cable release

[Willie]

Too many of the plastic covered releases crack and have problems in the cold. Get too stiff and at times the plastic pulls away from the end piece.
The better cloth covered cable releases as noted - last and work well. A good one that lasts is worth a lot more than a bunch of cheapies that break as you use them.

[John Kasaian]

Threads like this make me enormously grateful for having a wonderful "old timey" used camera store locally.

Were I in the OP's situation, I'd take the lens in and root around in one of the many boxes of releases until I found one that fit. I'd probably keep looking until I found a second, then maybe grab a couple of nice looking standard ones to add to it. I'd then dig through the filter drawer, the darkroom shelf, and the expired film. All said and done, I'd end up with a nice pile of stuff then pass a $20 bill over the counter to pay for it(usually what I end up getting charged when I put together a pile of odds and ends).

BTW, I visit that store weekly.

Lucky man!

[David Karp]

If you go almost anywhere I have ever photographed, you are likely to find one of my lost cable releases lying around. :-)

[Jim Andrada]

I carry an extra "just in case" one in the little belt pouch that holds my phone and my spare hearing aid batteries

+1 on the ebay Prontors - I buy a couple every few months to replace the ones that have "escaped". Everybody refers to the "Gepe" releases but as far as I can find out they're actually made by a German outfit called "Gebruder Schreck". Regardless of what they call them they're excellent.

[ben_hutcherson]

Lucky man!

My bank account disagrees

There are also incidentals like the little stuff I trip over, pick up, say "Hey Chuck, how much is this" and end up buying it. Most recently(a few weeks ago) it was a Nikon F Photomic(very first one) with a 50mm 1.4. I'm not a Nikon guy but couldn't pass it up. A week or two before, it was a Rolleiflex Automat II. I have one that is in every way identical(including the coated 7.5cm Schneider Xenar), but this one was a LOT nice so it went home with me. He knows that I'm a Canon F-1 junky, so likes to pull stuff out of his office and show it off. Last week, it was an F-1n with a Servo EE finder(gives shutter priority), a 250 frame back, a motor drive, an as if that wasn't enough he had a 55mm 1.2 Aspherical stuck on the front of it-I couldn't get him to price it.

As an aside, this place has completely spoiled me on filters. I don't think I've ever bought a new filter in my life, as previously most of mine had come from Ebay lots. This store has a card catalog cabinet with filters of virtually every size. The general price is $3 for standard and $5 for polarizers. There are two or three drawers crammed full of common sizes like 52, 55, and 72. I loaded up there when I needed 67s for my Bronica, and then again with Series VIIs for my Speed Graphic. I've been directed to a box in the back room where I can probably find some Bay-1s, but haven't made it back there yet(I don't have a 2.8 Rolleiflex so don't need Bay 3s, but unfortunately he goes straight to Ebay with those when they come in since they bring big money). A handful of filters along with expired sheet film and darkroom stuff usually falls into the "$20 flat rate for clearing out crap that's taking up space" price.

[Bob Salomon]

"......Most recently(a few weeks ago) it was a Nikon F Photomic(very first one) with a 50mm 1.4. I'm not a Nikon guy but couldn't pass it up."

Sorry, but the first Nikon F cameras had a 58mm 1.4. Not a 50mm. I know because I bought one new on our honeymoon. Unfortunately the Photomic finder was not available when the F was first released.

[Serge S]

[QUOTE=Bob Salomon;

Sorry, but the first Nikon F cameras had a 58mm 1.4. Not a 50mm. I know because I bought one new on our honeymoon. Unfortunately the Photomic finder was not available when the F was first released.[/QUOTE]

Bob,

Do you still have your Nikon. Quite a momento, and collectible as well

Serge

[Bob Salomon]

Bob,

Do you still have your Nikon. Quite a momento, and collectible as well

Serge

No, it is long gone, along with an awful lot of stuff that would really have value now. When I bought that Nikon new in Jamaica in 1963 it cost me $300.00. I could have bought a Leica M3 with DR Summicron or an Exacta VX with the Biotar for the same amount.

[ben_hutcherson]

"......Most recently(a few weeks ago) it was a Nikon F Photomic(very first one) with a 50mm 1.4. I'm not a Nikon guy but couldn't pass it up."

Sorry, but the first Nikon F cameras had a 58mm 1.4. Not a 50mm. I know because I bought one new on our honeymoon. Unfortunately the Photomic finder was not available when the F was first released.

