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  • Third Time Lucky [400] – The Petri Flex V

    Until fairly recently (at the time of writing this), I was the custodian of a wonderful Petri Flex V. Made in the early 1960’s the Flex V was a unique design in its time as instead of a combination of usual gears, the innards of the Petri are based around a single long camshaft with a large torsion spring wound around it. You can feel this difference in use I think – something about it feels more direct somehow. Its a nice SLR to drive.

    A bygone name in the industry now, Kuribayshi – later renamed Petri was a decent player in its time in the Japanese camera segment. They didn’t quite get the status of the ‘Big 4’, but had a solid line of cameras in most design types.

    As directly hinted int he title, my most recent film through the Petri was my third roll of Lucky 400. Prior runs of the batch have had interesting albeit imperfect results. It seemed common that shots were riddled in marks and ‘black snow’. When you look out there in the www, its not just my experience, but one others get time to time. It’s a bottom priced bargain film stock, so with it comes perhaps some quality control. Anyway – this time overall was [nearly] great!

    Results this round were simply nice, mixed condition, 400 Speed film. All developed the same as prior runs. Nearly blemish free. Though one shot had a pretty major swirl that I simply cannot explain to being my own fault:

    Shots this round were featured around a lot of North Auckland over multiple outings with nowhere specific… though the Harbour Bridge did feature throughout.

    I worded ‘until recently’ in my opening paragraph. The Petri moved onto a new home recently. A combination of me not wanting to allow my collection to keep growing as well as making some funds to keep it growing perhaps in rotation of ownership. The Flex V was a nice model which I suspect I will regret selling – but who knows what I will find and experience next around the corner. Downsides to it was the very specific lens mount – so other lens choices were limited and hard to find. I guess also being reasonably uncommon parts might be non-existent if ever needed.

    If I am correct, I have once last roll of Lucky 400 left… will it be lucky or not! – we will have to wait and see.

    For today in NZ we observe Anzac Day. Lest We Forget.

  • Film Experiments Part 2 – Expired Ilford Micro-Neg Pan Type B

    Another post on the expired Ilford Micro-Neg Pan Type B. Following the last session, I settled on ASA6 feeling like the speed this film was sitting. Being a copy film, we also noted last session that its not got the widest range between bright and dark areas – in some ways a little like earlier digital cameras I enjoy shooting with. So with practice, I figured I’d be able to adapt with practice.

    Oh – and I purchased a new (old) camera especially for the experience – a Canon EOS 10QD. As the film has no perforations/sprocket holes, most standard cameras are incompatible. The 10QD was a reasonably early model of the ‘modern’ SLR with autofocus, autowind and multi focus points. Due to how it works, I was able to tape on a perforated leader to get it winding, and then it works fine the rest of the non perforated film! – Great. What I did fail to notice until the end of the roll was that it came with the date and time imbedded option turned on… literally who ever uses this function!?! (I know some do – but it permanently marks your negatives!) The House image above show how contrasty bright and dark can be… I worked at the image a bit to get that range! Bright just blows out in contrasty conditions.

    As I have a few other Canons, I shot this entire series on the 50mm 1.8 lens. The wide open 1.8 really helps in making the ISO6 film usable in standard outdoor conditions. Head inside and handheld even wide open is virtually a no-go… this said – the Mini above was in a well lit but indoor scenario. Just fast enough and low contrast of light… but that embedded date in this roll. Baa hahah.

    Usually due to film backing/transparency colour I make sure I convert to monochrome in editing. For this series, I kept the base as scanned. It’s got a pleasant vintage sepia tinge. Almost reminds me of old aged prints from a darkroom. Its a bit of a tricky film, but working with its limitations, enjoyable to play with!

    Oh. Where am I in the majority of this series? – Auckland’s Maungauika / North Head down in Devonport on the North Shore. I’ve featured here many times in the past. Vintage film, old war barracks – nice combo. The slightly out of focus shot on the left above had a great hunting feel to it.

    I’ve been venturing up the mountain for a lifetime now. As the years go by we are both aging. So many tunnels I used to explore have been fenced off and walled over. Dangerous drops fenced and plated over to ensure no one falls and dies. It’s for safety – but also drops some of its sense of adventure it used to have. Perhaps a bit like attitudes to war as people experienced when enlisting for adventure before facing the brutalities of reality in battles. These guns never experienced action in anger.

    So Ilford Micro-Neg Pan Type B Part 2 – completed. Not sure when part 3 will come, but I’ll mark this as a success!

