What have you just BOUGHT?

For DOF maybe just mark hyperfocal points or use an app. Really with the 40mm if stopped down even just hyperfocal would likely be enough. I have a 612 Kraken with a 47mm on it and it is fixed focus. Has not been an issue at all. I set its lens position taking the Widelux idea… focusing in reasonably close and stop down to sharpen infinity.
 
An "event"? More like a cataclysm! Of course, I say that fondly...
Now, what you need to do is go out and get yourself the100mm, either the Komura or the Nikkor. Tiny and fast, and the perfect pairing with the S2A. An added plus: most of the later helicals have a depth of field scale for the 100 as well as the 75. That lack of scales is a glaring weakness with these cameras. But otherwise, congratulations on your ownership of a truly remarkable camera, and one of the most beautiful pieces of industrial design ever!
Right on. Jason's writeup in the last few weeks caused me to shoot a roll of 220 in my S2A -- film should be ready tomorrow. Cataclysm maybe; clatter definitely. But yes, such a fine machine, and really handsome. (I thought mine had jammed up right after I loaded it. I cursed my luck for a few minutes until I realized the dark slide was still installed.)
 
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The 80 2.4 arrived and is in very nice shape. I realize I was wrong about the helicoid on the camera. It was marked for 75mm only in meters and feet. The helicoid that came with the 80mm is marked in feet for 75 and 100mm. The action on that one is a little too loose. Might regrease it with something a bit heavier to match the nice damped feel of the one on the camera.
Also found a helicoid marked for 75, 80 and 100 on ebay that was meters only. Not sure if that was for a S2/s2a or maybe an EC. Not sure if they are compatible or not? Apparently the bellows aren’t between the two but unsure if that is a mount difference or body position difference there.
 
Those plastic knurled rings and knobs....whoooah! I love it.

In terms of tactile and visual pleasure, the Hasselblad and RB67 lenses are nothing to write home about (in fact, I have not written home about them), but there is something so alluring about those plastic knurled lenses on the Bronica that makes me want to grasp the lens and focus it. I've always had that feeling about them. Some sort of lens voodoo going on.

Pentax 6x7 lenses, the older hefty metal ones with knurled metal rings, are attractive too.

When you grab a lens like this, you know you've got a real lens.
 
Those plastic knurled rings and knobs....whoooah! I love it.

In terms of tactile and visual pleasure, the Hasselblad and RB67 lenses are nothing to write home about (in fact, I have not written home about them), but there is something so alluring about those plastic knurled lenses on the Bronica that makes me want to grasp the lens and focus it. I've always had that feeling about them. Some sort of lens voodoo going on.

Pentax 6x7 lenses, the older hefty metal ones with knurled metal rings, are attractive too.

When you grab a lens like this, you know you've got a real lens.
The lever on the quick focus ring might be plastic (unsure) but all the other knurled rings and knobs are metal. Little bits of paint/anodizing wear show the metal underneath.
 
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The 80 2.4 arrived and is in very nice shape. I realize I was wrong about the helicoid on the camera. It was marked for 75mm only in meters and feet. The helicoid that came with the 80mm is marked in feet for 75 and 100mm. The action on that one is a little too loose. Might regrease it with something a bit heavier to match the nice damped feel of the one on the camera.
Also found a helicoid marked for 75, 80 and 100 on ebay that was meters only. Not sure if that was for a S2/s2a or maybe an EC. Not sure if they are compatible or not? Apparently the bellows aren’t between the two but unsure if that is a mount difference or body position difference there.
All lenses and helicoids are interchangeable between the S series and the EC series. However, should you ever obtain a 100mm, Bronica recommends the helicoid be racked out to the near focus before attaching or detaching the 100. This is specifically for the EC series, but I follow that advice with the S series as well. There is a very good chance of scratching the mirror if you don't follow this procedure. Supposedly the Komura 100mm doesn't have this issue, but who wants to experiment?
BTW, I think the really old helicoids are only marked for 75mm. I have one like that.
 
The lever on the quick focus ring might be plastic (unsure) but all the other knurled rings and knobs are metal. Little bits of paint/anodizing wear show the metal underneath.
:oops:

I did not realize that; I've never actually touched one! So, the lens surfaces are a lot like Nikon pre-AI lenses - metal, but shiny black paint.

Even so, still attractive.
 
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FILCA Cassette. Bought so I could use the Leica 1 without all the photos coming out lopsided. Presumably the “Excellent+” description (Ffordes) didn’t apply to either to the paint or what looks suspiciously like a broken clip on the spool.

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A quite astonishingly complex piece of engineering, but it does begin to explain the convolutions necessary to get a film into a Barnack Leica. It doesn’t explain, given the apparent difficulties of getting film into the cassette (admittedly I’ve not tried it yet) why anyone bought one in the first place. Also, given the significant height difference between the FILCA and standard Kodak-sized cassettes (which must have seemed a Godsend in 1933) I wonder why I’ve not had the problem with any other camera.

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Given that I may have already given up on it before starting, does anyone have any recommendations for packing a normal cassette so that the film lies straight?
 
