Finishing the Roll

Every year I say the same thing; seems like the weeks between Halloween and Christmas just fly by. This year has been no different. Wow! It's almost Christmas again!

And, as in past years, I find myself finishing off partially shot rolls of film in some of my cameras as we click off the final days of 2017.

It was on a hike in July that I started this roll of Portra 400 in my Pentax MX. These were shot with the SMC Pentax-A 50mm f/1.2

Five months later, I finished up the roll on a December Sunday using my 85mm f/1.8 SMC lens. First, reading the morning paper...

Late in the day, near the magic hour, a stroll on the beach...

Yes, those are birds, not specks of dust!

Back home, some Christmas gift wrapping...

It had been so long since I started this roll of Portra that I had forgotten what was on the first few frames. Getting the scans back from the lab was a pleasant surprise. I remembered that it was a nice July hike. Good air, exercise, some quiet time. And finishing the roll with my 85mm was a good reminder of how much I like this focal length and how I must use it more in 2018.

Lightbox Wednesday #47

My Dad was always a General Motors man. Growing up, his pickups were always Chevy or GMC. And Mom hauled us around in a Biscayne wagon. After he retired, he bought a Cadillac. GM through and through.

I've always been a Nikon guy. Just as my Dad swore that a Ford would never grace our driveway, I couldn't imagine ever liking, let alone loving a Canon. Until I bought my F-1. Love that camera. And those old FD lenses...sweet! Here are some shots from my first roll through the F-1 this past February.

Lightbox Wednesday #46

When my old MacBook started throwing fits last fall, I knew that sooner rather than later, I'd be paying a visit to the Apple Store and laying down some serious bucks for a new one. I really hate spending my hard earned money on technology because as soon as I buy something, it's outdated. But my laptop is a tool I use every day for work and pleasure, so I justified buying the most robust one I could afford; a new MacBook Pro.

This Lightbox project started out as a simple cleaning of my digital garage. I wanted to get rid of documents and images I'd clung to on the old machine rather than transfer all of it to the new one. Cleaning up my documents was a pretty easy process, accomplished over a couple of weekends. I decided to attack my images in a more methodical way, viewing them all on iPhoto's lightbox desktop, thinking about each one before I kept it or slid it to the trash can.

I've been at it for 46 weeks and the exercise has been cathartic. It feels good. The garage is almost clean. My images are organized for easy retrieval and the editing process has revealed my growth both as an operator of the equipment and as a photographer. I still have a lot more to learn and I'm excited about that.

One added benefit is that as I looked through my photos, it made me remember how much I enjoyed using a particular camera, or in some cases, didn't enjoy using it. I realized that I've written some thoughts here on the blog about certain cameras and then never really followed up down the road as to my feelings as I spent more and more time with the camera. I am not alone in this area. Occasionally, when I read a camera review online or watch a YouTube camera review, it's interesting to see a photographer gushing over a particular camera. Then, scrolling through the comments, I'll read that the photographer ultimately ended up getting rid of the camera for one reason or another. So I have decided to revisit some of the old cameras I haven't shot in a while and see if I still feel the same way about them. As I came across this image from January 2015, I realized I hadn't put any serious miles on my Contax RX in far too long. I have some Acros in the RX now.

Bookshelf, January 7, 2015 shot with the Contax RX, 50mm f/1.7 Zeiss Planar on Tmax 100

The Nikon F4: Love At First Sight!

I wrote yesterday about my introduction to photography as a teenager in the 1970s. As life would have it, I'd take a break from my hobby for a while. A long while. Nearly 20 years. It would be the early 1990s before the photo bug bit me again. By this time, I was a young father raising a family in the suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona. 

I had a decent job and a tiny bit of disposable income, so I started researching 35mm SLRs. I was always a big fan of Nikon, having spent countless teenage hours drooling over the F2 in the pages of Popular and Modern Photography magazine, so I decided that I was finally going to own my first Nikon camera. Online shopping didn't exist at this time, so I did it the old fashioned way -- I went to the camera store!

Lewis Camera Exchange near Arizona State University was a photographic temple in those days. Imagine the coolest hardware store you've ever been to, but instead of nuts and bolts, the shelves were piled high with cameras, lenses, photo accessories and darkroom supplies. Along one wall, behind the counter, huge glass door coolers held bricks and bricks of every kind of film imaginable. And as the store's name suggested, Lewis Camera Exchange had a huge...and I mean huge used gear department full of equipment that had been traded-in (exchanged) for new stuff.

