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

During the F&C 2024 meet up @ChrisR had a lovely Fuji 645 something (rangefinder?) and I can't recall who bought the beast of a 6x12 (or 17?).

Afterwards this got me thinking about BIG 120 neg sizes. Fuji 690s were out my price range. So early June 24 this arrived from Japan. £210 Inc customs etc.

Screenshot_20240526-090022.png


Only run 1 film through it. Camera works well, the operator doesn't.

Not told Mrs amc about it yet!! Look out for the severely underused former @Asha Intrepid 4x5 going up for sale in the classifieds so I can get the Press out in public.

Will have to bring this Mamiya to the 2025 F&C meet up.
 
Last edited:
auntiemaryscanary said:
During the F&C 2024 meet up @ChrisR had a lovely Fuji 645 something (rangefinder?) and I can't recall who bought the beast of a 6x12 (or 17?).

Afterwards this got me thinking about BIG 120 neg sizes. Fuji 690s were out my price range. So early June 24 this arrived from Japan. £210 Inc customs etc.

View attachment 445787


Only run 1 film through it. Camera works well, the operator doesn't.

Not told Mrs amc about it yet!! Look out for the severely underused former @Asha Intrepid 4x5 going up for sale in the classifieds so I can get the Press out in public.

Will have to bring this Mamiya to the 2025 F&C meet up.
Click to expand...

I toyed with the idea of getting a Mamiya Press as a cost-effective route into 6x7, but never went any further so I'll be interested to see how you get on with it. My impression was that they're not the easiest things to use?
 
FishyFish said:
I toyed with the idea of getting a Mamiya Press as a cost-effective route into 6x7, but never went any further so I'll be interested to see how you get on with it. My impression was that they're not the easiest things to use?
Click to expand...

No, they certainly aren't. A lot of steps to go through and a lot of it is counter intuitive. I have 2 6x9 backs so it's good to have options on a couple of different films. I would say it seems more convoluted than large format.

I really need to keep running a backing paper through it to get it off pat. A check list laminated and stuck on the film backs might be a good idea.
 
auntiemaryscanary said:
During the F&C 2024 meet up @ChrisR had a lovely Fuji 645 something (rangefinder?) and I can't recall who bought the beast of a 6x12 (or 17?).

Afterwards this got me thinking about BIG 120 neg sizes. Fuji 690s were out my price range. So early June 24 this arrived from Japan. £210 Inc customs etc.

View attachment 445787


Only run 1 film through it. Camera works well, the operator doesn't.

Not told Mrs amc about it yet!! Look out for the severely underused former @Asha Intrepid 4x5 going up for sale in the classifieds so I can get the Press out in public.

Will have to bring this Mamiya to the 2025 F&C meet up.
Click to expand...
That's definitely a cool beast. I've often wondered about those. The lenses seem to be in demand for a range of hand-made cameras like @stevelmx5 sells (amongst others); Mamiya lenses have always struck me as pretty good.

My Fuji is the GS645S with a 60mm lens. Definitely sharp, if that's your thing. I now remember to take the lens cap off for at least half the frames! You might have the same issue here. Someone's recommendation: leave the lens cap at home!

I think it was @Harlequin565 who brought the pano camera, 617 IIRC.
 
Last edited:
PeterSpencer said:
Recently a couple of new things.

'The Americans', Robert Frank, 1994 edition. Got this for 3" in a charity shop. It's quite an unusual find as, in my experience, charity shop photography books tend more to be focussed on how to do it, for a example a guide to digital photography from 20 years ago. As it happens, I already have a copy of the book, 2002 edition, so I might possible give it to someone as a gift. The book itself is almost pristine but the jacket is a bit rough.

View attachment 444981

My late, lamented Uncle Jeff's SLR, a Nikon F50, with kit lens. I ran a film through it though haven't seen the results yet. It reminds me of my Canon T50 in that it is basically a point and shoot SLR, although it does have autofocus whereas the T50 is manual focus. I might see if I can find a cheap Nikon 35mm AF lens as the whole outfit would be featherweight and very capable. I'll post pictures when I have processed the film.

View attachment 444982

Finally, I got me de-squeaked Canon A-1 body back. I have shot a few frames on it so far. Very nice handling and a good viewfinder. I have an FD 50/1.8 lens on it at the moment.

