OFFICIAL I HAVE A NEW (FILM RELATED) TOY THREAD!!

PeterSpencer said:
Surprisingly, I was once asked to take some photographs at a funeral. The clergy were outraged but it wasn't my idea. The weather was awful but some of the photographs at the wake seemed OK. Don't really understand the assumed prohibition about taking pictures at funerals, or anytime, come to think of it. I'll make it a condition of my funeral! Ain't got your camera don't come.
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This is becoming more of a thing.

I think most people don't fancy it, but from what I've read, it's nice for people to be able to look back and remember who came. Once some time has passed.
 
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I thought I'd posted, but maybe I didn't press send.

Just got given a Pentax P30 and three lenses from a friend. It was gifted to him, but he was never going to use it.

Lenses are:

Miranda 70-210 (f/4.5-5.6) - on first glance, this look a little foggy to me.
SMC Pentax-M 50mm (f/1.7) This look to be in good nick.
SMC Pentax-A 35-70mm (f/3.5-4.5). This feels a bit loose, but seems to focus OK. If offers an auto mode which means I could still hand it to other people and all they'd have to do is focus it.

Just as a comparison, here's the tiny little 70-210 next to my Canon...


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I recently bought a job lot off eBay, my first and last, of which these two Kopil meters were the stars and almost justified the price. They are all-metal, beautifully made and, with a bit of film speed tinkering, work rather well. Some Internet digging reveals that they were made by a Japanese company that supplied various camera manufacturers before going out of business In 1965. Interestingly, the battery housing screw cover is identical in design to that found on my Nikon F metering head, which may be more than a coincidence.

The Robot camera brand was also new to me and the two film rewinders pictured below remain a bit of a puzzle. If anyone out there has a Robot camera and can make use of them I would be happy to pass them on.


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The Robot film rewinders are for the Robot IIa and the Robot Junior which didn't have a rewind handle but took standard 35mm cassettes. The film was taken up into a particular type of Robot cassette. The cassettes were removed together at the end of the run, into the rewind contraption where the film could be rewound into the standard cassette. Subsequent Robots, like the Robot Star, were provided with a rewind knob.

I would be interested in these if we can arrange some sort of deal. I don't know what they might be worth (I can't find any for sale at the moment). I have one which came with one of my Robot Juniors so haven't much of a clue about the value individually.

PM?
 
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Kell said:
I thought I'd posted, but maybe I didn't press send.

Just got given a Pentax P30 and three lenses from a friend. It was gifted to him, but he was never going to use it.

Lenses are:

Miranda 70-210 (f/4.5-5.6) - on first glance, this look a little foggy to me.
SMC Pentax-M 50mm (f/1.7) This look to be in good nick.
SMC Pentax-A 35-70mm (f/3.5-4.5). This feels a bit loose, but seems to focus OK. If offers an auto mode which means I could still hand it to other people and all they'd have to do is focus it.

Just as a comparison, here's the tiny little 70-210 next to my Canon...
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I had the M 35-70 3.5-4.5 and it was an excellent lens, I suspect the A version is very similar. I would still have mine, except my camera, tripod etc fell over on some rocks and it got badly dented. I replaced it with a Vivitar 35-70 which is almost as good. Anyway, if that looseness is not too bad, should be a very useful lens. A zoom range of around 2 in those days allowed reasonable quality throughout the range, by the time you get to 3, most are suffering a bit somewhere, IMHO...
 
PeterSpencer said:
The Robot film rewinders are for the Robot IIa and the Robot Junior which didn't have a rewind handle but took standard 35mm cassettes. The film was taken up into a particular type of Robot cassette. The cassettes were removed together at the end of the run, into the rewind contraption where the film could be rewound into the standard cassette. Subsequent Robots, like the Robot Star, were provided with a rewind knob.

I would be interested in these if we can arrange some sort of deal. I don't know what they might be worth (I can't find any for sale at the moment). I have one which came with one of my Robot Juniors so haven't much of a clue about the value individually.

PM?
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Thank you for solving that little mystery. I thought there must be a Robot expert out there. I’ll settle for the cost of getting these to you. Can I contact you directly. I’ve little experience of these forums.
 
You can send me a private email through the forum. But then I might as well send one to you. Hope this works.
 
I've had a Minolta X-500 since about 1990 (bought SH then).

In all that time I've only ever had a 50mm lens for it.