The owners and all of the help at Lewis were working photographers. They knew photography and gear and were always patient and super helpful. Being that the store was only a five minute drive from my office, I took full advantage of their helpfulness. Over the course of several weeks, I pestered the Lewis staff with endless questions about Nikon's latest SLRs; the N50, N70, N90 and N90s. During one of my visits, Vince Ruggiero, the owner of the store, grabbed a camera from the shelf, handed it to me with a sly smile and said "This is the camera you should have!" The camera he handed me was the Nikon F4. It was the most amazing camera I had ever seen!

Introduced in 1988, the F4 was still Nikon's top of the line pro body at the time. The F5 wouldn't be released until 1996. Retailing for what would be just over $5000 in today's dollars, the F4 was light years out of my price range, but as I held this camera in my hands that day I remember strategizing about all of the ways I could possibly finagle a way to buy this camera. Of course, I couldn't afford it. I ended up buying the N90s with 50mm f/1.8 AF-D lens, a kit that still cost me over a grand, but for years my heart still lusted over the F4.

Fast forward another couple of decades and I get an email from one of my Flickr friends who is thinning his herd of cameras and wonders if I am interested in any of his gear. There, on the list of cameras, is a very nice F4 from late in the production run. The camera has the MB-20 and MB-21 grips and comes complete with a 50mm f/1.4 AF-D lens. A few hundred dollars seals the deal and my heart is finally happy. The digital age made the F4 an affordable reality for me!

The Nikon F4 is a historically significant camera. It was the first pro body with autofocus. It was Nikon's first pro body with matrix metering. It was the first Nikon pro body with a built-in motor drive. It looked totally different than any other SLR that came before it and it defined what future cameras would look like. All other Nikon pro bodies before the F4 were evolutionary designs, The F4 was revolutionary. Best of all, today it remains a totally relevant, fun-to-use, powerful and best of all, affordable camera.

Nikon F4 with MB-20 grip and 50/1.4 AF-D lens

There are plenty of places online that dig deep into the technical specifications of the Nikon F4, so I will just touch on the stand outs for me.

First, if you have older manual focus Nikon lenses like I do, know that they'll work just fine on the F4. In fact, the F4 will take most any Nikkor lens back to 1959. With much of the Nikon manual glass, you'll get matrix metering and focus confirmation.

The F4 offers up every imaginable shooting mode: manual, shutter priority, aperture priority and programmed auto-exposure.

A very powerful metering system is at your disposal too, allowing you to select from spot, center weighted or matrix. 

The F4 offers shutter speeds up to 1/8000th of a second! Yes, 1/8000th!

There are several power configurations available which change size, weight and handling of the camera. The MB-20 battery pack (the F4's smallest and lightest configuration) uses 4 AA batteries and gives you 4 frames per second. The MB-21 and MB-23 grips use six AA batteries and increase your squeeze rate up to 5.7 frames per second. The latter grips also feature vertical shutter release buttons.

With an AF lens, the F4's auto focus is primitive by today's standards, but is still quick and very accurate. I wouldn't want to use to the F4 to shoot auto racing, but for most photography, it's just fine. The auto focus system is user selectable with single and continuous servo modes as well as manual.

The viewfinder in the F4 is bright, huge and delightful to look through, presenting all of the information the photographer needs through LCD and LED readouts. The LCD screens offer available pleasant, green backlighting in dim light. There is built in diopter correction too. Viewfinders and focus screens are interchangeable.

The coolest thing about the Nikon F4 is that it is truly a bridge camera between traditional knob and lever controls and the multi-function/menu driven cameras that followed it.

Top controls on the Nikon F4

Dials, knobs, buttons or levers for every function!

This is a very powerful, electronic camera. Uniquely, every function on the F4 is driven by a dial, knob, button or lever. Somehow, Nikon knew that professional photographers trading in their Nikon F2 or F3 bodies on the F4, needed to be gently taken down a new road through a traditional analog interface. Take it from me, if you've shot any mechanical SLR, you can pick up the F4 and drive it skillfully without ever needing to refer to the manual! Try that with a DSLR.

Film loading is the easiest of any camera I have ever used. Open the back, insert the cartridge, pull the film leader across to the red line, close the back, turn the camera on. The Nikon F4 automatically threads the leader and advances the film to the first frame. Two levers need to be engaged on the camera to tell the F4 to rewind the film. This prevents inadvertently rewinding. Nikon thoughtfully added a manual rewind knob as well in case your batteries fail.

The F4 is idiot proof. There are error messages to let you know if the film is improperly loaded or a dial is not set properly or your batteries are getting low. And control interlocks keep you out of most trouble.

I don't use my F4 often enough and that's a shame. Every camera needs exercise and late in the afternoon on one recent Sunday, I loaded up four fresh AA batteries, some Portra 400 film and took her to the beach as the sun was setting.

It was getting chilly. I decided to head back home before the sun completely set. Looking back down to the ocean as I headed home, I clicked off this shot.

This is the path back up from the beach.

As I neared home, I realized I had left too soon. The Sonoma Coast was serving up one of those great November sunsets. I got this shot from my front yard.

And another through my front window. I am surprised this came out so clear as my window isn't all that clean. The window glass between camera and subject did confuse the F4's auto focus momentarily. After a few hunt and pecks, it locked on to infinity.

Almost 30 years after its introduction, the Nikon F4 remains a viable film camera. With its advanced metering, ability to mount most any Nikon lens, easy to obtain AA batteries, user-friendly interface and professional build quality, this camera should be on a short list for serious film photographers.

Personally, 24 years after first holding one at Lewis Camera, I'm happy to finally own one.

44 Years?

This was the first photo magazine I ever bought; the October 1973 Darkroom Issue of Popular Photography. I was 14 years old, shooting with a Kodak Retina IIc rangefinder that my Dad graciously let me borrow. Like most photographers of the day, I yearned to process film and print my own photographs.

I learned to develop film in my friend Mike's basement darkroom, messing up a few rolls of Plus-X Pan while learning the nuances of winding it onto Honeywell Nikor stainless steel reels in complete darkness. Actually, the winding on was the hardest part. Kodak's D-76 developer and good ole Plus-X were forgiving friends of budding darkroom workers.

Stainless Steel Film Developing Tank

After the film was developed, washed and dried, we'd make contact prints of the roll on 8x10 sheets of photographic paper using the light of Mike's Beseler enlarger. The contact prints would need to be developed, stopped, fixed and washed just like the film and after that was done, we would decide which images to print full size.

It was great to have a friend with a darkroom, but soon I wanted one of my own. I talked my parents into letting me set one up in the corner of our own basement laundry room. A lot of people, kids and adults, processed their own film and made prints at home in those days. It turns out that a neighbor up the street had an old 1950s era Federal enlarger for sale. He was upgrading to a new Omega B-22 enlarger and the Federal would soon be surplus. $50 of lawn mowing money got me the enlarger and he threw in three trays, tongs, a Kodak safelight and Paterson film developing tank.

Federal Diffusion Enlarger (image courtesy iCollector.com)

Just like kids today spend hours playing video games or goofing around on smart phones, I'd take over the laundry room whenever I could, sealing up the cracks under the door to keep out stray light, mixing up smelly chemicals and standing in awe under the glow of my red safelight as my photographic works of art magically appeared in the developer tray.

I can't believe it's been 44 years!

Lightbox Wednesday #45: Should I get a zoom?

I've only shot one lens longer in focal length than 85mm in my photographic life; the Pentax-A 135/2.8. It was a lens I picked up on a lark this Spring and took it to a local college graduation ceremony.

Pentax-A 135mm  f/2.8 on Pentax LX body

Pentax-A 135mm f/2.8 on Pentax LX body

Telephoto lenses really make you see the world differently and I've been thinking that maybe I should shoot this 135 more. I've also been considering a zoom lens. I've never owned one and really never had the desire to until now.

I have so many different camera bodies, so the choices are vast. Manual focus or auto focus? Nikon? Pentax? Canon? Olympus? Minolta?

Right now, I am leaning towards finding an inexpensive Nikkor AF-D zoom and shoot it on my Nikon F4 body. Not sure. Suggestions are welcomed.

More Adventures with the Pentax 50mm f/1.4 8-Element Super Tak

I've been meaning to try my lovely Super Takumar 8-Element 50 with some black and white film since I got it this spring. One thing has led to another and the months have slipped by. It was mid-November before I spooled up some Acros 100 in the Spotmatic and took a late afternoon stroll on the beach.

I love getting down to the sand just before sunset. My hope is always to get some interesting shots of people, silhouetted against a setting Pacific sun. As I arrived, there were the usual collection of folks walking their dogs.

And sitting with their dogs...

It was near low tide and the ocean had receded enough to allow me to get this interesting shadow selfie in the layers of exposed sand.

Two fellow photographers were conducting a portrait session with their DSLRs. The surf makes a great background for these kinds of shots. They seemed amused at the sight of my ancient Spotmatic and I got the usual "Is that a film camera?"

Up the beach, I came across some folks fishing and shot a series as the sun was setting.

I know that the capabilities of the 8-Element 50/1.4 Super Takumar far exceed my abilities as a photographer. This lens is  pure joy to use with its exceptional build quality. And I am only beginning to discover the range of images it is capable of making.

Lightbox Wednesday #44: Selfie Special Edition

I started taking self portraits with my classic film cameras for fun. As I became a more competent photographer, I used selfies for metering tests and close focusing.

My very first photography selfie was not with a film camera at all, but with my iPhone. I found a cool Kodachrome mirror on eBay and took a photo of myself after I had proudly hung it in my den.

My second one was with my first Polaroid Land Camera. I shot this at the end of a very long night of doing some intense camera repair work to get this old camera to eject exposed film properly. I treated myself to a nice glass of wine after I got this image. Or was it two glasses?

When I started this journey back into film photography, I wasn't very concerned with organizing my images. I was just shooting film and having fun. Earlier this year, when I started this Lightbox project of cleaning up my archives and labeling all of the images I wanted to keep, I realized that one of the unexpected benefits of shooting a selfie on many of the rolls I'd taken was that it allowed me to clearly identify the camera and lens I was using at the time.

Since that revelation, I have made it standard procedure to shoot one selfie either at the start or end of the roll to assist in future archiving. I am also considering adding a slate card in the shot to identify film used.

What started out as goofy fun became a benefit. Here are some of my selfies through the years.

Nikon F2

Hasselblad 500c/m

Nikon F2AS

Minolta XE-7

Leica M3

Pentax Spotmatic

Pentax LX

Mamiya 645

Olympus OM-4

Leica M9-P

Nikon F4

Pentax ME Super

Canon P

Nikon F2AS Vertical Shot

Olympus OM-2n

Leica MP

Pentax MX

Olympus OM-2n Black Body

Pentax Spotmatic Chrome Body

Leica M-P typ 240 with EVF

Lightbox Wednesday #43: Special Edition

If you are serious at all about photography, you will, at some point, get GAS. GAS or Gear Acquisition Syndrome is an affliction that effects most photographers at some point. If you shoot contemporary gear, you're chasing the most megapixels or faster image processing. If you're into classic analog gear like me, you're building out your Nikon system or wanting to try every Pentax film camera made. GAS can extend to accessory viewfinders, flash units, light meters, close up accessories, camera straps, bags and of course, lenses.

Lens GAS can really become an obsession because the internet is full of photographers extolling the virtues of this lens or that lens. Magical, mystical image rendering. Swirly bokeh. Incredible subject isolation. Razor sharp images. Creamy, dreamy color. 20mm, 35mm, 85mm, 105mm, macro, micro, defocus, f/0.95, fixed aperture, perspective control, extra low dispersion. It goes on and on.

Truth is, I've had real bad lens GAS and have spent time and money chasing some of these holy grail lenses. And some of them are really really good. And the chase has been fun and I have learned a lot. But as I work my way through this year long Lightbox Project; reviewing, editing, saving, deleting, organizing all of my photography from the past seven years, one thing has become very clear.

I've done some of my best work using prime 50mm lenses!

Yup. My most satisfying images have been made with 50s. And not always super fast, expensive 50s either. I've been blown away by images made by a 50 year old f/2 Takumar screw mount lens I bought for $30 and prehistoric Nikkors that came free on F2 bodies.

So while reading up on, researching, dreaming about and chasing that elusive lens, it just might be that the best lens you could ever own is the one that came with your camera.

Here are some of my favorite images, all shot with one of those fabulous 50s.

Shooting the 50mm f/3.5 MD Macro Rokkor-X

Macro lenses are big fun! I especially like macro lenses that do double duty as normal primes. It's very convenient to take along a 50/55mm macro lens on a photo walk and should you stumble across something that deserves a close up, you can quickly grab the shot. Macros are great rainy day lenses as well. It's interesting to see if you can make interesting images photographing common things around the house.

I wasn't out looking for this lens. My Minolta MD Macro Rokkor-X 50mm f/3.5 lens came bundled with the XE-7 body I recently purchased.

Minolta XE-7 with the Macro Rokkor

Like the 50mm f/1.4 Rokkor lens that also was in this camera bundle, the 50/3.5 Macro lens is well made, light and compact. It's substantially lighter than the faster 50. This lens will focus from infinity to just a hair under 8 inches. It has nice, clicky f/stops and and pleasant focusing action. The recessed front lens element eliminates the need for a protective filter.

