My name's Ash and I was for many years - and sometimes still am - a theatre and commercial photographer. Mostly now I take photographs for fun ... come along with me as I re visit some of the skills I learned in the business ... and join in the adventure of learning bits of this craft I've never used before!
Пікірлер
So I did the back ok but the rotating RB plate looks a bit dodgy. What can you say is the most important seal to pay extra attention to or if do 1st? My rear RB Pro S to back square sear is a bit fiddly to get cut to size in 1 go
As usual I truly enjoy your love for the F4s. Maybe chunky but I tell you what… it is drop dead gorgeous!!!
💯🇹🇷⭐️👍 I have 1 of this F3 device, it is very clean, it is for sale, if anyone is interested, there is a video on my KZread channel.
Hi Ash, long time, no hear. I hope you're okay and hopefully just taking a sabbatical. I'm really missing your vlogs and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Take care.
Funny. I’ve seen this video over and over again listening to to you talk and drinking that cup of coffee enjoying every word you say. My dad is gone and you have that carefree position about you that that reminds me of good times with him at the table. Thank you for your input. I guess I miss my dad… Thats why I check this particular video above all the rest. God bless ❤
The manual focus nikkor 55mm f2.8 and nikkor 55mm f3.5 are better choices to use with cameras that do not have a screw-drive motor to operate the nikkor 60mm f2.8D lenses autofocus.
Only center focusing...ok, work with that and know your subjects path of travel is going to be and you can never go wrong with the F4.
A while back, I bought a busted Jobo Autolab 1000 for $400US. Repairs cost $30US. The weak point in the Jobo is the cog wheel that drives the tank rotation. The shaft breaks off this plastic part. I 3D printed a new cog wheel in polycarbonate and machined an stainless steel shaft. I added a roller thrust washer and lubed everything with Superlube. It is till working flawlessly and does a fine job doing C41.
I love the popularity of mirrorless cameras because it means that the market is full of SLRs at fire sale prices. I recently bought a D850 in like new condition at a really cheap price. Likewise a Pentax K1.
I bought a used one a few years ago when everyone was switching to digital and dumping their film cameras. I paid about $600US, in excellent condition. Mine came with the vertical grip and a data back. Man, was it ever heavy! I sourced a plain film back and the standard battery grip (4xAA) from Japan. So mine is now technically an F4J. I use it with a Sigma Art 24-105 DG in program mode. This lens has optical stabilization. Auto focus is snappy and silent. My weight savings from re-configuring the camera is somewhat offset by the weight of the lens, but the combination feel balanced. The photos are excellent.
21:42 The F3 motor drive had a vertical shutter release button on the motor drive. Nikon was just carrying the ergonomics of their former professional 35mm SLR body and accessories forward into the new model when the F4 was introduced to the market. The F3 viewfinder focusing mattes look pretty much identical to the F4 ones; although, those marked F4 on the box were markedly more expensive at the time.
it is prAltica, not praktIca.
This beast is a tool of beauty. My opinion unmatched in appearance. Stunning! Great video and great camera!
Thank you :-)
Got a press pass for an upcoming festival and want to shoot it on F4, you sold me on this lens. Thank you Ash!
You are most welcome 🙂
Beautifully stated. Thank you!
The F4S is, in my opinion, the best film camera ever made.
With all respect your audio levels are a bit all over the place in this video
I took my D600 with the 28-70 f/2.8D lens to a baseball game in Pittsburgh a couple of weeks ago, and a handful of people thought I worked for the team. I can only imagine what will happen when I take this bad boy with me. Soon. I just ordered one from KEH.
🙂
@@ashsphotolounge It's here. Wowzers. Got a night shot of PPG Place at full zoom from across the river. So sharp I nearly cut myself, and a great view of the offices.
@@brianpack5479 Oh wow!!!
The F4 is awesome, having owned a EOS 1 aswell, personally I much prefer the F4 and still have it.
Mine works fine on my Macintosh using Apple Image Capture.
nice photos
Nice job!
📸
If you ever get a chance to get the Japanese domestic market AIs version of this pancake lens, you can tell the difference because they focused down to .45m and being the non E series it has more coatings.
This is terrific. Many years ago I made some bellows as a proof of concept. It's a terrific project, very useful if you have a use. Yours of course is much better. Good video. In the 1980s I was able to buy used, a $9000 8x10 Toyo view camera, for $3300 because it had a crushed bellows. Never fixed it, used it for over 20 years. Made a lot of money with it. The alternative is a bag bellows- which is just a 4 sided bag. To keep it from sagging use some piano wire in the seams.
