work):
I also have a Brownie box camera, and some old misc Nikkon and Pentax lenses and accessories.

 

[jsneddon]

Not my oldest but my favorite. Speed Graphic 2-1/4 x 3-1/4 that I bought from a tweaker for 20 bucks back in college. Got a stack of holders for it and was still able to find FP-4 sheets for it back in '90. Burned through a box of 50 and then that was about it. By then someone had given me a Yashica D and I found it more satisfying to get just about the same size neg on a roll of 120 rather than going through all the rituals and incantations of keeping track of 10 2sided holders.

The boy and I were fooling around with it and we set up this shot - it was completely his idea to do the simulated second 'through the viewfinder' inside my shot - this kid might just have the 'eye' (and I could not be more proud of course)

so the question is - what is wrong with this picture ????

(no fair for you to answer Doc)

 

[jsneddon]

...how 'bout a six-pack of "Billy Beer"?!?

I'm afraid that six-pack of "Billy Beer" is probably worth more than all of our darkroom equipment combined.....

 

[kennypinkerton]

Looks like it may be upside-down to me.

 

[jsneddon]

you would be correct sir :lol: