35mm Workhorses

It's been a little while since I've taken any "still life" photos. So, while I was shooting a few items for craigslist, I threw a few of my 35mm beauties down for some glamor shots.  Starting off is my much loved Nikon F2A with a Nikon Non-Ai 50mm lens and DIY lens hood (52mm-to-55mm adapter ring stacked with an empty filter ring). She's my original pro-35mm camera and still my favorite of the bunch. She was made in 1979 and spent the earliest years of her life working for a news paper in Chicago. She later found her way to Huemaxx in High Point, NC where she was refurbish by master mechanical camera technician Ken Toda. Who then, sold her to me in 2007.  Second is my snap-shot king, the Olympus XA. Made sometime in the early '80s, purchased by me last year. She's the only point-and-shoot or rangefinder camera I regularly use. She's simple, elegant, compact, and built tough. She's also fitted with a fast and sharp Zuiko 35mm f/2.8 lens that produces sharp images with strong, natural vignetting (which I enjoy). 
Last is my new Nikon F2 and Nikon Ai 105mm f/2.5 lens. While this F2 is an older model (made in 1974), it spent its life as a copy-camera resulting with very little ware (other than a dent on the prism casing that probably occurred while attaching or detaching the F2 from its copy-stand). I picked her up for a steal (only $75) compared to my earlier F2A (I'm not admitting how much I paid for it). She has yet to completely prove herself in the field. But I highly doubt Nikon ever made a crappy F2, so I have full faith in her. 
Canon 20D
Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 macro lens
F-to-EOS lens adapter
Nikon Ai 24mm f/2.8 lens-Polarize filter
Vivitar 285HV flash (x2)
-DIY 9"x8" softbox
-DIY grid snoot
Cactus V2s wireless flash trigger

Setup shot:

New Members of the Family

Amazing $70 eBay find, a 1950s Graflex Pacemaker Speed Graphic with a Kodak Ektar 127mm f/4.7 lens



early 1970s Canon Canonet G-III 17 35mm rangefinder, given to me by a friend





early 1980s Minolta X-570 35mm SLR and Minolta 35-200mm f/3-5.6 lens, given to me by a friend.

Canon 5D
Canon 24-105mm f/4L lens

*

I won a bid on a 1950s Graflex Peacemaker Crown Graphic 4x5 field camera!!

..for under $70 bucks!!!

And even with shipping and insurance it's only a few cents over $100.

It's a full kit including the camera, large metal case, 10 film holders, a flash bulb lamp (no flash bulbs included), an assortment of cable and air release cords, and original manuals/literature. And it all appears to be in really good condition.

But there is some significant risk: the seller stated outright that the item(s) are being sold "as is". He/she photographed everything pretty thoroughly, but doesn't know cameras/photography and didn't photograph the camera open. so, i don't know the condition of the more vital parts like the lens, bellows, track guides, etc. I don't even have a guarantee that there is even a lens...

But judging on all the other images, I'm going to make an ass-out-of-u-and-me that there's a lens tucked safely inside (that probably hasn't seen the light of day in decades). It'll most likely be a 135mm f/4.7 Graflex Optar lens or 127mm f/4.7 Kodak Ektar lens (this model's factory lenses ranged from a 90mm wide-angle to 162 short-telephoto).

Worst case scenario: it's a scam and the camera's completely thrashed/gutted, I could still sell the film holders and accessories separately and make back my money.

So, granted nothing's hatched yet, and I'm already counting the hell out of these eggs.. but DAMN I'm excited!

Item number: 120355274690

*image and info ganked from graflex.org

Camera Robot Clock

Nikon D3
Nikon AF 85mm f/1.4 lens
Nikon AF 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5 lens
Prophoto powerpack
Prophoto ringlight

First photos playing around with the ring light in studio.

Self Promo #6

Mamiya C220
-original 80mm f/2.8 lens
-original waist-level viewfinder
-original twin-lens cover

Mamiya 645 AFII
Leaf Aptus 17 digital back
Mamiya 150mm f/2.8 macro lens
(lots of) Adobe Photoshop CS3

Weapon Of Choice

Canon Rebel XT
Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 lens
Canon 430EX Speedlite
Vivitar 285HV flash

Setup Shot:

Kodak Retina IIa

A new toy.











Canon Rebel XT
Canon 35-128mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens
ambiate lit
-overhead tungsten

My uncle made a decent Goodwill find of this antique rangefinder camera. He bought it, took it apart, cleaned it up, put it back together, and tried to sale it on ebay, but couldn't get the $50 he asked for. So, he gave it to me.

It's a German-built Kodak, a 35mm folding rangefinder camera with a Schneider Xenon 50mm f/2 lens and 1/500s-max leaf shutter.

It was produced between 1951 and 1954 and sold for about $170 (about $1100 today). It competed with other German and Japanese rangefinders as a simpler, more user friendly alternative.

At some point between ending up at Goodwill and being disassembled by my uncle, it lost its original cold-shoe (but still has a working X-sync socked), lost the original lens aperture lever (requiring a small tool/pointy object to change the f/stop), and when opened the lens sits less than parallel with the body (probably causing some scheimpflug-ish focusing issues).

But it still functions well (except for a little sticking in the 1s and 1/2s shutter speeds). It doesn't appear to have any light leaks or lens defects, and also came with its original Kodak FVII/32 UV filter (also made in Germany).

I ran a roll of Ilford Delta 3200 through it, but won't be able to process it for a week or two.

more info about the Retina IIa can be found here

Shooter

(as always, click any image to view larger @ Flickr)










Nikon F2
Nikon Nikkor Non-Ai 50mm f/1.4 lens
Kodak Plus-X 125 D-76 - 20°c - 6 minutesaggressive agitation Nikon Super Coolscan 5000 ED 35mm film scanner

Shooter

Nikon F2
Nikon 20mm f/2.8 lens
Kodak Portra 160VC