New enthusiasm for FSU kit.

[fidget]

This afternoon I dug out some of my FSU kit, yet again wondering whether to sell some off. I am used to changing my mind after a few minutes playing with them. I guess that the fondling renews old memories of the hours spent climbing the learning curve to fix them. It's a kind of therapy maybe.

My first FED3a was in this set of cams, I took the back off and ran a quick monitor check on the curtains at 1/500th. Boy! It was all over the place! Something has gone off since it worked so well for a season in 2005, when it found its way into storage (new challenges, no doubt🙂).

I got round to looking at a few of the scans from the first of my FSU kit, the FED3b. I had forgotten how well this had worked.
Here's a scan of one taken at a narrowboat festival.

and here is a 1:1 crop from the 6M scan from my flatbed scanner.

I have a nice but dinged Zorki 5 body that I will try out more film on. Might be fun again.

Dave


EDIT: I should add that this was taken with my first I61 panda lens. It has perfect glass but has suffered some corrosion on the metal rings of the barrel. In subsequent comparisons with my (then growing) collection of Industars and Jupiters, no other lens could better it from f4 and smaller apertures.

 

[Kim Coxon]

I know it's a bit OT but where was the festival?

Kim

 

[fidget]

The festival was at Skipton, I'm pretty sure that it was 2005. I believe that it is still an annual event. I must get to the next one....

 

[Kim Coxon]

That will be on the Leeds Liverpool. One of the few places we can't get to as the boat is about 3ft too long. 🙁

Kim

 

[fidget]

Why too long? Is it too long for the locks? some do look a little short.

 

[Kim Coxon]

Exacty!

Most of the UK system will take a "standard" 70' narrowboat with a few 72'. The "single" canals will take a 7' wide boat and the wide canals 14'. The canals around Leeds were made for the "Leeds Wherries" and the lock are a different size which meant most of the goods acroos the Pennines has to be taken in 2 different boats and reloaded somewhere along the route. The Leeds Liverpool locks are only 60' long but wider than usual so a 62' can use them on the diagonal. Our boat is 65'

Kim

Why too long? Is it too long for the locks? some do look a little short.

 

[fidget]

Thanks for the interesting info Kim. Now the question for a narrowboat owner: do you have arty buckets, watering cans and barrels on your boat? and do you have to paint them yourself? (that picture should have been in colour to show just how bright and vibrant the paintwork is!)

 

[wolves3012]

This afternoon I dug out some of my FSU kit, yet again wondering whether to sell some off. I am used to changing my mind after a few minutes playing with them. I guess that the fondling renews old memories of the hours spent climbing the learning curve to fix them. It's a kind of therapy maybe.

Been there, done that - couple of times a year maybe?

 

[fidget]

Been there, done that - couple of times a year maybe?

Did you part with any?

 

[Kim Coxon]

The basic boat decoration outside is fairly traditional but the inside is modern. We are not really into the "Castles and Roses" so the rear doors are based on the BCN decoration.

http://pentax-manuals.com/octavia/octavia1.htm

Kim

Thanks for the interesting info Kim. Now the question for a narrowboat owner: do you have arty buckets, watering cans and barrels on your boat? and do you have to paint them yourself? (that picture should have been in colour to show just how bright and vibrant the paintwork is!)

 

[MartinP]

What a beautiful looking boat Kim. Presumably there is a darkroom somewhere on board too . . . ?
😉

 

[wolves3012]

Did you part with any?

Yes, I sold a FED 2b and 3b, then regretted the hole in the collection and bought a 2e and 3b. Annoyingly, the 3b was not as good as the one I'd sold, it needs a bit of TLC.

The 2e is a nicer camera than the 2b though, brighter VF by far. Downside is the ribbed nylon covering, for which I can find nothing capable of sticking down the peeling parts! I've tried re-covering it with fake leather but that won't hold either - frustrating.

 

[paulfish4570]

Back to narrow boats, please, for a moment. How are graywater and loo waste handled? Dumping stations at public docks?

 

[paulfish4570]

Back to FSU kit: my enthusiasm had waned because my first two FEDs were duds. Oh, but my enthusiam is at full throttle now that I have a dandy FED-2, thanks to a trade with an RFF member. I have a very good striped I-61 but I like more the shots I am getting with the I-26 that came with the body. It has its own signature ...

 

[Kim Coxon]

"Greywater" goes over the side. Most boaters use "eco" products for this reason. "Blackwater" can be dealt with in 2 ways. Many private boats use cassettes which can be emptied daily and there are stations along the cut to empty them. Nearly all hire boats and some private ones use a tank (around 50 gallons) which is then "pumped out" at boat yards or other facilities.

Kim

Back to narrow boats, please, for a moment. How are graywater and loo waste handled? Dumping stations at public docks?

 

[p.giannakis]

and here is a 1:1 crop from the 6M scan from my flatbed scanner.

May I ask which scanner are you using? This scan looks excellent....

 

[fidget]

May I ask which scanner are you using? This scan looks excellent....

This is just an Epson 4180 in default mode.
As a matter of interest, I often think that the scanner accentuates the grain in an ugly way, but there is little or no trace of that here.
Back then, I was using Tmax 400 in ID11 (D76). I may very well get some more of that!

 

[fidget]

Back to narrow boats, please, for a moment. How are graywater and loo waste handled? Dumping stations at public docks?

I would like to say that a question like this is maybe a little too deep? But...when, some years ago, I was roasting on a beach on a small Greek island, I began to think of where the sewage went, at a time that I was about to have a swim. Since then this question is in my thoughts any time I am in a small village/island.
I don't ask the locals, because I may not like the answer..... I'm relieved that narrow-boaters have a suitable way to dispose of it.

Dave...

 

[p.giannakis]

This is just an Epson 4180 in default mode.

I use an Epson Perfection 1650 Photo but my results are nowhere near yours...

 

[paulfish4570]

Thanks, Kim. Same rules here for houseboats/cruisers, etc., in fresh water, enforced by the Coast Guard ...