View attachment 444983
Click to expand...

Just read this week's Amateur Photographer and see that a new edition of The Americans has been published by Aperture for £22 with tritone reproductions like the original. This knocks the spots off prices for most recent editions. The special centennial edition is $150 but it includes some material about his films. I'd like to compare my edition with the new one to appreciate the improvement in picture reproductions.
 
Been looking out for a Minolta super, super wide for some time as the widest I've got is 24.

But they're fetching crazy prices currently.

But during one of my excursions into eBay, I came across a Vivitar 19/3.8 in Minolta (SR) mount.

Not had a chance to really test it yet as it was peeing it down on Monday when I had it with me. Fingers crossed for slightly better weather tomorrow.

Vivitar 19/3.8 in Minolta SR mount by Kell, on Flickr
 
I had one of these in Contax/Yashica muont and really enjoyed using it. The edge definitions was not good, however, unless the lens was well stopped down. I see from this old photo that flare was well controlled.

1740558102019.jpeg
 
Not new, but re-furbished; A Rank-Mamiya 35 rangefinder that cost a fiver from Cash Convertors in the mid 1990's. I noticed that there was a suspicion of fungus behind the front element when I checked it out. There are three tiny grub screws in the lens shroud. I took them out and unscrewed the front element. That gave access to the fungus that was on the rear surface. That cleaned and the location of the pin that had dropped out sorted, it was the rangefinder connection, it was easily put back together. I've put a roll of HP5 in and will be taking it out today.

20250226_093836_resize_94.jpg

20250226_093908_resize_98.jpg
 
Last edited:
Kell said:
Been looking out for a Minolta super, super wide for some time as the widest I've got is 24.

But they're fetching crazy prices currently.

But during one of my excursions into eBay, I came across a Vivitar 19/3.8 in Minolta (SR) mount.

Not had a chance to really test it yet as it was peeing it down on Monday when I had it with me. Fingers crossed for slightly better weather tomorrow.

Vivitar 19/3.8 in Minolta SR mount by Kell, on Flickr
Click to expand...

Couple of shots so far...


Canon Alley to St Pauls by Kell, on Flickr


The Black Friar by Kell, on Flickr


Sphinx guarding Cleopatra's Needle by Kell, on Flickr


Battle of Britain by Kell, on Flickr
 
Kell said:
Been looking out for a Minolta super, super wide for some time as the widest I've got is 24.

But they're fetching crazy prices currently.

But during one of my excursions into eBay, I came across a Vivitar 19/3.8 in Minolta (SR) mount.

Not had a chance to really test it yet as it was peeing it down on Monday when I had it with me. Fingers crossed for slightly better weather tomorrow.

Vivitar 19/3.8 in Minolta SR mount by Kell, on Flickr
Click to expand...
I had one years ago and it was AWEFUL!!! It did not even become remotely sharp until stopped down to around F8-F11. I sold it within a week
 
Kell said:
Couple of shots so far...
Click to expand...
They don't look too bad at all.
I've got a Panagor 19mm f4 which is supposedly a rebadge of your Vivitar and I am less than impressed with its IQ especially in the corners/ edges. My 17mm f3.5 Vivitar knocks the socks off the 19mm and its not particularly great either. Not quite as wide as yours but if you can find one going cheap(think I paid £35 for mine last year) I have a m42 Sigma-y 21-35mm f3.5-4 which is sharp across the frame on a ff with barely any stopping down throughout its zoom range. I am quite amazed by its performance considering its age and the fact its a zoom which is why I think it went for peanuts as people are more likely to write it off.
 
Rodinal said:
I had one years ago and it was AWEFUL!!! It did not even become remotely sharp until stopped down to around F8-F11. I sold it within a week
Click to expand...
RyanB said:
They don't look too bad at all.
I've got a Panagor 19mm f4 which is supposedly a rebadge of your Vivitar and I am less than impressed with its IQ especially in the corners/ edges. My 17mm f3.5 Vivitar knocks the socks off the 19mm and its not particularly great either. Not quite as wide as yours but if you can find one going cheap(think I paid £35 for mine last year) I have a m42 Sigma-y 21-35mm f3.5-4 which is sharp across the frame on a ff with barely any stopping down throughout its zoom range. I am quite amazed by its performance considering its age and the fact its a zoom which is why I think it went for peanuts as people are more likely to write it off.
Click to expand...

