View Full Version : Most pathetic EBay purchase
Ok so I have to admit that I made a really pathetic auction purchase recently - a "polonium" antistatic brush - that was expired (polonium expires, apparently) -- for about the same price as a new one...
Don't ask.
Of course, it was nice to have something made out of polonium - an extremely dangerous substance in real life, used almost exclusively to power satellite batteries.
So, in the hopes of getting some comiseration, what is the worst photography-related Ebay purchase youre willing to admit to?
Gordon Moat
23-Jul-2006, 11:10
A repair foot for a Nikon SB-26 Speedlight. Might sound like a good idea, but the problem was that I already had a replacement foot for this Speedlight and simply forgot. So the first replacement foot was maybe a good idea, but not much need for two of them.
Ciao!
Gordon Moat
Capocheny
23-Jul-2006, 12:23
Can't say that I've ever made a "pathetic" purchase off of the bay... maybe, an over priced bid on occasion but never pathetic! :)
Hopefully, I'll NEVE make one!
Cheer
Ole Tjugen
23-Jul-2006, 12:47
A thingy.
Don't know what it is, but it says "Linhof" on it so it's got to be good for something. Right?
BrianShaw
23-Jul-2006, 13:03
I'll never tell. I'm still embarassed by my ignorance. And it's been several years!
John Kasaian
23-Jul-2006, 15:14
I've got a spare room full of the stuff!
hmmm... a Zenith-E that arrived smelling of mold. a Rolleikin adapter that was the wrong version for my Rolleicord... and non photographic, etch-a-sketch keychain
David A. Goldfarb
23-Jul-2006, 15:30
I've bought a number of nice Perrin leather bags on eBay and took a chance on one that was really cheap, based on a blurry picture. When it arrived, I opened the box to find a musty smelling bag packed in a decaying remnants of a foam mattress. I cleaned it up as best I could, and I use it as a tool bag.
A like new Hasselblad 503cw kit for $1000 including overnight delivery.
Ted Harris
23-Jul-2006, 18:21
WELL I guess I can admit that I bought a Fuji Blimp stuffed toy two years ago ... just seemd like for $5 I really had to have it.
raucousimages
23-Jul-2006, 18:30
Graphic to toyo lens board adaptor when I needed a Linhoff/Wista to Toyo.
I think that I paid $2.99 plus shipping for this GREAT item was pathetic to the seller. It was brand new with warranty:
As per eBay ad ...
RETAILS UP TO $ 50.00
STARTING BID $ 2.99
Product Code: 3880
Attractive Two In One Craftsman Belt Clip With Tape Measuring Mens Watch...!!!
Active Watch Presented In The Brushed And Polished Silver Tone Case...
Magnificent Sunray Silver Tone Dial With Highly Visible Luminous Hands And Hour Markers...
Black Index For More Acquired Timing...
Durable Silver Tone Clip With A Black Strap Cloth..!!!
Easy And Handy Screw Off Measuring Tape On Case Back!!!
383
Comes in handy since my Ebony does not have a metric scale. I now leave the measuring tape and pocket watch out of my tool bag when going on road trips.
my own aren't so entertaining ... but my best friend once won an auction for a spool of antique string.
he also did an ebay search for "useless" just to see what would happen. several items came up. he ended up bidding on one of them ... i forget what it was.
Slade Zumhofe
23-Jul-2006, 22:36
I won't mention my purchases but will tell you about what someone purchased off of me just last year that still blows my mind! I was selling my entire darkroom outfit and one item was a Zone VI plexi print flattener. I said it was like new and sold at calumet for--can't remember exactly but it was around $35-$40. Some guy bought it for $220!!! What was more amazing was he outbid another guy that bid $200!! I didn't expect him to pay and wouldn't have blamed him at all---he paid the next day!!! I felt "sort" of bad and really wanted to ask what the deal was but decided not to;-)
This was the dumbest purchase I have ever witnessed!!!
Donald Brewster
25-Jul-2006, 08:34
Several bad 6x9 folders. Live and learn.
tim atherton
25-Jul-2006, 08:49
a "LF Camera" pencil sharpener... ;-)
medform-norm
25-Jul-2006, 09:12
A new, really cheap loose spirit level. It was so cheap, it wasn't even 'level'. But it had nice bright colors. :D
Alan Davenport
25-Jul-2006, 11:34
...a "polonium" antistatic brush - that was expired (polonium expires, apparently)
Well you're sorta right about the polonium, depending on which isotope we're talking about. With a half-life of 138.39 days, most of what's in an old sample of Po210 will be lead.
