Lenses, saloon brawls and getting out of Dodge

[John Kasaian]

Say you've just started a brawl at Rosa's Cantina, over the affections of a comely senorita with her jealous boyfriend. The Town Marshall is headed down the street with a sawed off scattergun to put an end to this nonesense. You've just been thrown through the window and are recovering on the board sidewalk in front of Rosa's Horseshoe.
Jose, her boy friend is on his way out with a drawn .44 and is still mightily perturbed. Directly in front of you is a hitching rail with twelve saddled horses tied up, all different colors and breeds and sizes.
Which one are you going to use to make your escape?

I think for a new photographer, choosing a first lens is kind of like that.

[E. von Hoegh]

Hard to go wrong with a Plasmat from any of the major manufacturers.

[Michael E]

Which one are you going to use to make your escape?


If you ask the guys at the bar, each will recommend the horse he rides himself.

[Vaughn]

If you ask the guys at the bar, each will recommend the horse he rides himself.

The hell they would...I'd take the horse belonging to the biggest guy that didn't have a gun. No sense in having another guy shooting at me! And the horse has to carry my weight, and not have my boots in the stirrups and my knees in my face!

My first lens came with the camera as a kit (new) -- I just got lucky. It was a Computar Symmetron 210/6.3. Sharp as a tack.

[E. von Hoegh]

If you ask the guys at the bar, each will recommend the horse he rides himself.

Not me. I have one Plasmat and five Dagors. Six if you count the Angulon.

[BarryS]

So, I'm a no-account lowlife from a z-grade Western and I don't even have my own horse? Looking down at my thinly-written script, I see that I need to hop on the freshest looking horse and fire my gun into the air a few times to panic the other horses as I ride off--laughing and threatening to return. In the short breaks I have while the posse chases me, I'll be looking for a lens in a modern shutter with lots of coverage.

[Vaughn]

Not a low-life, your horse is just over at the blacksmith's up on blocks getting a new set of shoes and the alignment checked.

Good coverage is important...

[Brian C. Miller]

I think for a new photographer, choosing a first lens is kind of like that.

Honestly, for me, no.

I found, after replacing and adjusting my Super Graphic's ground glass, that the Wollensak really is quite good. It was quite some time before I bought another LF lens. The main point is to have a lens, or at least a pinhole. Then learn to use the camera, and get out and make images!

As for the story, the best bet is to just run around the corner. Stealing a horse is a hanging offense, and José is going to be liable for the window glass. After José calms down a bit, apologize, pay for the window, and buy him a drink.

[E. von Hoegh]

What's a CLA on a horse cost?

[Tony Lakin]

Say you've just started a brawl at Rosa's Cantina, over the affections of a comely senorita with her jealous boyfriend. The Town Marshall is headed down the street with a sawed off scattergun to put an end to this nonesense. You've just been thrown through the window and are recovering on the board sidewalk in front of Rosa's Horseshoe.
Jose, her boy friend is on his way out with a drawn .44 and is still mightily perturbed. Directly in front of you is a hitching rail with twelve saddled horses tied up, all different colors and breeds and sizes.
Which one are you going to use to make your escape?

I think for a new photographer, choosing a first lens is kind of like that.

Sounds a bit like El Paso

[John Kasaian]

What's a CLA on a horse cost?
The same as a pound of psyillium fiber & bran mash;)

[Drew Wiley]

A shotgun works best in such situations - you know, a whole bunch of little lenses
mounted onto a single lensboard like yearbook photographers once used. But you could
in this case make each lens a different focal length and model, just to be sure.

[Jim Jones]

What's a CLA on a horse cost?

The price of a curry brush and scoop shovel.

[domaz]

Ok so taking the horse analogy further, the big slow horse that can carry a lot of weapons is a traditional big plasmat. The small, fast, nimble horse that can't carry many weapons is the repro lens (G-Claron, Artar etc..). The old wise horse on the end that can go faster than it looks is the Petzval arggh this is getting out of hand...

[E. von Hoegh]

No no no. You go across the street and ask the loungers at the hotel which horse you should take. While the loungers are discussing this, several more fights erupt among said loungers.
Rosa's Cantina empties out to see what the ruckus is, the marshall gets involved, the ruckus develops into a riot, and you grab the lady and rent a buggy and two fast horses at the livery.

[jp]

I'd compliment the guy on his nice Colt Army revolver and ask if he wants to do some tests, like shooting at a newspaper on a fence. (If shooting a fence is a good test) to see if his Army revolver is better than yours. Hope he'll want to argue sample variation, model year difference, consumables, rather than actually use the gun as it was intended.

[E. von Hoegh]

I'd compliment the guy on his nice Colt Army revolver and ask if he wants to do some tests, like shooting at a newspaper on a fence. (If shooting a fence is a good test) to see if his Army revolver is better than yours. Hope he'll want to argue sample variation, model year difference, consumables, rather than actually use the gun as it was intended.

Sure!! You could confuse him by arguing the merits of flat vs. coil springs, factory vs. target sights, and then ask him to drop a mule deer at 600 yds. to prove it's as good as your Sharps .45-120.(how many will get the mulie reference?)

[Michael E]

(how many will get the mulie reference?)

I don't. Sorry. :-(

[jayabbas]

A shotgun works best in such situations - you know, a whole bunch of little lenses
mounted onto a single lensboard like yearbook photographers once used. But you could
in this case make each lens a different focal length and model, just to be sure.

Yup those little lenses are cluster lens and I got a herd of em. My Lucht ( a perty filly still )has a gaggle of them thar little lenses for 67, 645 and 35. Sheriff says I can't do 4x5 on it. Them thar railroad engineers just ain't got it in 'em.:p

[John Kasaian]

I don't. Sorry. :-(

I do.;)

[E. von Hoegh]

I do.;):)

[MIke Sherck]

I didn't have that problem. I called Jim at Midwest Photo and said, "I have some money (can't remember how much now. Not much, anyway.) Do you have a camera with a lens and maybe a film holder or two for that much?"

After rummaging around in the back for a while, Jim sent an Ansco 5x7 with an Ilex 6 1/2" Paragon (coated) in an Ilex shutter. I used it for a couple of years before a 4x5 enlarger fell off the back of a truck and I succumbed to the siren song of enlarging 4x5 to make bigger prints. As it turned out, this was an excellent combination and now I wish I'd kept it. Jim's a heck of a guy, much smarter than I am. :)

Mike