October Film Camera – Vivitar 35ES

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When I first started collecting cameras I decided to start with 1970s vintage compact rangefinders. This was because my first serious camera (given to me by my wife) was a Minolta 7sii (which bears more than a passing resemblance to the camera above. In fact the half case in the picture in from the Minolta and it fits perfectly). This is now the ninth in my series of “Monthly Film Camera” posts and looking back I was surprised to find that so far non of them have been 1970s vintage compact rangefinders, and only one (the very first: a Fuji GS45S was even a rangefinder). So to rectify this omission here’s a compact rangefinder from around 1978: the Vivitar 35ES.

There are already a few good reviews on the internet:

So I’ll try not to duplicate the information found in them.

The consensus of these reviews seems to be that this is a well built camera with a great lens, but which is otherwise uninspired. So why did I get get it?

It all goes back to my beloved Minolta 7sii. I loved this camera, but since I like black cameras I would have preferred it in black. At that point I didn’t even realize that there was a black version of the 7sii then one day I bumped into a picture of one. Wow! Unfortunately it’s quite scarce and rather expensive so I decided I’d have to get along without it. Then I came across this camera. It looked very much like the 7sii and offered a similar feature set (except for the fully manual operation of he 7sii, which I don’t recall ever using in any case) …and it was black and much less expensive. So I decided to get one.

My first attempt was a failure. Although advertised as being in working condition, in fact it wasn’t. I did much better with this, my second attempt. Cosmetically it’s in good shape and everything seems to be working. In fact the viewfinder is significantly clearer than that on my Minolta. The leather is lifting up in a couple of places, but that’s an easy fix.

I’m eager to give it a try. Results to follow.

Picture taken with a Sony Alpha 500 and Tamron A18 AF 18-250mm f3.5-6.3.

A New (Used) Camera

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I have a lot of cameras, but most of them are old film cameras. I have only three cameras that I use regularly: A Sony RX100 M3, my carry everywhere camera purchased in 2016 to replace a RX100 M1 that died; A Sony Alpha 500 DSLR acquired in 2010; and a Sony Nex 5N, which I now mostly use with adapted legacy lenses.

I use the Alpha 500 when I know I’m going to be taking pictures of things that move quickly. For example I used it both times I went to a nearby airshow. However, I wasn’t altogether satisfied with the results. I couldn’t afford a high end telephoto or zoom lens and instead decided on a camera with higher resolution that would allow me to crop more. I also wanted faster and more accurate autofocus.

After doing some research I decided that this camera would meet my needs and that I could find one within my budgetary constraints (if I bought used). It’s a Sony A77 II.

The first time I tried it I was somewhat confused. I could barely get it to focus. After some tinkering I concluded that the previous owner had changed some settings, but I wasn’t sure which ones. So I did a reset and then everything became a lot easier. I recognized that it was still a complex camera though and as usual it didn’t come with a very useful manual. So I bought David Busch’s Sony Alpha a77 II/ILCA-77M2 Guide to Digital Photography, a very useful book, particularly the section on how to configure the camera.

I’ve used it a few times now an a must say that the more I use it the more I like it. I still find some things a bit bewildering (especially everything to do with focus tracking) but all things considered I’m happy that I bought it.

For some pictures taken with it see:

Flowers in the early morning light
Fall comes to the lake.
Shells.
Rose on our dock.
Roses by the light of the eclipse.
Putnam County Veterans Memorial Park – Old Barn.
Putnam County Veterans Memorial Park – Gold Star Mother Statue.
Putnam County Veterans Memorial Park – M60A3 Series Tank (Patton).
Putnam County Veterans Memorial Park – Bell AH-1 Cobra.
Putnam County 46th Annual 4-H Fair – Military Exhibition.
Putnam County 46th Annual 4-H Fair – Antique Machinery.
Putnam County 46th Annual 4-H Fair – Sheep.
Putnam County 46th Annual 4-H Fair – Cows.
Putnam County 46th Annual 4-H Fair – Goats.
Putnam County 46th Annual 4-H Fair – Llamas.
Putnam County 46th Annual 4-H Fair – Revolutionary War Re-Enactors, Around the Camp Fire.
Putnam County 46th Annual 4-H Fair – Revolutionary War Re-Enactors, Blacksmith.
Putnam County 46th Annual 4-H Fair – Revolutionary War Re-Enactors, Militia.
Putnam County 46th Annual 4-H Fair – Native American Exhibit.
Putnam County 46th Annual 4-H Fair – Horse Riding.
Putnam County 46th Annual 4-H Fair – Overview.