But this week I've been a bit busy and bought these.

I ordered the 28-70 mm lens first (and won it for only a tenner) - before finding out that it's regarded as being a bit rubbish.

Then I ordered the 28-85. While I knew (by then) that it's not as sought after as the 35-70 (despite being a lot more expensive at launch), I thought it might be a more usable range and it ALMOST as good - and was less than half the price of any 35-70 I saw.

Except that almost immediately after buying it, a mint 35-70 appeared. So I ordered that too,

28-70.jpg 28-85.jpg 35-70.jpg
 
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Retired nextdoor neighbour is having a clear out. "Are you interested in these?"

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"Ooh yes please! Thank you very much."

The AE-1 is covered in degraded foam from inside the very nice Sacar case. 28 & 50mm FD lenses, a Vivitar Macro plus a cased Vivitar Tele converter. This Canon will be externally cleaned very well before I even think about opening the back or changing a lens. I'm sure the foam remnants would quickly kill the camera if it gets inside.

Vito B with a broken something or other (hood? Close up attachment?).

If either are working a donation will be made to the neighbours preferred charity.

A quick battery rigged up (an adapter for a Minox plus foil) and the Canon lives! I'll order the correct battery. The battery door is cracked and fragile.
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auntiemaryscanary said:
Retired nextdoor neighbour is having a clear out. "Are you interested in these?"

View attachment 413226

View attachment 413227

View attachment 413228

"Ooh yes please! Thank you very much."

The AE-1 is covered in degraded foam from inside the very nice Sacar case. 28 & 50mm FD lenses, a Vivitar Macro plus a cased Vivitar Tele converter. This Canon will be externally cleaned very well before I even think about opening the back or changing a lens. I'm sure the foam remnants would quickly kill the camera if it gets inside.

Vito B with a broken something or other (hood? Close up attachment?).

If either are working a donation will be made to the neighbours preferred charity.

A quick battery rigged up (an adapter for a Minox plus foil) and the Canon lives! I'll order the correct battery. The battery door is cracked and fragile.
View attachment 413233
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Like the Voightlander.
 
auntiemaryscanary said:
Thanks, it's got a film stuck on take up spool. The film has detached from the 35mm canister. Will download the manual to see what the rewind process is.

The Canon has rotten foam on the mirror bumper and door seals.
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Read the manual and retrieved the old film. Test film in camera and working but with shutter speeds at 1, 1/2 and 1/5 noticeably slow. Lovely little camera, will fire off a dozen shots tomorrow in my lunch break. Of course I'd not realised it will only fire with a film in it!

Not sure if the AE1 is worth paying for repair especially with a broken battery door. Think I'll attempt foam replacement myself. Told the neighbour about it's issues. He says "Just chuck it"!!!
 
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I got an agfa isolette 1, I haven’t actually received it yet but i was wondering if there’s a way to check if the bellows is light tight. It’s first time buying a MF camera, just wanted to play a bit with medium format, never tried it before
 
Marino said:
I got an agfa isolette 1, I haven’t actually received it yet but i was wondering if there’s a way to check if the bellows is light tight. It’s first time buying a MF camera, just wanted to play a bit with medium format, never tried it before
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Go somewhere completely dark, open the back of the camera and shine a bright light inside. If there are holes in the bellows you should spot them.
 
FishyFish said:
Go somewhere completely dark, open the back of the camera and shine a bright light inside. If there are holes in the bellows you should spot them.
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Thx Nige! And if there’s any holes? Can i like patch it or do the bellows need replaced completely?
 
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It looks like it is in stock, but I found similar products on the internet. That's a good idea thx again @FishyFish
 
Kell said:
I've had a Minolta X-500 since about 1990 (bought SH then).

In all that time I've only ever had a 50mm lens for it.

But this week I've been a bit busy and bought these.

I ordered the 28-70 mm lens first (and won it for only a tenner) - before finding out that it's regarded as being a bit rubbish.

Then I ordered the 28-85. While I knew (by then) that it's not as good as the 35-70, I thought it might be a more usable range and it ALMOST as good - and was less than half the price of any 35-70 I saw.

