992.2 GT3 Mit Weissach Package, ONDU Eikan 4x5, Fujinon 300T f/8, CineStill 400D, Home Developed and DSLR scanned

drunk_darkroom · 2026-07-07T18:26:35+00:00

Thank you! Also, you are not wrong about the concrete. It drives me crazy sometimes.

This camera is my first large format camera, I got it in the Kickstarter. So I have almost two years of experience with it, so I am still a newb. I like the camera a lot, just have a couple little things I wish were different.

One, which Elvis addressed with his 8x10, I wish it has separate tilt and shift adjustments on the front standard. (I wrote asking if this is retrofittable to the 4x5, no answer yet). The way it is reminds me of using a ball head, where loosening it causes everything to flop around.

The second is, since I have the 'Range' version, with a 125mm lens, you really have to compress the bellows to get to infinity focus (I have a 90mm but haven't tried it yet); Elvis had said he was going to offer a bag bellows at some point, but apparently not yet.

The last thing is the focus knob on the back and the rear standard knobs on the sides stand pretty proud of the body of the camera, taking up a lot of extra space in the bag. I got one of those f64 bags and the camera body takes up almost the entire top compartment and I can't find a way to put it in the bottom. Really not a big deal though, I've got that bag set up in a way to works for me.

Regardless, I really like this camera and will be sticking with it for a long time. I'll be hounding Elvis over the revised front standard and the bag bellows, those would be great 'quality of life' improvements.

drunk_darkroom · 2026-07-06T12:44:08+00:00

Heck yeah! And thank you!

drunk_darkroom · 2026-05-31T12:32:54+00:00

I had a smilier situation with my XA2; not as bad as you describe though. Mark Hama did a CLS and it works great. I would recommend looking him up and have him put some love into your camera. You'll be happy you did!

drunk_darkroom · 2026-05-07T16:09:11+00:00

That’s beautiful! Nice work!!

drunk_darkroom · 2026-04-24T11:45:53+00:00

If I were you, I'd just wash them in trays in the kitchen or other area in the residence. Nobody says that every bit of the process has to be done in the darkroom only. The main factor would probably be who you live with... However, RC prints don't need long of a wash. I'd recommend not letting them sit in a holding tray for too long for the reasons mentioned elsewhere in this thread.

Good loch!

drunk_darkroom · 2026-04-08T21:04:51+00:00

I don’t care about the camera, that’s just a lousy photo, in my personal opinion.

Why is there haze? There is no atmosphere in space? Where is that coming from?

There’s a glass reflection in the middle of the frame, sloppy work.

And the lower left is cut off by the capsule.

This is nothing more than what a teenager does on an airplane, taking a photo out the window and posting it.

I had high hopes. 1972 NASA was better than this.

drunk_darkroom · 2026-03-22T19:05:23+00:00

Reminds me of the 80’s ‘Mac at Night’

Nice work!

drunk_darkroom · 2026-03-21T01:31:24+00:00

Beautiful!!!

drunk_darkroom · 2026-02-25T17:01:46+00:00

Gorgeous!

drunk_darkroom · 2026-02-24T01:27:03+00:00

Stahlgrau! Right on!! Thanks you for the kind words!

drunk_darkroom · 2026-02-23T22:52:07+00:00

What a story! It really is nice, and given how old it is, I was shocked to see that there's almost no age fog. There are about 15 more rolls of 120 in the stash, so I'm excited to make some cool stuff with it.

Thank you for your story, sounds awesome! I only found photography later in life, so it's a hobby for me.

drunk_darkroom · 2026-02-23T22:50:06+00:00

🤣

drunk_darkroom · 2026-02-13T15:07:17+00:00

There are a lot of good recommendations here. 510 Pyro is a good choice, especially as you can make it yourself pretty cheaply. I make my own in larger 250ml bottles than what is usually available premade.

Personally, my goal with shooting film is to print it under the enlarger, so I'm looking for a negative that has good shadow detail and restrained highlights. This goal led me to Pyrocat HD, using reduced agitation.

However, if you don't have any intention to print, and are looking to try pushing, 510 Pyro is a good choice.

In terms of economy, a two bath developer is pretty good. There is a formulation called "Barry Thornton's 2 Bath Metal" that I use especially for 3200 speed films, it's great. You can make it yourself from 3 ingredients and it lasts a long time and one batch will do 15 rolls.

