Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/03/26
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I saw an 85 dollar price tag on a very newish Schneider Componon S 100 in the used glass counter case at the camera store down the street yesterday and checked it out and brought it home. Its the latest kind with the lever and everything. I think Schneider has the best typography. And outer design. Lights up and says "kiss me baby""at f16. Or any other f stop. I said "gee I thought a thing like this would cost 3,4,5 hundred bucks!?!?!? The nice lady at the camera store assured me I was wrong. The other guy said it was priced to sell fast, which consoled me a little bit. I'd been told there's no such thing as a free lunch. Well it turned out I was right as I got home and saw what B&H and Adorama was selling it for. I would have been loosing money got getting it. Some deals are illegal to pass up. They throw you in shutterbug jail. I'd heard of high end darkroom glass going for a song on a regular basis from my digital spurning friends. Of which I am not one of. But had not run into it myself personally. Now I'm looking for APO's for 20 bucks or less. Didn't have to run though hoops and ladders to get it on my enlarger, an Omega D2. It fits on the plate where my 85 5.6 El Nikor used to be. And comes with it's own ring which was "Leica 39" anyway. Darkroom people may not have ever heard of Leica cameras (if that's possible) but they all know that that is the name of THE lens size for putting on the lens board or turret. Well a "Leica" also take pictures. Its not just an enlarger lens size. Just for kicks I dragged out the cute little Pelican case which houses my modest Viso III system which I've not used much yet and tried to see if I could get it to stick on. If screed right into my bellows thing and amazingly it focuses to infinity for some odd optical reason I know not what. My other enlarging lenses go from a range of a few inches to a few more inches. The gamut from A to b. This one goes to "Z" and makes it BY FAR my most useful Viso optic as I don't have a 65 Elmar yet. They've not budged in price an inch and if anything have climbed in price since the digital revolution. And is more useful I think that the head of my 135 Hektor which focused to infinity and fairly close in but represents an optical excellence standard of several decades back. Which is occasionally just alright with me on weekends but not during the week. And is at the least optimized for not close in but infinity. Which I always think of as being at the end of the universe for some reason. I'd be more interested in more close in when I pull out my Viso. Until I score a 560 Telyt. Or a 400 or 280 or 200 Telyt's. Then it will get to be more of a far away thing. But within the Earths Atmosphere for the most part. But right now it jus might be what I use to shoot your next head shot. Or the one of your pet gerbil. The meter readings I'm getting seem to be way low though from my hand held. And those are ones in which there should be no bellows factor. Like 5 to 10 feet away. Does this mean my battery is just a tad weak? I've heard of Ed Schwartzreich using an Viso on his TTL M6 and getting TTL flash readings you'd think my regular meter on my M6 Classic (more carbonation less sugar) would work 10 feet away. I may just have to put film in the camera and let it do its thing and stop worrying about it. Mark Rabiner Photography Portland Oregon http://rabinergroup.com/