Festival gear?

Sleepy

AFAIK, 800 iso is the limit on the Canonet. I'm sure you could put in a higher rated film, tell the camera it's 800 and manually adjust all exposures but I'm open to correction on that?

For anyone interested in the Portra 800 film Fajitas recommended above, it's pretty reasonable on 7dayshop, a good £10 cheaper than the best ebay prices for a 5 pack!

http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=99952

magicbastarder

Sleepy wrote: »

I'm sure you could put in a higher rated film, tell the camera it's 800 and manually adjust all exposures but I'm open to correction on that?

it's what i do with the OM1; it can take up to 1600, but i load it with 3200 and the meter needle is designed to indicate a stop over or a stop under when it touches the 'gate' on either the + or -, so it's easy to underexpose by a stop.

Sleepy

Good Idea / Bad Idea: remove the separators from the main compartment of the Slingshot 100 and use it as a day bag for the festival?

Pros: really easy access, good size to hold the Canonet, some film and a rain mac etc.

Cons: Likely to draw attention from security repeatedly?

Any better idea? There's an original case included with my camera but it's in pretty poor nick and I see them nicknamed 'never-ready'...

Fajitas!

Sleepy wrote: »

Is the lens prone to flare? Enough to warrant the acquisition of a hood?

Nawh, it's not too prone to flaring really. Not that I've found.

sheesh wrote: »

What is the highest iso film a canonet can take?

sorry found it up to 800

Yep, it's 800 unfortunately, but pop it over to manual if you want to use a higher ISO, you can use the TV mode to get a reading, then up your aperture/shutter speed a stop or two to match the film. It's not ideal, but it works. If you were really dedicated there's someone over in Canada you can ship your Canonet off to, and he'll rewire your Canonet to shoot from 50 - 1600 or 100 - 3200. I'm not sure if I'd be that bothered though.

Sleepy wrote: »

Good Idea / Bad Idea: remove the separators from the main compartment of the Slingshot 100 and use it as a day bag for the festival?

Pros: really easy access, good size to hold the Canonet, some film and a rain mac etc.

Cons: Likely to draw attention from security repeatedly?

Any better idea? There's an original case included with my camera but it's in pretty poor nick and I see them nicknamed 'never-ready'...

It's always handy having a bag for a rain mac/water etc, but you're better off just getting a strap for the camera and putting it 'round your shoulder. It'll save the security thinking they've made a huge discovery everytime they look in your and see a lens.

The first thing I'd be doing is finding a shelf for the case. Not worth dragging it around.

As far as bag type goes, it doesn't really matter, they'll search them anyways. They probably won't even notice it's a camera bag, it's just another bag in the line for them.

Sleepy

Fajitas! wrote: »

It's always handy having a bag for a rain mac/water etc, but you're better off just getting a strap for the camera and putting it 'round your shoulder. It'll save the security thinking they've made a huge discovery everytime they look in your and see a lens.

The first thing I'd be doing is finding a shelf for the case. Not worth dragging it around.

As far as bag type goes, it doesn't really matter, they'll search them anyways. They probably won't even notice it's a camera bag, it's just another bag in the line for them.

Aye, camera'll be around my shoulder as long as it's dry and the case may just go in a dark drawer somewhere.

After ordering 5 rolls of the Portra 800 and 2 of the Neopan, my photography budget is now tapped out. Still need to get a strap for the Canonete but think I'm gonna get retro and look for an original

Fajitas!

I love spending other peoples money.

Sleepy

lol, my other half wants a word!

Fajitas!

Sweet!

duffarama

Canonet should see you right, I've got some decent shots at EP before with rangefinders, mostly a Contax G2.

This year at Oxegen though I left that and my Olympus 35DC (I've a 35Sp on the way and cost me €80) at home and used a film compact. An Olympus mju II which I got for €30 on adverts, great little yolk, fixed 35mm f2.8 lens, autofocus, ISO range from 50 to 1600

oh and it's got some weather sealing so can shoot in the rain!

Sleepy

I think it's the kind of "word" that results in you apologising for being a bad influence Fajitas!

I'm guessing EP should be a great spot for seeing an eclectic range of cameras knocking about duffarama!

Fajitas!

Sleepy wrote: »

I think it's the kind of "word" that results in you apologising for being a bad influence Fajitas!

I know. :pac:

duffarama

Sleepy wrote: »

I'm guessing EP should be a great spot for seeing an eclectic range of cameras knocking about duffarama!

I remember 2 years ago early on the Sunday morning seeing a group of 4 young film shooters all carrying old SLR's, I thought they were so cool.

My gf was like :rolleyes:

Sleepy

duffarama wrote: »

I remember 2 years ago early on the Sunday morning seeing a group of 4 young film shooters all carrying old SLR's, I thought they were so cool.

My gf was like :rolleyes:

SLR's? Did you chat with them?

That was my original plan!

duffarama

Sleepy wrote: »

SLR's? Did you chat with them?

That was my original plan!

