Favorite photos

Much as I like tinkering with old cameras, the ultimate test is the photos they produce. With that in mind, I'm going to post some of my favorites here. This one is from last year, taken sometime before Christmas with a Yashica GSN that I gave to a friend as a gift. It was the first test roll through the camera, and I was impressed with the quality of the images. Since then, I've purchased a Yashica GT, another GSN that will belong to Lyndsay shortly, and an MG-1 that will go to another friend.

Earlier this evening, I bought a broken Olympus XA on Ebay for ten dollars. According to the seller, the film advance is jammed. I have another one that I dropped and it's sitting in the parts box, so I'm hoping that between the two I can get one complete camera working. We'll see.

Digital or film?

There's an interesting discussion of digital photography versus film photography over on Boing Boing focused on a commercial targeted at older people who may be averse to new technology. Frankly, I don't care if the Vivitar commercial is real or merely a clever satire. But the comments are revealing. I'm willing to bet that many of the commenters have little experience with film since the balance of opinion seems to come down on the side of digital photos.

I'm not going to discuss the pros and cons of each technology. If you're interested in that sort of thing please go read that long string of comments. But it did make me wonder why I'm so fascinated with old film cameras. I use both digital and film processes, but it seems I use them for different things.



I almost always have a digital point-and-shoot in my pocket. Actually, today I have two: an Olympus FE-320 that does excellent macro shots, and a Canon A590IS that does burst photos and will save in RAW format. Both are 8 megapixel cameras.



I carried a Yashica MG-1 today in addition to those two digital cameras. The MG-1 is a simplified version of the Electro series with a 45mm f2.8 lens rather than the f1.7. I'm running the first roll of film through it since I cleaned the rangefinder and installed new seals. I'll know more in a few days.

One appealing aspect of digital photography is the instant gratification and instant feedback that can hasten the learning process. If you understand the three way balance between aperture, shutter speed, and film speed, you're going to have little difficulty using either digital or film cameras. There's no contest when it comes to size and weight. That Olympus FE-320 is smaller than a pack of cigarettes while the Yashica Electro is Godzilla by comparison.

So what's the appeal of a heavy, bulky 35mm rangefinder that's over 30 years old - ancient technology by today's standards? First, let's talk about focus. The autofocus in my little point and shoot is usually good, but in low light it's not always accurate, and given the small size of the screen, it's sometimes difficult to determine if a shot was in focus. The Yashica, on the other hand, makes focus easy, even in low light or with my glasses. I rarely have out of focus shots with it unless I'm hurried.

One other aspect of an old, apparently obsolete camera is that people don't take it seriously. (That's beside the fact that I often wear those loud Hawaiian shirts that make me look like a tourist!) People aren't as wary of old 'amateur' cameras where they may be more guarded when a big DSLR is pointed in their direction. That's equally true of tiny point and shoot cameras too, but I expect that will change as more mirrorless digital cameras come into the market.

I have film processed in the mini-lab at our local Drug Warehouse. They give me both prints and a CD with scanned copies of my photos. The jpegs are roughly 5 megs apiece. I think that would be equivalent to a sensor of 10 or 12 megapixels, but that's a guess. Still, I couldn't find an electronic camera equivalent to that for the same price as one of the Yashicas.

Finally, I just enjoy tinkering with these old cameras. Cleaning and repairing them is as fascinating as using them, but then I've always been fascinated by shiny mechanical objects. I enjoy reading and learning about them too. The ultimate test, though, is always the photos they produce. I'd like to become a better photographer, and I expect that will be a longer, more difficult task regardless of the choice of equipment.

Canon ELPH update

This is the corner of 86th and Main in Owasso looking north along Main Street. It's just a snap shot through the windshield. That mini-van is about to turn right at the stop light, but wait! Who's over on the corner pushing the pedestrian crossing button? Why, it's the ubiquitous sidewalk cyclist!

Actually, he stood there waiting while the light cycled. The van turned right, and when the pedestrian signal said 'walk' the kid walked his bike across the intersection! Brilliant! He was a pedestrian with that oh-so-chic bicycle accessory.

Snark aside, what the kid did was both smart and legal. That's a busy intersection at rush hour.

The photo was taken with the Canon ELPH LT that I found in the local Goodwill store for a whole dollar. The film is Kodak APS 200. The upper image is the full frame, reduced to fit here as the original is over 3K pixels wide. The lower image was taken from the original and it's about 400 pixels wide.

I think, however, that I'll carry the Olympus XA2 instead of this Canon when I need a small, unobtrusive camera. While the Canon is clearly more sophisticated since it has an infrared rangefinder, a flash, and 3 different formats, I prefer the simplicity and lower film cost of the 35mm Olympus. Still, despite all that, I've been carrying and using the Yashica Electro 35 GT all summer because it has an outstanding lens. Sure, it's bulky and heavy, but so am I!

