Kit recommendations for a complete beginner

[mikeacar]

Before you go through the trouble, small light leaks are a cinch to repair with liquid electrical tape. I have a 5x7 that really needed brand-new bellows due to them being Swiss-cheese but a generous application of LET enabled me to use the camera just fine. Really bad bellows should be replaced but a couple small pinholes aren't enough to need a whole new set.

Well, I just got this camera and its stated condition was without any issues that affect image quality. So I feel it's fair to hold them to their warranty.

But it's a fair point about the hassle and delay. I'll think it over.

-- Mike

[Andrew Plume]

Thanks, I appreciate that! It's actually a Thornton Pickard Imperial Triple Extension. I think it's all there, including the tripod base (but excluding a lens, which I need to find a replacement for). It looks in a bit of a state, but I'm hoping most of it is cosmetic. The bellows do look pretty dead, but I'm going to try some things to bring them back to life. If that fails, making my own sounds like a plan.

I paid £65 for it, including postage. That's a bit more than I'd normally spend on something in that state, but I talked the seller down from a £150 starting price. Fingers crossed it gets here intact and I can do something with it!

Thanks for the recommendation re: Sinar F. eBay UK have a 10% off offer today, on anything over £100, so I'm going to see if I can find something. I had been waiting for something with a lens included, but I might just bite the bullet and buy separate bits.

Thanks indeed Bertie and good luck

Ping me a private message if you ever need any more help

best regards

Andrew

[JimboWalker]

I would start with the Calumet cc400 monorail. Do not get some iffy old lens. I you can find the Calumet (Rodenstock 150mm) that would be good start, but not great for portraits, you need something longer. A Kodak 203mm f7.7 might be a good choice for both purposes . I have one and it will not disappoint. The issue is that once you start getting an out fit, you have to keep adding stuff to make it like you want. Stuff like a tripod, head with a sturdy mount, lens board commitment, etc. Happy Journey !!!!

[BertieWooster]

Thank you to everybody that kindly offered me their advice on this. I have just taken delivery of a Sinar F with a copal shutter and cables, and a Schneider Kreuznach Symmar-S 150mm 5.6.

Oddly enough, the seller dropped it around to me, and he had, disassembled in a carrier bag, another camera. It looks like a normal Sinar F back, but has a P front standard, also with a copal shutter and this time with a Symmar-S 135 5.6 lens. He let me have that one for the bargain price of £200, so I snapped his hand off (even though I do not have £200), so now I have two cameras. I'll probably use the best bits to build one camera, and then keep the rest for spares or sell them, depending upon how terrible my finances look.

Thanks again!

[Andrew Plume]

Top news Bertie,..........

..........nothing stopping you now..............

..........apart from that restoration project, that is

regards

Andrew

[mikeacar]

Thank you to everybody that kindly offered me their advice on this. I have just taken delivery of a Sinar F with a copal shutter and cables, and a Schneider Kreuznach Symmar-S 150mm 5.6.

What do you know, I wound up with a Sinar F2 and a Schneider-Kreuznach 150mm f/5.6 Symmar-S MC. I just finished developing my first negatives! Here's an iPhone shot on the light table, sloppily inverted:



Worked out pretty well.

-- Mike

[ShugPug]

Really glad I found this thread - I'm now in the same position as you were (albeit with significantly less exodus than you as I'm not a professional!) at the start of the thread.

I think the Christmas expenses will need to pass by before I can even start to think about this!

Unfortunately

[John Kasaian]

Really glad I found this thread - I'm now in the same position as you were (albeit with significantly less exodus than you as I'm not a professional!) at the start of the thread.

I think the Christmas expenses will need to pass by before I can even start to think about this!

Unfortunately

After 30 days you can access the For Sale section here---usually very good stuff and very good prices.
Rest easy, your patience will be rewarded!

[BertieWooster]

What do you know, I wound up with a Sinar F2 and a Schneider-Kreuznach 150mm f/5.6 Symmar-S MC. I just finished developing my first negatives! Here's an iPhone shot on the light table, sloppily inverted:



Worked out pretty well.

-- Mike

Those look great! That makes me glad of my choices - I got my first pack of film a couple of days ago, and hope to take my first photo in the next few days.

[Pere Casals]

I've worked as a photographer for nearly 15 years, but that has been entirely digital until this year

Please, let me ask some questions...

How you get interested in film photography ?

What do you find special in it ?

Do you feel that you will continue shooting some film in the long term ?


I ask you that because I see some photographers (to some extend) supporting the "film comeback" and I'm asking myself if this is a long term trend or not, as you recently engaged in that it would be nice to know your opinion, thanks in advance.