Before I admitted that I wanted a halfway decent digital camera, I once bid on a cheapo on EBay on the theory that I could use it to take pictures of items I wanted to sell there myself. Wrong. What a POS that was. I stuck it in a geocache so I wouldn't have to admit I threw it away.
Jan_6568
3-Aug-2006, 15:41
HP Combiplan. I got one from Adorama, after some time I wanted something better do I sold Combiplan for half a price and got Jobo Drum. Then I wanted to use WD2D developer so I got another Combiplan, now on e-bay for the almost new price - and it is leaking :((((((((
My wife loves it :)
regards,
Jan
A $25 microscope attachment for my DSLR so that I could take some pictures of malaria-laden blood smears. It would have worked just as well if I'd stuck my lens directly on the microscope eyepiece.
Excelsior Tripod off of eBay... 99p :D
Jim collum
9-Aug-2006, 10:09
a case of 3 boxes of polaroid 8x10 from some guy in Wisconson. Said it was good and useable. i got it and all the chem pods were dry and broken. guy said to make a claim with UPS since they probably broke them... and then ignored all further correspondence.
Freelancer
27-Nov-2006, 20:21
Anyone know where I can purchase an Instruction manual for a, Beseler P-21 Color Analyzer?
a friend of mine bought some antique string.
he found it by doing a search for "useless."
Eric James
27-Nov-2006, 20:50
70s vintage, extra-wide, red, white and blue Nikon camera strap - groovy!
Rafael Garcia
27-Nov-2006, 21:21
I guess it was a $20.00 Miranda Sensorex. Lens was full of fungus, the meter was off and the advance lever slipping. I restored it myself (except for the lens), so it taught me several repair lessons I can use with my good Miranda (that used to be my father's).
DrPablo
27-Nov-2006, 22:04
$20 Russian microscope attachment for my DSLR to take pictures of malaria slides. It didn't actually attach to microscopes.
domenico Foschi
27-Nov-2006, 23:05
A baby speed graphic, I believed it was a 4 x 5.
The description also said it was a baby.
Power of denial...:o
Alan Davenport
27-Nov-2006, 23:10
A 4x5 Yankee processing tank.
Struan Gray
28-Nov-2006, 01:50
A 12" Ross Homocentric. The lens is fine, but I have no use for it whatsoever. I just couldn't bear to see it go to anyone else for such a stupidly low price.
Turner Reich
28-Nov-2006, 02:32
Don't feel bad I bought two, that's two of those antistatic brushes. And yes they were expired also. I finally bought a 120 Volt Kodak antistatic brush. Heavy unit that works.
An 8x10 hard rubber tank with a crack all the way down the side.
A densitometer that smelled like s**t and worked the same.
Is there a limit on the number of bad purchases?
I have had some really great ones though that out weigh the stinkers.
Ole Tjugen
28-Nov-2006, 04:14
A 12" Ross Homocentric. The lens is fine, but I have no use for it whatsoever. I just couldn't bear to see it go to anyone else for such a stupidly low price.
That's not so bad. Mine's a 26" - I don't have a camera large enough to mount it!
Struan Gray
28-Nov-2006, 05:04
That's not so bad. Mine's a 26" - I don't have a camera large enough to mount it!
My 12" is quite a small lens, compared to Symmars and the like. Do you have a pic?
My Tjugenitis is in remission at the moment, although I nearly had a recurrance on Friday when MWClassic had a Busch Omnar at a nice price. Fortunately my wife was sharpening knives in the kitchen at the time.
Ole Tjugen
28-Nov-2006, 06:18
Struan, http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?p=197680#post197680 - although I misremembered. My "really Big Ross" is a 32" Symmetrical, not a 26" Homocentric.
walter23
28-Nov-2006, 13:36
If it's expired it will be less radioactive and less dangerous.
http://www.theodoregray.com/PeriodicTable/Samples/084.2/index.s12.html
Ok so I have to admit that I made a really pathetic auction purchase recently - a "polonium" antistatic brush - that was expired (polonium expires, apparently) -- for about the same price as a new one...
Don't ask.
