Camera and Coffee

[JeffS7444]

The lens on that Hi-Matic F has a reputation as being very sharp. It has a brass plate [~4cm X 4cm] that all the lens and electronics are mounted on. But remains very, very, light, 12.392 oz, unloaded. I also managed to piece one together but have an Olympus 35 ED which has a super sharp lens too. The rangefinders in the two cameras are something to behold, bright and sharp. The auto exposure shutter systems quite accurate. My guess is the lenses were among the first computer designed.....my unlearned guess...... On the Olympus, if you get one not working, try taking out the battery holder and if I remember correctly put some electrical tape on the bottom of the battery holder..seems the old insulation fails and it shorts out the electronics!

This early Hi Matic F photo came out a bit fuzzy because I had neglected to check rangefinder calibration (whoops). There's a fair amount of barrel distortion, and the square-shaped aperture causes star-shaped highlights. But that last "bad" feature is also kind of entertaining!

 

[Vince Lupo]

Saturday morning here at the homestead. The recently-modified Lennart Nilsson Hasselblad 1000f with the CFV II 50c digital back, 80/2.8 Opton-Tessar and proper Hasselblad hood (hard to find!), the very handy NC-2 prism, and of course a hot cup of Aldi Dark Roast.

The table was an experiment done by a furniture designer client/friend of mine - made of stainless steel and Paulownia wood. He never ended up making any more of them and I remarked to him at the time I photographed it that I really liked it, so he gifted it to me.


On a Rainy Saturday Morning by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

 

[Darinwc]

Nice way to start the morning -- a freshly-poured cup of coffee (nothing special grocery store coffee), a slice of panettone (yes I still have some!) and of course a Hasselblad. The cup and saucer are 1960's-70's Denby 'Camelot' and are part of a large set that I found in one of my mother's cupboards when I was home recently. Funny how things like this can transition from being just an old overlooked cup and saucer sitting forgotten in a cupboard to something 'vintage', 'mid-century modern' and examples of seemingly good design (which I think it is).

I just got the 500C/M back from having been overhauled, and so far so good. Both the camera and lens are 1977 models, mated to the CFV II 50c back. Now I just gotta get out there and put it to more use -- but after this cup of coffee. Okay maybe after the second cup...


Morning Coffee and Hasselblad by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

I reeeeealy like that cup design!

 

[Vince Lupo]

I reeeeealy like that cup design!

It’s Denby ‘Camelot’. My parents have had this set since the 1960’s.

 

[JeffS7444]

Dismal spring mornings are a great time for reflection: Via big silver reflectors, that is! Only source of light here is weak natural daylight, softened with two white cards and aforementioned big silver reflector held overhead.

I discovered How to Photograph Food by Beata Lubas at the library yesterday. But I wonder if the author might find my morning oatmeal lacking something. I thought to top it with yogurt and sliced strawberries, and drizzle with honey for more visual "pop", but wasn't in the mood for such a sugary breakfast.

 

[JeffS7444]

 

[p.giannakis]

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So beautiful.

 

[Vince Lupo]

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Need a Vest Pocket Kodak to go with that coffee.

 

[JeffS7444]

So beautiful.

But I wish the camera were more than a prop! It turns out that the lens flange is not sitting parallel to the film plane, and I dunno if it will be possible for me to straighten out or shim it to adjust.

 

[JeffS7444]

Need a Vest Pocket Kodak to go with that coffee.

Say, now there's a thought...

 

[agentlossing]

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beautiful shot, plus it prompted me to immediately buy the book online...

 

[maigo]

Waiting for the train, in Spain.
December 2022.
Sevilla Santa Justa Station

 

[Darinwc]

I really like the Denby aesthetic. Had to find a set. Now I will be looking for more!
Not so easy in the states though.