I tested this lens on my XE-7 using some expired Acros 100 film. 400 speed film would have been a better choice, allowing me faster shutter speeds. Some of my close up, handheld shots were a bit blurry due to the XE-7 selecting slower speeds. I also could have done better if I had used my tripod.

My first shots were at the office, during an exceptionally long and boring conference call. Yes, I had the phone on mute.

My desk phone

MacBook keyboard

There's always an over abundance of leftover Halloween treats at the office.

The office candy bowl after Halloween

My pen and Rhodia pad

I clicked off some more shots when I got home that night.

Minolta XD shutter release

One of my lovely Takumar lenses

Ansel Adams poster in my den

The evening's wine choice. Notice the texture on the part of the wine label where I focused. Nice!

The 50mm MD Macro Rokkor-X sells for $20-$60 on eBay. If you've got an X-series Minolta body, this would be a nice, low risk lens to add to your kit. I am going to play around with this lens some more with faster, fresher film. So far, I'm glad it was bundled with this camera.

Food

Just when I was down to my last roll of Plus-X film, a brick turns up from a film photographer here in the Bay Area. 10 rolls of 125PX, stored frozen since its expiration date in 2012. This will keep my appetite for this great film satisfied at least through next year.

Along with the Plus-X, I picked up some AGFA APX 100. This film was stored frozen as well, but with a 1998 expiration date...who knows what I'll get.

Joy!

Ahh...The Sweet, Sweet 70s!

I have a soft spot for 1970s vintage 35mm single lens reflex cameras. Seems that camera manufacturers had reached the pinnacle of SLR design and build about mid-decade. Reliable mechanical cameras, honed from metal and glass with just the right amount of simple electronics sprinkled in to add convenience and ease of use.

I can't think of a single 1970s vintage SLR that hasn't been an absolute blast to use. And prior to the introduction of composite bodies and more complicated electronics, cameras of this vintage are almost infinitely repairable and very usable today. 

As I have happily shot my way through Nikon, Pentax, Olympus and Canon cameras of this period, I kept pushing one of the more forward-thinking of all the Japanese camera makers to the end of the list: Minolta. The Minolta Camera Company started building cameras and optics in the late 1920s. Their first cameras were bellows type models, then TLRs. Minolta's first single lens reflex camera, the SR-2, debuted around 1958. In the mid 1960s, they introduced the SR-T line, with then state-of-the-art TTL metering. 

I was a member of my junior high camera club in the early 70's and we were able to borrow one of three Minolta SR-T 101 cameras the club owned. If I recall, the SR-T 101 was the first SLR I had ever used and it was pretty cool to compose a shot, then meter through the lens--big stuff in the early 70s! Around the time I was signing out the club SR-T 101, Minolta was entering into an agreement with Leica to develop cameras. Leica was going through tough times in the early 70s. People were abandoning rangefinders in favor of SLRs and Leica wanted a piece of that market. Minolta had the design expertise. Leica had the ability to build fine cameras. Out of this collaboration came several nifty cameras, including the subject of this post--the Minolta XE-7.

Minolta XE-7 with 50mm f/1.4 Rokkor-X Lens

The XE-7, introduced in 1974,  has been on my list for some time as I was curious to experience the camera that was the basis for Leica's R series of SLRs. Indeed, the Leica R3 and Minolta XE-7 are essentially the same camera. Wetzlar's influence on the XE-7 are pretty apparent from the moment you pick it up. Fit and finish are definitely above average. Body markings and shutter speeds are finely etched into the metal and carefully painted. All of the XE-7 cameras came in black finish and I believe that's brass underneath as I've seen a few of these for sale that have a nice brassy patina. I've said it before--a camera has to make you want to pick it up. Hold it. Shoot it. The XE-7 begs you to do this. With the normal 50mm Rokkor lens mounted out front, this camera is superbly balanced and feels just great in the hand. The shutter speed selector firmly clicks from setting to setting. Film advance on the XE-7 is one of the nicest I've felt on any SLR, Leica-like and buttery smooth with just the right amount of resistance.

As a confirmed classic camera geek, I can be seduced by the sound of a fine mechanical shutter and the XE-7's Leitz-Copal shutter is sexy sounding for sure. After unboxing any new to me camera, I always dry fire it through its available shutter speeds and this Minolta's shutter sound got me at the get go! I couldn't wait to spool up some film and get shooting.

