Languishing on the shelf?

[Toby]

In the recent months as I've been doing the digital thing, and I've neglected my film cameras. So much so in fact that I was seriously considering selling my Pentax 67. Last weekend I decided to check the dates on my 120 film and start to use it up before offloading the Pentax for good. I saw that I had a few rolls of Astia with only two months left on them so I shoved some in my pocket put the pentax on my shoulder and prepared for its last hurrah. The light was nice if a bit low so I had to use the camera lens wide open - something I hadn't done in years - because the pentax can't really be handheld much under 1/250. I shot off a roll and took it to the lab not expecting much, just really checking the camera was in good order. I collected the slides today, and when I looked at them I was flabbergasted, I'd gotten so used to digital that I'd forgotten how beautiful slide film could be. It's strange how a single frame can re-inspire you. After I saw the shot below there was no way I was going to sell this camera!

PS this was scanned on an Epson 4990 - the original transparency kicks its bottom - bigtime.

 

[back alley]

nice shot

cute kid

 

[dazedgonebye]

Rediscovering an old friend....

 

[f8&go]

Lovely!

Those thoughtful eyes
make the photo.

 

[sjw617]

Astia is a very nice film. Great shot.

 

[Toby]

I just scanned some of the plus-x I shot as well - it doesn't exactly suck 😎 And to think complete pentax 67's go for £300-£400 now - bad for me but makes a bessa look like bad value for money.

 

[back alley]

there is room for both.

just think about carrying that 6x7 around all day...😉

 

[Toby]

there is room for both.

just think about carrying that 6x7 around all day...😉

I did, I shot a documentary with the 6x7 in the west bank and the weight of the camera + two lenses and the rest damaged the nerves in my shoulder to the point that three of the fingers in my right hand went numb. That was why I bought a bessa. However if I had to defend myself against a mugger I don't think I'd hurt them very much by hitting them with a bessa, but 5kg of pentax 67 with concussion-o-matic wooden handle...

 

[back alley]

that's very true!!

i have to tell ya a story...many years ago i worked in a camera store and on slow nights we made up strange games to play.
one such game involved the pentax 6x7 sitting atop a very light weight tripod. attached to the camera was a cable release. we would 'walk' this setup across the room by advancing the film and tripping the shutter. it moved the tripod enough to 'bounce' a bit and 'walk'.

 

[Toby]

that's very true!!

i have to tell ya a story...many years ago i worked in a camera store and on slow nights we made up strange games to play.
one such game involved the pentax 6x7 sitting atop a very light weight tripod. attached to the camera was a cable release. we would 'walk' this setup across the room by advancing the film and tripping the shutter. it moved the tripod enough to 'bounce' a bit and 'walk'.

That doesn't surprise me in the least! I think the shutter on its own makes enough vibration to shake a cheap tripod.

 

[pvdhaar]

I've been going back and forth between selling or not selling my 6x6 stuff (Bronica sqb) as well. It's been sitting for 6 months now without doing much except for running the shutter a few cycles every now and then.

The RF is ever so much more portable, and the DSLR ever so much handier when using flashes.

But if I look back at pictures I've taken on 6x6, there's always this astonishment about how detailed and at the same time smooth they are.. You never get that with a smaller format, no matter how hard the digital crowd screams.. It's just too bad that affordable digital MF hasn't emerged yet..