Hello, my name is Ian and i have a problem..

ianstamatic

ianstamatic

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Thought i would post and introduce myself.

I'm Ian.
I work as a creative director in fashion, sometimes getting to shoot projects as the photographer other projects i'll just creative direct and hire a photographer for that projects style.
My website is http://iankraus.com

I have a problem, a major folder GAS problem.

My problem started 15 yrs ago when i lived in London.
Perkeo 1 w/vaskar + CLA.

After a while the shutter started sticking again and it spent over a decade on the shelf.

Fast forward a decade, living in NYC. Getting back into film after almost 10yrs shooting digi.

The GAS started with a RZ pro 67 setup..
2x bodies, 50, 110, 180, 250 lenses and a bunch of backs, fujiriod, grips, AE finder etc. basically the dream RZ setup i could never afford before (i would rent them on jobs). The results are frikkin awesome.

This was quickly followed by a Crown Graphic then an Orbit 5x4, 75mm, 90mm, 150mm, 250mm. 6x7 back. loving the right angle ground glass finder/loupe i put on the graphic !!

So shooting with the RZ and Orbit brought back the JOY of photography for me. The results are FAR better than i have been getting from my nikon (before that canon 5d) dslr. Me likes Astia a lot.

This newly re-found joy of photography caused me to go and buy an extra mono for my Hensel setup and a whole bunch of new modifiers like the 72" octobox, beauty dishes, gridded snoots etc

Then i made the mistake of cleaning the shutter on the Perkeo and running a roll of provia through it...

I bought an old isolette and stripped it down cleaned it adjusted focus etc great fun !!

Thats all it took. (ok and some time looking at peoples results with rf folders on flickr)

Since then I have become obsessed with folders. I cannot leave the house without at least one, sometimes i'll take 3 each with different film.

The damage thus far...
3 x Zenobias - awesomely small and tough 645 - basic but has a big appeal, i really like these and they where dirt cheap.
2 x perkeo - waiting for the iiiE to arrive !! - the perkeo 1 now feels almost too light in my hands and i have been using the zenobia more as my compact go to.
1x Iskra - big'n'bulky but i the look of the lens from what i see on flickr, still have first roll in it. Worried about the many tiny scratches on front element, invisible to naked eye but looks bad under a loupe.
1x Whelmy Six - looks nice but what where they thinking with the dual VF ???!!
1x ZI Netter. - what a nice alternative to the Isolette !!
1 x super Ikonta 533/16 opteron tesser 2.8 with working meter - getting CLA by eddie smolov done now.
1 x Welta RF - this is old but very very nice,
1 x Welta VF - came with lens that says 3.5 shutter that goes to 2.8 ??raised eyebrows?? want to swap the lens to the Welta RF but i don't know if i can swap front cell focus elements for unit focus elements ?? anyone know ??
2x IsoletteIII
2x Isolette1
1x Super Isolette
2x Kodak Tourist 2 (dont even ask - 2 x shutter problems)

Still want to try a Certo Six and Super Ikonta III.

I intended to try them for a while and sell the ones I dont use but think I may just be BS'ing myself. These little guys are addictive !!
This reminds me of the fun i used to have as a teenager using the darkroom on weekends and after school. I am waiting for my stainless tank to arrive and will get back into the darkroom for the first time in 15+ yrs this weekend !!

And just to think, if Nikon hadnt priced the D3x at $8000 none of this would have happened !! Thankyou Nikon !! It was my sticker shock that made me get an RZ. Even though I have bad GAS i still have spent in total less than half of the nikon body, and i'll still be using most of this in 3yrs time when the D3x is getting kinda meh...

I currently use the folders for urban landscapes and want to try them for available light location beauty/editorial + nude work (when i'm not using RZ Pro) also urban landscape stuff. I love the circular bokeh with these lenses and also the '3D' effect that MF/LF film sizes give me !!!

Anyway have been lurking here for a while, thought i'd sign up and say hello.

Best,
ianstamatic ( my first camera was a kodak 'instamatic' )
aka Ian Kraus
http://iankraus.com
 
Last edited:
Welcome Ian,

So when will you crave the Bessa III.

I ratherrecently got my first MF camera, a Rolleiflex, which I love. I've now been fighting the urge to get a MF folder.
 
Do yourself a favor -- stay away from the Super Baldex -- and the Balda Pontura --- crazy good cameras....

