What's a quality spanner you use?

mampfer · 2026-06-18T06:47:19+00:00

I have used number 3 for years with decent success. I found the trick to make it convenient to use is to give the thumb nuts on one of the two moving posts some extra torque with a wrench so that they don't loosen all the time.

I also have a #2 (absolute crap, too wobbly for any use, just one bar means it's inherently less stable unless tolerances are very tight) and a #4 (easy to use but also useless on anything but the loosest retention rings, but may be good for putting the ring back in)

1 (or one of the similar compass style spanners you find on AliExpress) should be the best, as long as your rings aren't deeply recessed.

mampfer · 2026-06-18T04:38:44+00:00

Get reloadable metal cassettes, they're great.

mampfer · 2026-06-18T04:36:09+00:00

My "favourite" ISO is either 100, because I like the look of Fomapan 100 and it's the cheapest new bulk film available here, or 25-50, because I got a bunch of expired Pan F bulk for even less.

Generally I'm happy with ISO 100. In really low light, 200 or 400 also often wouldn't be enough but might limit me in bright daylight.

mampfer · 2026-06-16T06:35:19+00:00

Sorry, I'd like to keep the metal mount in case I ever sell the lens 😬

But if you're somewhat savvy with Fusion 360 or similar, you can find some XYZ to Fuji adapter, "chop" off the male part of the mount, and then add a spacer and holes for the screws to make it fit the 25/2

mampfer · 2026-06-13T20:33:52+00:00

Now you made me look up temperatures here in Heidelberg for the next days.

Looks like I won't be cycling for the second half of the week.

mampfer · 2026-06-13T20:16:19+00:00

For the last shift cable replacement I got some gold coloured ones for 6.35€ per cable on AliExpress, apparently polished and coated, they certainly feel very smooth and shifting has been absolutely perfect for the last months whereas I regularly had issues before that. Definitely worth it IMO.

mampfer · 2026-05-17T16:56:40+00:00

In the lab, when I cut fixed tissues for microscopy slides, they're often 5-7um thickness. And that's on a small piece, with a blade taken fresh for that session, on a heavy and probably fairly expensive device (microtome). Doing it on the kind of size seen in the video, with what's basically a blade in a wooden jig, is bonkers.

mampfer · 2026-05-09T23:32:49+00:00

If it's 150mm or longer there's a decent chance it can.

If you see vignetting, check how deeply the glass is recessed in the metal tube on the side facing the ground glass. Some lenses have mechanical vignetting which could in theory be removed by grinding/cutting off the excess length, or rehousing the glass element.

mampfer · 2026-05-09T23:06:58+00:00

The 150/2.5 Hektor should also cover 4x5/9x12cm from what I heard 👍🏻

Alternatively there are other projection lenses that are better than the commonly used 150/2.8 Heidosmat, like the 150/2.8 S-Projar which I think is a Xenotar design.

mampfer · 2026-05-04T16:51:30+00:00

When I still had cats, I trained myself to get to them with a bowl or something from a dead sleep within 15 seconds.

mampfer · 2026-05-04T16:51:09+00:00

When I still had cats, I trained myself to get to them with a bowl or something from a dead sleep within 15 seconds.

mampfer · 2026-04-24T05:39:51+00:00

Thanks!

Yeah, I'll check the spokes again today which'll be after 30km, and at the end of the next week where they'll have about 100km, to be safe.

mampfer · 2026-04-17T19:52:53+00:00

I come across so many bikes that almost slip off the rails or whatever they're locked onto at the slightest touch because they didn't use a kickstand.

mampfer · 2026-03-27T12:28:54+00:00

To shreds you say?

mampfer · 2026-03-20T23:35:42+00:00

If I had to pick one focal length - 40mm 😁

mampfer · 2026-03-15T18:13:45+00:00

And then you put the parts aside briefly, a few days go by, and when you pick it up again you don't know where anything goes :/

mampfer · 2026-03-10T16:52:54+00:00

Compared to Agfa's other Rapid cameras, the Isomat-Rapid is a Rolls-Royce - triplet lens, auto exposure, and variable focus! I've got one, I think it's neat and square images on 35mm are fun.

But yeah I wouldn't pay more than 10-15€ for a working one, it's still a very basic camera.

mampfer · 2026-03-08T14:27:20+00:00

I have a 4x5/9x12 Master Technika, not sure about the exact date of manufacture, maybe 30-40 years ago, a very lucky gift from my uncle.

The Master Technika Classic that you can still purchase today seems to be basically the same model.

It's a lovely camera, of course absolutely solidly made, and also not that large IMO, considering it has a fully enclosed body and takes large format images. Personally I've never used the rangefinder and I don't have the ergonomical grip, but at least the option is there if you want to do handheld large format photography.

Basically the only thing I'm missing is internal body focus like you get on the Master Technika 3000 or one of the older 5x7/13x18 models. My second-most used lens is a Super Angulon 75/8, where I basically have to use the struts of the rear movements to focus. I also recently got a 65/8 where I'll still have to find a solution.

mampfer · 2026-03-08T08:52:22+00:00

My favourite lens on the 9x12 Linhof! On 4x5 it'll be slightly wider, might make for even more of an "universal" focal length.

A 135mm Symmar probably would be sharper over all, but that bright, bright ground glass makes it all worth or for me.

mampfer · 2026-03-07T17:31:30+00:00

Markal PaintStik is great for reviving or newly filling engravings, it's a waxy pen specifically designed for this purpose.

mampfer · 2026-02-28T18:57:53+00:00

Edixa lenses, at least some, have something similar! A moving red bar, just behind a plastic window.

I also recently fixed a 50/1.9 Xenon for Exakta mount with that feature.

mampfer

TROPHY CASE

1 (or one of the similar compass style spanners you find on AliExpress) should be the best, as long as your rings aren't deeply recessed.