Haven’t made many posts lately for a combination of reasons. Mainly work, finding new work, and organising an overseas trip.
Tomorrow i’ll be going overseas to Germany, and driving down to visit relatives in Italy via Switzerland and other stops in Italy along the way, then stopping off in Japan on the way back. I’m really looking forward to it. They’re all amazing parts of the world.
Photographic opportunities will be endless also, so I think i’ve put a bit of pressure on myself.
There’s a few places in Italy that i’ve been wanting to shoot since my last trip over there years ago, and then there’s all of these new places i’ve never been to that i really want to take advantage of.
Theres nothing worse than being a slave to your camera when you’re on holidays, but then again i’d hate to miss out on some opportunities i may not have again. Finding the perfect balance is the real trick i guess, and there doesn’t seem to be a perfect solution.
Last year when i visited Asia (China, Japan, Hong Kong), i jut had my DSLR with one zoom and things were relatively simple. It was perfect 90% of the time. I just hate traveling with extra bulk and weight of modern camera gear. I don’t want to be one of those gimps carrying around half a dozen “pro” lenses and “pro” tripods with laptops all strapped to overly expensive “pro” camera bags so they can take holiday happy snaps. Some people like doing that, and good luck to them, it’s just not for me.
I wish i could just travel with one camera and posibly 1 or 2 lenses max, but now i’ve started this whole film thing, i cant resist taking it with me overseas. I’ve managed to narrow my gear down to 2 small individual bags (one for film, one for digital) that fit into my backpack, and still have room for the usual non camera stuff. I’ll see if i get the urge to take anythng else with me at the last minue…
I have the DSLR with a wider, lighter, smaller, cheaper zoom than i had on my last trip. Plus the usual CF cards and a lens cloth, but that’s about it besides a battery grip which i can remove if i want to lighten the load. The extra batteries will be handy though.
Then in the other bag i have my Bessa R3A with one 35mm lens and a dozen rolls of film consiting mostly of tri-x, provia, and velvia. I have no idea if it’ll me too much or enough, but i figure i can buy more film if i need, especially in Japan.
I think i’ve covered myself for most situations without going overboard. I intend not to be a slave to my camera, but i’d like it to be around when an opportunity presents itself.

Well yes and no.
Yes i’m checking out a “new” lens i have, but no im not taking photos of brick walls and newspapers to pixel peep corner sharpness and other crap like that.
A few guys i know have started using alot of older manual focus lenses on their DSLR’s with terrific results. I’ve always been interested in doing this myself, but have never got around to it. That has now changed. Why shoot with old manual focus lenses on a DSLR? Well….

• Its a way of using some of the greatest lenses ever made (ie. there a massive variety of lenses to try),
• They’re generally smaller, lighter, and cheaper than modern lenses,
• Many have unique characteristics and draw nicer than modern lenses,
• Build quality that still shits over most modern lenses,
• Trying something different for the hell of it.

As you can see, theres several good reasons to consider using older lenses.
From using film cameras recently, i’d already built up quite a selection of Zuiko lenses for my Olympus OM bodies. Luckily, Zuiko have made some of the best lenses in history (no you cant dispute that its a fact), so i got a cheap adapter off ebay to start using them on my DSLR.

I’m not going to keep rambling on, so i’ll cut to the chase.
This afternoon i attached my newest Zuiko, a humble and underrated 100mm f/2.8 that cost me $55 including postage from the U.S. The light was going down, and the wind was pretty strong, but f/2.8 is still pretty respectable even if it’s not exactly “fast”.
Here is what i came up with shooting wide open at f/2.8 at 200ISO. There is no processing whatsoever, its straight from the RAW. No sharpening, no level/colour adjustments. I’ve also included a 100% crop of the image. **click images for full size, the resized ones can look a little soft**

100% crop

Shooting with a manual focus lens on the 400D isnt the best combination you can think of. The viewfinder is pretty small, and it doesnt have a focus screen designed for manual focus lenses. You can buy them and they’re relatively cheap, but i probably wont bother unless i upgrade to full frame. I’ll definitely be using my other manual focus lenses form now on though and im looking forward to using the 100mm for some portrait work.

Ok, havent posted up any film shots for a while.. No working film scanner means no scans. So you have to suffer through a couple more shots of new cameras than have found their way to me lately.

The first is a terrific 124G. Been liking this medium format thing lately, so i’ve bought my own camera just incase i have to give the RB67 back (im hoping my friend forgets i have it). The Yashica 124G is a 6×6 medium format TLR that was built in between 1971 and 1986. It has a very good reputation as an entry level medium format camera with an astounding 80cm f/3.5 Yashinon lens.
There is also a non “G” model (ie. Yashica 124), that appears to sell for considerably less than the 124G. They’re actually exactly the same except for the external finish of the camera. The optics are exactly the same, and there are rumours that the 124 has stronger internal gears than the 124G. Too bad i couldnt find a 124 anywhere for sale that was in working condition, luckily the 124G is still pretty cheap (if you look around a bit).
Heres a quick pic of it

I also got these 2 things for an offer i just couldnt refuse.
One is in amazing condition, the other nice and brassed up. I actually have something special planned for the “roughy”.