Of course, it was nice to have something made out of polonium - an extremely dangerous substance in real life, used almost exclusively to power satellite batteries.
So, in the hopes of getting some comiseration, what is the worst photography-related Ebay purchase youre willing to admit to?
Scott Davis
28-Nov-2006, 13:54
A movie poster for a great movie I loved, Hong-Kong based movie. The listing made it seem like the poster was in English. When it arrived, it was in French.
a "LF Camera" (small gold sprayed plastic speed graphic) to put on the x-mas tree.
4.95$ + 20$ and some in shipping from the US to Norway!! :-)
But very nice!!
Vivek Iyer
14-Dec-2006, 04:27
Ok so I have to admit that I made a really pathetic auction purchase recently - a "polonium" antistatic brush - that was expired (polonium expires, apparently) -- for about the same price as a new one...
Don't ask.
Of course, it was nice to have something made out of polonium - an extremely dangerous substance in real life, used almost exclusively to power satellite batteries.
As a consolation, you can use the Americium used in smoke detectors, instead of the depleted Polonium!;)
http://www.epa.gov/radiation/sources/smoke_alarm.htm
Turner Reich
14-Dec-2006, 05:10
Can I go again? I bought two of the Staticmaster brushes with dead polonium. The refill would be too expensive to make it worth while, if they are still available. That was almost my worst purchase. I got smart and won a Kodak anti-static brush. Plugs in and was never used. NIB, nice electric unit that works without the bolognium stuff.
tr
Alan Rabe
14-Dec-2006, 07:07
I didn't do this but I saw two bottles of Zone VI Benzotriazole go for $34
Scott Davis
14-Dec-2006, 08:53
Again, not me, but what about the idiots who paid $1000 for a PS 3 just to keep the kids from whining at Christmas?
Can I go again? I bought two of the Staticmaster brushes with dead polonium. The refill would be too expensive to make it worth while, if they are still available. That was almost my worst purchase. I got smart and won a Kodak anti-static brush. Plugs in and was never used. NIB, nice electric unit that works without the bolognium stuff.
tr
I don't know - I thought polonium was widely available now...from Russia...
C. D. Keth
14-Dec-2006, 11:44
Again, not me, but what about the idiots who paid $1000 for a PS 3 just to keep the kids from whining at Christmas?
I was on the other side of that deal. I waited a couple hours in a line to get one at store price so I could sell it on ebay for double what I paid.
Doug Dolde
14-Dec-2006, 11:47
My "Most Pathetic" purchase was a like new 300mm APO Symmar L for $492. Eat your hearts out boys.
Scott Davis
14-Dec-2006, 14:16
If you wanna play it THAT way, then my most pathetic purchase was supposed to be a set of three 5x7, two 8x10 and an 11x14 contact printing frames, for $20. It turned into a half-dozen 5x7, two 8x10, 2 11x14, 1 14x17 and 1 12x20 frame, an old Kodak easel that can handle up to 20x25 image area with a 5x5 border, more 4x5 and 5x7 glass plate holders than I can shake a stick at, a bunch of 8x10 glass plate holders, some 7x11 film holders, 8x10 film holders, 11x14 film holders and 11x14 glass plate holders, and on and on... Oh, and a Kodak hard-rubber 8x10 dev tank plus six floating lids, and a Time-o-Lite timer.
For $20. I still have a bunch of the stuff to go through, but I've made close to $700 on what I have sold.
Michael Graves
14-Dec-2006, 15:13
I recently bid on...and won..."several Series VI and some Series V filters and adapter rings". The picture showed a dozen or so filters. I received a box with 50-60 Series 5 filters, one series 7 filter and several different variations of Series VI adapter rings, step up rings and so forth. My wife walked in as I was sorting it all out and said, "What the hell did you buy all that for?" My answer was quite truthful. "I haven't got a clue."
Anybody need any Series V filters?
Struan Gray
15-Dec-2006, 02:26
... it was nice to have something made out of polonium...
<nitpick>
If it's expired, it's no longer polonium, but lead. Very expensive lead :-)
</nitpick>
Patrik Roseen
15-Dec-2006, 05:03
Inspired by a recent thread about remote controlled shutters I happened to find and win one on ebay for the starting price ...I was alone! Transportation added some extra 1000% on the winning bid
The item was Delivered As Described, i.e. Not Working! :o
With LF I have learned that everything is possible to repair. But after fiddling with the two pieces of plastic junk (pretty looking remote control and a not so nice shutter mechanism) I quickly resigned.