Oh -- and really great site, too -- Lots of wonderful photographs... Excuse me while I go finish a very expired roll of Vericolor in my Pontura... 🙂
 
Thanks guys !!
Re the Super Baldax. Looks like a very nice camera. Waiting for one with a 4 element lens to come up on evilbay.
I'm trying to stay 6x6 or 645 with my folders as I rather like the crown graphic for larger stuff. I daydream about building a homemade LF for a super angulon 65mm with a graflex back so i could use 6x9 or 5x4. Having said that the 50mm on the RZ makes lovely images, but who wants to lug an RZ around. The graphic is alot lighter and less fragile.

Chris00nj.
thet rollei is nice !!! my father had one that i was never allowed to touch, he then sold it for a penny without offering to me first !! i was peeved.
go grab a nettar for $50 or a zenobia for about half that. read up on how to check the focus and give it a cleaning. nettars seem to need less servicing than most MF folders and have a great look with the novar lens. also maybe grab a cheap $25 hotshoe RF till you the get the hang of scale focusing.
You can get 90% of the rollei image quality in a pocketable camera you can take everywhere. then because they are relatively cheap you'll want to try them all...
and yes, a Bessa 3 would be lovely but I sometimes just like using a non-rf cheaper folder cause you dont need to worry about it getting banged up in my bag or stolen carrying it around all the time.
 
P C Headland said:
You probably don't want to look at a Mamiya Six folder or a Super Fujica-6..... 😛
Click to expand...

Welcome to RFF. Yes, the Mamiya Six is nice, but hard/expensive to get. All Weltas are nice. So is the Fujica Six. And block out all references to Olympus 6x6! 😀

The non-RF Zeiss 6x9 is a fun camera too, lots of real estate and surprisingly small, but a good shooter. And if you suffer from GAS (of course, none of us here at RFF do 😀 😀), never look at Mamiya Unversal or Super Press 23 cameras. Big negatives, still heavy, but not as bad as the RZ, and still interchangeable backs, extension tubes, ground glass, and in the case of the 23, bellows back. Just don't go there ok? 😀 😀

Again, welcome.
 
ianstamatic said:
Chris00nj.
thet rollei is nice !!! my father had one that i was never allowed to touch, he then sold it for a penny without offering to me first !! i was peeved.
go grab a nettar for $50 or a zenobia for about half that. read up on how to check the focus and give it a cleaning. nettars seem to need less servicing than most MF folders and have a great look with the novar lens. also maybe grab a cheap $25 hotshoe RF till you the get the hang of scale focusing.
You can get 90% of the rollei image quality in a pocketable camera you can take everywhere. then because they are relatively cheap you'll want to try them all...
and yes, a Bessa 3 would be lovely but I sometimes just like using a non-rf cheaper folder cause you dont need to worry about it getting banged up in my bag or stolen carrying it around all the time.
Click to expand...

Now you have me interested in a MF folder again. The Nettar and Ikonta A or B seem to be top considerations.

How much larger is an Super Ikonta over a Ikonta. Does the rangefinder add a lot of extra bulk?
 
Hi Guys,
Thanks for the warm welcome. This forum is great and i like the tone of the threads, seems a like a little less bs here than many other photo sites.

chris00nj -
do it you'll be happy you did. couple of things before you begin. If you want similar image quality to a rollei or the likes be prepared to stop down to at least f8-11 with a triplet lens or else get a 4-element lens. Solinar, 50's ZI, Iskra. Good shooting technique (and camera cleaning and alignment ) seems more important than expensive gear when it comes to IQ with folders.
Re: super ikonta sizes. : my 533/16 is a big beast. In a good way though, like an nikon F3hp is bigger than an fe, its a good solid quality kind of big, stable shooting platform weight to it. The non RF ikontas can be very small (the tiny zenobias i like are ZI 'A' clones ). The 518 nettar that i have is medium sized but lightweight with a quality feel. The 531 super ikonta mkIII-mkIV are the same sized body as the nettar 518, and lightweight. I may eventually replace the 533 with a super ikonta mkIII. This is the 'smaller lighter' coupled RF in the zi line.

Dazedgoneby - Find me a great deal on a ennit super baldax and i'll send you a Zenobia. Nice blog you have !! Yes that super baldax is definately on the list, they seem kind of rare with the ennit. Same with the Mamiya with sekor lens in nice condition. Sometimes prices on the bay get totally stupid and common sense slowly begins to seep into the equation.