For a more detailed consideration of the camera that goes way beyond anything I could come up with (at least at this point – it is after all still early days) see: Sony SLT-A77 II Review on Digital Photography Review.

Olympus OM2-n MD – Results

by Posted in Black & White, Cameras, Film, Olympus OM2-n Leave a comment
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It took me a while to get around to using my August film camera. I had a bunch of old, color film that I wanted to use up so when trying out new/old cameras I’ve tended to use this first, and then convert the scanned images to black and white. I’ve now used up most of this old stock, so in this case I used true black and white film, specifically Kodak TX 100.

Suddenly I found I was very busy and had trouble thinking of a venue to try out the camera. I kept taking the camera with me, but time went by and I was getting more and more frustrated at not using it. Eventually I decided that I’d return to nearby Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, where I can usually find something worth photographing.

I have my film processed at The Darkroom and co-incidentally the resulting scans were made available to me on Hallowe’en. I say ‘co-incidentally’ because, in case you don’t already know, Sleepy Hollow Cemetery is pretty much “Ground Zero” for Hallowe’en in the US. The stomping grounds of the headless horseman, it’s also the final resting place of Washington Irving, the author of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow“.

I must say that I loved using this camera. It’s small and fairly light for an SLR from that period and everything just felt right. One of the problems with only using a camera once is that you don’t really become familiar with it. This is particularly true with the OM2-n because of the unique arrangement of the controls i.e. they’re all on the lens, including the depth of field preview button. At first I was was groping around a bit to find the appropriate dial/button, but as I got used to it I began to appreciate how useful it is to have all of these controls (i.e. aperture, shutter, focus, depth of field) all in one location. I appreciated the large, bright finder typical of most film SLRs and which you no longer find on current DSLRs. The innovative (for the time) metering worked pretty well even if in a couple of cases (in particularly contrasty conditions) it did tend to overexpose highlights (this is probably a result of my lack of experience in using the camera rather than a problem with the camera itself). The 50mm f1.8 F-Zuiko auto-s that I was using focused smoothly and produced sharp results.

I like to shoot in aperture priority so this was perfect for me. Select the appropriate aperture and the display in the viewfinder shows you what shutter speed will be chosen.

The design of the camera reflects a belief in simplicity: just what you need – no more, no less. It was refreshing to use a camera that just gets out of the way and lets you focus on what you need to do while still providing you with the required feedback. This has been my problem with the compact point and shoot cameras I’ve been using of late. Although they get out of the way and let you focus on composition, they just don’t provide the information you need to be confident that you are getting the photograph that you want. On the other end of the scale are recent generation DSLRs. I just bought a Sony A77II and I must say that I find the complex functionality a bit bewildering. The OM2-n seems to just about get it all right.

A review of the OM2 on Casual Photophile comments:

All told, the OM-2 is a camera with which I’ve fallen in love. It’s tiny, inconspicuous, quiet, capable, and proud. It’s modern enough to use standard batteries, yet vintage enough to offer analog charms. The OM-2 can do anything we ask of it without breaking our backs or the bank. It just might be a perfect 35mm film camera. Staring at the OM-2 with the most critical eye leads one to stare without result. There’s nothing substantive about which to complain.

I’d very much agree.

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This simple celtic cross marks the final resting place of one of the richest people the earth has ever known: Andrew Carnegie.

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Tombstones.

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Henry Villard Memorial by Karl Bitter.

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Detail of the Villard memorial.

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William Evarts Benjamin (1859-1940) memorial. A prominent publisher and collector in Boston, Massachusetts.