I was going to, but then I had a change of heart and decided to look snooty with my little rangefinder :cool:

I can be quite rude at times!

They had manual focus SLR's though, like Pentax ME-super and a 50mm or an Olympus OM-10 and a 50mm. Small and unobtrusive enough that noone cared about them taking pictures.

A 300v is more noticeable, particularly with a zoom

Fajitas!

Waist level viewfinders are great for festivals too... Hey Sleepy, you reckon your missus would mind if I sent you shopping for a medium format too?

Sleepy

I'm totally tapped out so unfortunately not!

Effects

I used my Canon AE 1 and free fuji last year at EP and got some nice shots. Got into the photo pit for a couple of gigs but I got some non band shots when walking around that I really liked. The PR company that handles pass requests said they prefer photogs to have accreditation from more than one source as they get a lot of requests. I've got one sorted already and I'm working on another. I'll head down to the press day this year which usually butters them up a bit.

As for replacement batteries in cameras, I've recently ordered replacements for the batteries in my Minolta Hi Matic and I obviously couldn't get mercury ones, are the newer types not a good idea regards metering? Package arrived but they sent me the wrong type of battery altogether so I have to wait a while until they will send the right ones.

Sleepy

damnit, just lost a pretty long post. From what I learnt on Google last night (open to correction I was drinking and a little giddy from buying the Canonet as I researched this):

The mercury batteries used in older cameras put out a very specific, steady voltage which is lower than that put out by modern batteries. Some cameras can handle this higher voltage but you then have to manually adjust the exposure to allow for this (or have your camera's meter re-calibrated to handle it).

Others can't and require a converter to lower the modern voltage to the one put out by the old batteries. However, most of the converters use alkaline batteries which lower the voltage they put out over the life of battery. Because the mercury batteries put out such a consistent voltage over their lifetimes, camera manufacturers never built in regulators to make the metering consistent on this alternating voltage so the meter gets inaccurate as the battery dies (the alkaline batteries also have much shorter lives than the mercury so this problem is run into unless you change batteries every couple of months.

Other converters use silver oxide batteries made for hearing aids which put out a steady voltage throughout their lives so these are the ones to go for imho. However, the converters are far more expensive than the other types: €30 as per my link above rather than the €10 or so the other converter types cost on ebay etc.

duffarama

Search rangefinderforum.com for plenty of information on the difference in batteries and their recommendations on what to use. There's also information on how to adjust the ISO for different batteries.

For example, on my Olympus 35DC the battery tends to overexpose by 1 stop, so I rate the film a stop lower

Sleepy

BTW: if anyone can recommend a business that develops film and provides high res scans on a DVD rather than prints with the negatives (preferably somewhere on-line) that's reasonably priced, it'd be appreciated!

Effects

Fuji in the Unicare in Artane? Think I heard someone mention before that you can post stuff to John who workds there.

Sleepy

Didn't think their scans were high res?

Would be handy if they are, tis only 5 miinutes from my house!

Roy Rogers

Dammit now I'm considering trying to pick up a Canonet myself as a first foray into film. Like I need the expense!

Thanks a lot, photography forum :mad:

Fajitas!

I aim to please!

Sleepy

Love it!

magicbastarder

all this talk of old cameras - there's a fantastic shop in the paris flea markets which deals in old manual cameras; unfortunately, it was closed the day i was there. it's hardcore porn for anyone who digs old rangefinders.

Fajitas!

I'd likely get arrested in that case.

Roy Rogers

Out of curiosity, Sleep, what exactly did you buy in the end and how much did it cost you altogether? Camera, film, and battery adapter, was it?

magicbastarder

magicbastarder wrote: »

all this talk of old cameras - there's a fantastic shop in the paris flea markets which deals in old manual cameras; unfortunately, it was closed the day i was there. it's hardcore porn for anyone who digs old rangefinders.

i got one shot of one of the shelves.

Sleepy

Roy Rogers wrote: »

Out of curiosity, Sleep, what exactly did you buy in the end and how much did it cost you altogether? Camera, film, and battery adapter, was it?

Roughly:

Camera - Canonet GIII QL17 - €80
Battery Adapter - £30
Film - 2 x Fuji Neopan 400CN - 135-36 - C41 Process = £6.38
5 x Kodak Portra 800 ASA - 135-36 (Single Roll) = £22.75

so, roughly, €150 for my first 6 rolls of film for the camera (will most likely be running a few rolls of free Fuji through it first to test).

Sleepy

Camera arrived last night and the light meter seems to be shot. Shutter speeds are fine and it seems okay beyond that. Opened up the battery compartment to discover a 625A that has some corrosion on it...

Should have paid the extra 30 or so to get one that had been freshly CLA'd.

Fajitas!

If you can file off the rust in the battery compartment, it mightn't be too bad - Zerohamster on here is pretty handy at fixing cameras if you wanted to give him a shout - Am disappointed to hear it's not working though. Was it advertised as working or as 'as seen'?

