I backed up 30 years of stuff to CD's & then DVD's & in the end- lost over 20,000 images (vintage mostly) due to corrupt discs (mostly CD's). I now back up to 2 Seagate Free Agent external HD's that are 2 TB's each. One contains file folders w/ organized images- the other is a mirror backup of the 1st. Don't know if it's right or wrong but that's how I do it. You can buy these things dirt cheap- I got mine at Costco for about 125.00 each.
I am using a Nikon D5000 digital SLR. Got it as a present for my wife before we went to the Galapagos. It is very light, very versatile,takes video and still photos, has a phenomenal capacity using SDHC cards and will accept my older Nikon lenses as well as the new lightweight lenses. It has many settings beyond the AUTO, but you have to take time to learn them. Best of all, when my wife takes a picture, people actually have their heads included so we know who they are!
I use a Canon Rebel XTi with a 28-135mm lens. Although I do a lot of car shows with it I primarily bought it for sports action. My grandson plays Soccer an I have captured some pretty amazing action shots with it. I still have an old Minlota SLR that takes great pictures but I prefer digital these days.
did you have an M2 or an M3? how was is to shoot. My mainstay is 2.8f Rolleiflex with a Xenotar lense, first rate images. I honestly do not understand the Leica fascination, what am I missing? I have a D300 Nikon rig, which is great to shoot, but i love the Rolleiflex. I personally shoot mostly at night, and digital just goes a little wonky for what i do.
i spend lots of time looking at your and colby's shots cause i really like your (respective) composition. i really like how you put your stuff together. maybe it is the attention to detail, and how you (both) pull it off. either way, always nice to see your detail shots. one day i will get to meet buick59.
I have an M3 as well as an M8. The fascination with Leica for me comes from a few places: 1. The rangefinder format suits my style better than an slr. I mean, what am I saying... I don't have a style... I'm not a photographer... I just like to shoot rangefinders better. It feels more rugged and natural - like driving an old car. 2. Leica lenses are incredible. Especially in low light. The old glass from the 50's and 60's just makes me smile. They render color and shapes so much differently than new glass. It's softer and somehow more pure to my eyes. 3. Have you ever played with an M-Camera? The engineering is incredible. It's like a swiss watch. Really thoughtful and tactile. This is out of the M8 using a 53 year old lens and no post production: It blows me away that you can do that with a sensor rather than film.
And then here is a shot from the film M using the same lens. Tri-X B/W 400. This has that "Leica Glow" you hear so much about...
I knew you were a vampire! OK, so since we're talking low quality cameras, how about a Diana. Here's shots from Bowling Green with mine...
Have you shot a TLR? As you noted, in terms of mechnically jewelry it seems that the Rolleiflex and Leica are in the same playing field. Low light perfection, is what makes the 80mm Xenotar (w/Ilford-Delta 400) a true pleasure to use for a night shot, the below is shot in ambient (8/9pm) with a bit of street light (this is 1250 dpi scan off the negative): The leica is legendary, hence why it commands the reputation it does. One day i will get a chance to put a few rolls through one. The photo of your daughter really shows the depth of field the Leica brings, but there is a tonal softness, slightly ethereal. "glow" is an excellent term. The Rollei is almost the opposite, rigid crystal clarity. (relection off the chrome gas tank cap or the number detail in the shifter quadrant of the Harley)
Mike (Buick), that's a hoss of a lens there, $2g's..... I just got a nifty fifty 50mm 1.8 Canon... a hundy. The 1.4 is more but I'm not personally good enough to deserve it yet.
I have 2 old SONY Mavica's that I plan to replace soon and a little Canon Powershot A1100. For Car Shows I post all the pictures on the web so I can't have them too big in size because they will load slow. Some pictures are here.. http://www.jalopyweb.com/ The main problem at car shows is the number of people that crowd around the cars. I have to make the shots quick when an opportunity happens. The other problem is ..Lighting and shadows on the cars depending on the time of day.... Cadman
Kirk, i remember when you posted those Diana shots,have you made prints of any of those? They are magnificent almost spooky an amusement park with no people kind of post apocalyptic. Fur Biscuit, where do you get film for your brownies? I have a small vintage camera collection, some of them I can fit 120 film in, but most take an extinct format, that is so close to 120 it's maddening. I have a Hawkeye box camera from the 20's that works ok, but super, super soft images. I dont know If I have ever use any of my brownies.
great read so far guys. ive always been into photography but havent had much int he way of tools to really dabble in it. yesterday i came across a pentax *ist ds SLR camera with an 18-55 lens. dunno much about it yet as im still figuring out the basics but ive taken a few cool shots in different modes. only thing that is bugging me right off the bat is the auto focus (grrrr). the camera is old, circa 2004? and was expensive as hell then but is basically out dated now here is one from last night just messing around
Thanks for answering my question on file storage guys, going to look into the external HD. Steves32, Thanks for the heads up on getting hard to find film, I to have a couple old cameras I'd like to play with.