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Lyman Tiffany Dyer memorial. Trooper Squadron A 1896 – 1905. Member of Troop A ( Squadron A ), Volunteer Cavalry, Spanish American War. Participated in the Puerto Rico Campaign. Grandson of George Jones co-founder of the New York Times

September Film Camera – Canon EOS 888

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This camera was given to me by an good friend. He’s not all that much into photography and I imagine that if he wanted to take pictures, he would be unlikely to ever use a 1995 vintage film camera. In fact the camera is in such great condition that it looks as if it’s rarely been used at all. If he’d ever used it it would probably have been perfect for him: an easy to use camera aimed at entry level users. It is the kind of camera to bring along to family occasions, use while travelling etc. when you want to capture some pleasant memories without breaking the bank.

It’s a Canon EOS 888 (also called EOS 5000) in some markets.

The bulk of its functionality is controlled by a large dial on top of the camera. It uses 6-zone evaluative metering (or 9.5% partial metering at the centre) linked to the focus points, as is the three zone flash metering.

The camera has fully automatic exposure control, with no manual option.It also has shutter priority automatic exposure, where you set a shutter speed and the camera selects an appropriate aperture. Shutter speeds from 1/8 sec to 1/2000 appear on the selector dial, but in full auto mode the shutter can go down to a full 2 seconds.

It’s quite small and lighter than most SLRs. Clearly a lot of plastic was used in its construction, but it still feels quite solid.

If you don’t want to use the fully auto mode, or the shutter priority AE you can simply select one of the four Program Image Control (PIC) modes: Portrait, Landscape, Close-up or Sports. Like the fully auto mode these modes control both the shutter speed and the aperture.

Advanced Integrated Multipoint (AIM) control allows the camera to adjust to meet the photographers intentions. For example, if your subject is to the left of the picture, the focusing sensor on the left will be used. This will activate the exposure sensors on the left of the camera, so that the light reading is also taken from this area, rather than from the centre.

The built in flash uses through the lens (TTL, ISO guide number of 12m at ISO 100) metering linked to the selected focus point.

The viewfinder has indicators for partial metering (AE lock); correct exposure (blinks when exposure is bad); and correct focus. The top panel LCD displays the number of frames remaining; self-timer seconds remaining; and the aperture when in shutter priority mode. There’s also a battery level indicator. The camera takes two CR123A Lithium batteries.

The camera features the typical Canon quick load capability. Just pull out the film leader to the clearly marked point, close the back and the camera automatically advances the film. I was surprised to find, however, that the camera advances to the end of the roll, and then counts down as you shoot. ISO is set automatically (i.e. no option to change it manually) from ISO15 to an ISO of 2000.

A quartz date model was also available. However, it’s only programmed to 2019.

The camera came with a Sigma 70-210mm f4-5.6 UC-II.

For results see Canon EOS 888 results.

New York Air Show 2017 – F16 Viper

by Posted in Aircraft, Events, Sony Alpha 500, Tamron A18 AF 18-250mm f3.5-6.3 Leave a comment
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Military.com has this to say about the F16 Fighting Falcon (the F16 Viper is the latest version).:

One of the most versatile aircraft in the U.S. Air Force inventory, the F-16 Fighting Falcon has been the mainstay of the Air Force aerial combat fleet. With over 1,000 F-16s in service, the platform has been adapted to complete a number of missions, including air-to-air fighting, ground attack and electronic warfare.

In an air combat role, the F-16’s maneuverability and combat radius (distance it can fly to enter air combat, stay, fight and return) exceed that of all potential threat fighter aircraft. It can locate targets in all weather conditions and detect low flying aircraft in radar ground clutter. In an air-to-surface role, the F-16 fighting falcon can fly more than 500 miles (860 kilometers), deliver its weapons with superior accuracy, defend itself against enemy aircraft, and return to its starting point. An all-weather capability allows it to accurately deliver ordnance during non-visual bombing conditions.

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According to Wikipedia:

At the 2012 Singapore Air Show Lockheed Martin unveiled plans for the new F-16V variant with the V suffix for its Viper nickname. It is to feature an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, a new mission computer and electronic warfare suite, and various cockpit improvements; this package is an option on current production F-16s and can be retrofitted to most in service F-16s. First flight took place 21 October, 2015. Production run To upgrade Taiwan’s F-16 fleet started January, 2017.

Taken with a Sony Alpha 500 and Tamron A18 AF 18-250mm f3.5-6.3