Sleepy

Strangely, it was advertised as both... described as working and 'sold as seen' in smaller writing. D'oh! Lesson learnt: don't dive at the auction that only has 3 minutes left to go when you don't have enough time to read it properly!

Running a film through it manually at the moment to see how the lens / light seals etc. are and have contacted camerarepaircentre.com about a quote for a service.

Fajitas!

I'm assuming you've popped a new battery in, yeah?

Sleepy

Yeah, the silver cell and adapter arrived before the camera did. Camera behaves the same with the battery in or out so lack of power / a broken circuit would seem to be the problem.

I scraped a bit inside the battery compartment with a wooden cocktail stick but didn't want to try anything more corrosive than that, would some alcohol on a cotten swap be worth a try? or could that damage the circuitry?

Fajitas!

Sorry for late reply.

Right, the meter will only work when the camera is in A mode, not the manual modes, so after scraping out the bit of corrosion and with new batter in, it's still not working, no?

Sleepy

I've cleaned the contacts with nail varnish remover and cotten buds, given them a gentle scrape with a nail file and made sure the battery is fitting tight to no avail.

When camera is in Auto mode it refuses to take a picture and the meter line in the viewfinder stutters a bit but doesn't drop out of the 'over-exposed' area at the top of the meter - exactly what the camera does when you take the battery out which means it must be a problem with getting power (the battery check light doesn't work either but I've read that this sometimes happens with adapters due to the slightly different voltage etc.) From what I'm reading on-line it'd seem likely that the wires connected to the battery contacts have been coroded... A bit apprehensive of trying to open up the camera though. Don't want to turn a working (manual only) camera into an expensive paperweight!

Fajitas!

Ah, crap.

Yep, it's going to need a good fiddling with

DaireQuinlan

Does it all work fine in manual mode ? If it does then I'd be unlikely to start taking it to bits. Put some mid speed negative film in and play it by ear and you'll be fine. Sunny 16 is your friend (or Sunny 11 as it always seems here).

Sleepy

Seems to be working in manual alright Daire. Ran a roll of Free Fuji through it at the weekend using gut instinct as my meter, gonna drop it into a local pharmacy tonight/tomorrow and see what the results are like.

Sleepy

Yikes, got a quote from [url]www.camerarepaircentre.com:[/url]

A full service incl light meter - €102.00
Light meter repair only - €65.00

Wondering if it's worth just having a bash myself at that price!

magicbastarder

will PM you clive mcdonald's number, he did a couple of repairs for me, was very happy with the work and the price.

jpb1974

Yikes, got a quote from www.camerarepaircentre.com:

A full service incl light meter - €102.00
Light meter repair only - €65.00

Wondering if it's worth just having a bash myself at that price!

This is for a Canonet? I bought one in mint condition on eBay for €40 about 6 months ago.

Sleepy

I just dropped €80 on one with a dodgy electrical circuit. Canonet QL17 GIII's seem to have gotten expensive again.

Effects

Maybe you just got an expensive one? Did the seller tell you it wasn't working? I just missed one on Sunday I had my eye on. I stayed a bit too long in the pub. It went for $56 in the end and it was in perfect working order and looked brand new. At least there's a few online guides to help you fix it if you decide to do it yourself.

jpb1974

Mine was a Canonet 28... not sure how this compares to the QL17 GIII.

A service seems to cost a lot of money... if it were me I'd hit eBay for another 35mm camera. I always check the description to ensure that everything is described as in good nick and functioning. Never buy anything that sounds problematic, has very little detail regarding the condition or is sold 'as seen'.

Something like an Olympus OM10 + Zuiko 50mm 1.8 can be had for €25 if you shop around. Fine camera and will do as good a job as a Canonet.

Fajitas!

Sleepy wrote: »

I just dropped €80 on one with a dodgy electrical circuit. Canonet QL17 GIII's seem to have gotten expensive again.

That's probably from me telling everyone how great they are :-/

DaireQuinlan

jpb1974 wrote: »

A service seems to cost a lot of money... if it were me I'd hit eBay for another 35mm camera. I always check the description to ensure that everything is described as in good nick and functioning. Never buy anything that sounds problematic, has very little detail regarding the condition or is sold 'as seen'.

There were a bunch of different Canonets. The Canonet "pecker" 28 is probably the most common of the bunch. Fine camera, as a few people here can attest.

To add to the EBay caveats above as well though, never EVER buy from someone who claims that it's his "dads equipment and he doesn't know how it works but it all looks good" or "looks flawless, but don't know much about cameras so can't really test it. mint ++" because while you COULD get lucky, chances are it's not working and they're chancing their arm ...

DaireQuinlan

Fajitas! wrote: »

That's probably from me telling everyone how great they are :-/

Ahh, in order to drive down the prices of Olympus XAs eh ? Cunning !

I just perenially wish I'd bought a Pen FT before the prices went completely through the roof a couple of years ago when Olympus released that new digi P&S with the same name. Curse them.

Sleepy

Aye, I'm usually quite good with eBay. Had a bit of a 'rush of blood to the head' moment this time though and paying dearly for it!