Going on first outing with meterless RF

[captainslack]

My wife & I are heading up to Fairy Stone Park in Virginia for the weekend. I'm planning on taking my newly refurbished Minolta A5 for it's first real trip. Will be a bit of an adventure for me, as I've never used a meterless camera before. I know about "sunny 16" and I plan on keeping the recommendations from the film box handy, but I was wondering if anyone here had any advice for me. It would certainly be appreciated! 🙂

 

[back alley]

are you taking a hand held meter?

joe

 

[peter_n]

Well, you've got the cam and the sunny 16 rules all set, so maybe all you need is to bring along a film with good latitude so that you can worry even less. 😉 Ilford XP2 would be a good choice - a C-41 chromogenic - drop it off at your local minilab when you get back & you have the prints an hour later and everything will be perfect. 😀

 

[bruhl]

Take a look at www.fredparker.com/ultexp1
print it out and it may help you.
Mike

 

[einolu]

I am getting better and better at guessing my exposure, I think it just takes practice. Meters, who needs em!

 

[captainslack]

are you taking a hand held meter?

joe

No, unfortunately. Cash is a little short, so I haven't been able to invest in one.

I did just remember I have a handy-dandy little book called the Kodak Pocket Dataguide. It's got an exposure wheel for existing light situations. Better carry that along!

 

[captainslack]

Well, you've got the cam and the sunny 16 rules all set, so maybe all you need is to bring along a film with good latitude so that you can worry even less. 😉 Ilford XP2 would be a good choice - a C-41 chromogenic - drop it off at your local minilab when you get back & you have the prints an hour later and everything will be perfect. 😀

Thanks, Peter! May stop by the photo store and grab a roll on the way out. 😀

 

[back alley]

No, unfortunately. Cash is a little short, so I haven't been able to invest in one.

I did just remember I have a handy-dandy little book called the Kodak Pocket Dataguide. It's got an exposure wheel for existing light situations. Better carry that along!

that will work too!
good luck to you and enjoy the shooting.

when you get a meter it will take some time and practice but eventually you will set the camera and then check the meter. and most of the time you will be right.

joe

 

[Doug]

That Kodak Dataguide is amazingly useful. I remember when I was learning what photography was about, and studying that Pocket Dataguide led me to an understanding of exposure and the concept of reciprocity. I think I still have mine here somewhere...

 

[taffer]

My last two rolls on the P have been completely meterless, not even the Pilot 2, I'm too impatient 😛

 

[jamiewakeham]

Cap'n,

You don't need to spend much on a meter to have pretty damn accurate results; I've a Leningrad 4 (which goes on your favourite internet auction site for about the same as a roll of XP2) that I use with my Zorki. Admittedly,I had to calibrate it at the start (either a few test shots bracketing either side of the meter's guess, or use anther camera's meter to confirm; mine needs to be set with an ISO 25% higher than the actual film) but having sorted that it's completely reliable. With a little thought about light direction, it's *slide film* reliable.

I assume my need to calibrate has something to do with the selenium wearing out/away/down?

As a matter of interest, Peter, does a C-41 B&W offer more latitude than, say, Delta? Ialways thought that increasing latitude went E6 -> C-41 -> B&W.

Jamie

 

[peter_n]

Jamie I have not used Delta but I understand that it has less exposure latitude than other B&W films such as HP5+. OTOH you can expose XP2 at 200 through 800 (or more) ASA in the same roll and get reasonably acceptable results.

 

[dreilly]

When I shoot my Meopta Flexaret I use nothing but the chart from the inside of the film case to guide my exposure (adapted with a few other measurements I took off my previous FM-2)--and I almost never loose a shot (rather, due to exposure and not my questionable composition!) And that's with Ektachrome 100. That Ultimate Exposure guide looks cool, however.

have fun
doug

 

[captainslack]

Back from our trip to Fairy Stone Park! Had a great time! Wish we could have stayed for a few extra says.

Let me state now for the record: I am IN LOVE with the Minolta A5!!! This little jewel is the best camera purchase I've made in a long time! It's 45 years old, clunky, metallic, completely manual, and I LOVE IT!!! Not bad for $25 from the flea market!!

Ended up using it more than I expected, too. I brought it along with my Nikon FE and the rest of my Nikon SLR gear. However, the battery in the FE ended up being dead, so I had to use the A5 exclusively. The really pathetic part was I knew it was time to replace the battery in the FE and we even stopped at the camera store to pick up a roll of XP2 (thanks, peter!) on the way out, but I totally forgot to get a battery while I was there. :bang: :bang: Lesson learned: always carry extra batteries.

I'll have the pics I took with the A5 developed at Wolf this evening and I'll post some to the gallery tonight, provided any of them come out. *crosses fingers*

 

[captainslack]

As promised, here are some of the pics I took on the trip. The majority of them turned out well, despite my not having a meter. The Kodak Pocket Dataguide did not lead me astray! I'd highly recommend it!

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showgallery.php/cat/845

However, a few shots come out.... well... odd. I'd say the camera has a light leak, but it was only affected a few pics. Can someone have a look at the attached and tell me what's going on here?

 

[Doug]

Oh, yeah! Light leak at the top edge of the back door, I'd guess. That's from the Minolta? Could be in need of new light seals. I'd guess that the worst evidence of light leaks occurs on pics that were preceded by carrying the camera around without shooting, thus giving the leak more exposure time on those frames.

 

[captainslack]

Oh, yeah! Light leak at the top edge of the back door, I'd guess. That's from the Minolta? Could be in need of new light seals. I'd guess that the worst evidence of light leaks occurs on pics that were preceded by carrying the camera around without shooting, thus giving the leak more exposure time on those frames.

Hmmm..... I'll have to have that looked at, then. There's another one I didn't post that had a similar flare and it was the last frame I shot. I immediately rewound the cartidge and replace it with a fresh one. Could that still be from a bad rear seal?

 

[Doug]

Sure... if before that last frame you weren't shooting, just carrying the camera around for some minutes. And I could amend my statement to include carrying the camera around AFTER the exposure, if the film wasn't wound on right away.

I've had the same problem with a couple of Kiev RFs, and I found that using the leather carry-case shaded the back enough so I didn't see the leak evidence. As a temporary fix, you could apply opaque tape along the top of the back door and see if that fixes it.

 

[captainslack]

Well, back to the repair man!

Thanks, Doug!! 😀

 

[Wayne R. Scott]

Here is my armchair quarterback guess on your light leaks. It looks to me like the leaf shutter is not closing completely and over exposing the center of the photos. It may just be sticky shutters that are reacting to cold weather and lack of use. Just my SWAG.

Wayne