A bit of fun for Friday!

These were all taken with the Yashica Electro 35 GT on Kodak B&W 400. I got the rangefinder sorted out, discovering in the process several interesting ways to get it wrong. It's close to being calibrated properly, and I only have to do some minor touch up on it. The big problem was that the rangefinder images coincided before the lens reached infinity, then diverged again as the lens hit the infinity stop. The adjusting cam didn't have enough range, so I ended up moving the 45 degree mirror - and that lead to the discovery that turning the wrong adjusting screw sent the images out of kilter in the vertical plane too. It's all back together and everything seems OK, except for the big, greasy fingerprint inside the front glass! Now, who could have done that?

Anyway, that first shot above was taken at oh-dark-thirty with my elbows braced atop the car. The lens was wide open and the exposure was probably in the one-eighth to one-quarter second range.

Here's Number One Daughter making a cake for Valentine's Day. This was taken by available light in our kitchen. Again, the lens was probably wide open. Not bad for a hand-held shot.


Do you see the cyclist up ahead? The guy in the pickup clearly did. He moved over into the adjacent lane to pass. This section is slightly uphill and the speed limit changes from 45 to 35 as the road goes into Owasso.


Here's a cropped and magnified version of the above shot. I tried making it bigger, but it went grainy. It also went very grainy if I tried to sharpen it. Still, it's a good example of the capability of these old cameras. Next time, I'm going to ask the photo processor if they can deliver RAW files rather than these jpegs. I'm tinkering a little with Raw Therapee, a free RAW editor, but you can play with RAW files in the latest version of Picasa too.

One disadvantage of RAW files is their sheer size as they're literally the data that comes from the image sensor. But I noticed in one of those night shots from the Canon A590IS that the RAW images contained much more noise than jpegs - until after they were processed. Then they appeared to contain much less. I'm not an expert on this. I'm just learning. Still, it's fun to tinker with it.

One last thing - and it's not about photos or cameras!

I posted a straight news piece about the bicycle ban in Manor, Texas over on the Examiner. In all honesty, I've been having trouble writing because I just couldn't find the energy. The drive was gone. But after my phone conversation, anger gradually ratcheted up within me. I seldom get mad and have it keep building like that, but it was a real trigger for writing. I can't say I like it, but it is what it is.

The Examiner piece is straight forward reporting, but I still needed to vent that anger, and what better way than by engaging in some straight forward sarcasm. Imagine it. That will turn up here shortly, and surprisingly enough, Dr. Wally Crankset figures prominently in it.

Mea culpa

Yes, I'm falling behind on posting photos. I've had a busy week that included both some much-needed family time and overtime at work, so between all that and my pernicious habit of falling asleep every night, writing and photography have suffered.

On Tuesday night, I went to the first FreeWheel seminar about this year's cross-state ride. It was standing room only! Amazing! The route is along the eastern part of the state, and is described as 'scenic'. That means hilly. But it also gives participants the opportunity to visit Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri in one week. Read the report over on the Examiner site.

Just because I haven't posted any photos doesn't mean I haven't taken any.


This is one of my co-workers - back when he had hair. The photo dates from the mid-70s. The car is, or was, green. This is what happens to old photos as the dyes degrade. The dyes are organic compounds that slowly change over time. I've tinkered with this image in an effort to restore some of the original colors, but it's beyond my ability for now.


This is a classic 'brick' camera, an Argus C3. Argus made these for about 20 years. This particular model was produced during WW2. My mom found it at a garage sale somewhere in Georgia or South Carolina.


Here's the interesting part of the C3, the case. There's a name inside: Ray W. Pratt from Bradenton, Florida. The address includes a zip code, so it was written probably in the late 1950s or early 1960s. I tried to locate a Ray Pratt in Bradenton without success.

Shiny objects! Here's a set of Craftsman ignition wrenches that I use at work, along with a Snap-On 1/8th inch wrench and an antique Blue Point wrench. Snap-On and Blue Point wrenches have tiny stamps that identify the year of manufacture. The Blue Point is from 1949, and the Snap-On is from 1980, if I recall right. Like many tools, I needed the 1/8th for just one job and nothing else fit properly. That single wrench cost more than the set of Craftsmans.



Also, there's news on the Yashica Electro 35 GT front. I suspected an intermittent connection at the negative battery terminal. The spring on the negative side goes right through the camera case and has two wires (if I recall right) soldered to it. The connection is buried under the rangefinder assembly, so to reach it, I removed the top case and the rangefinder, only to find perfectly good wiring. Hmmmm. What about the positive end? The camera chassis is neutral, that is, it's not connected to the electrical system, so it's not a consideration. The positive connection comes from a wave washer installed on the battery cover. It contacts a small ring set into the chassis. The ring is visible just under the bottom cover, and there are two red wires soldered to it.

