Ahem. First one to laugh gets it...

Ambermile

Ambermile

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Arthur
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OK, picture the scene. New camera arrives, got manual and everything. Previous owner had very nicely dropped a film (120) in and shot two exposures to make sure the knobs knobbed and the shutter shut and the winders wound. Out I go with manual, put camera on a tripod and set everything just so. Compose pic, hit shutter. Perfect! Wind on. Oh - hang on a minute, there's no stop on the winder! Checking the manual and no mention *at all* about winding on other than when loading initially, wind on until the "1" appears in the back window.

So, here I am with my pristine Ikon Nettar in front of me with the number "4" staring at me through the red window... I am stumped - is it the first number four of lots? Is there only one and I've just missed it by 5mm? Will the winder stop after the required distance anyway? Why does the manual not mention it? Help!


Arthur
 
You take the shot; and then carefully wind on till no 5 appears. Take that shot and then wind on carefully till No6 appears. Take the shot....

BTW, from memory; you have to cock the shutter manually everytime after you take a shot. The winder does not cock the shutter

Ujjwal
 
Ah - thanks. I realise I have to cock the shutter, everything is in the manual except this! I think if I had used this format film before I would know about what is on the back of it ... this is the first time though.


Arthur
 
Which Nettar have you got and which lens and shutter? If you are lucky you can get superb results from these once you get the hang of it, but different cameras can differ wildly in lens alignment.

Be sure always to open the camera before winding on (and shooting). Don't wind on until you are sure you are going to shoot. The reason is that the bellows come out like a vacuum pump and suck the film away from the backing plate. If you open, wind, then shoot you will have the film as tight and flat as possible. Also, open the bellows slowly, not with panache.

This is from a Nettar 516 (the 6x4.5 version), with a Novar f4.5 in a Klio shutter:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2658/3930301080_573328ac8e_o.jpg

Staff Edit : Images changed to clickable links. Pictures must not exceed current forum limits as per the rules.
Please feel free to replace this with a fresh/resized image and remove this text :)
 
Nice - mine is a 518/16, with a Novar 75mm f/4.5, Velio shutter, 6x6... I hope you are not going to tell me it's pooh! In fact, I don't care if you do - it's still beautiful!

Arthur
 
Oh, and if you have a shutter such as the Compur Rapid, which switches from normal to ultra-fast (i.e 1/200s or 1/500s) never try to engage the top speed spring while the shutter is cocked. Select your shutter speed, cock and fire, don't cock and then start messing with speeds.

You will find special markings at around eight meters and f16. These are the hyperfocal setting for keeping everything in focus between about 5 meters and infinity - you will probably be surprised by how effective these are for making landscapes.
 
I also have a 518/16. Although the wind on does not cock the sutter, it does have double exposure prevention. Behind the shutter button is a small window. If it is red, it means that the film has been wound on and it is ready to take a picture. If it is white, it means that you have already taken the picture and you need to wind on.

It is possible to half press the shutter which will engage the shutter lock and turn the window white without actually tripping the shutter. If that happens then you will need to push the little black lever at the side of the lens - watch the front as you press the shutter to see where it is.


Steve.
 
Ambermile said:
Nice - mine is a 518/16, with a Novar 75mm f/4.5, Velio shutter, 6x6... I hope you are not going to tell me it's pooh! In fact, I don't care if you do - it's still beautiful!

Arthur
Click to expand...


No, that is great. I think the triplet lenses are better than the Tessars for these cameras and the thing to avoid is the f6.3 lenses, which vignette like mad. Your camera is much the same as mine, it has the same lens, except mine has a narrower film gate and the camera is therefore not quite as wide, and a pop-up viewfinder.

Here's one I shot with it this morning. A bedouin, camel-loving friend saw this and the same scene shot on a 5D Mk2 and said he preferred the result from the Nettar.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2765/4151374064_c27ceab42c_o.jpg

Staff Edit : Images changed to clickable links. Pictures must not exceed current forum limits as per the rules.
Please feel free to replace this with a fresh/resized image and remove this text :)

Ooops! Sorry. Anyway, my point in posting the pix is that when used carefully these cameras can produce far better images than people think, so I'll leave the link rather than downsizing even more.
 
In our Travelling Lubitel thread, I took a shot of a few film backing papers so that peeps would have an idea of what they'd expect to see in the red window as they approached each frame.
Unfortunately, I forgot what film I put in the damn thing...:lol:
The top row of numbers is 6x6, the middle 6x7 and bottom is 6x9


iwk9hg.jpg
 
Fast work on the camels! The hotspots are in the manual so I already had an idea about those.

That film strip strip is handy, I know what I am looking at now - except my window is in the middle, meaning 6x7 and yet I got a 6x6... My numbers are upright, so does that make mine the bottom strip?

And thanks Steve, after trying to see what you mean about a half-cocked shutter going off without firing... I now have one - luckily I see the black lever and what to do to get around it!


Arthur
 
The top row is 6x4.5, middle 6x6. By the time 6x7 cameras came out you didn't have to peer through a red window to find out where you were.
 
I dunno, the top roll is Ilford, probably HP5 or something, the middle is fuji neopan and the bottom Kodak, not sure about the other two.
Maybe your camera has a larger spacing between frames using 6x7 numbers, if its 6x6, the frame size will never change, only their position on the roll changes.

I stand corrected by Paul there, 6x7 and 6x8 didn't exist...:lol:
 
Cool - thanks for sorting that Paul. Getting excited now waiting for chemicals and suchlike to be delivered! Should be this week if I am lucky, I have a half frame 35mm roll and this one to develop - I reckon if I can remember enough to get them developed properly with no tears I should be good to go! Been a long time though, I cannot get over how easy it has become to get hold of information and detail - back in the early 80's you were on your own - especially in the middle of Wales!

Arthur
 
Arthur, I think you are still at the "fingers crossed" stage. There are quite a few things that could be wrong with an old Nettar.

On top of real camera problems, I have lost quite a lot of frames and a few entire films from user error - or while learning from experience, as I would rather call it.

Even if the camera is perfect it may take a while for you to start getting the settings right every time. I've forgotten the film ISO and exposed for 100 with a 400 film, read a scale that was in feet, thinking it was in meters, and misfocused and various other stuff - including even forgetting to focus once, because I was thinking digital autofocus and everything looked OK through the viewfinder :cuckoo:

But if everything is OK, then I'm sure you'll love it when you get used to it.
 
Paul - I have already gone through all that with the other film cameras - bu most notably with the Dial cos that's pretty much all auto and I forget everything. It's the focus usually that gets me, either forgetting it completely or remembering at the exact split second the noise from the shutter reaches my ears...

A
 
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