The XE-7 offers two modes: aperture-priority auto and fully manual. While it's fun to shoot with a fully manual camera, I think I really enjoy shooting in aperture-priority mode best and appreciate a camera that offers it. Minolta and Leica worked out a really nice straightforward presentation of controls on the XE-7 and everything falls nicely into place for any classic SLR photographer. Unlike some other cameras, all of the controls on this camera are really easy to manipulate, just the right size and not fiddly at all. I like that.

The XE-7 features a wonderful, big and bright viewfinder with split image focusing. Analog shutter speeds are presented along the right side of the finder and your selected aperture is at the top of the screen. The focusing screen in this camera is very bright and clear.

I got my XE-7 in a bundle with a very nice 50mm f/1.4 MC Rokkor-X PG lens as well as the 50mm f/4 Macro Rokkor. I shot a roll of color with the normal lens and black and white with the macro lens. Black and white shots forthcoming. Took a brisk walk on the beach. Camera in aperture-priority auto mode, Kodak Portra 400 exposed at 200 ISO.

Nothing remarkable about any of these shots, but I was pleased with the results and deeply satisfied that a 43 year old camera worked perfectly right out of the box. I really like the Minolta XE-7 and highly recommend anyone looking for an affordable entry into 35mm film photography consider this camera and the fine Minolta Rokkor MC and MD lenses. I've tried two classic Minoltas so far, this XE-7 and the XD, which followed this camera by three years. Both are great cameras. 

A side note: The X-series were the last of the manual focus Minoltas. The company purchased the patent on auto-focus technology from Leica and the amazing Minolta Maxxum camera, which was just ahead on the horizon, would soon change photography forever.

I'll be sharing my Macro Rokkor shots soon.

Lightbox Wednesday #42

Fall is my favorite time of year, especially October. Four years ago, I had to move inland about 15 miles, renting a tiny cottage in the town of Freestone, CA for six months. The owners called the place "The BoHo Cottage" because it was located on the Bohemian Highway. 

The month of October was beautiful in the BoHo Cottage. Rays of warm sunshine sliced through the thick canopy of trees on the property, creating all sorts of photographic opportunities. I shot these one Sunday afternoon with my Mamiya 645Pro on Ektar 100.

My favorite place to enjoy morning coffee

When fall turned to winter, the realities of living in a thin walled, uninsulated cottage became apparent. I've never been so cold as the winter I spent in the BoHo Cottage!

Lightbox Wednesday #41

All year long, I've been editing my archives of the images I have taken since re-entering film photography in 2010. Kind of like cleaning the garage, it's an exercise that you procrastinate over doing. Once done however, the results are deeply satisfying.

Just prior to buying my first film camera in 2010, I was snap-shooting with a Nikon Coolpix point and shoot digital camera. Most of my work with this camera is forgettable, but I like this one.

Seagull captured from the Alcatraz Ferry, San Francisco Bay, Winter 2009

The Original Canon F-1

It wasn't supposed to happen like this. At best, I thought we'd be briefly cordial. Acquaintances for a few weeks or months. You'd come into and out of my life like the others before. Then something happened. I discovered there was more to you and the longer we spent time together, I realized something more meaningful and potentially longer lasting was developing. I didn't expect to fall for you like this.

The Original Canon F-1 with 50mm f/1.4 Chrome Nose FD

My Canon Original F-1 camera came to me quite unexpectedly. I wasn't looking for one, not even thinking about one. I already owned the newest and last in the F-1 line, the AE-finder equipped F-1n and loved its aperture-priority automation and fine Canon FD lenses. But one evening, while browsing through the posts on the Facebook Film Camera Group I belong to, I saw someone who was looking for a Canon P rangefinder. I happened to have two and that was one too many. I shot a message to the guy and he instantly responded, asking me how much I wanted and would I be open to a trade. "Trade? What do you have?"

He responded that he had an original Canon F-1 with a nice chrome nose FD standard lens mounted out front. Sent me a few photos. The camera looked decent, although he told me he had never used the meter. Shot it only Sunny 16. I decided that it might be fun to try the original version of the F-1, so we made a deal.

I packed up my P and sent it off. A few days later, the F-1 arrived. She was a bit dusty and 46 years of photography had worn off some of her black finish, revealing a wonderful, romantic brass patina. As I always do when unpacking a camera for the first time, I ran her through the range of available shutter speeds. The shutter speed selector dial clicked firmly into place at each detent and the speeds sounded fairly accurate. Better yet, the F-1's shutter sound was sublime. Really sublime!

