Leica owners are just showing off!

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Canon 50/1.5, wide-open.

Subject Moved During Exposure.
 
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Nokton (1950s version), at F4 on the Nikon S2. Nikon user showing off.

And yes, the camera got wet, really wet... Worth It. Cleaned up just fine.
 
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Brian Sweeney said:
I take more pride in restoring cameras and lenses to working order. The two shown are no exception to that, they were a mess when found. Just as happy to show off a Kodak Signet 80 that required repair.

RFF has a long history in showing off gear, ie Camera and Coffee. I believe it is balanced by the Gallery and the W/NW forum. A place to show off photography as well as the gear.

Maybe we need a thread entitled "Photographers just like to show-off" or "Prints and Coffee Tables".
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Where were you when mine needed fixing? ;-) I even had two lenses for it, but something came loose in the VF. Was an upgrade from my Signet 50.

Regards, John
 
JohnTF said:
Where were you when mine needed fixing? ;-) I even had two lenses for it, but something came loose in the VF. Was an upgrade from my Signet 50.

Regards, John
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The hard part was getting the Exposure Dial back on and Calibrated! It has to come off to get the top plate off, and into the viewfinder. Fixed the vertical alignment problem in mine: put some thick foam on the mechanism so the top plate would press it down into place. There was no adjustment for it, and 50 years caused a little warping. The RF was off, and out of vertical and horizontal alignment. The exposure counter was not working- replaced a broken spring.
 
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Brian Sweeney said:
The hard part was getting the Exposure Dial back on and Calibrated! It has to come off to get the top plate off, and into the viewfinder. Fixed the vertical alignment problem in mine: put some thick foam on the mechanism so the top plate would press it down into place. There was no adjustment for it, and 50 years caused a little warping. The RF was off, and out of vertical and horizontal alignment. The exposure counter was not working- replaced a broken spring.
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My repairman glued things together as best he could, and I decided to give up on Kodak's "modern" design. I could easily have bought a better design used camera, my brother did use it in Vietnam.

I do not think I was well advised in those days at the camera shop.

I saw one used as a prop in a movie, and the guy did not wind it right, and of course you could hear a motor drive in the sound track. ;-)

There were more than a few times I wondered about Kodak's design crew. Was this an American camera?

Regards, John
 
The Kodak Signet Series were American made cameras. It was in the $100 price range, as expensive as the contemporary Kodak Retina Auto III. The Auto III is better made. However, the Signet 80 has some interesting features such as the "Spool-less" take up chamber, double-stroke thumb wind, and quick-release bayonet mount. I find the latter to be well thought out. The viewfinder is 1x, and accurate. The lenses are "okay". I've thought of hacking some better lenses onto the mount.
 
Brian Sweeney said:
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Leica M3, Type 1 Rigid Summicron at F4.

Subject Refuses to Stay Still.
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Dear Brian,

Although I have to admit that despite the undoubted beauty of your model, I occasionally think, "Not her AGAIN," I also have to admit that this picture is GORGEOUS.

I even called Frances to admire it and she said, "Wow."

Cheers,

R.
 
Thanks, Roger.

Yes, her again. Cross between the only child, the sickly child that modern medical surgery saved, and the child of an older parent. And a Dad that collects cameras. You do not stand a chance...
 
Brian Sweeney said:
Thanks, Roger.

Yes, her again. Cross between the only child, the sickly child that modern medical surgery saved, and the child of an older parent. And a Dad that collects cameras. You do not stand a chance...
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Dear Brian,

When Frances first moved to Bristol in 1982, she was lonely and homesick. She wasn't allowed to work (a FOREIGNER, an IMMIGRANT!) until it was proven that ours wasn't a marriage of convenience. The UK and USA immigration services are about equally paranoid/ arrogant/ vicious.

Early on, Frances made a friend, Julie, who had several miscarriages before Holly was born, the second-smallest baby ever to survive at the Bristol Premature Baby Unit. The earliest picture of Holly is beside a popsicle stick. It was as tall/long as she was. She was/is an only child. She was (and is to this day) blind in one eye, and one of her little fingers is withered.

A few months ago, Holly had a perfectly healthy son of her own (she's 26 now). I was moved to tears. This tiny, premature baby is now a mother... I'll quote another friend from my fencing club in about 1980, when I said last year about his daughter, "Antonia can't have a baby. She's only eleven!" His reply: "She lied about her age" [She's 37 now]

Your daughter is beautiful. Of course, all daughters are beautiful. Especially (from my point of view) my 'adopted daughter' Aditi, daughter of a very old friend, born on my 40th birthday. Frances and I never had children, but neither of us can imagine a better daughter.

Cherish your daughter (not that I need to tell you to do that!). And give her a kiss on the cheek from me, a total stranger (anything else might be seen as a bit kinky). But be warned: you'll be a grandfather before you know it.

Cheers,

R.
 
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Roger and Brian,
Before I new where I was I became a Grandfather. Mine is 'Piglet' and now 13 years old.
She calls me "her piglet Grandad"...............just about 'does me in'.

Regards
P
 
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