First photos from M4/DR Summicron

[CSG123]

The body is from 1967 and the lens, purchased from Sherry, if from 1957. Film is BW400CN processed and scanned at Costco. First attempt at Sunny 16 in 40+ years. I'm not overly proud of the images but I was pleased that most of the exposures were OK although a number were overexposed and/or underexposed (I left most of those out 😉).

Takes some getting used to doing things old school but all in all I like making the effort once again. The rangefinder patch is off at infinity but OK with closer focus and the end result seems to be OK at all distances. It's just distracting at infinity.

http://picasaweb.google.com/csgreen...gCMrFgbvrxZ6QKg#slideshow/5530651035116896866

 

[kknox]

Congratulations on your new camera. The M4 & DR is a great combo. Enjoy

 

[David Murphy]

razor sharp - nice shots - the vintage 'cron continues to amaze me.

 

[fixbones]

i am dying to try a DR summicron myself. Heard only good things.
Have fun with your fab combo!

 

[CSG123]

It's just so weird to not rely on a meter but then that was the whole idea of acquiring this camera. I also bought a pre-war Summitar from Sherry but I've got to find an adapter better than the Fotodiox I just returned. While it held the lens in place it also brought up the 90mm frame lines along with the 50mm lines which I found distracting.

I sort of wonder if 400 ISO film isn't a little fast for a camera with an f/16 max lens and a max 1/1000th shutter speed in sunny weather. I used to use Pan and Plus X almost exclusively as a high school student in the late 60's with my Yashica J (max shutter speed of 1/300th) and those films were well matched for that camera.

 

[ChrisN]

My congratulations also on the M4 - I love mine. Those scans look pretty good, with strong blacks. I use 400 iso film a lot, but it does limit what aperture settings you can use in sunshine. An ND filter would help there.

If your email can cope with an 800kb attachment, I can send you a pdf file with instructions for adjusting your rangefinder. It has separate adjustments for infinity and close focus. PM me with your email address if you'd like a copy.

 

[Nugard]

That tree looks great...

Shoot people... I meen with film... 😉

 

[CSG123]

I'm going to use this camera for a local project and will be doing some candid portraiture. I live in a small town in Idaho and we don't have the cityscape and people on the streets like larger cities. If you try street photography here and shove your camera in people's faces they'd not take kindly to it.

I'm thinking of maybe getting a 90mm lens but honestly, I might prefer using my Nikon D90 and zoom tele for most of that sort of work. I think of the M4 as a more deliberative camera for me. Something that once I get completely familiar with I'll take with me on shoots for certain types of photos while still carrying a digital camera for others.

Thanks for the compliment on the tree. I didn't particularly like the results of that photo.

 

[shadowfox]

Good job!

Making the effort is the important thing. That and feeling the reward of shooting old-school-style.

Your pictures have very high contrast for BW400CN. If you don't mind developing film yourself, you may like Plux-X or FP4 better for sunny days.

 

[CSG123]

I think the high contrast may be from over exposure. Starting in January I'm going to take a film class at the local community college so I can use the darkroom. I only got the BW400CN film so I could do a little practicing between now and then and get it developed and scanned at Costco.

I could get a tank and develop film at home like I used to many years ago but I'm on a septic system and disposing of the chemicals would be a nuisance. Using the lab at the college solves that problem. While they have a scanner at the school, I've got a V700 at home and Costco only charges $3 to scan up to 40 negs/slides onto a DVD. If I find something I like I can rescan it at a higher resolution.

But my film goal for this camera is traditional b&w film, not the C-41 stuff. I grew up using Pan and Plus X and almost never used film faster than that.

 

[venchka]

The 51.9mm Dual Range Summicron is the all time Champ! Try it wide open, up close & personal too.
I'm going to join Costco just for the scans. I've never seen 35mm scans that nice on the web.
Enjoy!

 

[CSG123]

I hear that different Costco's have different scanners so not all are equal. My store claims their machine is optimized to make 8x12 prints and the scans I get from them are about 1.5 - 2 MP in file size. Other stores seem to be able to get higher res scans. I use Costco scans as a proof sheet and for internet publishing.

 

[venchka]

Some, maybe all?, stores have Noritsu scanners. They seem to be the best of the mass market 1 hour photo hardware.

 

[CSG123]

There's another brand that some stores have but I forget which it is. This is based on what my local store here in Idaho has told me.

 

[CSG123]

I wanted to update this thread with a good comment about Samy's Camera which is where the M4 was purchased via an ebay auction. There is a slight issue in the rangefinder patch not meshing at infinity. Focus is otherwise fine, it's just an annoyance for long focusing (although even at f/2 things from 100' on will be in focus based on the DOF scale on the lens).

Anyway, I contacted Youxin Ye and DAG about it and what it might cost. DAG quoted $65 and I brought this up with Samy's stating I wanted to keep the camera but that they did advertise it as everything functioning within spec. Today they credited back my PP account the cost of the repair. So the end price I paid for the lovely body was $694. Definitely in 8+ condition.

I never get the good deals so even at it's original auction price of $759 I thought it was fair based on what people seem to ask for these. Kudos to Samy's for doing the right thing and standing behind their auction description.

 

[mfogiel]

The shots are ok. I would definitely buy an exposure meter and send the camera to a reputable repairman for a cla and rf adjustment. This combo can deliver truly great pleasure when you operate it and great quality photos as well. This lens is one of the best ever for B&W, and it will excel with silver film.
Do not worry overexposing C41 film, you can even shoot it with success at EI 50, I prefer XP2, unless you are after female portraits.

DR Summicron and Tri X

 

[CSG123]

Why on earth would I want to send it in for servicing, other than the slight rf tweak, when it's working quite well? This nonsense about sending in working equipment to get fixed (when it ain't broke) is just silly but seems to be part of the collective culture on this site.

As to a meter, I did order an L-208 just to have but I bought this camera specifically to work with manual exposures based on Sunny 16. That's the way I learned to do photography back in the late 60's (and still have a Yashica J, the model I first learned serious photography with). Having a meter will allow me to check myself.

I said earlier in the thread that I've enrolled in a photo darkroom class at the local community college for the upcoming semester to get reacquainted with film processing and printing. Easier to use their lab and chemicals than disposing of them at my house. I'm looking forward to shooting traditional b&w film again.

As to the linked images, I think I said I wasn't overly impressed with them but was simply burning through a roll to check functions and that I was generally pleased that most were OK exposurewise under some challenging midday lighting.