What have you just BOUGHT?

Won a very attractive looking Leica IIIc body.

I have a very nice Elmar 5.0cm f/3.5 that will suit it beautifully, and a Color-Skopar 28mm f/3.5 as well.

G
 
Two tag sales down the block yielded the following:

Gossen Luna-Pro meter with attachment for enlargements

Keuffel & Esser (K&E) slide rule, mahogany, with case, 1940s vintage (no idea how to use it, but may be fun learning how)

Olivetti Lettera 32 typewriter, Portuguese keyboard (HCESAR) -- never seen this layout before. Will make for a lot of hunting and pecking!

You can learn the K&E in about 5 minutes. They are fun. I have an old Pickett yellow plastic one. K&E were really classy.
 
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Two tag sales down the block yielded the following:

Gossen Luna-Pro meter with attachment for enlargements

Keuffel & Esser (K&E) slide rule, mahogany, with case, 1940s vintage (no idea how to use it, but may be fun learning how)

Olivetti Lettera 32 typewriter, Portuguese keyboard (HCESAR) -- never seen this layout before. Will make for a lot of hunting and pecking!

Quite the haul! My dad was an engineer, so I have a couple of his old slide rules. I used to know how to use them, though, as boojum stated, it wasn't very complicated.

I'm fascinated by the typewriter, as I speak (and write) Portuguese. Do you know Portuguese?
The keys for the diacritical marks don't cause the carriage to space forward, so you type the diacritical mark first, then you type the letter underneath it.

- Murray
 
Two tag sales down the block yielded the following:

Gossen Luna-Pro meter with attachment for enlargements

Keuffel & Esser (K&E) slide rule, mahogany, with case, 1940s vintage (no idea how to use it, but may be fun learning how)

Olivetti Lettera 32 typewriter, Portuguese keyboard (HCESAR) -- never seen this layout before. Will make for a lot of hunting and pecking!
A slide rule :)
Decades ago I learned how to use it, also just for the knowing of how to do it, once ya know it is simple.
A pocket calculator that needs no batteries.
 
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21mm f4 Super Angulon. With finder, Leitz UV filter, deep rear lens cap, ltm-M adapter and official clip-on lens hood. Surprisingly heavy for such a small lens. Note how far the rear lens element extends into the body of the camera.

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The lens’s focussing scale goes down to 0.4 metre, but a Barnack only has coupling down to 1 metre, and an M to 0.7. The hood is worse than useless. Not only does it (unsurprisingly) cause some viewfinder blockage, but it completely blocks the rangefinder.

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All this for more than four times what I paid for my 20mm Nikkor. Let’s hope that Ken Rockwell’s paean on this lens is justified.
 
Quite the haul! My dad was an engineer, so I have a couple of his old slide rules. I used to know how to use them, though, as boojum stated, it wasn't very complicated.

I'm fascinated by the typewriter, as I speak (and write) Portuguese. Do you know Portuguese?
The keys for the diacritical marks don't cause the carriage to space forward, so you type the diacritical mark first, then you type the letter underneath it.

- Murray
Thanks for the comments, all, on the slide rule. My father (an actuary and math major in college) of course had one and used it, pre-calculators. I will see what I can find out about using them -- they seem brilliant. Hopefully I will be able to figure them out. Alpsman's comment is encouraging.

Regarding the typewriter -- no, I don't speak Portuguese at all, though I can figure out a little, just because it's a Romance language and I can "triangulate" from French/Spanish/Italian. I have a collection of typewriters and am embarrassed to say I focused on the typewriter itself and not the keyboard -- what are the chances it would be so different? So I didn't even notice until later.

First I had to figure out what the keyboard was; fortunately I have a reference guide. Of course it's fully usable for just the English alphabet, but touch typing is out of the question, considering how very different it is from the standard QWERTY keyboard. Apparently (according to Wikipedia) the keyboard layout dates from the mid-20th century, maybe instituted during the Somoza regime? Portugal long ago adopted the QWERTY keyboard, so this typewriter is a bit of a time capsule. I haven't checked the serial number but I doubt it's newer than the 1960s. I have no idea how it would have come to be in Hartford, CT (though there is a sizable Portuguese community of long standing here).

