The Official Head-Case Photography Thread.

[mikeymad]

  

46 minutes ago, blessingx said:

I’m neither good at landscape or square format, but when you lug the nearly five pound Zeiss 50mm Distagon, Hassy 500cm, 42307 45 Prism, and CFV II 50c back (forgot the monopod) into a park last weekend, you try. Here are my best Bon Iver album covers. 

 

square = ready for IG.

 

 

Edited June 21, 2023 by mikeymad

[Spork]

On 5/20/2023 at 5:22 PM, Grahame said:

Have you ever taken a photograph, that could have been black and white, but wasn't.

Almost.

[HiWire]

DPReview is saved!

 

[Spork]

I had a couple of goes at photographing ghost mushrooms (Omphalotus nidiformis) which are biolumiscent.
A bit like the Aurora Australis the glow is seldom visible to the naked eye.
Long exposures + high ISO - hence the noise.

[blessingx]

When you drop your lens cap (1:38)

 

[Spork]

There was a period while I had overlapping hobbies including spending too much money on rare old vacuum tubes, and photography.
This isn't technically macro, but it's approaching it.

[blessingx]

 

[Knuckledragger]

Holy dog's bollocks.

I just got a Leica C3 at the local second hand shop.  For $6.

Edited July 15, 2023 by Knuckledragger

[blessingx]

Damn, put a sticker over that red dot, write “Pixii” and sell for $3k 

Edited July 15, 2023 by blessingx

[swt61]

May I suggest a first pic?

 

 

 

 

 

[blessingx]

This year's Eureka CA fireworks were done in the fog, which sucks if you want to see the fireworks, but cool if you like the visuals in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Anyway, Leica SL2-S at 12800 ISO with the Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.0, then denoised slightly in Topaz's Photo.ai. Here you go - pretty fog. 

 

 

 

[dsavitsk]

1 hour ago, blessingx said:

 

👍

 

[Voltron]

[Knuckledragger]

This is going to be a long walk, and kind of a gross one.  In the second half of the 00s, as everyone was ditching film, a friend gave me a Canon EOS Rebel K2.  It's a very consumer grade film SLR.  I put a few rolls through it, but I've never been a committed film photographer.  35mm just isn't worth the cost and effort, and larger formats require one's own darkroom.  In a slightly different universe, I would shoot medium format and ULF.

I took about 10 years off from photography.  The reasons were many, and not all good.  I've begun to pick it up on 2023.  Part of that process has involved me going through all my old kit.  I've carefully cleaned off my IR-modied 5D (I still need to give its sensor one last cleaning) and many of my lenses.  I also unearthed the old Rebel K2.  Its batteries (it uses a pair of expensive and annoying CR2s) were long dead.  I spent considerable time on Amazon, looking at rechargeable options.  My interest was primarily in getting a battery for the Leica C3 I picked up a few days ago.  The C3 uses a single CR123(A).  There are a number of well reviewed options for rechargeables, buuut ...they're considered hazardous materials and can't be shipped to a PO box.  This is a recurring problem with island life.  I will solve the issue of the C3 one way or another (it's too cool to not use).  Even if I just buy a package of lithium CR123s and deal with their annoyingly short lifespan, it will be worth it in the short term.

The K2 presents a decidedly different problem.  It's not a very good camera.  It was never a very good one.  I do have an army of glass I can attach to it, but I don't really want to do so.  With that said, there is a roll of slide film in it that I started in 2011 that I have yet to finish.

I'd not bother, but most of the exposures on it were taken while I was visiting MV in 2011.  I have a text file on my Google Drive detailing the date, time, location and exposure settings of all of them.  I really want to finish this roll, even if there's a strong chance that the shots are no good.  Slide film does not keep forever. 

As part of of the process of getting re-acquainted with my camera gear, I've been going through the pile of camera bags and lens cases I have amassed.  A number of them were stored in an upstairs closet on my mainland house and they're a bit ...stinky.  I've been emptying them out and airing them out today.  The Vineyard is a very breezy place, and it clears out most odors quickly.  Inside one of the camera bags was my old K2.  I picked it up and made a horrible discovery.  It has a shitty "rubberized" grip, and whatever coating Canon saw fit to put on it 20+ years ago has turned into black goo.

Handling it is an absolute nightmare.  I dug up a bottle of iso alcohol and and old rag.  I spent a good 20 minutes carefully cleaning off the disgusting grip.

I am pleased to announce that I am victorious over The Black Goo.  Mostly.  I also found an unopened pair of CR2 batteries and after 3 tries I got the K2's battery compartment open.

The K2 came to life and said "Yep, still got 3 exposures here, boss."  I'm gonna hafta attach my 17-40L to it and finish it off.  Then I'm tasked with finding an outfit that will develop, scan and return the film to me.

[HiWire]

It's so gross when plastics and other materials degrade when you keep something for a long time.

I still have an old, cheap APS camera with film rolls I need to finish. Have fun shooting!