After taking photography courses in college, I took pictures everywhere using Pentak and Fujica 35mm SLR cameras. Still have them. But now I rely on my Canon Rebel. Easy to use, and get great results under any conditions. I mainly shoot car shows and car museums, and am more than satisfied with the results. Been using this camera for 5 years now with no problems and take it everywhere. Just picked up an Argus C3 at an estate sale. One I didn't have in my collection. Hope to actually try it out soon.............
nikon d90. i use it like a point and shoot, like a full manual camera, like an autofocus and like a manual focus. its smarter than i am most of the time, but with digital instead of film, you can see what the shot looks like on the viewfinder instantly and if you dont like it you can try / do something else. i learned on film and it always sucked cuz it cost a bunch of $$$ and the results from what was shot was always delayed. the easiest way to get into photography is to get a camera and take alot of pictures. digital, film, dslr, slr or point & shoot. get one and use it. whatever you get youll want another down the line. im looking at the new nikon version of the canon g11 for when i dont want to lug around the d90...
i second that .... any camera is fine . its just a tool . like you can do a valve adjustment with a set of craftsmans , but you probably want all snapon tools ... the valves dont care what tool it takes....
Kirk's diana shot are so wonderfully creepy, gives Tim Burton a good run. Film is easy to get for anything 620...just get 620 spools and reroll the 120 film onto it (need a film bag and gloves). I have a neat spread of early Hawkeye's from 1899-1932, that shoot 616 and 617 (i think spools), basically a bit bigger ~1/8" clearance between the 120 film and the spool sides, this exposes the very edges of the film ~1/32" on the sides, leading to a neat burned looking edge. The early Hawkeye's have super soft lenses, good for objects, but really blurs the people in the picture. I just picked up the brownie from '32 going to try it out. The only other note for shooting the early hawkeye's is that the film is 6x9, so you have to advance the film twice. The Kodak 400 film still has the numbers printed in the top left corner so keeping count is easy. Hope Farmer pops into this convo, he has all manner of super neat stuff.
Oooh, I just looked that up. That would be fun! For those who don't already know. There's lots of neat low-fi photo phun to be had at... www.lomography.com Check out their Spinner 360.
pulled these 2 with the 2.8f Rolleiflex. Both shot at night, ambient light no flash. Kodak 400 VC 2.8f @ 15 seconds (i was aim to get the texture of the chrome an paint) Kodak Ektar 100 @ 145 seconds. (first time shooting 100 speed color at night, kinda burned the color out, think next time will go with 100 seconds.)
Took this with my Panasonic Lumix TZ3 (Point & Press) And this the next day with my Canon Rebel (Digital SLR)
Diana, Kodak Signet, Leica , Fuji 617, Hasselblad 500cm used in this order, still own & use all . FYI, Crown Image in Everett, Wa, 425-258-4545, will be closing soon, but they charge $.25 per strip of cut 35 mm ( approx 5-7 per) of 'old' negs to hi-res scans to CD. thought you'd like to know... -41-`
Really want one with a 120 roll back (4x5 format) Speedgraphic, the ultimate press camera. Also great for portrait work. The whole front plate pops off, you can swap lenses on ad-naseum. You can get a great big chunk of glass on the front.
We bought a Diana last fall and have yet to load a single roll of film in it. But we did get the Lomo adapter to adapt the plastic lens to our Canon 40D. Also has a hotshoe to use the small color changeable flash with it. Some of the pictures are very interesting. One of the wide angle lens seems like it would be a lot better for the types of shots I would try to do. Buick59, you can buy rolls of 120 film, like what you can buy for Holgas, Dianas, etc, and use fingernail clippers to trim off the spool. Sometimes you have to do both ends and sometimes just one. But the key is, you will need a few of the older 620 metal spools. But 120 will shoot in your Brownie Hawkeye. Just be sure to ask for your metal spools back. The spools can be purchased on ebay but sometimes they get pricey. $5-10 each. I always check antique stores for old cameras and open them up to look for spools. Sometimes the spools are worth more than the cameras. 90% of them will have at least one spool in them.
The Jalopy Journal
