Bought any photography stuff today?

[clarion]

tl;dr It's quite a nice camera.

[simonp]

Not today, but last week: a polarising filter for my Canon 400D for pictures of fish, and things.

[Wombat]

Ever fired a Pentax 6x7, Clarion?  I tried one once, and leapt about a foot in the air in shock at the sharp "clop crack clop" it made as the mirror went up, the massive focal plane shutter went, and the mirror flopped back.  No stealth photography with one of those, but its big enough to blot out the light from the sun, anyway.  I'm can't recall who it was here, maybe you, who nearly got me buying esoteric 6x7 things... 

I had an OM40, yes, it did make quite a sharp noise, didn't it?  I later had a cheapie OM10 (divorce led to selling the OM40 and the Mamiya TLRs) which brought on the hunger, so I bought a S/H OM4... still miss it, after I sold it due to another financially tricky patch.

Getting wistful about 5x4 field cameras again...

[clarion]

Those tricky patches do cause problems, do they not? *sigh*

I've never handled a Pentax 67 that I remember, but I have fired a Pentacon Six (or was it a Kiev 60?  One of those, anyway).  I wasn't sure whether to dive for cover from the falling bombs, or just grip tighter onto this beast trying to jump out of my hands.

I like the look of medium format, but I like ickle things, so I'm much more inclined to a 645 rangefinder than a 6x7 SLR.  My current MF is a Zeiss Nettar square format folder, which is a decent comnpromise (even if I'm rubbish at composing squares ).  I don't think I'd be leading folk astray to big negs.

Having said that, there are some nice wooden pinhole 5x4s in Silverprint round the corner...

[clarion]

One further comment to add to my self-indulgent post that nobody willl have read: LCD.

I have, as most of you will know, limited arm movement at the moment, and have been a bit grumpy that I can't use my rangefinders atm.  I've had to pick out which of my cameras I can use best one handed.  That's been (in order) Olympus Mju i, Canon Ixus ii, and Canon G11, and that only because it has a zoom driven by a crappy toggle switch at the base of the shutter button.

Without going for a prime, the EPL1 needs two hands or an awful lot of faff, even though most buttons are in easy reach of the right thumb.  So my arm's hurting from taking the camera out before work and at lunchtime.

With no vf, the screen becomes vital.  And I missed the flip screen of the Canon on the first shot I took this afternoon.  Fortunately, the screen is easy to see from a variety of angles, though I'm not sure how that holds up in sunlight, as, er, there isn't much today.  Colours on the screen look a bit dull, and I hope this doesn't reflect how the final images will turn out.

[PaulR]

Splashed out £15 on a manfrotto 115 tripod head - it gets all the difficult angles with consummate ease, and with no scary quick release mechanism involved it will hold my little 70mm scope securely as I scan the heavens.

[nicknack]

Not strictly photographic but pictures will be taken with the aid of them.

I've been spending my inheritance.

I now own a Celestron Regal 65F-ED spotting scope and a Celestron NexStar 5SE astro telescope.

It's what happens when you move to a house with a view and plenty of sky.

[PaulR]

Very nice - that 5SE will give you superb views of the planets and moon in particular.  I wish I lived somewhere with dark enough skies to make it worth lugging the scope out into the garden more often.

[nicknack]

The skies aren't terrifically dark round here either but it's rather better than the middle of town we've just moved from.

Have you got any recommendations for a decent tripod for the scope? Say, less than £100 - the spending's getting a bit silly. The old Velbon I'm using is a bit wobbly.

[Tewdric]

Manfrotto 055 at that price range.  They come up one bay quite regularly.

[PaulR]

or a Vixen porta mount

My bro in law has an old manfrotto 055 that he no longer uses; would you like me to find out what he might want for it?

Or a computerised jobbie: http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=73391

[nicknack]

My bro in law has an old manfrotto 055 that he no longer uses; would you like me to find out what he might want for it?

Yes, that would be very kind. Thank you.

[clarion]

I bought a body cap lens for my Pen.  It's 15mm f8 (fixed aperture).  And not renowned for its high quality.  But it's remarkably compact, makes the camera pocketable, and is right fun to use.

[Jaded]

I bought a body cap for my Pen.  It's 15mm f8 (fixed aperture).

Free expression of photography. Uncategorisable. Is that a word? It is now! You know? Far cry from small lads in the darkroom, f-stops for body caps. Rush developing. Two seconds at the back, three in the middle, four up front, one's gone home for his tea. Beans on toast? Possibly, don't quote me on that. Marvellous.

[clarion]

Isn't it?  Hmm?

[David Martin]

Not bought but borrowed. Looking for a copy stand (we don't have one but do have some tripods) in the technicians store I came across an F3 with DW3 waist level finder and a Micro Nikkor 55mm lens.

 New batteries and a peruse of the manual. It makes a reassuringly positive mechanical noise.
Now sat on my desk waiting Friday when I will be photographing the contents of tubes like this


Untitled by davidmamartin, on Flickr

[menthel]

5DIII arrived. Hnng. Its very good.


5DIII first fiddle-5 by menthel, on Flickr

[clarion]

Waist level finders, is it?  I have one in this trio:


P9240620 by TJ Clarion, on Flickr

[geoff]

Fuji QuickSnap disposable. For kids' use...now in used condition...err anyone recommend a mail-order or high street fillum processing outfit? 

[fuaran]

An Ikea Ordning egg timer. To try out a panning timelapse with my GoPro.

[T42]

Awaiting a Nikkor 18-35 mm f/3.5-4.5 D ED-IF AF ordered last Saturday.

[Salvatore]

Following comments from Biggsy and Wombat, I got myself a hotshoe-mounted spirit-level.



I blame my varifocals.

[clarion]

Good investment.  I keep one on my SLR (I very rarely use flash with it).

[T42]

Haven't bought anything for a whole week, but I did put my detested Olympus Pen E-P3 on sale. Going to ditto my Canon G-12, which is a very nice street camera but I never use it. Any loot I accrue from those two will either go into FX lens(es) or a Fujifilm X100. Fuji have just issued a very surprising firmware update that has made the X100 very interesting indeed.

[drossall]

Following comments from Biggsy and Wombat, I got myself a hotshoe-mounted spirit-level.

I've often thought about one of those, because I have the same problem. However, my K30 has one built in. Is there a benefit in a separate one, apart from the obvious that you have to look at the viewfinder for mine?