Well now that my film scanner is dead i’ve been shooting some more digital lately.
Tonight my dad was working on his latest sculpture. It’s a commissioned work for one of Australia’s leading golf clubs. It’s quite an adventurous project actually. Golf is generally a conservative sport, especially when played on private courses which adhere to strict rules and tradition. Having a naked golfer at the entrance to you club isnt something that alot of people would be comfortable with. The club and members are making quite a bold statement and representatives from the R&A (golf’s governing body) loved the idea so much they’re footing most of the bill and are coming back over from Scotland for the unveiling which should be next year.
Anyway, i just got a couple shots of him tonight to check out the lighting conditions etc. I’ll be taking some black and white film shots at a later date.

Click the images for a larger view, especially the second. I just stitched two shots together for some fun. No real post processing done at all.

Since updating Wordpress to 2.6 i’ve had nothing but problems. A few people have told me about 404 errors, when trying to leave comments, or opening up individual posts. I was having problems with pages missing on the blog. Plug-ins arent updating even after i’ve installed the latest versions.
It’s so much fun.
Just bear with me, i should hopefully have it all sorted out this week.
I think this is the last time i update my blog when its not totally necessary.

* Edit: I think i’ve got everything fixed now. If not, just let me know. Cheers

No matter what rangefinder you use, theres a good chance that you’ll need to have the rangefinder calibrated one time or another. This is no big deal if you’re aware that the problem can happen (often as a result of bumping or dropping the camera)
Some cameras will need adjustment more than others, and the Voigtlander Bessa range seem to be more prone to rangefinder misalignment than others (this can be said for the Epson RD aswell, which is basically a digital Bessa).
Alot of older cameras have a pretty simple adjustment process, and theres quite alot of info on the net documenting the process. However the Bessa range are still pretty new, and at first it seems as though the whole adjustment process is a guarded secret. Naturaly, many Bessa owners werent too keen on paying a full service fee for a 5 minute RF alignment, so they begun to search for ways to do it themselves.

Theres alot of info floating around the internet on this subject, but i noticed they either didint come with pictures, or the descriptions were missing simple steps. I’ve tried to bring all of the relevant info together in one place and write some instructions based off my own personal experience. This process was completed on a Bessa R3, however i’m told most of the Bessa range is very similar.
*Disclaimer. It’s recommended you ignore these instructions and get your Bessa calibrated by a registered Voigtlander technician if :

• You dont have experience pulling apart and fixing cameras,
• You’re not confident with small tools,
• You’re clumsy,
• You dont take responsibility for your own actions and will want to blame your broken camera on me!

1. First of all, to calibrate the rangefinder you wont necessarily need to take the entire top plate off. It is possible to remove part of the hot shoe that will give you access to the adjustment screws. This can be a tricky process particularly if you dont want to scratch the black pain on your hot shoe. You’ll need a small flat head screwdriver or a toothpick to wedge and pop/lift up the cover plate illustrated in the photo below.

When you lift the edge up enough, the cover will pop up and you can slide it out in the direction of the arrow above. It’s important to have patience with this step, as it’s really easy to get frustrated and be a little too forceful. You dont want to break or scratch anything.
2. When you get the cover off, you’ll see the bracket held on with 4 screws shows in the image below

Taking these screws off should be pretty simple, they werent on too tight with my camera. You’ll need a size #00 phillips head screwdriver for this.
3. Now that you have the bracket off you’ll be able to access the adjustment screws. I could only get a photo of one, but i’ve show where the others are using blue circles. The screws are numbered from 1 to 3 for reference purposes.

You’ll need a long flat head screwdriver to adjust these screws. Also, you may need to remove any “loctite” or similar residue around the screws that prevent you from turning them.
The adjustment process
Below is a description of what each screw does. Quite often you’ll only need to adjust one of these so dont freak out.

Screw 1: Rangefinder patch focus adjustment
Screw 2: Horizontal (left/right) adjustment for Infinity focus
Screw 3: Vertical (up/down) adjustment
*There is a 4th screw also, but to access it you need to remove the entire top plate. It calibrates the base length but you’ll probably need to adjust it. (pray you dont)

Now we can start calibration. Once your camera is adjusted at infinity focus, everything should be fine for close focus aswell, but check just incase. My camera needed horizontal adjustment, yours might need vertical (or both). Find a place to set your camera up on a tripod where you have clear vision to something you can focus on for infinity (make sure its atleast 5 blocks away, its better to be safe than sorry). Adjusting horizontal alignment wont affect vertical alignment, so dont worry.

