fredag 1. april 2016

The old Spotmatic

As you might remember there was this Pentax Spotmatic that used to belong to my dad during a few years up through the seventies. It went away, but came back to him last christmas. 
As you were told if you ever checked the link, I loaded the thing with a Tri-X a couple of months ago. Snapped a few frames and put it back on the shelf. 
I was up there last weekend, checking what's happening... if they were both well and all, as you obviously do. All good, except the frame counter on that old lovely camera had not moved at all. So I grabbed the thing and finished the film. I am a curious man. At least when it comes to old cameras, and maybe especially old lenses. This one got the great Super Takumar coupled, and I must say I had hopes that it might were able to deliver some good stuff. 
And yes, it does!

Nice start, don't you think? Super Takumar, red filter and a Pentax Spotmatic. I don't know if you recognize the place, but I have snapped stuff around here earlier as well. Back in the 70's as it happens, with the then new Minolta Hi-Matic G camera I still got lurking around. I need to find them on that red hard drive and post them. I think it was the sisters playing with an old sledge or toboggan or whatever you call it. And yes, this was snapped last sunday. There's still snow to melt away around these parts...

I brought the film back home, and had it developed yesterday. I will try not to bore you big time, as there's way too many snaps of relatives and such on the film. But anyway, I post what I got... as you know. Shook it around in some Kodak HC-110 in "B" solution, I did. Don't know why I seem to like that old developer, but it's probably a combination of a few different things. It's versatile, very concentrated, longlife and have a nice colour from the bottle. Add water and it looks like something else, but I will not focus on that here and now. 

Nope! Just could not resist this one! Snapped from the side window of the car when me and my father went to Tingvoll for some milk and bread and things you need to survive. Super Takumar 50mm f/1.4 with yellow filter, and that old Pentax Spotmatic.

My step daughter is 25 tomorrow. They really start to grow up now, I have to say. My son will turn 25 in just a couple of months. He don't know what he wants for birthday, which is OK. He will still get something, I guess. 
My step daughter don't know what she wants either, but my hope is to give her a camera. She borrowed that flimsy plastic Diana F+ camera last time we were over in England, as you might remember. She snapped a couple of nice frames, but the majority of the film turned out totally useless. She still got hooked on film, so she immediately went to get herself her own Diana F+. She also asked me what else to get, meaning a smaller camera with mojo, soul and whatever such a camera would have. She would need a small P&S kind of thing, I guess. I really hope the mail man drops a packet around for me to pick up some time tomorrow. There might be something inside the wrapping she could use. Well, that's what I hope, of course. We all know that buying an old camera on the inter web is not always the wisest thing to do. Still, I have yet to be left totally disappointed about what's coming my way. This was really cheap as well, so will be worth taking the chance. 
Oh, and yes... I will keep you informed. 

Same trip. This was snapped from the side window of the car as well, over there in the small village of Tingvoll. Oh... you might think "Tingvoll" sounds a bit like Dingwall, Thingwall, Tingwall, Tingvellir or something like that? Yup, that's right. Same word, same meaning. The old norse word for a place where great "tings" were held. I was baptised in the church at this place, as it happens. Old thing from back in the time when the earliest churches was built over here in Norway. Long traditions, you see... Built in 1180, made of stone unlike most other churches over here... built to last a few more years. Same Spotmatic, Super Takumar with yellow filter. And Kodak Tri-X sloshed around in Kodak HC-110 for a couple of moments.

I'm at the cottage for the weekend. Left a big bag of photographic equipment outside the door as I arrived. There's this picture I want to take, but I'm waiting for the right kind of light. It will definitely not happen today. That's for sure! First of all the light is not here, at all. Second thing is I forgot to put the good film backs into the bag before I left. I got two bad film backs, and both of them happen to be attached to the back of the two Mamiya RZ67 cameras I got inside the bag for the moment. I mean, what's the odds for that to happen? I got quite a few of them, but still have managed to do this silly thing. OK, I know why I did it, and it has to do with a plan to have them repaired over the weekend. Or at least start to repair them. And I'm still on that plan, but that should not include to forget the good ones back home! 
Oh yes, it's only a five minutes drive to pick up a good back, but having opened a can of beer it won't happen. Easy as that... :))


2 kommentarer:

  1. For anyone with no real photo background who has any interest in film, I tell them to pick up an old Canon EOS or a Nikon like the N60, N65, N70, preferably with a 50mm prime but the kit zoom is probably okay too. These are fine introductions to the world of film, and have autoexposure and autofocus as training wheels. And they can be had for pretty cheap.

    SvarSlett
    Svar
    1. Hi Jim, and thanks for the comment.
      I will have to agree on the simpleness of things using the EOS line or the Nikons you mention. She's got a good enough photographic background to know how to get the exposures right and all, and any of the cameras you mention would be perfect enough to most people. What I personally do not like too much about them is the need for batteries, but that's personal and something I try my best to not bother other people with. I got a few of them myself as well. EOS 550, a Nikon F-401and a few P&S of older dates. Great cameras, but the batteries from back in the days adds considerable weight and size. Personally I'm more into the earlier lines before all the plastic and big camera houses, but they are great and simple cameras, for sure. Which reminds me that I should bring one of them out in fresh air again, some time soon :)

      Slett

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