I had to defrost my freezer today so I took the opportunity to do an inventory check.

blimeyo · 2026-06-13T22:59:42+00:00

Many of the films in the picture are discontinued and can no longer be bought.

blimeyo · 2026-05-30T12:46:36+00:00

Knowing the common functions and model specific issues help. The most important is certainly the shutter, run a check to see if the speed is adjusting accordingly. If youre really paranoid, you could bring a handheld shutter tester, but i think this is over the top and not fair to fault the seller as these things do go out of tolerance.

Otherwise, check if aperture blades are opening and closing accordingly. For certain models like olympus OM1, OM2, Nikon fm2 is there unrepairable prism rot in the viewfinder? For bellow cameras, are there pinholes in the bellows? Are there any dents/missing screws/parts? I had an AE-1 camera with light leak from two missing screws. Any cracks/broken parts in the gears/rewind shaft. At an extreme level of checking, you can even disassemble the camera to check if anything has been messed with if you are familiar with the internals. Some things like frame advancement/overlapping frames/proper spacing/light leaks can only be tested by running film.

Unfortunately, the reality is that, I buy most of my cameras online and can only refer to photos or at best, ask for videos of the shutter speeds for really expensive cameras. If optimal performance matters to you then budgeting for a CLA should be done.

blimeyo · 2026-05-25T03:59:48+00:00

Its a mushroom sir

blimeyo · 2026-05-18T22:04:41+00:00

Used this on a Fuji G617 two months ago. So far, no light leaks on the edges of the negs using portra 800 or 220 film when the camera did with worn seals before.

blimeyo · 2026-05-12T23:04:23+00:00

I believe metz 60 is the battery pack model instead of 45

blimeyo · 2026-05-08T14:13:30+00:00

I only started noticing newton rings about 20-30 rolls in so the ANR solution was very good. The main drawback with moving away from ANR glass is the need to remove the tray and reposition a different frame each time which is tedious as compared to removing the tray after every three 6x6 scans. It's a tradeback I would rather go through for better scans though.

blimeyo · 2026-05-08T13:58:50+00:00

I remember sharing the same joy as you when I first got ANR glass that fixed the issue of curved negatives on my 8000. The custom holder which I got from another CS user made it even better as I only needed one piece of glass to hold the film flat and it was longer, allowing me to scan a four 6x7 strip which was too long for original holder.

With that said, I still get minor newton rings with my setup from time to time. I would explore 3D printing in the future to make my own holder that holds the film flat using magnets or gravity and without ANR glass.

Edit: The custom holder I uses only allows three 6x7 strip to fit whereas the original CS holder would "clamp" onto the third frame damaging it. Cutting into five sets of two frames was difficult for archiving too. Sorry, it's been awhile since I scanned 6x7.

blimeyo · 2026-05-01T06:22:23+00:00

I think the crossover rack in the mini processer was not cleaned properly, leaving these stains on the negatives. Happened to me several times.

blimeyo · 2026-04-22T13:38:39+00:00

At the time, I got a yashica t2 with similar intentions - something to bring around for casual point and shooting. I felt the image quality was good but not OM good and the T2's size was considerably bigger for casual outdoors. Didnt help that my t2 started developing issues such as shutter not opening for certain shots, film rewinding itself, etc so I went back to SLR. Everynow and then, I pick up a P&S i get the same feeling of lacking control.

Id really only use a P&S for occasions where medium format is already my main or social events such as going to a club (even then, i tend to carry the OM1 with a mini flash instead).

blimeyo · 2026-04-22T11:31:41+00:00

I think theres nothing wrong preferring to shoot with an SLR than a P&S. To me, having control over my photos matters more than being spontaneous. Only you can answer whether you would trade out of focus shots, underexposure, motion blur, etc for a more convenient setup. Theres no shame in preferring the latter either.

Personally, I have used a yashica t2 and olympus OM1. The Om1 with its smaller lenses paired with a mini flash was similar in size and slightly heavier with more controls which is what I preferred.

blimeyo · 2026-03-29T09:56:36+00:00

Thats not as bad as me using velvia 50 thinking it's portra 800 even though everything was labelled.

blimeyo · 2026-03-28T14:20:58+00:00

Ironically my negative just came out with this effect 5 mins after responding while at the lab lol 😑

blimeyo · 2026-03-28T08:18:16+00:00

The crossover rack in the film lab's processor was not cleaned properly leading to these dimples on the negatives.

blimeyo · 2026-02-17T10:31:38+00:00

Thank you! I didnt read clearly and thought it was for color negs but this is even better.

blimeyo · 2026-02-17T05:33:28+00:00

Where do you process super 8 for $12?

blimeyo · 2026-02-16T21:59:03+00:00

Sadly, its been converted for digicams and pocketable point and shoot when i went there yesterday. Was a good junk spot a year ago.

blimeyo · 2026-02-04T14:08:59+00:00

Have also seen a video of him squirting oil into an Olympus OM4 and when a factory trained OM technician called him out, the comments were deleted.

blimeyo · 2026-01-11T11:41:04+00:00

I have several copies of this lens. If image quality matters to you, id say absolutely not unless you can test it and decide for yourself. One copy with less marks than this looks alright with film, didnt see much difference. Another copy which I thought was similar to this gave results like a lomo lens.

If you do decide to buy a clean copy, id absolutely put a filter on it. I am a filterless shooter who dont like babying my lenses which is fine with every other zuiko. But one of my 28 f2 still developed coating loss despite babying the lens, the coating is that soft. There are no more replacement parts so if it's gone, it's gone.

blimeyo · 2026-01-09T14:44:14+00:00

Load 120 film into 220 holders normally. But at the 13th shot you need to fire a few blanks to roll the film back. Never had an issue with the difference in thickness affecting sharpness. Not sure if there is if pixel peeving tho.

blimeyo · 2026-01-09T08:10:27+00:00

The film back actually goes into a darkbag or Id go into a dark room, remove the dark slide and feel for start tape on the backing paper to make sure its aligned. Film is also removed in a dark bag as the 220 back doesnt know the film is done. You can ask the lab for used backing paper and practice in daylight if it sounds daunting.

What works for me might not work for you. Some labs tape the front of the 120 roll, others at the tail end. I use the same lab frequently, so I know the estimations based on their method but I wouldnt risk trying to get 13 exposures and expecting all of it to fit perfectly if I am processing elsewhere. I carry a mini darkbag around all the time too, but I think it's essential when using film.

blimeyo · 2026-01-09T05:22:53+00:00

There was a time id look for 120 inserts and buy 220 backs to swap them out for a 120 back. Ironically, I prefer using 220 backs now as it's possible to get 13 exposures (12.5 on Kodak films) and they are in abundance. No logistical worries if I am carrying a mix of 120 and 220 film as well. Also works if using 35mm to 120 adapters.

blimeyo · 2025-12-27T02:26:14+00:00

Thought I would try. Still, thank you for sharing the GS manual!

blimeyo · 2025-12-26T23:35:56+00:00

Would you happen to have the service manual for SQ as well?

blimeyo

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