Australia/New Zealand RFF camera round Australia and NZ

[batey_1020]

I have seen this done a few places including this forum.

In an effort to get the Australian and New Zealand RFF crowd more active im considering sending a cheap rangefinder around Australia then across the ditch to NZ with the idea that each person will shoot a roll and share 5 pictures with the group.

Please post Images in this thread here

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=136177

The Camera

The camera donated by Scrambler. see his later post for more photos.

Perhaps in hindsight the depth of field is a bit small for some of these shots.


IMGP6531 by Scrambler@4350, on Flickr

FED-2 with Industar 61

The Participant list:

Names will be added as more get involved and i will cross off each member as the camera makes its way around

Scrambler (Steve) - Toowoombah
Keith - Brisbane (from memory?)
ricnak (Helen) - Brisbane Area
Pitadotcom (Peter) - Brisbane Area
Hamfish (Hamish - Brissy
Batey_1020 (Adrian) - Sydney
Kutitta - Sydney
seajak (Clay) - Sydney
Stillshunter (Louis) - Canberra
Michaelwj - Melbourne
Jmilkins (John) - Melbourne
milosdevino - Melbourne
Skibeerr (Wim) - Melbourne
useless generation - Adelaide
yanchep_mike - Perth (happy for it to come back to me and ill pay for the postage over the ditch since im kind of organizing the project)
Hauson - Auckland NZ

Guidelines

- Shoot at least 1 roll of film and share a minimum of 5 photos.
- Any type of film you like. Your the artist...
- Post the 5 images into the RFF Galleries and share them in this thread.
- Try to make one of them a Self Portrait with the camera.
- Hold onto all your images / files if we do decide to make this into a Blurb Book or the like at the end of the project (We will have at least 35 images if we choose 5 each at the moment). I am prepared to coordinate that later on.
- Tell us your experience with the camera. Did you enjoy using it. How does it compare to others in your personal collection?
- Try to have it packed and posted within 2 weeks of receiving it. That should allow sufficient time to shoot a roll or two.
- Use the list to contact the next member for postage details if they haven't already contacted you.

If anyone has anything to add to this by all means please do let me know.

 

[Keith]

I'd be interested ... and with current postal charges for sending stuff over the equator being painful this idea makes sense. 🙂

What sort of camera did you have in mind?

 

[batey_1020]

I'd be interested ... and with current postal charges for sending stuff over the equator being painful this idea makes sense. 🙂

What sort of camera did you have in mind?

Yeah the cost of sending anything north does become a killer quickly.
Didn't have any particular camera in mind other then a Rangefinder of some kind that wont require PX625 mercury style batteries if possible.
Idealy something completely manual?

 

[michaelwj]

Sounds like a great idea, I'm in.

Michael

 

[batey_1020]

Should be prety quick with the 3 of us 🙂

Im sure more will get involved in the next week or so as i wouldnt expect this to take off for a month or so.

Im hunting ebay and Gumtree for a suitable camera to send on its journey.

Im guessing it will go something like this.
Get all the names and work out locations of each participent.
The camera (when i find a suitable one) will then go from me to the first person on the list. They Shoot a roll then contact the next person for postage address. The camera is packed up and sent on to the next.
Each person processe the film and posts their 5 favorite images in the RFF Gallery and at the end of the cameras trip we could discuss the posibility of making a Blurb book or something for all the participants?

 

[Scrambler]

My wife would be very happy for me to downsize the number of cameras cluttering the house. The spare, functional one I could donate would be a FED-2 with choice of 55/2.8 Industar 61 l/z or 50/3.5 FED (?I-22) collapsible.

I don't think I've posted any photos yet so if it's an agreeable camera I will take some photos and someone can PM me their address for the next leg.

Steve

 

[Keith]

I'm sure someone will have a camera that can be used. I have an Electro in the cupboard that would do but I think it has some type of metering issue and I don't trust it.

My Fed 2 came to mind but that seems to have a shutter capping problem! 😀

 

[michaelwj]

My wife would be very happy for me to downsize the number of cameras cluttering the house. The spare, functional one I could donate would be a FED-2 with choice of 55/2.8 Industar 61 l/z or 50/3.5 FED (?I-22) collapsible.

I don't think I've posted any photos yet so if it's an agreeable camera I will take some photos and someone can PM me their address for the next leg.

Steve

Sounds like fun, I'm sure there are more than 4 of us though!
Since I've only ever used an M, film loading/not camera breaking instructions would help me, and might lower the barrier for others too?!
Michael

 

[Scrambler]

The Fed-2 is like an M-camera made ... well ... made in a Soviet gulag. Its great virtue is the latitude built into the design to cope with abysmal quality control means they are virtually indestructible.

Film loading is just like an M-camera - except the entire back comes off. There are two latches on the bottom - otherwise each latch is essentially like a Leica's. After they are undone the back 1/2 of the case comes off and you change your film with space to spare. The spool is removable, and indeed interchangable with screw-mount Leicas.

The viewfinder is a darkly tinted squinty affair and the focussing patch has no distinct edge, plus it's like a screw-mount Leica in that the full viewfinder is the 50mm frame (no frame lines).

Winding is also per a screw-mount Leica however with a larger knob that allows a one-finger-wipe advance which might be faster than a lever advance.

Shutter speed is selected on a moving dial similar to a screw-mount Leica but the Russians adapted it so you could change the speed either before or after winding on. Speeds are 30-500 and B.

Not-camera-breaking instructions are easy. Don't drop it too hard.

 

[jmilkins]

Great idea! I'm in too.

 

[michaelwj]

Not-camera-breaking instructions are easy. Don't drop it too hard.

Cheers
10char...

 

[batey_1020]

Keith and Scrambler, its very nice of you both to consider sending a camera around.
It would save me spending my lunch times searching ebay for a Suitable candidate. Ive always been interested in testing out a FED camera so this could be fun. So i would be in agreeance if you wanted to share it with us.

 

[batey_1020]

Any New Zealand members out there who want to join in?

There has to be someone across the ditch or are they all to busy out shooting landscapes?

 

[Keith]

My problem is that the only candidates I have are on the edge of reliabilty issues that could cause real problems.

I suddeny remembered I had a little Viogtlander Vito RF that may have been suitable but that seems to have become a bit fungus infected in the optics since I last looked at it! 🙁

 

[batey_1020]

Hey guys, I have spoken to Scambler in private messages. He is more then happy to send his camera on the journey.

Edit:
I moved the information, list and guidelines to the first post in this topic.

 

[ricnak]

I would not mind having a play with any different rangefinders. I'm in!

 

[batey_1020]

I would not mind having a play with any different rangefinders. I'm in!

Glad to have another person onboard. Added you to the list.

I had a thought that we should make compulsory for each member to take a self portrait with the camera?

Anyone out there from our Western States? It seems to be making a trip down the East cost at the moment.

 

[kutitta]

I'm in too - from Sydney btw. Great idea I must say!

 

[jmilkins]

Adrian - I'm in Melbourne.

 

[useless generation]

Im from Adelaide and interested in joining in!