👍Thanks for video. Some good tips, thanks. I made my own rubber lens wrench by putting some Blu Tack around the the rim of a pill bottle lid. Worked just fine.
I have a similar camera made by Ansco. It’s the Ansco Record from about the same time period. I believe Agfa Billy and Ansco Record are the same camera. I had the bellows replaced because the original has too many light leaks. I love the photos it took. Watching your video inspired me to start using it, again, this coming summer.
There was some tie up between Agfa and Ansco ... so I think you are right ... enjoy!
I never heard any bad press about the 43-86 AI when I bought a new one for my FE in '79. IT was my most used lens, shot so many yearbook portraits & candids with it, travel photography, landscapes etc. Wide open with backlit hair shot the most beautiful B&W & color portraits I ever took in those days. Blew up a Kodachrome 64 of some horses in a field before a vintage barn to 30x40, still sharp, still hangs on my dining room wall 40 years later. Awesome lens!
Am I the only one that can't hear what he's saying due to messed up, distorted sound?
How do I use this with Nikon D750, it's having an fEE error?
You need to set your 80-200 aperture ring to f22 ... the orange aperture marker ... as the D750 doesn't expect a lens to have an aperture ring 🙂so shows an error if set to any value other than f22- once set to f22 you can set your lens aperture to whatever you want using the command dials on the camera.
Okay thanks
Hi there... love your vids and passion for the F4 (me too!) I'm wondering, can this setup be strap mounted on the camera lugs and carried, or does it need to be carried via the lens foot (due to weight?) Your thoughts... I'm hoping it can be slung on a strap off the camera itself? Hope this makes sense.... Mark
I've done loads of 'walkabout' with the F4 and 80-200 on strap and lugs ... just use a wide strap!
What do you think of the Praktica VLC model series, i.e. Praktica VLC, Praktica VLC2 and Praktica VLC3? In my opinion, these three are a very good and very affordable alternative to the Praktica VLC: - Nikon F2 - Nikon F3 - Canon F-1 - Canon F-1n - Canon New F-1 - Pentax LX - Minolta XK - Minolta Xm What do you think? By the way, I have the Praktica VLC2 and don't need any of the others mentioned. 😉
Th first SLR cameras were Exaktas ... Praktica VLCs are basically ExaKtas ... need i say more?
@@ashsphotolounge I know, I have an Exakta Varex IIb myself, but it still needs to be refurbished and I know that the Praktica VLC models are the younger and smaller sister models of the Exakta RTL1000, only with M42 screw thread instead of the Exakta mount and I also know that the first SLR camera released on the market worldwide was the Kine Exakta, released in 1936, so I think you would have listed something similar with "need I say more". 😁 So I'm going to take a wild guess... you agree with me that the VLCs are a damn good alternative to the major Japanese manufacturers. 😁 You could even make a really nasty video about it, but I'm not going to give anyone any "stupid" ideas here. 😉 Greetings Lutz
@@SchwarzPoet VLCs are very tough and very practical. Probably not quite in the league of some of the others you have mentioned for accessories ... motor drives being one. The Praktica was a camera from an earlier era dressed in modern clothes so it didn't quite have the sophisticated metering of others - and as far as features, the Pentax LX for example had complete weather and dust sealing. and a tougher bodyshell than a VLC. But the Praktica was a great camera and miles better for having the larger mount 'throat' diameter that allowed for faster lenses more cheaply and easier wide angle construction. Had the VLC had a development department behind it like Minolta's or Nikon's and if quality standards hadn't fallen over the years history may have been very different.
On the front standard, what is the use of the 2 knobs ?
That had a lens support for heavy lenses in the day I believe
@@ashsphotolounge ok thank you, I bought a 5x7 camera at the flea market for cheap and I was wondering because I have one same knob
@@chriscard6544 Enjoy 🙂
I always use an orange filter with FP4 in sunny conditions - gives that extra oomph contrast needs imho
The FA also uses all the nikon lenses the F4 takes as well. Think they are the only 2.
I’ve got one order with a Nikkor 50/1.4 D. Will probably get a 24/2.8 D for it also for landscapes and general purpose stuff.
The 80/200 af-d push pull second version is way better smaller lighter with also a smaller full métal lens hood…
The only issue with push pulls is that when the mechanism wears ... tilt the lens down and it changed the focal length ... this is the reason I got rid of my earlier Pre AF 80-200 f2.8 ... pros like myself at the time hated trombone zooms.
I am a pro too and I am more confident and accurate with the sliding focus/zooming large ruberized ring, then wrist stay in line and does not move in the contrary of a rotating zoom command….I only shoot portrait for my living. Thank for your reply. Take care of you buddy….
