I broke out a film camera this weekend

Mr_Asa said:

Was all excited to drop off Dad's camera at my new favorite shop.

Nikon F; metal body, no light meter, bought it new in 1970 in Okinawa.  The shutter drags, stays open for seconds.  (That could be due to it getting hit by salt water in heavy seas when I was on the flying bridge of LST 1183 in a storm in the south China Sea.) 

Shutter doesn't always drag, or it didn't. I remember Dad carrying the camera around when I was a kid.

Lead tech told me that it might not be salvageable. :-/

Entropy sucks.

 

Heard back.  $500-1000.

But. Coastal offers camera repair classes for $125/hr...

So, guess i have a new rabbithole to schedule?

I got back my first batch of color in maybe two years (I don't shoot much color film, and I have to mail it out for dev and scans, so I tend to wait until I have a dozen or so rolls). Barely started to go through them, but I had to get this shot posted since I knew it would be appreciated by the crowd here. The strange things you see when walking around....

Kentmere 400 pushed two stops, Can't complain about the results at all. 

Mr_Asa said:

Mr_Asa said:

Was all excited to drop off Dad's camera at my new favorite shop.

Nikon F; metal body, no light meter, bought it new in 1970 in Okinawa.  The shutter drags, stays open for seconds.  (That could be due to it getting hit by salt water in heavy seas when I was on the flying bridge of LST 1183 in a storm in the south China Sea.) 

Shutter doesn't always drag, or it didn't. I remember Dad carrying the camera around when I was a kid.

Lead tech told me that it might not be salvageable. :-/

Entropy sucks.

 

Heard back.  $500-1000.

But. Coastal offers camera repair classes for $125/hr...

So, guess i have a new rabbithole to schedule?

That sounds like Alex saying he probably could repair it, but its going to be a nightmare of a job. I wonder how had the salt water damaged it. 

So, I wound up with madmrak351's Olympus OM-1 camera and accessories that he had up for sale here: Camera for Sale

Now I need to find somebody to give it a checkup. There doesn't appear to be anyplace local so mailing it off is the most probable scenario. There is a place in Charlottesville, but he isn't taking work right now and seems kinda pricey ($200-$250) is his general "tune up" price if no unusual parts are needed.

Any recommendations?

Joined a packed house at night’s grand opening of Orlando’s newest photo lab–Bellow’s Film Lab–in the Milk District. 

Free camera and film tattoos. Really? Yes–and a huuuuuuge line waiting for them. 

I was the oldest person there.

In reply to secretariata (Forum Supporter) :

I use Kiwi in Orlando for my camera repairs and tune-ups. I know they have a wait, too. 

Does the camera seem/sound okay? How do the seals look? Maybe run a roll through it just to see how it’s working? 

Shot a few rolls yesterday, so off to get them developed I go. (When a friend asks if she can have photos taken with your car, of course you say yes.)

And, thanks to some Black Friday sales and expired film found in my office, I think I have enough film for a while.

Speaking of film cameras, TIL that a Contax T3 is about a $3000 purchase. 

So I met up with a model friend Saturday. Leading up, she was telling me about the multiple vintage outfits she was getting together.

I better up my game, I thought, so I grabbed some Fuji 100 film for crisp, sharp photos.

Day of the shoot she tells me that she prefers the vintage look. Glad I had some Tri-X with me, too. :) 

We also shot some digital images. 

This is right out of the camera, but I admit there’s some movie magic going on: This path doesn’t lead anywhere, and we’re within a stone’s throw of A1A. Looks off in the wilderness, though, right? 

David S. Wallens said:

In reply to secretariata (Forum Supporter) :

I use Kiwi in Orlando for my camera repairs and tune-ups. I know they have a wait, too. 

Does the camera seem/sound okay? How do the seals look? Maybe run a roll through it just to see how it’s working? 

In the for sale ad the PO indicated issues with the last roll(s) of film run through it that are consistent with degrading seals. Figure a tune up is probably reasonable maintenance for such an old camera. Still need to pick a place to send it. 

We’re about to replace seals on my wife’s free Sears camera. The seal kit cost about $6.99. Tomorrow, ask me how it went. 

Update: My wife is replacing the seals right now. (Me? I should be vacuuming, cleaning the kitchen and taking out the trash yet I’m here on the forum....)

In reply to David S. Wallens :

Will do. Thanks.

Well, we think the seals are properly installed. We’ll see how that first roll goes. Seal kit came from USCamera.

Today I shot my 1st roll of film in over 20 years. Tried Saturday at Entertrainment Junction, a big train display that's leaving after Sunday but the lot was full and surrounding biz threatening to tow.

Went to the Air Force Museum in Dayton this morning. Perfect day for it, weekday between holidays and shortly after opening. The place is 4 large hangars, by #3 and 4 I barely saw another person.

I was looking for abstract angles and shooting B&W, I pushed it to 800ISO hoping to avoid needing flash, still had to handhold down to 1/15 so we'll see how it went. Manual focus, manual camera, limited myself to one roll of 36 meant being selective. Very different experience vs digital.

I did have one older volunteer compliment me on the camera. F3HP with motor drive and very mechanical sounds. It's a heavy beast but I think I've missed it. Now to see if I can find someone local I trust to process.

Very cool and glad to hear you had fun with it. It is a different process–kinda like driving an older car vs. a newer one, perhaps. 

And I got five rolls back today, and I think I’m waiting on another five. (I know, I know.)

This is some hand-held Tri-X shot at box speed. No editing, no nothing. 

Tattoo parlor? How about opening night at Orlando’s newest photo lab. 

In reply to David S. Wallens :

Dude!  That big luminous Cheerio looks crazy!

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

The Cheerio knows all!

So glad it was there, to be honest, as it was pretty dark in the room. 

I already had the Tri-X loaded. 3200 would have been better, but that would have meant walking back to the car. (Never mind the fact we were in a film store.)

I have more shots of this. Loved watching the body language. The woman in the far seat seemed totally chill getting the tattoo. The dude closer to the camera seemed a bit nervous. Fun evening. 

David S. Wallens said:

We’re about to replace seals on my wife’s free Sears camera. The seal kit cost about $6.99. Tomorrow, ask me how it went. 

So how did the light seal replacement effort go?

Which model Sears camera did she get?

I'm up to three Sears-branded lenses at this point, two 50's and a 135.  I want a 28mm in K mount but I don't know that they sold any.  They did sell at least one in M42 but that's not as nice as K...

In reply to secretariata (Forum Supporter) :

See got the seals replaced last night and shot some photos today. Once she finishes the roll, we’ll get the film developed. 

In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :

It’s a Sears KS500. It came out of the “free” bin at a swap meet.

We compared the light meter against her 7D, and it seemed underexposed by one stop. Solution: Adjust the ASA one stop to compensate.