It's still in my LF-gear closet, among alot of other things that actually felt quite right at the time of purchase.
tim atherton
24-Dec-2006, 10:09
Don't know about most pathetic (maybe it qualifies as that but I think it's kinda cool...) - but certainly the cheapest thing I've ever bought one bay...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260066627310
Jim Jones
24-Dec-2006, 11:05
I recently bid on...and won..."several Series VI and some Series V filters and adapter rings". The picture showed a dozen or so filters. I received a box with 50-60 Series 5 filters, one series 7 filter and several different variations of Series VI adapter rings, step up rings and so forth. My wife walked in as I was sorting it all out and said, "What the hell did you buy all that for?" My answer was quite truthful. "I haven't got a clue."
Anybody need any Series V filters?
They say, "Build it, and they will come." Likewise, "Buy it, and the ideas will come." Just last night I mounted a trimmed-down series V adaptor ring in a 4x4 lensboard to accept a variety of pinholes and perhaps zone plates. Series VI and VII adaptor rings are awfully handy for many older lenses. If you have rings for Rollieflex, you're already ahead of the game. This modern idea of screw-in filters is great for extreme WA lenses. Otherwise, it is more of a marketing ploy than a convenience for us with many lenses.
Jim Rice
24-Dec-2006, 12:04
A broken Polaroid 8x10 processor right at the end of 'roid films.........the motor run capacitor is toast, and damned if I can find one. Oh yes, and the not crank handle version.
neil poulsen
24-Dec-2006, 15:41
The one time I took a chance on low feedback, I got nailed. I won the bid on a Nikkor sheet film developing tank. Since that time, I usually don't bid on auctioners with less than 75 feedback, and they must all be positive.
Terence McDonagh
24-Dec-2006, 22:02
Don't know about most pathetic (maybe it qualifies as that but I think it's kinda cool...) - but certainly the cheapest thing I've ever bought one bay...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260066627310
Truly an eximious and wonderful purchase. I can't tell from here, but do you feel eleganced and exalted yet?
domenico Foschi
25-Dec-2006, 01:38
Truly an eximious and wonderful purchase. I can't tell from here, but do you feel eleganced and exalted yet?
:)
Paul Coppin
25-Dec-2006, 09:43
This one's for John Kasaian...:) $500 for a Chu Berry vintage sax in good condition ,but needing an overhaul - finding out after I closed the bid that I had bought an alto (said so in the listing). Had convinced myself I'd been bidding on a tenor. :eek: :p
Terence McDonagh
26-Dec-2006, 09:53
"Rochester Portrait Lens in original case"
Turned out it was a diopter-like single element made to fit over the end of a some small and very specific Rochester lens. Including shipping it was only $18, so not much of a loss compared to some others, but it sticks in my craw more than any others. Stupid [smack forehead] stupid [smack forehead] stupid [smack forehead]
Doug Kerr
26-Dec-2006, 11:23
Hi, Cyrus,
Yeah, most of us didn't know about the 183-day half life of Polonium 210 until the recent "poloniumania" (term coined by my wife Carla as an entry in a contest for the best new term of 2006!).
Best regards,
Doug
alec4444
3-Jan-2007, 10:49
Don't know about most pathetic (maybe it qualifies as that but I think it's kinda cool...) - but certainly the cheapest thing I've ever bought one bay...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260066627310
Yeah, the shipping is a bit pricey, though...
My most pathetic purchase on the bay was an 18cm B&L Protar that often requires two sets of pliers to set the aperture for roughly $200. Oh, and the rear element has a scratch. "In shutter, though" you say..... Nope. :(
--A
An arcade control spinner, but the guy forgot to mention that it was just the counter-weight. I spent $20 for a 45oz piece of lead.
Michael Heald
8-Jan-2007, 15:27
Hello! I just received my Gundlach antique camera. I thought it was an 8x10 for some reason, but it is 5x7. I think I got the auction confused with another one when I bid! (Now that is really pathetic!) The auctions described it as in "amazing" condition, and it sure is! probably worth about 1/4 what I paid for it. Oh well. Live and learn. Best regards.
Mike
Boy, having started this discussion, and having read your continuing tales of woe since then, I have to admit....