A quite astonishingly complex piece of engineering, but it does begin to explain the convolutions necessary to get a film into a Barnack Leica. It doesn’t explain, given the apparent difficulties of getting film into the cassette (admittedly I’ve not tried it yet) why anyone bought one in the first place. Also, given the significant height difference between the FILCA and standard Kodak-sized cassettes (which must have seemed a Godsend in 1933) I wonder why I’ve not had the problem with any other camera.

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Given that I may have already given up on it before starting, does anyone have any recommendations for packing a normal cassette so that the film lies straight?
If I understand you correctly, then the normal film cartridge sits too low and the film runs slightly diagonally from left to right through the camera?
I had the same problem with a Zenit C, basically a Russian Leica with an SLR viewfinder.
As a solution, I glued two washers with an inner diameter of 10.5 mm and an outer diameter of 20 mm with double-sided tape and drilled them out to 11.5 mm. The two washers are 4 mm thick, 5 mm would be better. Best to try.
There are different types of washers, I had these available.
At least the film runs much straighter through the camera :)

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If I understand you correctly, then the normal film cartridge sits too low and the film runs slightly diagonally from left to right through the camera?
Exactly, Alpsman, plus the sprocket holes intrude into the image area. I shall endeavour to make something to your specification. Meanwhile, I feel an overwhelming urge to try the FILCA at least once. I have a woozy roll of FP4 in which the film is not attached to the spool which I have been saving for this sort of eventuality.
 
Exactly, Alpsman, plus the sprocket holes intrude into the image area. I shall endeavour to make something to your specification. Meanwhile, I feel an overwhelming urge to try the FILCA at least once. I have a woozy roll of FP4 in which the film is not attached to the spool which I have been saving for this sort of eventuality.
If ya know someone with a lathe, I suggest to machine one that's fitting exactly.
The version with the two washers was only a temporary emergency solution.
 
In a fugue state after a long travel day I placed a bid on a Contax IIa with an accompanying Opton Sonnar 50mm 1.5 – and won. Both look very nice, which can be great, but can also mean there is something wrong with the camera and hence it was never used much. Only after I won I read Henry Scherer's blog and the long list of things that can be wrong with these cameras. I guess I'll have to wait and see. The price was not too high, though, about the going rate for the lens alone.

Keep your fingers crossed for me.
 
FILCA Cassette. Bought so I could use the Leica 1 without all the photos coming out lopsided. Presumably the “Excellent+” description (Ffordes) didn’t apply to either to the paint or what looks suspiciously like a broken clip on the spool.



A quite astonishingly complex piece of engineering, but it does begin to explain the convolutions necessary to get a film into a Barnack Leica. It doesn’t explain, given the apparent difficulties of getting film into the cassette (admittedly I’ve not tried it yet) why anyone bought one in the first place. Also, given the significant height difference between the FILCA and standard Kodak-sized cassettes (which must have seemed a Godsend in 1933) I wonder why I’ve not had the problem with any other camera.



Given that I may have already given up on it before starting, does anyone have any recommendations for packing a normal cassette so that the film lies straight?
Malcolm, the novelty will wear off! You'll be back to ordinary cassettes and a bit of packing in not time. Alternatively you could always hold the camera upside down.

One thing the FILCA does is to open up the slot when the camera base is closed to prevent scratching the film, just be thankful that the even more complex Shirley Wellard cassette doesn't fit an ltm camera, don't even try, if you can force one in you'll never get the blighter out again!
 
Marumi 34mm UV Filter :)
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Fujifilm X-H1, Fujinon XF 80mm f2.8 lens
Astia film simulation
Yokosuka, Japan - August 2023
Image is lower resolution than original​
 
Slik SH-806 N tripod head
The quick release does not come with the head​
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Fujifilm X-H1, Voigtländer Macro APO-Ultron 35mm f2 (X-mount) lens
Astia film simulation
Yokosuka, Japan - August 2023
Image is lower resolution than original​
 
CR1616 button battery for the D3x...to stop that blinking "clock" battery icon.
Then I had to find a manual to figure out where to look in the entire menu to set the date/clock...
Those little button batteries are not cheap...
 
I bought this Tamron 90mm 52B, which came with an AIs mount which has "ears", but as I wanted it partly for low-light work I swapped the mount for the non-eared AIs mount that was on my 80-210mm 103a in case the ears blocked any light reaching the aperture window in my fm2n:



I know. You're thinking "Aargh! where are the blue and yellow letters and numbers? That one is a Freak!" Fear not, the actual lens does have the correct colours on it, but for some reason they've not shown up on the listing photos.

The centre-pinch front lens cap, Hoya super HMC skylight 1B filter and lens hood with two 40mm spacer rings to make the hood deeper had already been bought in anticipation.

I also bought: 2x Kenko "upto 40.5mm" filter cases, 1x Hoya black 40.5mm filter case, 1x Hoya "scalloped" 40.5mm filter case, 1x Hoya "serrated" 35.5mm filter case (which it turns out I didn't need, as there was one in a bag of random un-needed filters which at some point may go to a charity shop). All these cases were bought so that various incomplete filter sets would have the "correct" case for that set when it is completed. I use specific styles of filter cases to keep the various sets separate so that I don't have to open them to know which camera that particular filter/set is for.
 
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