On the GLN I gave to Wade, there's a small paper dot that indicates the positive end applied to the center of the battery cover. I carefully pried up the wave washer so it would definitely contact the ring. Viola! The camera worked....for a while. Then the connection went away again. The wave washer doesn't seem to have much spring to it, so maybe that little piece of paper provides just enough stand off for it to maintain a slight curve. I bent the washer again, but I don't want to make this a regular practice. It's bound to break eventually.

So I'll try a thin piece of paper or plastic in there tomorrow....after I recalibrate the rangefinder. Yep, all that handling put the adjustment off. It now focuses beyond infinity, much to the annoyance of She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed as I wandered through the house shouting, "To infinity and beyond!" all evening. She just doesn't have my finely attuned sense of humor.

There are more photos, but they can wait until tomorrow.

Is it still only Tuesday?

Here's the source of much frustration.  This is the Yashica Electro 35 GT that has an intermittent electrical problem.  In looking at the schematic, I concluded that the only point in common with both problems (exposure and battery check circuits) was the negative battery terminal.  It's buried under the rangefinder assembly inside the top cover.  

Notice the cute little pigs on my bandana.  I'd prefer a solid color in case I dropped a small part.  It's easier to find that way.  But this was the only one I had on hand.  Also, notice the paint tray from Hobby Lobby.  These are very useful for holding and organizing small parts, but I can't use it at work because it's not safe in an electromagnetic discharge environment.    

This is the rangefinder assembly.  It's held in place by two small screws, one of them inside the assembly where you have to be careful about touching or scratching the parts.  It comes out as a unit, revealing the negative battery terminal in all it's pristine glory.  Yep, it appears to be just fine.  No corrosion.  No frayed wires.  And of course, I don't have a probe that will allow me to check it here at home.  Grrr.

Worse, I don't want to take it into work because the FAA is out and about this week.  I've never had problems with one of their inspectors (knock on wood) and I don't want to start now.

The Kodak has a high ISO setting that automatically chooses a very fast speed in low light conditions.  I haven't really played with it much, so before leaving for work I shot these two images.  And naturally, I forgot to disable the flash when I took the first one!   It's slightly creepy since the flash washed out all the color.

This one actually looks better reduced than it did in the full-size version.  The noise is very apparent in the bigger one.  I'll try this again with the tripod and a much lower ISO.  It would have been interesting to do that this morning, but first, I was in a hurry to get to work and second, we had freezing fog out there.  Honestly, it was just below freezing and a mist hung in the air.  The cold and damp seemed to go straight to my bones.  I've been chilled all day.

As I said yesterday, this would be another busy day.  Two of our cats were to go to the vets to be neutered this morning, so they were not allowed anything to eat or drink after midnight.  That meant Mary picked up all the food and water.  At 3AM, a crowd of hungry, thirsty cats stormed the bedroom door carrying torches and pitchforks.  OK, they really didn't do that.  They just sat in the hallway meowing.  Mittens - the geriatric female - sat out there and howled.  I was ready to kill all of them.  

At mid-morning, I came home to take the toms to the vets.  Mary doesn't drive, so it was my responsibility.  "Yeah, see what happens when you guys piss me off?  Snip, snip, snip!" I chortled.

Mary gave me a level stare.  "Just see what happens when you piss ME off!" she said.

I'm staying out of her way tonight. 

Saturday

Well, just to prove that I'm in league with the devil, here are a few shots of today's purchase.  Yep, it's another Yashica Electro 35.  This one is a GSN, one of the late production units.  Notice how that shiny chromed surface picks up all the reds in my Mickey Mouse bandana!

There's a kind of method in my madness.  You see, I'm planning to disassemble this black GT later today in order to reach the negative battery terminal.  It's buried directly under the rangefinder assembly.  The GT has an intermittent.  The camera's schematic shows two current paths, one for the battery test circuit, the other for the autoexposure mechanism.  Both are intermittent and the only common part of the circuit is that negative terminal.  This should be interesting.  If I really screw up, I can use the GSN as a model for reassembling the GT.  

Naturally, the GSN seems to have problems of its own.  Everything mechanical seems to work well.  The battery compartment is free of corrosion.  The rangefinder seems to be calibrated properly.  The only defect I've discovered is an odd noise when the shutter is depressed.  It's an electrical noise and sounds like a component burning out.  I wouldn't be surprised to find a failing capacitor or circuit board, but given that I'm a professional electronics geek, fixing it shouldn't be difficult.

I bought this at the flea market in Tulsa this morning.  The seller is going out of business.  He was intent on selling me a few more cameras, and while I admit I was tempted by a pair of Zenit SLRs, they were both dented, inoperative, and missing some parts.  No thanks.  For some odd reason, I've been fascinated by Russian Feds and Zorkis.  Perhaps this will pass.  Perhaps not.