What have you just BOUGHT?

[Godfrey]

Very nice. That serial number looks close to the time of the change from the Sonnar to Gauss. It is easy to tell which yours is by the size of the rear element. Sonnar has a much smaller rear element than the double Gauss. Both are very nice lenses.

This one is likely the double Gauss ... the rear element is quite large in diameter. 🙂

G

 

[Timmyjoe]

From fellow RFF member @das this Kodak Retina Reflex S, which I cleaned up and got working (it was in very good shape).



Took a quick snap to make sure the focus was good (focus on the Stop Sign in the distance).



It's a sixty six year old camera and to my surprise the meter still works, and is accurate.

Best,
-Tim

 

[jaredangle]

Latest eBay haul:

• 5-pack of Portra 400VC (120)
• One roll of Portra 400VC (220)
• One roll of NPH 400 (220)
• Zeiss 85mm f/1.4 Planar AEG for Contax SLR (a tiny bit of haze but acceptable given the price)

 

[Sanug]

Some Ilford HP5 135-36 and 120 at Optic Oldschool in Düsseldorf. I payed the old price. There will be a massive price increase soon.

 

[das]

I am so glad that this went to someone who could bring it back!

From fellow RFF member @das this Kodak Retina Reflex S, which I cleaned up and got working (it was in very good shape).

View attachment 4886972

Took a quick snap to make sure the focus was good (focus on the Stop Sign in the distance).

View attachment 4886973

It's a sixty six year old camera and to my surprise the meter still works, and is accurate.

Best,
-Tim

 

[38Deardorff]

An ABLON clone for my lllG

 

[trix4ever]

Leofoto G2 head, about AU$230.
I wanted a small scale version of the Arca Swiss Cube, at a sensible price, to go on a lightweight tripod I could leave in the car at all times. Seems surprisingly precise and has a Arca Swiss dovetail foot so you can drop it on top of most modern tripods.

 

[trix4ever]

I recently got this Fp-l after seeing @shawn doing some long exposure work with his.
It came with the evf which I already knew I didn't like, then I found this LVF-11 at a good price and thought I'd give it a go.
I've been using it on the Fp-l with Canon Ts-e lenses on a tripod. I was so impressed I went out today with the Sigma 17mm and used it handheld. It's incredibly light and the view is so large it's extraordinary.
It looks really odd but in practice it's a fabulous viewfinder. Highly recommended.

 

[chuckroast]

An ABLON clone for my lllG

I have a couple of those clones and I have never been able to get a smooth cut line with them. I use a very sharp razor knife and still no joy.


I have resorted to just doing this freehand with scissors to much better effect.

 

[chuckroast]

I got a Heiland VC head for my ancient Omega D-II after my 25+ ish year old Zone VI VC head bit the dust.

Heiland LED Cold Light Source for any Enlarger (Color/BW) SPECIAL ORDER

• SPECIAL ORDER • Brand new • Special order item, 3 week lead time • LED cold light source, for any enlarger • Replace the current light source of...

www.catlabs.info

After waiting a some weeks for it to show up from Germany, it was defective, so back it went for repair. Another month later it came back working fine. CatLab support was very good throughout the ordeal.

I am now in my 3rd week of printing with this head. Frankly, if I could have found any reasonable alternative, I would have bought it. The Heiland is ghastly expensive, BUT it works superbly. It has very bright light output with the ability to turn it down to sane levels and its hard light performance is massively better than either my prior cold light or individual filtration.

It did take some effort to get it to properly fit the Omega upper housing (which is required to provide enough weight to hold it down. It also showed up post-repair with a nut running lose inside the controller that I had to take apart, retrieve and reattach.

The only design flaw is that, out of the box, it leaked light at the corners of the housing (a little) and at the interface between the head and the negative carrier (a lot in some places). I HATE stray light in the darkroom. Black paper tape fixed the housing leaks. Applications of weatherstripping foam around the perimeter of the light source cured the second problem. Big deals? No, but sort of annoying when you're dealing with a premium product like this. It certainly wouldn't stop me from buying one of these.

Here's hoping it lasts longer than I do so that I may be able to continue silver printing for a very long time.

 

[38Deardorff]

I have a couple of those clones and I have never been able to get a smooth cut line with them. I use a very sharp razor knife and still no joy.


I have resorted to just doing this freehand with scissors to much better effect.

I did too until 2 days ago the leader tore & the camera jammed.....somehow i managed to get it unjammed.... so i'm on to trying a metal version of the ablon.....i'd hate to have to carry an extra body on the next euro trip.... 😉