RF Patch Focus: If you’re rangefinder patch isnt sharp than you’ll need to calibrate it also. Doing this first will make the other steps easier. Also, i’ve heard that adjusting this screw can sometimes move the horizontal alignment aswell, keep that in mind. Turn screw#1 to calibrate this. You may also want to do this with the Vertical alignment leaving the infinity and close focus adjustments to last. It’s not absolutely necessary though.
Horizontal: Set lens focus to infinity (use a lens you know is accurate), and then point the rf patch at an object in the distance. Adjust screw #2 which will move the patch left to right and stop when its properly aligned. Be very delicate and precise as its quite sensitive.
Vertical: With the lens still focused at infinity, adjust screw#3 which moves the patch up and down. It’s a larger screw and isnt as deep as the others so it might be easier to get to. Once again be very precise.
Close Focus: I’ve never done this adjustment before, so cant speak from experience. Every time i’ve adjusted at infinity the close focus has been fine. To calibrate close focus you’ll need to remove the top plate and access another screw which isnt covered in this guide. However i’ve been told that very small adjustments can be made using screw#1. You should be adjusting your lens at 1m for close focus calibration.

After you’ve adjusted all the screws for calibration you can put something on them like “loctite” that will help prevent misalignment in the future. To reassemble everything you just reverse the disassembly process.
Have fun

Got these the other day for a massive $1.35. Two tanks (a double and a single reel tank), and two reels, with one that is brand new. Atleast some photography gear is still cheap.
I got these for when i start my colour developing, as they should hopefully help me keep a more accurate temperature. All i need to do now is figure out how to load them, might have to sacrifice a roll to pactice =/

I developed my first roll of 120 film yesterday and i already think im addicted.
Actually, thats a pretty silly thing to say. My negatives are still hanging up by themselves looking pretty because i have no way to scan them. They might not turn out brilliant, but im now addicted to medium format viewfinders, and really like the whole process (i’ve been borrowing a friends RB67). But thats a whole other story.
Anyway… Scanners… Yet another thing to spend money on =/
The film scanner i’ve been using up to now was something i bought a while ago before i was into photography, it’s well over 5 years old now. So it was just a fluke that it had film scanning capabilities that came in handy.
With film scanners you have two main varieties (for those who dont know). Dedicated scanners that you feed slides and negative strips into that dont do anything else besides scan film. Then you have the more conventional flatbed scanners that have film scanning capabilities.
Dedicated film scanners generally offer the best quality, but can be quite expensive and only take 35mm film.
The flatbed scanners are generally cheaper, offer decent quality (especially for web viewing and smaller prints), plus can take medium format film aswell.
So at this stage im leaning towards a flatbed scanner as i dont want to spend over $300, plus i need something that can take 120 film. I’m currently looking at the Epson 4490, Epson V500, Canon CanoScan 8800F, plus a couple others. I’m just trying to find some trustworthy reviews and personal opinions, as the manufacturer specifications are quite often misleading.
It’s actually bit of a pain in the ass finding the right scanner in my price range. The reality is none will really bring out the best of film, the full dynamic range that actually makes it superior to digital. So it’ll always be bit of a compromise. As long as it’s better than what i already have i’ll be happy!
Anyone want to buy me a drum scanner?

I got this little beast a while ago now, but have only got a chance to make a post about it today.
The Canon P (”Populaire”) was made between 1958 and 1961. It’s one of Canon’s last screw mount rangefinders and regarded by many as one of the best looking rangefinders ever produced. All i know is that it works and feels great to use.
They’re were originally made as a base/basic model, but in reality were one of the last truly “bulletproof” cameras produced by Canon, so many are still working as well today as they were over 50 years ago.
Theres not too much to the camera. No light meter, so theres no electrical issues. No fancy features that cause problems. Just a simple, clean looking camera, that works as good as it looks with a smooth film advance, and a satisfying shutter sound. The viewfinder is quite big and very bright with nice clear framelines (maybe mine has been CLA’s recently?).
Why use a camera with no light meter and no features that make life easier? Well, its fun.
Below is a photo of mine with a Jupiter 8 attached i had lying around. The 50mm framelines are particularly well placed in the VF, so i think a 50mm lens will live on the Canon now.
I got this camera for a steal of a price, but they regularly sell for around $100-$150, and at that price i still think they’re great value. If you want a super reliable camera, stripped back on fancy features that will take some of the greatest lenses ever created (Leica Thread Mount), then i cant think of any camera more suitable than the Canon “Populaire”.

Only have a couple shots to put up for the moment.
I shot a roll of TriX400 at 800iso. Normally thats fine, but i developed it in Rodinal, and the grain wasnt very nice in some of the shots, which isnt helped by my scanner which is on its last legs. It was the first roll i’d taken in a while and got a few shots that i like.
Actually, there was a whole series that i really liked, but i wont be uploading them here just yet.
The shots below were taken at my Dad’s graduation show, he just finished a Masters of Art. I’m very proud of him as he’s never actually studied at uni before, but did so well they’re asked him back to do honours. I’ll make another post later on detailing his work a little more.
These were just a few random shots taken on the night. Nothing amazing, but i have to get into the swing of things again.