I FEEL MUCH BETTER! :D
Boy, I thought I was dumb for buying the expired polonium brush. Man, what a bunch of morons! (just kidding of course!)
So is it safe for me to chuck out this polonium thing into the trash, or will future generations curse my name for doing so?
Aaron van de Sande
8-Jan-2007, 17:55
i 'won' an auction on a beseler 4x5 enlarger that looked questionable in the pictures. when ups delivered it, it was packed about as poorly as you could imagine. It was a shambles. I can't remember if I took it to the dump for recycling.
OK so I went ahead and made another pathetic ebay purchse - a 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 Century Graphic WITHOUT the grafloc back, for a LOT more than I should have paid for it- and I even bought a matching size grafmatic and a few doubel-darks too.
Its not really pathetic, and I knew exactly the problem of finding film. And yet I don't really know why I bought it. I guess I really liked how it looked - mint condition. I'm justifying to myself as an addition to my graflex collection. A toy, for fun.
Initially I considered cutting my own film - can't cut 120 rollfilm though because of flatnes issues & can't really be bothered to cut 4x5 sheet film to fit right
I am thinking of having a conversion done to permanently install a roll back on it (which makes the grafmatic useless) but I have to admit I kind of feel sad at altering the camera.
Donald Qualls
27-May-2007, 10:30
If you have the "Graphic" back on that (plain spring back) you could get an Adapt-A-Roll 620 that fits it and shoot all the rolls you like without making any permanent changes to the camera. Otherwise, there's a fairly simple, reversible conversion that will let you mount a Graflok compatible RFH like a Graphic 23. The conversion takes something like a half hour of work, as I recall, and can then be undone and redone in a few minutes either direction.
You could also buy and cut down the aerial roll film regularly available on eBay; that film is stiff enough to stay flat in a film holder or the septa for the Grafmatic (most of those who buy it use it by cutting it to sheet sizes) and it'd give you a lifetime supply of inexpensive film, too (and it's a lot cheaper than recutting 4x5).
Randy H
27-May-2007, 10:57
You could also buy and cut down the aerial roll film regularly available on eBay;
Not wanting to steal the thread, but just out of curiosity, do you shoot the aerial film? Which one? What do you shoot it at? How do you dev? You may PM me if it would work better. Or start another thread. I purchased a 9-1/2" X 500 foot roll of Kodak 2422, but have not had much luck with the first few shots with it. But for $2.50 plus shipping, how could I go wrong? Film is good, just having minor problems with consistency in shots. Haven't been able to get exposure and dev times dialed in. Lost the first few using an OC safelight.
If you have the "Graphic" back on that (plain spring back) you could get an Adapt-A-Roll 620 that fits it and shoot all the rolls you like without making any permanent changes to the camera. Otherwise, there's a fairly simple, reversible conversion that will let you mount a Graflok compatible RFH like a Graphic 23. The conversion takes something like a half hour of work, as I recall, and can then be undone and redone in a few minutes either direction.
You could also buy and cut down the aerial roll film regularly available on eBay; that film is stiff enough to stay flat in a film holder or the septa for the Grafmatic (most of those who buy it use it by cutting it to sheet sizes) and it'd give you a lifetime supply of inexpensive film, too (and it's a lot cheaper than recutting 4x5).
Yeah I hear a lot about the Adapt-a-roll - and yet have never seen one go on sale! (the only one I saw was for a 4x5 back - I think)
I also hear about the conversion and see some rather confusing instructions - but can't make head or tail of it and decided to let the legendary Fred Lustig figure it out.
Aerial film? New to me. Do tell!:)
Donald Qualls
27-May-2007, 18:42
Sorry, haven't used the stuff, don't know much about developing it (though I'd guess it's enough like regular Plus-X that it ought to be happy in pretty much any process). In general, I'd expect the first few feet of a roll to be in worse shape than the rest due to oxidation, but that will depend on the packaging of the film.
There have been a couple different stocks offered, in at least two or three sizes -- the 9.5", a 5", and I think at least once I've seen a 3.5" that would be just the cat's pajamas to cut for 2x3 (the extra 1/4" of length shouldn't be a problem in most film holders). The most common seems to be Plus-X Aero, basically a version of Plus-X with extended red sensitivity (more or less like that of Tech Pan), which means it loses less speed with a red or orange filter, and even without a filter cuts through haze better than conventional panchro films.
