My recent purchases, acomplishments and a change of e-mail

[Edward (Halifax,NS)]

This is a multi-topic post but it is mostly about me so I thought announcements was a good enough place to put it. After a long search and being outbid on many items I have finally bought a replacement lens for my Ysaron 127mm. I picked up a 150mm G Claron and a Copal Press shutter to put it in. The Press shutter was actually a Tominon 75mm lens in Polaroid part 88-3. It came yeterday and I spent a while digging out the lens and shutter. There were a couple of pins that made mount the shutter flush impossible so I took care of them with my trusty hacksaw. The shutter and lens are now mounted on a lensboard on my camera. The farthest away I can focus with a flat lensboard is about 12 inches but I will try a couple of sheets of macro before my G Claron gets here and I switch out lens elements. My favorite thing about my new lens is the sharpness but a close second is that I can finally start using filters. My tripod head should be arriving any day and then I can start using my Manfrotto tripod I got for Christmas instead of a rickety Vivitar tripod with a broken leg. I have made a couple of nice images with the old setup but I finally feel like I have really arrived. I have also got enough film in the freezer to last me until next year.

:-)

As a side note. The e-mail address with my previous posts is no longer valid. This is the current one.

[Jay DeFehr]

I'm happy that everything is coming together for you, and I wish you a productive shooting season (if there is such a thing as a shooting season). I've accumulated quite a bit of equipment over the few years that I've been actively pursuing photography, and I'm still amazed at the spike in activity that a new piece of equipment brings. A new lens means test shots over a range of settings and conditions, a new shutter means speed testing, as do new film or paper or developers. A new tripod might enable you to do work previously impractical, or to use quipment previously underutilized. It can all be very exciting, and that can translate into exciting new images and general technical and artistic growth. Congratulations and enjoy.

[Jim Galli]

Gosh E I must be asleep at the switch if you finally got a G-Claron. That shutter won't work though. You need the one that the Tominon 105mm (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=711&item=3811902310&rd=1) f4.5 comes in. It is a Copal 0 thread and the 75 4.5 is a Copal 1 with limited aperture. Good luck. You'll be thrilled with the images that 150 will give you as well as the wide image field to move around in.

[Edward (Halifax,NS)]

Yeah Jim I was waiting for you to outbid me. I have heard that there is a type of stepup ring to adapt a Copal 0 lens to a Copal 1 shutter. If there is then this would be perfect with the small opening. I would just have to double the f-number on the dial for the actual one. If not I will just have to pick up a 210mm G Claron too. That is if I can sneak by you again.

[Edward (Halifax,NS)]

To get the hang of taking lenses apart and putting the back together I took the elements out of both of my shutters and switched them. It wasn't as scary as I thought. One element was a bit difficult - the rear on the Ysaron.