@@eliedelorme9945 I think it's what you get used to ... 🙂
I got my start in 35mm film photography nearly 50 years ago with a "Hanimex Praktica LTL", my first SLR. The camera store took pity on me at that time, selling the camera as part of their scratch & dent sale. The camera looked spotless to my eye. It was built like a tank and proved to be a great camera for learning the basics of photography.
You can pretty much knock in nails with a Praktica 🙂
Thank you for a nice review. Please do also enlighten me about the music you used......awesome sound!
In-camera metering has always been calibrated for colour transparencies, which need to be toward under exposure. For B&W, I always add a stop or use a handheld meter.
I owned an F4 and I would disagree with the idea that it is bullet proof. As tough as they are, they do have at least one Achilles' heel that I found. I had the "S" model and the little plastic strips on the section of the battery holder that slides in horizontally snapped off. That rendered the entire camera useless because it would no longer turn on. I tried to tape it in place, and glue it in place, all to no avail. The the bullet proof F4 was taken out of commission by a simple piece of plastic that kept the battery in place when it was functioning. For about a year, I did without the F4. After all I had the F5 and that camera is better than the F4 because it has a higher number in the name. It must be better. It is a fantastic camera; but I ultimately had to buy another F4. Enough said.
My first SLR camera was a Praktica LTL. I was in Capitol Flea Market in San Jose in 1997, and saw this camera with Pentacon 50mm f1.8 and a Hanimex 135mm f2.8 lenses. Have bought several cameras since, but I learnt to use SLR camera with the Praktica.
The start for so many :-)
Absolutely top video! I'm also UK based, and have a Sony A7 first gen arriving tomororw to try adapt some lenses to. I already have a Jupiter 8 that I've used on my Fuji X-T30 but I'm looking forward to adapting it to my new Sony camera.
Thank you 🙂
@@ashsphotolounge ended up buying a Canon 100mm f3.5 rangefinder lens after my comment yesterday haha
awesome
We want leather bellow
I have Both Versions of this lens, One is from 1969 in which I also bought a Nikon Ftn made in 1969 as it was motor drive compatible, and came with the lens, and the other on was from either 1978 or 79, as as I found that both lenses are sharp, and when placing on my Digital SLR & Mirrorless that I was very much please with the Contrast, and Colors, as the sharpness still holds even though that focusing Manually. Still I found both lenses very good on over cast days, gives it a film look onto on my digital models..
Thank you for the video. I have a small collection of film cameras. Althoug I have sony a 7r ıı and nex 7. More then year ago I bought F4 attached lens 35/2. I bought it because it was cheaper then the market price. But the issue about the lens was it had oily diaphram, which I did not notice before I left the seller. Any way I could clean it, three time. I hope ir is still dry. Actually I bought it to earn some money by selling them seperately. But As I took it to my hands I was 'fell in love' with it. Then I bought some non pro lenses of AF nikon's. Then bought F801s, then again finding a cheap, yet mint F 80. I also have mamiya 645 super with lenses, mamiya RB sd and some lenses, mamiya press23 and twomlensen and two roll backs which of one has three formats. Besides some fixed lens yashica, zeiss ikon, Voigtländer cameras. And minox and likeones. Although all these are not logical, I don't waste money for a new car. So I give myself this opportunity. It makes me happy as a new car.
I did lots of professional work back in the early 90s with an f801 🙂
Bought one last week. Needed a 2.8. My 70-200 f4 doesn't let enough light in at sunrise. Performed well on tests.
I have sn MTL3. My first SLR and my youngest camera by 20 years. I enjoy using it.
excellent :-)
When well stained, the negatives can have a "thin" look compaired with the very black of traditional negatives. I wonderred about your scan and invert method. Whether Flatbed or Mirrorless I alway set the contrast as low as possible to keep all the detail then set the desired contrast in post with stained negatives. The scanner or inversion can loose shadow or highlight details. Other minor details which may or may not be relevant; What water do you use for your developer and fixer? I have used deionised in the past but now use "Tesco Ashborne English" although slightly acidic it has a very low residual solids. Mainstreem developers have chemicals to compensate for tap water. It is recommended that A and B are diluted immediately prior to adding the the development tank as it oxidises quickly. You did not state the fixer used. If acidic it will dissolve the stain leaving a thin negative. I use a "home brew" neutral fixer although an alkaly may be better but may not keep as well. Keep trying, the results are worth the effort. Beware that some film bases are not stable with Pyro type developers. Ilford and Kodak seem fine but film with the very clear film plastic seem suseptable.