Easy Testing Used LF Lenses?

[Tin Can]

Thank you for the lesson Bernice!

1958 to1997 I shot Pentax H1a either Kodachrome or Ektachrome, using Sunny 16 from notes inside the film box. No meter, no flash. Mail order processing. Only shot outside in Daylight. Handheld.

What still amazes me is those slides almost always looked well exposed and good enough for a slideshow. I scanned 1000 of them in 1999. Nikon Scanner some iteration, long ago tossed as garbage. Kept the slides.

1998 took a college class in 35mm film photography. New Nikon F70 film camera. Started with a can pinhole. At that moment i also bought a Nikon Coolpix 100 https://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/coolpix/others/100/ their first consumer camera. 1.3 mp. I then did every photo class assignment twice with film and digital, printing film on FB and digital on early Epson. The instructor asked me if I thought Digital was going to be popular. Obviously, I replied. Quit film for 13 years until 2011 and joining here. DSLR at events for free. Some fashion portraits hanging on my walls.

Never a Pro in photography. But did get well paid to use a Nikon Stereoscope to take pictures of spring steel cracks mounted in microsections. Auto engine head gaskets. Eyestrain...

LF is my insane hobby to keep me interested in living. I shoot only B&W with used cameras and old lenses. Some shutters work. There are strobe workarounds in studio. Turn the room lights off...

When I joined here in 2011 I never knew what LF was and I was very sick, in a wheelchair. Much better now and walk well. I say LF saved my life. At first I was using a huge 8X10 Linhof Color Kardan on OE tripod to help me get up and switch from sleeping chair to the wheelchair. Basically hugging it. Haven't needed the wheelchair in years now.

I love to 'fix' things, fiddle with old stuff. As a kid it was old tube radios. Wire recorders. 78 RPM Lacquer records to record on. Shortwave. Made a pirate AM radio station age 15. Then shut it right down. FCC

I bought old LF gear as from 2011 to 2013, it was almost free. I would drive my van up to 500 miles one way for gear and never get out of the van because I could not...seller loaded always.

Up until recently I was getting better at using LF cameras, but cataract lens replacement and glaucoma are my reality.

Focusing anything may be past. I was going to try and shoot LF tomorrow at an 1890 Christmas. Changed plans...

I will use my autofocus D750 with 135mm DC lens and a flash. Works almost all the time. Paparazzi

I will be back to LF Monday, i have not quit. In too deep. I have a nice DR with Gas Burst working well. Living room is a portrait studio with 4 studio strobes and backdrops.

I did shoot a portrait with a 5X7 3 weeks ago that satisfied the subject and husband. Must of, he gave me another LF camera!

My goal is one day at a time, come what may.

Thanks for reading.

[Andrew Tymon]

Do you think the softness could be the scans? When I look at the scans I see an overall softness, not a missed focus type. The sharpest part is the handle on the bit that stabilizes the cannon. Maybe you could scan at a higher resolution. Your dev time seemed a little long for Rodinal my time for Fp4+ @ 1+50, 68F, rotary processed is about 8 mins. Rodinal tends to give mushy grain of you over cook it. Don't give up.

[Tin Can]

Great advice. I may have overcooked development AND fix...

Reconsidering it all and will adjust times.

Thank you!

however still shooting D750 later today, I need usable images!

and then I seek the rare snow here, to make postcards with B&W LF for our Historical Village

Do you think the softness could be the scans? When I look at the scans I see an overall softness, not a missed focus type. The sharpest part is the handle on the bit that stabilizes the cannon. Maybe you could scan at a higher resolution. Your dev time seemed a little long for Rodinal my time for Fp4+ @ 1+50, 68F, rotary processed is about 8 mins. Rodinal tends to give mushy grain of you over cook it. Don't give up.