For the Adapt-a-Roll 2x3 version, it's just about possible that they've all wound up in the hands of collectors and Century shooters and you'll have to wait for someone to die to get his... ;) OTOH, the 4x5 version could be converted; from what I've seen (never handled one, just seen photos) you could literally just hack the base plate down to 2x3 dimension and then have the front surface milled or shimmed to correct for the few thousandths difference in film plane depth between 2x3 and 4x5 specs. As built, the Adapt-a-Roll requires a 620 takeup spool (which are around, on the expensive side by very durable), but I've heard or at least one that was converted by grinding clearance for the spool flange and building up the drive paddle to fit 120 on the takeup side as well.
Or course, Horseman (IIRC) also makes a roll holder that slips under the ground glass of a 2x3, but theirs costs about ten times what you'll pay for an Adapt-a-Roll if you find one, and is reputed to be harder to load because it needs every millimeter of the film header for threading, where the Adapt-a-Roll leaves some extra film on the supply spool when you get the backing threaded around the end and back to the takeup (it's more compact on the spool chamber end, is why).
Edit: Woops, looks like it's Calumet that sells a 6x7 roll holder that fits under a 4x5 ground glass panel; look like they're going for around $150, but wouldn't be very amenable to hacking to fit 2x3.
Oren Grad
27-May-2007, 19:08
Or course, Horseman (IIRC) also makes a roll holder that slips under the ground glass of a 2x3, but theirs costs about ten times what you'll pay for an Adapt-a-Roll if you find one, and is reputed to be harder to load because it needs every millimeter of the film header for threading, where the Adapt-a-Roll leaves some extra film on the supply spool when you get the backing threaded around the end and back to the takeup (it's more compact on the spool chamber end, is why).
Edit: Woops, looks like it's Calumet that sells a 6x7 roll holder that fits under a 4x5 ground glass panel; look like they're going for around $150, but wouldn't be very amenable to hacking to fit 2x3.
The Linhof Rapid Rollex (not Super Rollex) is a 6x7 slide-in type rollholder that comes in two versions, to fit 4x5 and 2x3 cameras. I have the 2x3 version - quite compact and lightweight. They turn up at reasonable prices now and then on eBay.
Although the shell of the 2x3 Rapid Rollex seems to be designed for proper light seal specifically in the Technika and Technikardan 23 backs, it should work OK in many other 2x3 cameras too. I've used it successfully in my Horseman VH-R.
Donald Qualls
28-May-2007, 11:50
Define "reasonable" -- I see one on eBay just now (to fit 2x3 cameras), at BIN of $670 (and another 30 Euro shipping from Germany to the US). Yipe!
Vick Vickery
28-May-2007, 13:40
Awhile back I bought an Ilex 5 7/8" lens in an Ilex #3 Syncro Electronic shutter without knowing that I had to have a separate shutter speed controler to go with it; it has sat around here for a couple of years..."til now! I just bought an old Beatie Coleman portrait camera with the controler built into the camera for $.99 (yeah, 99 CENTS) on eBay...with shipping, the controler box will have a total cost of about $16.00. Not too bad, since every controler I've run into before has been over $100.00! This thing might be fun to play with after all! I'm going to pull the controler out of the camera body (along with the extra lens of unknown focal length (I hope its different!), mount it in a little box of some sort, and use it with the cambo inside since it has to be pluged in.
Pat Hilander
29-May-2007, 09:18
A Wollensak Velostigmat series II F4.5, 12 inch with diffusion ring. Turns out it was missing the rear element! I did manage to get a refund (minus shipping of course).
personaly probably my 1st electric bass, whihc i bought when i knew nothing of guitars, short to say its now firewood. but last week i saw someone selling an empty lemonade bottle which was at the time going for £5.67 with 8 bids
justin mueller
9-Jun-2007, 11:14
hmmm, those Zone VI plexi print flatteners are seriously useable and also very collectible in germany...a shop in cologne sells them for over 500 euro.
Actually I bought an old print dryer - the type where the print is held down with a canvs sheet and flips over. I kicked myself for a while but now I'm thinking it wasnt sich a bad deal - it really does a do a good job of flattening prints even though I don'tuse it to dry prints
Donald Qualls
10-Jun-2007, 17:32
Cyrus, I wouldn't recommend even letting the canvas on one of those *touch* a fiber print, unless you have replaced the canvas yourself with fresh fabric. Otherwise, the old canvas can transfer fixer contamination even to dry prints and render them subject to bleaching and staining over time, just as if they were incompletely washed.