Despite appearing well used, the old Canon really seemed fully functional. The viewfinder was clean and clear. The self-timer worked. Film chamber was clean and shutter curtains looked good. She did need seals and new mirror bumper foams. And the old CdS meter seemed a bit erratic. The F-1 was interesting and felt good enough in my hand to invest into a CLA. I have had good experiences with Blue Moon Camera & Machine and knew they worked on this model camera, so off she went for some spa time.

Cameras usually spend 4-6 weeks up at Blue Moon and during that time, my life and my work got real busy. The F-1 came back from service and it would be many more weeks before I had a chance to take her for a test drive. During that time, I'd occasionally take the camera out, click the FD lens through its f/stops, focus on something in my living room and dry fire the shutter. Despite its size and weight, the F-1 is a wonderful camera to hold. And I know it's weird, but I love the way a camera smells when it comes back from service--almost like new. Blue Moon converted the F-1 to use modern 1.5v batteries and the light meter was now instantly responsive. The F-1's viewfinder is big...I mean big and bright and beautiful with only a simple, minimalist match-needle display.

Once I had some time, I loaded up some Kodak Portra 400 film, which I always overexpose by one stop, and headed down to the beach.

The Canon F-1 is big and heavy. Brass and glass. It's fully mechanical. No automated anything. You must slow down, think, focus, compose, dial up the proper shutter speed, open or close the lens, wind the film to the next frame. It requires everything of the photographer and in return, it offers an amazingly satisfying analog experience and very, very nice photographs. Love!

Lightbox Wednesday #40

After 40 weeks of digital house cleaning, I'm nearing the end of my process of organizing all of the photographs I've taken since rediscovering film photography seven years ago. It's been a good exercise and I've opened up some space on the hard drive.

One of the least expensive vintage lenses I have purchased is my 50mm f/4 Super Macro Takumar. As standard lenses go, it's slow, but since I've enjoyed Nikon's Micro Nikkors so much, I thought it would be fun to try the Pentax version.

This lens blew me away! You can snuggle up nice and close to your subject...

And it delivered one of my favorite seascapes...

Honestly, if this lens was a bit faster, I'd leave it on my Spotmatic all the time. If you like using M42 lenses, keep an eye on eBay for one of these. They're a hoot to shoot!

Ok

Knowing that I live in Northern California, a number of photography friends have reached out to see if I am ok. I am. Our community is not.

I live in Bodega Bay on the Sonoma Coast and the fires have not reached our little town. My office is in Santa Rosa, however, and that community has been devastated.  The Tubbs fire burned down over the mountains and reached into densely populated areas of the city. Hundreds of homes and businesses were destroyed. As of this morning, 13 of my co-workers lost their homes.

There are 15 or so different fires burning in the Northern part of the state. Last I heard, over 100,000 acres have been lost. Homes, businesses and sadly, lives.

Firefighters and police officers from all over the state are here. We are so grateful.

People who live in Wine Country are resilient and we'll get through this. We'll be ok.

The Pentax ES

I've written previously how I had preconceived negative notions about Pentax Spotmatic cameras. I had always dismissed them as primitive SLRs using unavailable batteries. Still, they intrigued me enough to casually shop them online. Because many Spotmatics are nearly five decades old, finding a decent one takes some effort and patience. Indeed, the first Spotmatic I bought on eBay arrived totally dead, infested with fungus and with a corroded battery chamber.

Being the good classic camera geek that I am, I soldiered on and eventually found a decent copy. And in the process of buying and shooting and buying some more, I've learned that these cameras aren't anything like my preconceptions. In fact, they're really very, very good...outstanding even! I learned that the battery thing is a non-issue. The Pentax Takumar lenses that screw onto the front of these things are downright amazing! And, if you can't tell by now, I've fallen head over heels for these Spotties!

I've now acquired and used most every variant; SP, SPII, SPF and ESII. The SP500 and SP1000 are just sub-variants. Completing the Spotmatic "circle of love" is the Pentax ES.

Pentax ES with SMC Takumar 55mm f/2

In 1971, Pentax introduced the world's first SLR with an electronically controlled shutter. Built on the already successful Spotmatic chassis and sold only in Japan, this camera would be called the "Electro Spotmatic." Like the Spotmatic F, the Electro Spotmatic had TTL open-aperture metering with Super Multi Coated and SMC Takumar lenses. There were bugs in the circuitry of the first Electros that were worked out by the time Pentax rolled out the camera worldwide with a totally new circuit board in 1972, just in time for Christmas. The camera's name was shortened to ES. Unlike the other Spotmatics, the standard body color was black and chrome was special order. The ES and later ESII bodies are about a quarter of an inch taller and six ounces heavier than a standard Spotmatic to accommodate the improved electronic circuitry.