I'll have to check when I pick the camera up from lay-a-way. I know it's a pre-AI lens and is a 1.4. In all honesty, my main interest was the first gen Photomic and not so much the lens, although I bought it with the lens since the only F-mount 50(ish) lenses I have are 3.5 Micros(or Macros to everyone else in the world). Plus, he was only going to knock $25 off the price if I didn't take the lens.

I've been hunting for my FL mount 58mm 1.2-I think I know where it is, but getting to it is a different story. I actually used to use it as loupe more so than as a lens as it's a heavy beast and doesn't really start to look good until 5.6 or so. Even there, it's worse than the later FD 50mm 1.4(whether breech lock or or "pretend it's not breech lock" mount) wide open. Stop down metering isn't a bad thing on a body designed for it(FT, Pellix) or even on some earlier FD bodies like the FTb and the(original) F-1 since the stop down lever is by your right forefinger with a normal hold. It can be a royal pain, though, on most later FD bodies(even "pro" bodies like the New F-1 and T90) where the stop down lever is at the bottom of the lens mount(admittedly easy to reach with your left hand cradling the bottom) and locks automatically. All of that aside, when you're shooting in low ambient light, that extra half stop made a difference. When I was in high school and still stubbornly clinging to film(mostly because even "cheap" consumer DSLRs were well over $1K) and cheap FD mount equipment was plentiful, I got a lot of mileage out of that lens shooting Tri-X pushed to 800 or 1600.

I used my Pellix for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and found myself wishing for that 1.2 lens. The pellicle mirror costs about a half stop, so a 1.2 acts like a 1.4. With that said, I don't know if I'll ever use the camera again-it has a serious defect in top of the mirror that shows up on the film. Even with a 1.4, the viewfinder is dim and I found it difficult to focus-the 1.2 would help with that, but of course wide open focus is critical.

All of that aside, I've seen photos from both the 55mm 1.2 Asp. and 50mm 1.2L and they are fantastic wide open. Aside from the other fun things on that F-1 I mentioned earlier, I'd love to just have the 55mm Asp. off of it.

[Bob Salomon]

I'll have to check when I pick the camera up from lay-a-way. I know it's a pre-AI lens and is a 1.4. In all honesty, my main interest was the first gen Photomic and not so much the lens, although I bought it with the lens since the only F-mount 50(ish) lenses I have are 3.5 Micros(or Macros to everyone else in the world). Plus, he was only going to knock $25 off the price if I didn't take the lens.

I've been hunting for my FL mount 58mm 1.2-I think I know where it is, but getting to it is a different story. I actually used to use it as loupe more so than as a lens as it's a heavy beast and doesn't really start to look good until 5.6 or so. Even there, it's worse than the later FD 50mm 1.4(whether breech lock or or "pretend it's not breech lock" mount) wide open. Stop down metering isn't a bad thing on a body designed for it(FT, Pellix) or even on some earlier FD bodies like the FTb and the(original) F-1 since the stop down lever is by your right forefinger with a normal hold. It can be a royal pain, though, on most later FD bodies(even "pro" bodies like the New F-1 and T90) where the stop down lever is at the bottom of the lens mount(admittedly easy to reach with your left hand cradling the bottom) and locks automatically. All of that aside, when you're shooting in low ambient light, that extra half stop made a difference. When I was in high school and still stubbornly clinging to film(mostly because even "cheap" consumer DSLRs were well over $1K) and cheap FD mount equipment was plentiful, I got a lot of mileage out of that lens shooting Tri-X pushed to 800 or 1600.

I used my Pellix for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and found myself wishing for that 1.2 lens. The pellicle mirror costs about a half stop, so a 1.2 acts like a 1.4. With that said, I don't know if I'll ever use the camera again-it has a serious defect in top of the mirror that shows up on the film. Even with a 1.4, the viewfinder is dim and I found it difficult to focus-the 1.2 would help with that, but of course wide open focus is critical.

All of that aside, I've seen photos from both the 55mm 1.2 Asp. and 50mm 1.2L and they are fantastic wide open. Aside from the other fun things on that F-1 I mentioned earlier, I'd love to just have the 55mm Asp. off of it.

The original Photomic had a small black tube that can be screwed over the cell. When not used it screwed into the side of the finder that faces the shutter speed knob.