Except that almost immediately after buying it, a mint 35-70 appeared. So I ordered that too,

View attachment 413051
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Unfortunately, the 28-85 is going back. Despite being described as clean, it's got two obvious fungus spores.

thumbnail_IMG_5300.jpgthumbnail_IMG_5298.jpg
 
A very nice condition Agfa Silette LK. The sensor seems to still be working and accurate enough.
It also only has 4 shutter speeds, including bulb.

I best lens zone focusing ☺️
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On the subject of Minoltas, My grandson (14) has been watching me working in the darkroom and grasped the basics of dev & printing very well and has saved up to buy himself an enlarger, a Durst simple 35mm B&W for £30 together with a quite old Minolta 50/F3.5 enlarging lens.
All he needs now is a camera! So I have just bought a Minolta XGM with a standard prime lens 50/F1.7 for £55 from a BHF charity shop for his birthday next month. It came with a warning from a shop assistant: "The reason it was so cheap you will have difficulty in finding film for it!" I didn't enlighten them. I put a short roll of film through it and it is working well.
That is why I regret selling the 28/85 (post 72 above). But I still have a Vivitar 28/90 ser1 and a Vivitar 70/210 Ser 1,. both with a Minolta mount that he can have once he has mastered the camera with the standard lens.
 
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excalibur2 said:
:(

Before sending back why don't you take a few shots to see if you like it e.g. sharpness, distortion etc, then you will know if you want another one???
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I did go out at the weekend with all three to see which ones to keep and which to move on. But it looks like that decision has been made for me.
 
Agfa isolette bought for £15, so I couldn’t resist playing with a new toy :wacky:
IMG_2024-02-01-123659.jpg
New toy but thought i should ask before wasting film on this one.
I shined light at the back of the camera in my darkroom to see if there’s any light leaks coming from the bellows and it looks ok, could not see any light coming through.
So does this camera need light seals anywhere else?

IMG_2543.jpeg
For example it looks to me that the hatched area I’ve marked on the above photo could potentially cause a light leak.
IMG_2024-02-01-123648.jpg
And that little window although red, could that not also cause a light leak?
 
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It's a different make of camera, but my Zeiss Mess-Ikonta folding camera doesn't have any light seals on the hatched area, and I've never had any light leaks.

My Zeiss has a little metal sliding cover that blocks light entering through the red window, but you could just use a bit of electrical tape if you wanted to be sure no light gets in - just peel it back when you advance the film to see the frame numbers. When these cameras were made much film was orthochromatic, so less sensitive to red light, and any that did creep in wouldn't affect the film. You have the backing paper on the film providing a barrier too.
 
Marino said:
And that little window although red, could that not also cause a light leak?
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The backing paper is lightproof, so it protects the emulsion. More expensive cameras had sliding metal shutters over the window but they made little or no difference.
 
FishyFish said:
It's a different make of camera, but my Zeiss Mess-Ikonta folding camera doesn't have any light seals on the hatched area, and I've never had any light leaks.

My Zeiss has a little metal sliding cover that blocks light entering through the red window, but you could just use a bit of electrical tape if you wanted to be sure no light gets in - just peel it back when you advance the film to see the frame numbers. When these cameras were made much film was orthochromatic, so less sensitive to red light, and any that did creep in wouldn't affect the film. You have the backing paper on the film providing a barrier too.
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AndrewFlannigan said:
s lightproof, so it protects the emulsion. More expensive cameras had sliding metal shutters over the window but they made li
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Well I suppose the only way to find out is to take pictures with it.
Thx for the info, I'm not familiar with 120Film so this is my very first one
 
moggi1964 said:
Couldn't resist this little beauty.


Rich (BB code):
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Sweet

Less is definitely more

Gotta be a design icon now, for me its less about what the camera produces and more about what it looks like whilst doing it.
Although, zeiss glass will likely give a decent return..:)
 
Marino said:
Agfa isolette bought for £15, so I couldn’t resist playing with a new toy :wacky:
View attachment 413629
New toy but thought i should ask before wasting film on this one.
I shined light at the back of the camera in my darkroom to see if there’s any light leaks coming from the bellows and it looks ok, could not see any light coming through.
So does this camera need light seals anywhere else?

View attachment 413630
For example it looks to me that the hatched area I’ve marked on the above photo could potentially cause a light leak.
View attachment 413631
And that little window although red, could that not also cause a light leak?
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No, the back is designed to overlap and prevent light entering. The Agfa is a cracking camera. I used one for a few years back in the noughties....



Roots print.jpg
 
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