Using vintage and antique gear.

Gentlemen and ladies. I have noticed that many of you have been mentioning that you are still right into the old stuff. Equipment, and even processes.

I thought I would make this thread for you to show off and have a chat about any cool old gear and techniques you still use.

Personally, my background is in photography, and I spent many years working in photographic preservation sections for museums and archives, so I am particularly interested in any antique photographic methods that are still being kept alive by you guys.

Who are still getting their hands wet?

The only thing I can mention is an Olymput 35 SP black version I'm waiting for. I'll be using this as a camera for snapshots at social happenings, family stuff, friends...just when using my digital camera is too much.

Ohh, and getting the negatives developed to physical images will be much better than my digital files, I think. I remember when we albumed photos, and didn't upload them to flickr. Better times, better times.....

Yep, I used to teach darkroom printing to adult students. Watching their faces when that image first appears in the tray was always nice. It had that kind of "magic" vibe that computers are lacking.

I am going to wait until I see my grandmother, and ask if she still has my grandfather's, mayherestinpeace, shave brush. If she does I will be asking Mr. Vey if he can do a restoration on it.

I have gotten into craft microbrews, especially British ales. That, and the classic pulp fiction stories from the turn of the 20th century. I have now gone back even further and am avidly reading Baroness Orczy's Scarlet Pimpernel series.

I still shoot B&W film in addition to digital. 35mm, medium format and large format (4x5). I do not have a darkroom, but I develop my film using a changing bag to load the film onto a reel. I have an Epson 4870 film scanner to scan the negatives and a Canon photo printer for producing prints.

I still have a modest collection of film cameras that I use on a regular basis. I am also a member of the Cameraholics Camera Club in Brisbane (http://members.optusnet.com.au/~msafier/cameraholics/).

As for shaving, I have tried all of the popular current DE's (Merkur, Muhle and EJ), but my daily user is a 1955 Gillette Diplomat. On the weekends I take some extra time and enjoy using a straight.


Stu

I have had a darkroom since I was 12.

This is my current one:

That is a really nice setup you have there. I wish I had somewhere at home I could build something like that. I have so much equipment in storage, all I need is a space.

When I was in my teens I blacked out the laundry and used that, and it worked, although there was no air extraction. Since then I have always had work darkrooms I could use, but no longer. I think I will just get back into developing my own negs and then scan them. At least some of my cameras will get a run.

Over the years I've used several kitchens (at night), bathrooms, several closets, a garage, even an abandoned coal bunker. If you want a darkroom there is always somewhere to set one up.

The house we bought 25 years ago already had the plumbed and ventilated darkroom but it was empty (just an empty room with a light tight door and the one small plumbed sink). I added the lab cabinets (school discards), tray sink, and shelving.

This is the first real, dedicated, darkroom I have had and I have enjoyed it.

legion said:

That is a really nice setup you have there. I wish I had somewhere at home I could build something like that. I have so much equipment in storage, all I need is a space.

When I was in my teens I blacked out the laundry and used that, and it worked, although there was no air extraction. Since then I have always had work darkrooms I could use, but no longer. I think I will just get back into developing my own negs and then scan them. At least some of my cameras will get a run.

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I've been an Olympus OM system fan for years, but have gone through some other nice gear as well. The Pen F had an OM adapter so I could use my collection of OM lenses. The Leica was gorgeous, but not as user friendly for me as the OM. The most UN-friendly was the Sinar Norma 4x5, but it was achingly gorgeous. OM is still my weapon of choice.

It's getting harder to get into the darkroom to print since I got a Nikon film scanner, but processing film and then digitizing the negs ("figital") still allows me to work with film quickly. There's nothing quite like a nice soothing session bathed in the glow of a Kodak safelight, though.

That Pen F is cool. I'd like one of those. Half frame with a rotary shutter, if I remember right.

I have an old Nikon F1 film camera. I used it a lot in college when I had access to a full darkroom/photo lab. All I had to do was pay for the photo paper. I've been meaning to at the very least buy the chemicals and dark bag I need to develop film, but haven't gotten around to it. I'd REALLY to build a full darkroom in my house, but I don't have any room.

I dismantled my darkroom some years back when I realized I hadn't used it in several years and really never again wanted to stand in there for hours at a time. Started out in digital by buying a 35mm scanner and a printer, and working with my 35mm negs and slides. Now I shoot mostly digital and can print B&W better than I could in the darkroom.

That said, I still use my 35mm cameras (Pentax), a Mamiya 645 and a Mamiya RZ67 (my daughter's). I love handling and working with the MF cameras; the solid. mechanical feel makes my DSLR's feel like toys. I also like the "look" of B&W film, even though I can replicate it digitally. Problem now, is that it's getting harder and harder to get film processed (I really don't want to do it myself) and scanning is a real PITA. I once took the 645, with a 210mm lens, prism and winder to a kids soccer game and shot a few frames; totally confounded the soccer mom with the big Canon DSLR, that had no idea about anything. The camera was just another bit of bling for her.

Still have two old Canon AE-1s and several F-mount lenses. I'm seriously considering a cheap medium-format TLR to play around with, but would probably send the film out for developing (at least until I get out of an apartment and set up something proper).

So far I've been focusing on the Yashica Mat-124G. Anyone have suggestions?

The Waco Kid said:

Still have two old Canon AE-1s and several F-mount lenses. I'm seriously considering a cheap medium-format TLR to play around with, but would probably send the film out for developing (at least until I get out of an apartment and set up something proper).

So far I've been focusing on the Yashica Mat-124G. Anyone have suggestions?

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See if you can get hold of a Mamiya C330. Great lenses and a very versatile camera. They should be relatively cheap these days, as well.

I sold my Nikon F4 when I bought my first digital camera body. I still use the same lenses with my updated digital camera and I am seriously considering buying an F5 in the next couple of days. Never having done developing and darkroom work, it is a little daunting but by doing a hybrid type of processing I should be able to create some fun b+w images and enjoy a great camera.

legion said:

When that image first appears in the tray......It has that kind of "magic" vibe that computers are lacking.

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I use a Minolta Autocord TLR and a Nikon FE 35mm. I like B&W and develop and enlarge at home. I like Digital for Color pics but its not the same.

Ah yes, the good old TLR. My first camera was a Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex that my dad bought for me used back during the 60's. I still have it, but unfortunately it has some mildew on an interior lens element with some light leaks as well, and is really not worth fixing.

After dabbling with a lovely old Hasselblad 500C and some nice lenses, I decided to stick with the 35mm format for B&W. I have quite a collection of Olympus Zuiko OM lenses including the wonderful 90mm f/2 macro and 35-80 F/2.8 among others, so I'm ready to go.

Four rolls of Tri-X and Plus-X are presently waiting to be processed, but I can't seem to get in the darkroom lately. I'm always glad when I do, so maybe on one of these snowy winter days I can move ahead on that.

After reading more about Kodak this past week, I went and shot a roll of 400TX today. Looking forward to getting my developing gear in the post this coming week.

djh said:

After reading more about Kodak this past week, I went and shot a roll of 400TX today. Looking forward to getting my developing gear in the post this coming week.

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What all are you getting? Tank and reel, chemicals, measuring stuff? What did you decide on as far as developer, fixer, etc.? What fun!

One of my last jobs was working with B&W motion picture film. I used to make my own developer, fixer, hypo, ect from scratch. 400L at a time! It always felt funny when I had to cut the quantities of raw chem down to make a litre of D76, or something, to process a roll of still film.