My initial use seems to show very heavy vignetting - the shots I posted above have been edited to remove it to some degree.

It's not super, super sharp. but then I bought it to get that super-wide look - like the sphinx shot - where it amplifies the distortion.

Obviously those were on digital, on film absolute sharpness may not be such an issue.

I did do a fair bit (ok I read three reviews) that said it was a good (if not excellent) lens. My copy looks to be brand new. Some further reading and I *think* the serial number suggests mine was a Cosina-built version.

I did look at versions of the 17mm, certainly one Tokina lens kept cropping up for a similar price, but it looked like it had fungus.

I'm relatively happy with the IQ of the shots above - even if they're not amazing shots in their own right. Will need to wait to get some better light to give it a real test.
 
Last edited:
I bought a Vivitar 19/3.8 and a Tamron SP Adaptall-2 17/3.5 in 2019 at around the same time. Just had a scoot through the Vivitar images; the black and white ones look very low contrast and quite a bit of flare, although oddly the colour ones (Portra 160 probably dev/scanned by Filmdev) were very much better. I decided to sell the Vivitar and keep the Tamron, and I've been happy with that decision. The Tamron doesn't have a filter thread, but does have some built-in filters including a yellow that I usually use.
 
auntiemaryscanary said:
During the F&C 2024 meet up @ChrisR had a lovely Fuji 645 something (rangefinder?) and I can't recall who bought the beast of a 6x12 (or 17?).

Afterwards this got me thinking about BIG 120 neg sizes. Fuji 690s were out my price range. So early June 24 this arrived from Japan. £210 Inc customs etc.

View attachment 445787


Only run 1 film through it. Camera works well, the operator doesn't.

Not told Mrs amc about it yet!! Look out for the severely underused former @Asha Intrepid 4x5 going up for sale in the classifieds so I can get the Press out in public.

Will have to bring this Mamiya to the 2025 F&C meet up.
Click to expand...
Hiya,

Great camera.

What was the % of the cost in fees/import duty etc?

Many thanks,
Shane
 
auntiemaryscanary said:
77Afterwards this got me thinking about BIG 120 neg sizes. Fuji 690s were out my price range. So early June 24 this arrived from Japan. £210 Inc customs etc.
Click to expand...
The Super 23 is an excellent melding of the classic press camera with (at the time) modern technology.

I used one for a while in the early 1970s but very few images have survived in the files from that time. There's one in this thread at #11400
 
I had one of these about twenty five years ago before swapping to a G2 that is long gone.

20250320_163927_resize_36.jpg
 
Mostly Vintage Cameras said:
I just got this in the post. A Nikon F3HP with MD-4 motor drive, MK-1 rate converter and AS-4 flash adapter. The lens I already had and just put it on to have a play with my new toy.
Not sure which focusing screen it is but's not a K.
View attachment 448697
Click to expand...
Loved my F3, still have the dedicated Metz flash converter if you're interested I can put it in classifieds?
 
Jammy Dodger said:
Loved my F3, still have the dedicated Metz flash converter if you're interested I can put it in classifieds?
Click to expand...
Thank you JD but I've got the AS-4 so that will do me. I did think about the SCA adapters with 45CT1 for that authentic Fleet St look but decided against it.
 
auntiemaryscanary said:
During the F&C 2024 meet up @ChrisR had a lovely Fuji 645 something (rangefinder?) and I can't recall who bought the beast of a 6x12 (or 17?).

Afterwards this got me thinking about BIG 120 neg sizes. Fuji 690s were out my price range. So early June 24 this arrived from Japan. £210 Inc customs etc.

View attachment 445787


Only run 1 film through it. Camera works well, the operator doesn't.

Not told Mrs amc about it yet!! Look out for the severely underused former @Asha Intrepid 4x5 going up for sale in the classifieds so I can get the Press out in public.