 

[Vince Lupo]

A hazy morning here in rural Ontario. We decided to polish off much of what we had In the fridge and this is what we came up with. Fried potatoes, various peppers, shallots, garlic, cheese, salsa and sour cream. Side order of President’s Choice Dark Roast (I’m sure the ghost of Dave Nichol would have approved), and of course the famed Lennart Nilsson Hasselblad 1000f with the Opton-Tessar and CFV II 50C digital back. I found that strap on Etsy a few months ago and initially didn’t warm up to it, as the fit wasn’t great and it just seemed too thick for the camera. A few adjustments later and now I think it’s great, plus it’s super long so I can wear it cross-body style (takes the weight off my neck, which I can’t really do any more).

All in all, a good start to the day — smokiness not withstanding!


Grey Owl Breakfast by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

 

[JeffS7444]

A hazy morning here in rural Ontario. We decided to polish off much of what we had In the fridge and this is what we came up with. Fried potatoes, various peppers, shallots, garlic, cheese, salsa and sour cream. Side order of President’s Choice Dark Roast (I’m sure the ghost of Dave Nichol would have approved), and of course the famed Lennart Nilsson Hasselblad 1000f with the Opton-Tessar and CFV II 50C digital back. I found that strap on Etsy a few months ago and initially didn’t warm up to it, as the fit wasn’t great and it just seemed too thick for the camera. A few adjustments later and now I think it’s great, plus it’s super long so I can wear it cross-body style (takes the weight off my neck, which I can’t really do any more).

All in all, a good start to the day — smokiness not withstanding!


Grey Owl Breakfast by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

That is both comforting and kind of alarming!

 

[Vince Lupo]

That is both comforting and kind of alarming!

Alarming that we polished off most everything in the fridge? Ah guess I forgot to mention that it’s the fridge in our RV.

Hmm or maybe the smokiness? Not to worry - it cleared up this morning.

 

[Vince Lupo]

Another early morning with Aldi in the backyard, this time the German Roast. Pretty good for grocery store coffee - I'm not too fussy.

But look a new camera! This one was given to me by my friend Jeff -- it belonged to his grandfather and Jeff thought I'd like to have it (I think it was either me or the dumpster). It's a 1912 Burke & James Rexoette Model 3A. Of course it turned out to be the model that takes a long-discontinued film (122), however I thought that maybe I could have a bit of fun with it. I cut a couple of strips of wood to support 120 film, moved the red window so that I could see the numbers on the 120 film, and I masked the viewfinder to roughly approximate the new framing (which is now a sort of pseudo-panoramic). I'm still waiting on the 122 to 120 film spool adapters and will hopefully run a roll of film through it this weekend, likely Ilford Pan F. I'll need to figure out the frame spacing but hopefully shouldn't be a big deal. The single-element lens cleaned up nicely and the shutter works great (seems to be about 1/25-1/30 of a second, apertures look to be f/8-11-16). Nice little bit of fun and only cost $20 in materials and about 5 hours of work. One thing I may need to do is to glue two strips of black-core matboard to those strips of wood, as I have a feeling that I didn't make those strips of wood quite wide enough to fully support the edges of the 120 film. The film does overlap onto the wood but maybe not as much as it should. Rather than cutting two new strips of wood etc, I think simply adding the black core matboard should suffice. But I'll see if I even need it before I travel down that road.


Rexoette1 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr


Rexoette 122 to 120 Modification4 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr


Rexoette 122 to 120 Modification1 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

 

[Vince Lupo]

A few more shots of the modification -- sorry no coffee in these shots.


Rexoette 122 to 120 Modification3 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr


Rexoette 122 to 120 Modification2 by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

For now I've just masked-off the horizontal viewfinder -- can't imagine that I'll be doing any tall skinny verticals.

Rexoette Viewfinder Masking by Vince Lupo, on Flickr

 

[Kai-san]

Americano and Brioche after a shoot with the KMZ Horizont.

 

[JeffS7444]

A good book, a fresh cup of tea, and my latest repair/restoration. Bai Mu Dan 2019 white tea from Trident Bookshop, Salyut-S with Vega-12B, circa 1979.