Yesterday's Weapons Forums

I remember when built in popup flashes just were the "new thing", many disliked them, but as I used a lot of fill flash or syncro-sunlight working as a ships photographer I loved them from the git go.
Nowadays they're also a handy "triggering light for the big boys".

I was always a Sunpak fan, we were issued the hideous Braun 900 units they were huge, klutzy & that multi-function head was always causing trouble.
My workmate switched to a Metz 60 CT but I wanted out with the separate battery pack & those lead-acid monsters with the colored balls. I also found the Metz units universally "cold" which was the last thing we wanted when we were trying to make the Pax look tanned!
I remember having a 411 that I bought in the mid 70's so I guess at least that far back.

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"Free-oh-free Bwitish": Putting round holes in square heads since 1895

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"Ain't no Half-Way" -S.R.V.

"Oh Yeah!.....All Right!" -Paul Simon

I have a small, macro basically, LED ring-light. Its not the big ones they advertise for marketing, blogs & so on.
It can switch from continuous to "strobe" (note quotes) it doesn't "strobe" in the sense that a discharge tube does, its more like a much slower, longer duration "blink".
It does work though. Its strictly manual exposure, but variable, which is fine for me as I don't have TTL flash. I use it mainly in continuous as the Finepix S9100 low light macro capability is heavily limited by the positioning of the focus assist projection.







Its just powerful enough, but If I want true ring-flash strobe I switch to the Sunpak Gx8R which I've modified to take a small headlamp as a modeling/focus assist light

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"Free-oh-free Bwitish": Putting round holes in square heads since 1895

Another assortment of photo kit. Reporters covering an interview with Joe Stalin's daughter, 1967.

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Slava Ukraini!!

Too bad it's such a low resolution scan.
There's at least 2 Nikon F in there, with S series glass.
I haven't a clue on the range-finders- not enough detail in that image.
Wide angle finder at image right *may* be a Zorky 3...
It looks like at least half these guys are "zone" focusing, which does take more than a bit of practice to get right.

Regards,

Doc Sharptail

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"Ain't no Half-Way" -S.R.V.

"Oh Yeah!.....All Right!" -Paul Simon

Back in my caving days I used Zorki 4K with the 50mm f2 Jupiter or the 35mm 2.8 Jupiter. Both where really good quality glass.
I modified the cameras & replaced the "leathercloth" with 1/4" neoprene wetsuit material. The camera case was an ammo can for .50 Browning with lots of neoprene padding too.
This was back before strobes were common or powerful so I had one of the folding reflector bulb units with the universal fitting for PF, AG or FP bulbs.
I regarded the cameras as pretty much disposable as I worked for the biggest retailer of Russian photo equipment in the UK & so got a healthy staff discount.
No matter how we abused them they kept on going.

Random Soviet trivia question.
Do you know what "FED" stood for?

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"Free-oh-free Bwitish": Putting round holes in square heads since 1895

IIRC, it's the designer/maker's initials.
Russian cameras are not my strong point- just a "hey, that's an interesting thing", and I mostly leave it at that.

At this late stage of the game, I'm too heavily invested in the Nikon F mount to really start on any thing else.
There was a Helios 44 in Nikon F mount at a local shop, with a grossly over-inflated price tag on it.
For what it is, and the price involved, I'll take a healthy pass.

Regards,

Doc Sharptail

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"Ain't no Half-Way" -S.R.V.

"Oh Yeah!.....All Right!" -Paul Simon

Almost!
The company making them was a "Private Venture" company in the Communist Soviet Union.
It was owned by Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky, yep good old "Iron Felix".

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"Free-oh-free Bwitish": Putting round holes in square heads since 1895

Art deco camera.

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Slava Ukraini!!

Art Deco, Steam Punk, or Goth???

I hope it's reversible. It looks like an a-7R under all the junk, which is not a cheap camera.

Regards,

Doc Sharptail

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"Ain't no Half-Way" -S.R.V.

"Oh Yeah!.....All Right!" -Paul Simon

Definitely not Steampunk!

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"Free-oh-free Bwitish": Putting round holes in square heads since 1895

12 gram CO-2 cylinder driving the steam powered flash gun

Regards,

Doc Sharptail

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"Ain't no Half-Way" -S.R.V.

"Oh Yeah!.....All Right!" -Paul Simon

Being a fan of Sci Fi I always liked the "Warehouse 13" series.
I want a "Farnsworth"!
so far all I have is a ringtone for it!
I'm looking for a case for the smartphone that is one!

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"Free-oh-free Bwitish": Putting round holes in square heads since 1895

Found this pic of a photographic accessory - no idea what it is. SW

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Slava Ukraini!!

Its a "Harris Shutter". One of several versions, some spin some drop by gravity.
The three filters in the big wheel are a tri-color set, red - green - blue. The 1st/4th one is black. You start the exposure with the lens covered by it.
You make a longish exposure of something moving as its spun in front of the lens. The exposure ends when the black filter blocks the lens again.
With a true tri-color filter setup #25 (Red); #61 (Green); #38A (Blue), anything static looks normal anything moving has color fringes or blurs.

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"Free-oh-free Bwitish": Putting round holes in square heads since 1895