It's a pretty simple job to replace the cover, though -- if you can't find a way to slip it off, you can at least cut the thread in the end seams that hold it on, and use it to make a paper pattern to cut fresh white "cotton duck" from a fabric store.
Cyrus, I wouldn't recommend even letting the canvas on one of those *touch* a fiber print, unless you have replaced the canvas yourself with fresh fabric. Otherwise, the old canvas can transfer fixer contamination even to dry prints and render them subject to bleaching and staining over time, just as if they were incompletely washed.
It's a pretty simple job to replace the cover, though -- if you can't find a way to slip it off, you can at least cut the thread in the end seams that hold it on, and use it to make a paper pattern to cut fresh white "cotton duck" from a fabric store.
Thanks. just to be safe I sandwich the print btwn the metal surface of the drier itself and a ferro plate that came with it so the canvas doesn'tt ouch the print. I also don't let it get too hot. Point is to flatten not dry the prints.
I guess in the old days these things were used for ferroplating prints resulting in a super smooth glossy surface. Boy that must have involved a few headaches!
Donald Qualls
11-Jun-2007, 20:30
Thanks. just to be safe I sandwich the print btwn the metal surface of the drier itself and a ferro plate that came with it so the canvas doesn'tt ouch the print. I also don't let it get too hot. Point is to flatten not dry the prints.
I guess in the old days these things were used for ferroplating prints resulting in a super smooth glossy surface. Boy that must have involved a few headaches!
Sounds like you've got a decent plan.
BTW, I've *used* those to do exactly that: make a glossy fiber based print genuinely *glossy* -- it's the only way to do so with fiber paper (as opposed to RC, which was fairly new when I first did significant printing in the early-to-mid 1970s). I actually owned a simple two-sided "print dryer", and I shudder to think about that brown, stained canvas on the backs of my prints; I'm consoled only by the twin facts that, first, my prints probably weren't adequately washed anyway, and second, they weren't very good photographs in any case.
If I could get another one with the plate in perfect condition (no scratches, no corrosion pits), and the heating elements and thermostat working correctly, it'd probably be worth it to me to replace the canvas, because *nothing* else will make a fiber print so genuinely glossy (and as a bonus, they come off the plate with just the gentlest curl, too, instead of looking like potato chips). Wonder if you can still get "ferrotype wax"?
Ole Tjugen
12-Jun-2007, 00:20
It's a pretty simple job to replace the cover, though -- if you can't find a way to slip it off, you can at least cut the thread in the end seams that hold it on, and use it to make a paper pattern to cut fresh white "cotton duck" from a fabric store.
I'm using one of these to dry and flatten fiber prints. The canvas slipped off easily, so I ran it though the washing machine to clean. it's important to stretch it on the frame while still wet - it shrinks, and you'll never get it on if it's dry!
Once you know it's clean drying fiber prints with the face to the canvas is one of the simplest ways to get a flat, dry print!
Narcissist
12-Jun-2007, 04:38
Back for an RB67. Worked fine for 2 rolls. Now just winds film alll the way though without stopping. Cost £47... the repair cost is well over £80. Think I'll just buy another. This is the problem with film camera prices dropping so low.
Colin Robertson
12-Jun-2007, 09:36
50mm 1.4 for my Minolta XD7- great lens, for some reason felt the need to have a 'spare' in my stash. Described on ebay as having 'couple of light scratches'. It was cheap, and how bad could it be, and it was CHEAP . . . so of course this sucker looks like it spent a week going round inside a tumble-drier full of rocks. Scratches? I'm wondering if it might do as some kind of soft focus gizmo.
vann webb
12-Jun-2007, 15:06
A Bowen Illumitran. Inoperative, of course. The seller said that it was in "good working order". When I contacted him about all the missing parts, etc., he said, "I'm not really a photographer, so I don't know much about the item". It was really my fault though. If I had done any research at all, not bought from an auction store on Ebay, not bought from a guy who had some negative feedback, etc, I would not be out 150 bucks. Totally stupid. It's still sitting in my office, and every time I look at it, I think, WTF was I thinking. That said, I had great luck with EBay overall. There are still a lot of honest people out there.
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