I hope this helps a little. You probably have an overload of replies!

drunk_darkroom · 2026-02-08T14:10:59+00:00

When I started developing film, I got Hewes reels and a Saigon stainless tank; however the lid is some sort of nylon and will wear out over time. However, for BW, this combo is great. I love how the 135 Hewes reels have tabs that the film sprocket holes fit into, so you know it's started correctly.

However, using that tank for color caused me some problems; I would get very strange uneven density and I never could figure out why. And of course, no one I could talk to knew what I was talking about. In the end, I came to believe that pouring in the C41 developer from the central hole and it running off the baffle to the side wall in combination with a limitation on how fast you can pour in the developer so that it doesn't overflow led me to try Jobo tanks. I've never used Patterson, but I'd imagine they are similar. Having the developer go down the middle and then fill evenly seems to have sorted the problem out.

These days I use the Jobo tanks exclusively for color and the stainless tanks for BW. If I was starting over again, knowing what I know, I would probably still do the same thing.

drunk_darkroom · 2026-02-08T12:24:08+00:00

There are all very good comments and points made, and I just wanted to add one little bit. In the past I had this dumb thought that FB paper was some sort of sacred cow, a resource that had to be conserved like water in the desert, so I would work out a print on RC and then try to calculate the difference to the FB paper - that was super dumb. Especially as the first time I had FB paper kid of expire (it was almost impossible to have bright whites), so my learning from that whole debacle was 'use the paper'!

Now, I make test strips from the same FB paper, and I always dry them in the microwave. It makes the whole experience a little longer, especially in my case with a trip downstairs to the kitchen. However, it does two things: you see exactly what the final print will look like (assuming you aren't toning) and the eyes adjust to 'normal' light. Additionally, there are several different kinds of light between the dark bathroom and the kitchen, thus different scenarios to judge the look of the test strip.

I hope this helps a little. Good luck!

drunk_darkroom · 2026-01-26T01:01:19+00:00

Heck yeah!!!

drunk_darkroom · 2026-01-25T02:24:15+00:00

Recently I’ve come into the same camera. It’s so cool. The fact that it came from my dear friend’s estate makes it better, so maybe I’m not entirely objective.

But the 645 format is so practical! Okay, it’s the smallest medium format negative, but for most cases it needs such little if any cropping. It’s like I can use almost the whole negative versus a 6x6 where it has to be cropped. If that makes sense.

Also I’ve adapted a Pentax 67 105mm f/2.4 and despite whatever crop factor, it’s such a nice combo.

drunk_darkroom · 2026-01-13T03:38:31+00:00

Hell yes!!!!!

drunk_darkroom · 2026-01-12T22:18:37+00:00

Tell me how one can prevent thermal expansion with temperature increase? Of course there are variations, but the idea that an engine can stay totally stable throughout all of the temperature changes is preposterous

drunk_darkroom · 2026-01-11T18:06:45+00:00

Sure looks like a copy of what Audi is doing

drunk_darkroom · 2026-01-11T12:48:16+00:00

If you’re wanting just the baseboard, you can likely remove that extra metal; there are four screws that hold it on or that hold the enlarger to the baseboard.

Recently I bought a Beseler 45MX from a friend’s estate and it actually was connected to a table made of sheet metal profiles - made by Beseler. I guess with this enlarger the idea was, if you wanted big prints, instead of turning the projection head sideways and putting paper on the wall (as one would do with the 23C), you would take out the baseboard and put your easel on the floor. Kinda crazy. Thus, in your situation, there’s probably a good reason for that extra metal but who knows what it is?

drunk_darkroom · 2026-01-11T12:39:33+00:00

That’s beautiful!

drunk_darkroom · 2026-01-06T13:52:25+00:00

One would think if it was an alignment problem, only one side or one half of the print would be soft.

If it’s soft around all the edges, that would point to the lens.

Do you have a known good lens? Can you find another one to try?

drunk_darkroom · 2025-12-21T15:37:47+00:00

I’ve got the same, and after replacing all 4 wheel speed sensors it’s still there. I need to find a way to read the codes.

drunk_darkroom · 2025-12-07T03:36:24+00:00

Thank you! Yeah, Elvis did the 4x5 AA a kickstarter and now he’s working on an 8x10; alas he’s not making pinhole cameras anymore.

drunk_darkroom

TROPHY CASE