Re Mamiya press: I see the appeal. I'm still in the infatuation stage with the crown graphic i bought for $75. I put a cambo '90deg viewfinder' on the back. Its like a big viewfinder that covers the ground glass and makes things much faster. I made lensboards from ply and use too many different lenses on it to bother calibrting the Kalmart RF

off topic but I got a rollei 35s also recently. Thats a damn sharp lens for a 35mm compact. I used to have a couple of XA's and this little thing totally owns them.

Shot a roll through the Welta Weltur RF last night. Thats a nice camera. Reminds me of a Harley how its made. Very cool.
 
Love the Zenobia's, and I have a rare one....

Love the Zenobia's, and I have a rare one....

I have about 4 of the Zenobia's and if you have a good Zenobia with the Neo Hesper lens and the last shutter, you can pass on the Ikonta A. altogether.

But then when I was addicted to the Zenobia's and buying up all I could find, I ran across a reference to a Zenobia R... yes!!! a tiny little replica of an Ikonta A in 645 and AN UNCOUPLED RANGEFINDER. I hunted long and hard, and about ready to give up, I found one. A Zenobia R. It needs restoration, but mechanically it all works and the rangefinder is accurate. It's the last model, so it has the Neo Hesper and the Daiichi Rapid shutter.

It needs repaint on the black parts and new coverings. I have a couple of regular Zenobia's with excellent covering, so I may soon embark on fixing up the R.

I have never seen another Zenobia R (in script on the top cover). Has anyone reading this seen the rangefinder model?
 
ianstamatic said:
...

Re Mamiya press: I see the appeal. I'm still in the infatuation stage with the crown graphic i bought for $75.
...

Shot a roll through the Welta Weltur RF last night. Thats a nice camera. Reminds me of a Harley how its made. Very cool.
Click to expand...

Graphics intrigue me, but I doubt I will ever go there at this stage of my photographic life. I have 9x12 for large negatives in small packages.

As to the Welta, I like Weltas in general, but I never heard them compared to a Harley, or any other motorcycle. Interesting. You out there Chippy? How does that strike you?
 
Wow Chippy. Unless you did something radical in the scanning, I like the redention of the Weltur better than the Bessa III.

I hope I don't make you or other Bessa III owners mad. I just think the tonality and crispness is better. I guess I sound like a Welta lover, which of course, I am.
 
Chippy - G'day mate. I was born in Aussie. Grew up moving between London and Sydney !! Thanks for posting those two shots. Very interesting to see.
Miss those aussie pubs. Welta is brilliant engineering wrapped in a mad max asthetic, very tough and designed with very few weak points. My VF welta's vf even looks kinda like a little half helmet. Jokes aside I am very impressed with it's performance against a $2500 new camera.

Over the weekend i slipped up and bought a fuji gs645 (perfect bellows, under $250!! ). Seeing these 2 shots makes me wonder if it will gain anything much over a Solinar. Crazy thing is that i paid almost double for my Super Isolette what i paid for the GS645. The other thing to consider is I photograph alot in urban areas in public. I have never had anything but a great reaction to old folders. Like when you went in the pub with the weltar. I feel i will lose some of that with a more modern gs645 or bessa III. Much as i would LOVE a Bessa III, seeing these shots makes me feel a little better.

Kuzano - I would love a Zenobia RF!! I read your post and then googled and found there was an SR - with coupled RF !!! Even uncoupled the R looks like one very sweet machine. You gotta get that cleaned up and in action.

Offtheheard - 6x12 back for the Graphic is high on my list! Saw new chinese 6x12 back on fleabay for $179 - anyone try them yet ?

Also I added another Iskra to the camerabag over the weekend. this one supposedly has working advance and counter, and has had a guy in russia CLA it before sending it to me. I like the idea of having a super isolette in my bag without having to worry about bangin up a $500 camera.

I used the RZ over the weekend also. I want to weigh the beast. With lens back, motorwinder and ae prism it weighs a ton. the 110 lens is to die for tho. I'll take some AB shots from that and the Solinar on the super isolette. Id bet the solinar doesnt get beaten by much, but woould have a lot harder time focusing on an eyelash.

All the best
Ian
 
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