📸

[blessingx]

For those on iOS you may want to download the now free Spectre, from the makers of Halide. Doesn't do a ton, but does let you create AI-composite long exposures. 

https://9to5mac.com/2023/07/18/long-exposure-iphone-camera/#more-897028 

[Knuckledragger]

I was able to source a pesky CR123A on-island.  I spent considerable time cleaning the Leica C3 and reading the manual.  Being a Leica product, there is no official PDF to download.  Fortunately, some kind soul scanned the paper manual and put that on line as a PDF.  The C3 really is a "crappy consumer point and shoot" as envisioned by Leica.  It has no exposure settings.  Everything is automatic.  It is possible to disable the flash.  Similarly, the horrific date stamp is on by default but can also be defeated. 

What separates the C3 from the legion of similar e-waste (besides that little round logo) is its lens.  It's a weird, slow zoom, which is something I'd hate normally.  Also I don't think it's possible to attach filters, which is a really big downside for a film camera.  Also the aperture gets pathetically small at the long end.  With that said, by all accounts it's a really good piece of glass.  I loaded a 24 exposure roll of long expired Fuji ISO 200 ...something.  I will probably shoot it all at the wide end (28mm.)

[dsavitsk]

35 minutes ago, Knuckledragger said:

besides that little round logo

I worked at a used camera store many years ago. We'd periodically find little red plastic circles that said "Leitz" on them in boxes of junk. People would pay real money for those. Even more, apparently, if they are glued to a Panasonic P&S.

[Knuckledragger]

Speaking of paying real money for things, anyone want to buy a fisheye lens? 

It can see behind itself.  Careful, that front element is a little fragile.

130,000 Euros and counting.

[blessingx]

Does it sing Daisy? 

[Knuckledragger]

One thing's for certain, it sure AF won't open the pod bay doors for you.

[Knuckledragger]

So I finally finished this roll of Fuji Sensia 200 slide film tonight.

I started it in 2011.  I had last exposed a frame on it in late 2012.  It's quite possibly dead from light leaks, mold, moisture, bad credit, I dunno.  I'm now tasked with finding an outfit where I can mail it so I can have it developed, scanned an returned to me.  Photography is truly a beknighted hobby. 

Spoiler

Especially when I attempt it.

 

[padam]

Finally, my first working Nikon camera (or cameras to be specific). A pair of D700s with dead batteries. One with 40k on the shutter, the other almost NOS.
What can I say, first it was unwieldy: tall, bulky, heavy (still is, feels good but not the right camera for many situations, even a Canon 6D would be a whopping 30% lighter).
But even after the very first short outing (with a 2GB card that I forgot to empty so I could only store 30 images at a time) the hype seems justified with this one. I can only nod in agreement to the content of this video (complete playlist in the description)

That natural, yet deep colour palette just seems to be so pleasing, at least with in-camera JPEGs (Adobe messes up somewhat as usual, maybe I will figure it out eventually but there are also other methods, the sensor is great for sure).
I almost don't want to look at my Canon R6 pics anymore, looks underwhelming in comparison (even some side-by-side comparisons on YT show how modern Nikons with Sony sensors don't render like this anymore)
I'm also hardly seeing a mirrorless camera without that little red dot and its attributed status that can render light and colour anywhere this good by default - to my eyes anyway. (Same thing with regards to audio, they just make a whole bunch of new stuff which is arguably not as pleasing of a sound as it was many many years ago.)



And all this coupled to a pleasant DSLR experience, nice viewfinder, snappy AF, separate dials for everything, not much to complain about the 100$ 50/1.8G and so on.
It might very well fit in that personal favourite category, that is involving both from the operation side, but also regarding its output (most cameras fail one way or the other, and there are plenty of spec-chasing models that reviewers seem to love, but in real life they actually not that great on either fronts).

[blessingx]

Congrats and good to hear. Allí messed up the used prices again.  I've been looking since I saw she was testing on IG. The number of D700 videos out there in the last few years are crazy. This guy, and his professional set, seems to make them every month. 

 

[padam]

Yeah D850 seems to have the same problem and I see no improvement in the Z8 in that regards.
No one was paying attention to colour when it was 'normal' and somehow with these new mirrorless technology it somehow got lost and accepted.
I don't see values going up much, because at the end of the day it is impractical to have a big and heavy camera like this with old batteries and cards, adapters, etc. Shutter is obnoxiously loud, too, kids love it though. Might as well get a battery grip to make them hear it at 8fps haha.
The other camera that I borrowed some time ago that was really good is the 1DX (or 1DC) and this guy seems to confirm that and it's even more impractical than the D700...

Why can't I have a modern, convenient (USB-C charging) FF camera with great colour and viewfinder that is not so big and heavy...

I still miss the M Type 240 that was basically the most portable camera I had with great colour (and the SL2 was the best amongst cameras also shooting video). And the unanimous verdict seems to be that an M9 renders even better, so I might end up with one despite so many red flags about it.