Will have to bring this Mamiya to the 2025 F&C meet up.
Click to expand...
I bought a Mamiya Press Super 23 outfit in 1968 from Pelling and Cross at Discount Price -- I used it a lot for Local press, PR and Weddings . When the Brentwood 'Gazette' went \ Web-Offset instead of LetterPress they could use COLOUR and I was one of the FIRST Freelancers to get COLOUR in it -- they would No Accept 35mm only Medium Format. I did a YouTube VIDEO all about my Mamiya Press Super 23 which you can see HERE :
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_oqSiQGd1Q&t=1s
 
pentaxpete said:
I bought a Mamiya Press Super 23 outfit in 1968 from Pelling and Cross at Discount Price -- I used it a lot for Local press, PR and Weddings . When the Brentwood 'Gazette' went \ Web-Offset instead of LetterPress they could use COLOUR and I was one of the FIRST Freelancers to get COLOUR in it -- they would No Accept 35mm only Medium Format. I did a YouTube VIDEO all about my Mamiya Press Super 23 which you can see HERE :
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_oqSiQGd1Q&t=1s
Click to expand...
Thanks for that video, well explained and good to see some of the the professional work you did with it.

I thought your summary that was more or less "versatile but I a little fiddly" was spot on.
 
Well I have won it but not yet got it. :)
I may collect it tomorrow.

Thornton Pickard "Royal Ruby" triple extension field camera.
 
excalibur2 said:
Well I've bought a few f1.4 nifty fifty lenses.....Canon, Minolta, Pentax etc and so far haven't used them at F1.4.
Click to expand...
It's a bit odd but in the best part of 60 years of photography, I don't recall ever buying a f1.4 lens. :thinking:

I did have a f1.2 on a Pentax Spotmatic for a while but even that I only used for a few pictures, like this one in a London pub...

London Pub Pentax Spotmatic Rikenon f1.2 1996-20_05.jpg
 
AndrewFlannigan said:
It's a bit odd but in the best part of 60 years of photography, I don't recall ever buying a f1.4 lens. :thinking:

I did have a f1.2 on a Pentax Spotmatic for a while but even that I only used for a few pictures, like this one in a London pub...

View attachment 450237
Click to expand...
Well now I'd just use my T90 with matching flashgun for indoor shots as it can balance ambient light and flash e.g. with sigma 24mm lens...mind you with this shot you might not want to see the street outside o_O
U5VHLBY.jpg
 
excalibur2 said:
Well now I'd just use my T90 with matching flashgun for indoor shots as it can balance ambient light and flash e.g. with sigma 24mm lens...mind you with this shot you might not want to see the street outside o_O
U5VHLBY.jpg
Click to expand...
You have done a great job with that tricky lighting
 
Jammy Dodger said:
You have done a great job with that tricky lighting
Click to expand...
Thanks but I don't deserve any praise as with the T90 and matching flash gun for these sort of quick record shots, it just turns you into a point and shoot guy :(
 
auntiemaryscanary said:
I didn't know they still did that. Do they do it in store or send it away?
Click to expand...
Well I don't know but wouldn't think so as about 6 years ago Asda sold the business/space to the company that has these cubicles for passport photos...but credit to them (and talking to the girls) they said they would continue with film until the M/Cs break down..erm and they did :( . Anyway I stopped going to this particular Asda but did go back once and the photography space is now shoe repairs and key cutting etc
Just as AAMOI and appologies for ruining the thread (well over the years I'm known for it :rolleyes: )......Morrisons about 7 years ago would dev your film for £1.....well I posted the results here and the quality of dev results was OK but the neg looked like it was dragged across a dusty floor so had to wash it again.
EDIT: Well apparently Asda now do film https://photo.asda.com/printing-services/film-processing looks expensive ? and probably send it away to be dev, but for me I'll find out the price just for dev,
 
Last edited:
Gone a bit mad this month,

Picked up a little folding 120 camera, a GB Kershaw 450, for 18 quid delivered.

Kershaw 450 2.jpg

Kershaw 450 1.jpg

Kershaw 450.jpg

I need some help though.

I have put a roll of formapan 400 and going out for a test run, the problem is, or potential problem, is that there is no stop when winding the film on, is anyone familiar with film rolls enough to advise. I have gone past the start and in the window have a line or is it a number 1?
 
Barney said:
I have gone past the start and in the window have a line or is it a number 1?
Click to expand...
Depending on the film, the number may be enclosed in a circle or a pair of brackets. If the line you're seeing is from top to bottom of the window, keep winding until you see the character "1".
 
Thanks guys.

I needed to wind more.

(y) (y) (y)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top