ottluuk
the indecisive eternity
Hello,
I originally came here to inquire about medium format cameras but by the time I had put together enough cash, life had made some correctives. It became clear that any camera that didn't fit the shoulder bag for my everyday commute would take very few pictures. With some reluctance, I downsized my idea to 35mm for the time being. So, I ended up with a user M4, LTM adapter, Jupiter-8 and Jupiter-11 (had the lenses before, no cost in that). It has a few nicks and scratches here and there and has obviously seen a fair share of use but appears to work OK. I won't rush it to a CLA unless the test rolls reveal some problem.
Today was my first day out with an M and first time shooting film after several years. Some observations, probably nothing new, but still:
1) The viewfinder is gorgeous! I don't think there is turning back for me. Excellent clarity, very nice even in a dark café. I handed it to a friend who shoots a low-end Nikon DSLR and he was equally amazed with it. I taped the eyepiece rim to save my glasses from scratches.
2) I originally thought that I would want a 35mm lens but I'm glad I didn't buy one just yet. I wear glasses and I can't see the whole 35mm frame at once. The 50mm line on the other hand is very easy to see and intuitive to use with the .72 finder. I'll see how the J-8 performs and it's very likely that I'm in the market for a good fast 50.
3) No blinking meter readouts, no chimping => infinite cool. I went roughly by "sunny 16" and checked with my GRD-III when in doubt. We'll see how well I did...
4) People do stare. The M4 is chrome and I can see why people think black is more stealthy. Camera store clerk gave me a looong look but said nothing.
5) Film is easy to get. Three major stores near my routes carry an assortment of Kodak, Fuji, Ilford, Efke, Foma in both 135 and 120. One even has APX 100 and 400 listed on their website. The prices, however, are not that nice and they mostly have single rolls. I saw one other person with a film camera during the day. A girl of about 20 with an old manual SLR of some kind. This is a university town, pop. ~100 000.
Anyway, tomorrow I leave for three days on a small island in the Baltic Sea. I think I'll take the gamble and just keep using the M even though I won't be able to see what I got on the first roll...
I think you got me addicted 🙂
Ott Luuk
I originally came here to inquire about medium format cameras but by the time I had put together enough cash, life had made some correctives. It became clear that any camera that didn't fit the shoulder bag for my everyday commute would take very few pictures. With some reluctance, I downsized my idea to 35mm for the time being. So, I ended up with a user M4, LTM adapter, Jupiter-8 and Jupiter-11 (had the lenses before, no cost in that). It has a few nicks and scratches here and there and has obviously seen a fair share of use but appears to work OK. I won't rush it to a CLA unless the test rolls reveal some problem.
Today was my first day out with an M and first time shooting film after several years. Some observations, probably nothing new, but still:
1) The viewfinder is gorgeous! I don't think there is turning back for me. Excellent clarity, very nice even in a dark café. I handed it to a friend who shoots a low-end Nikon DSLR and he was equally amazed with it. I taped the eyepiece rim to save my glasses from scratches.
2) I originally thought that I would want a 35mm lens but I'm glad I didn't buy one just yet. I wear glasses and I can't see the whole 35mm frame at once. The 50mm line on the other hand is very easy to see and intuitive to use with the .72 finder. I'll see how the J-8 performs and it's very likely that I'm in the market for a good fast 50.
3) No blinking meter readouts, no chimping => infinite cool. I went roughly by "sunny 16" and checked with my GRD-III when in doubt. We'll see how well I did...
4) People do stare. The M4 is chrome and I can see why people think black is more stealthy. Camera store clerk gave me a looong look but said nothing.
5) Film is easy to get. Three major stores near my routes carry an assortment of Kodak, Fuji, Ilford, Efke, Foma in both 135 and 120. One even has APX 100 and 400 listed on their website. The prices, however, are not that nice and they mostly have single rolls. I saw one other person with a film camera during the day. A girl of about 20 with an old manual SLR of some kind. This is a university town, pop. ~100 000.
Anyway, tomorrow I leave for three days on a small island in the Baltic Sea. I think I'll take the gamble and just keep using the M even though I won't be able to see what I got on the first roll...
I think you got me addicted 🙂
Ott Luuk