I had an ESII for a while and it had some issues. It was a capable shooter but after a week or so, used or not used, the batteries died. And it needed FOUR 1.5v button cells housed in a small compartment under the lens mount. The battery compartment cover on my copy kept falling off. Too many quirks for me. 

I acquired my ES from a friend who is retired from Pentax. It was a salesman's sample unit and probably never saw a roll of film.

The ES uses just one 6v #544 battery. I've shot three rolls of film with the ES and have had it for several months and so far, the battery is going strong. The battery compartment is on the front of the camera and to accommodate this, Pentax did away with the self timer. This isn't an issue for me. In 40+ years of photography, I've never once used a camera's self timer.

ES Top Controls

The ES features aperture-priority automation, which is my favorite kind of shooting. Set the shutter speed dial to AUTOMATIC, select your aperture and the ES will dial up the perfect shutter speed. It's a step-less shutter too, which means that if the camera computes the appropriate shutter speed to be 1/555th of a second or 1/112th of a second, that's what you'll get. This was razzle dazzle technology in 1972! 

The one odd quirk about this camera is that if you shift to one of the five available manual shutter speeds, it disables the TTL meter completely, so it's aperture-priority or nothing. Again, I love aperture-priority photography, so this is not a deal breaker for me.

Unlike all of the other Spotmatic variants, lightly pressing the shutter release button activates the meter.. This is a feature I wish they added to the SPF. The viewfinder display shows you the shutter speed the camera's automation is selecting for you and like all of the Spotmatics, it's big and bright and Pentax wonderful!

On the ES, Pentax relocated the ASA selector to the rewind crank and I like it in that location. Battery check is easier too. Rather than setting ASA to 100 and shutter speed to B like the other Spotmatics, the ES features a simple battery check button.

Honeywell was the US distributor of Pentax cameras at this time. There is no difference between Asahi Pentax and Honeywell Pentax

The extra height and weight didn't bother me at all. Like all of the Spotmatics, the ES is well balanced and fits the hand well. I like shooting mine with the camera body nestled into the bottom half of the OEM case. Pentax used some pretty decent leather on these cases and most I've seen have really held up well. The original Asahi Pentax straps aren't bad either. They feature a gripper pad that prevents the camera from slipping off of your shoulder.

For the first test drive of my ES, I mounted my 55mm f/2 SMC Takumar lens and loaded some Kodak Portra 400. Testing a new camera is always a good reason for a walk on the beach.

Back home, a quick shot of my fireplace mantle in the late afternoon sun.

I enjoyed shooting the Pentax ES enough to invest in an Eric Hendrickson CLA, although outside of a bit of a stiff film advance, this 45 year old camera performed pretty darn well. This is a testament to Pentax quality during the Spotmatic era.

If you're considering  M42 mount lenses, here's my overview of the Pentax bodies I've found most satisfying to use:

SP:  My favorite of the early bodies because I love the pentaprism without the flash shoe. Truly one of the best looking of all the film SLRs. I keep a 50mm f/1.4 Super Takumar on mine all the time. You'll get used to stop-down metering...trust me. The Pentax SV-H3V that Paul McCartney is holding below is a predecessor to the SP.

SPF:  As I mentioned above, if this camera's TTL meter was activated by a light shutter press rather than when it senses light over 2EV, it might just be my favorite film camera of all time. Keep the lens cap on between shots in bright light and you're fine. If you can find one with a split image focusing screen, grab it fast as they are rare!

ES:  It's nice to have a Spotmatic body with aperture-priority automation. Yeah, I could buy the M42 to K-Mount adapter and shoot my screw mount lenses on my LX...but it just isn't the same. If you're considering one of these electronically controlled shutter bodies, stay away from the Electro Spotmatic. The circuit boards are finicky and no one I know still repairs them. Of the ES an ESII, the ES definitely gets my vote.

Things I Miss...

While going through all of my images for my Lightbox Wednesday Project, I came across these photos.

Once upon a time, film manufacturers used to put actual instruction sheets in with rolls of film. I followed these instructions as a teenager while I was learning to develop Kodak Tri-X, Plus-X and Panatomic-X films. Many of us also learned the Sunny 16 Rule from these instruction sheets.

Not sure when these went away, but I miss them.