Yes, several of the diacritical mark keys are "dead keys" -- they don't advance the carriage (so a little planning is required, as you mention). One key I can't figure out -- it has a and o (underlined just as shown). I don't think I've ever seen these before.

Oh, I got the meter, slide rule and Olivetti for $40 total. The hunt was good -- the gods are pleased!
 
Fujifilm Prism Angle Viewfinder II for the GX680.

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When in Porto, Portugal, on a motorcycle tour, I had the opportunity to see and handle a Q3 at the Leica Store. Just a few minutes with this camera and I was hooked. When I got home, I called several Leica stores to get on their lists and, within a couple of weeks, I had one in my hands.
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I outfitted it with thumb support that really improves the ergonomics. Also added was a slightly oversized lens hood so, with it in place, a circular polarizing filter may be used. So far, I'm really impressed with this camera.

Mike
 
Thanks for the comments, all, on the slide rule. My father (an actuary and math major in college) of course had one and used it, pre-calculators. I will see what I can find out about using them -- they seem brilliant. Hopefully I will be able to figure them out. Alpsman's comment is encouraging.

Regarding the typewriter -- no, I don't speak Portuguese at all, though I can figure out a little, just because it's a Romance language and I can "triangulate" from French/Spanish/Italian. I have a collection of typewriters and am embarrassed to say I focused on the typewriter itself and not the keyboard -- what are the chances it would be so different? So I didn't even notice until later.

First I had to figure out what the keyboard was; fortunately I have a reference guide. Of course it's fully usable for just the English alphabet, but touch typing is out of the question, considering how very different it is from the standard QWERTY keyboard. Apparently (according to Wikipedia) the keyboard layout dates from the mid-20th century, maybe instituted during the Somoza regime? Portugal long ago adopted the QWERTY keyboard, so this typewriter is a bit of a time capsule. I haven't checked the serial number but I doubt it's newer than the 1960s. I have no idea how it would have come to be in Hartford, CT (though there is a sizable Portuguese community of long standing here).

Yes, several of the diacritical mark keys are "dead keys" -- they don't advance the carriage (so a little planning is required, as you mention). One key I can't figure out -- it has a and o (underlined just as shown). I don't think I've ever seen these before.

Oh, I got the meter, slide rule and Olivetti for $40 total. The hunt was good -- the gods are pleased!
Here is what you're looking for when it comes to learning to use the slide rule.
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Yes, I'm old and used to know how to rudiment ally use one.
 
Three rolls of reloaded Kodak Vision 3 250D color negative cinema film. Also have a few additional rolls of this one the way (also re-spooled) from another vendor, and some expired Fuji Sensia, Fuji Astia, Kodak Portra 400, and Kodak Ektachrome 100. Basically I'm trying to rebuild my stockpile of 35mm color films - I'm currently well stocked on 120 but I've shot all of my 35mm color film and only have black and white remaining.

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Oh my. In a moment of weakness I ordered a like new Carl Zeiss 35/2 ZM Biogon and a like new Carl Zeiss 25/2.8 ZM Biogon and a pair of TTArtisan Leica M to Fuji FX adapters. The 35mm came yesterday. It is gorgeous and I can't stop using it. The 25mm should be here by the end of the week. I can't wait. Should be a good pair for my X-Pro2 Fujis--equivalents to 50mm and 35mm (more or less).
 
So where can one get reversal film developed these days? I've got some (Velvia and others) frozen.
I use Fuji prepaid processing mailers, which I purchase from B&H, but they're no doubt available from other big retailers as well. They're good for processing and return shipping for one roll of 35mm or 120, as long as it's an E-6 film. The film actually goes to Dwayne's in Parsons, KS; they have a stellar reputation, and I've never had any issues with their work. Turnaround is between 10 days to 2 weeks.
Do be aware that Velvia 100 can no longer be sold or processed in the US because of environmental regulations. All other Fuji films and all other E-6 process films, such as Ektachrome E100, are fine.
I usually accumulate several rolls for processing (each in its own mailer) and send them out together in a bubble-pack shipping envelope. I specify "media rate" at the Post Office and save quite a bit on shipping. Dwayne's will return ship them all together. Quite convenient, overall!
 
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