  • Film Experiments – Expired Ilford Micro-Neg Pan Type B

    Recently a mate and I saw some old bulk film popping up for sale cheap and grabbed it to have a play. When looking closer and receiving it, we found it was unperforated film – Ilford Micro-Neg Pan Film Type B. Unperforated immediately created an issue – most our cameras cannot wind it (without tearing film and potentially damaging cameras)… and the bulk winder also by default cannot work. All problems. Nothing that cannot be … well solution attempted.

    Step one was the bulk winder. I first counted approximately winds to load a 36’ish shot can. Then I dismantled the winder, removing all sprocket components (and rendering the film counting unavailable). Taped over all the new light leak opportunities and put back together. Threading the bulk reel into the loader (in a dark bag) was the next challenge – a pre taped leader the eventual solution. And away loading up some reusable and old kept cans.

    The next challenge was what will I shoot with and what ISO/ASA is this old film!?

    Camera wise I settled on ,my great grandfathers Nettar 120film folding camera. I had some 120 – 35mm 3D printed adaptors in the collection and this would offer a ‘pano-like’ shooting experience. Like the bulk loader – I had to put in a dummy film and work out roughly how many turns to advance to the next frame. Over the course of the roll, it’s about 3/4 difference. I rounded to the closest 1/4 to make things easy – but the spacing is still a little all over the show.

    So what about the ASA/ISO. Thats still a discovery in development if Im honest. The Micro-Neg Pan has some quite different sensitivity characterises between bright and dull subjects. By testing, I narrowed down to ISO 1/3/6 and ‘hand bracketed’ to test. I say hand as on the Nettar virtually all the exposures anything other than wide open are via ‘B’ – which is a little tricky when different exposures are on both sides of the 1 second mark. Currently I think I will try the next film on ISO6. Some of the experiments shown here were 6 and 3. It’s not 1. In some environments it might be 12… I have film to keep experimenting on.

    A lot of these shots are messy. Marks on film that are not dust or development chemical. Its a look!

    Might keep my eye out on a small handful of 35mm cameras that don’t need sprockets for winding to the next frame. A bit of mixed info out there on the web. Its all experimentation anyway!

    Thats all for today. We have an incomming ex-cyclone pending to hit. so a weekend photowalk might be off.

  • Cattle Stuff

    A small handful of shots from the vintage Canon EOS300D ‘ ‘Cattle Stuff’.

    Rural NZ look, but within 10min of Auckland’s CBD

  • Square Cars

    Like a number of countries, NZ is currently balancing on a seesaw of trepidation to see ‘what next’ with the America Iran war/conflict/situation (whichever is the correct legal term for your jurisdiction). Depending on the metric used, we sit at about 30% increase in fuel price and no restrictions yet. End result locally – fuel costs more.

    As the price was beginning to climb last month, I took my favourite shutter machine, the GF-1 and its 20mm Lumix lens out for a stroll around a local Coffee and Cars show. Shooting with square in mind most the time and a focus on mostly yesteryear, here are some shots of the morning.

    Pop-up headlights – I noted a volume of them (unsurprisingly). Sometimes you don’t miss something until it’s gone. Due to modern crash standards, we will never see these beasties again in a new vehicle – the drag aerodynamically, snag pedestrians as they get run down, cost more to make due to extra mechanics – and often, when up, look a little ugly – but they were a style of the 70’s to 90’s era (and older).

    So much old steel. I have a particular soft spot for old British iron. Some beautiful Ford Escort’s and Anglia’s (perhaps locally known to some in my era as Angle Boxes) were present. 70’s and 80’s Japanese options also present, were amazing beasts of their time – so advanced when they hit our shores in NZ compared to the old Fords, Austins, VW’s etc.

    Ford Mercury Cougar – as a child a family member had one of them. What a great mustang alternative – and a different take on the pop up headlights mentioned. Morris Minor – almost handed over cash for a project one of them several decades ago. #27c pictured – a T-Bucket? – what a fun old machine – no wheel guards, no rollover. A box with a big motor. Radical. Tidy Toyota AE86 -Hachi-Roku.

    The Mini Car Club had a good turnout. Only a few snaps here, but featured a line of attendees next to the MX-5 club. A beautiful VW Karmann Ghia – long ago I had the opportunity to buy one, but decided it was too much work. Like many of the cars on this page all these years later – rare and valuable.

    Ha – much of this post is me just listing off cars. Thats kind of what people do when visiting car shows from one angle. Some dig deep into ‘car tech facts’ or memories. Many appreciate the visual reward of a pack of old cars that spark some memory of life/desired ownership/posters on wall… whatever the car meant to them (or does now). For the attendees, they are in a like minded breed of owners of special things that usually hold some deep connection.

    Thats all for today!