X vs. M or How to waste a day

[Donal Philby <donalphilby@earthlink.net>]

LUGnuts:

Just because there have been too few war stories these days (Ted, Fred,
where are you?) I thought I would tell you how an old fashioned camera
can waste a day.

I have been doing a catalogue of medical parts, very technical lighting
with scrims and gobos and gels and double partial gels and changing
colors on shinny surface etc.  AD and client occasionally over shoulder
wondering why this doesn't happen in a couple minutes.  AD and client
also wanting "dramatic" lighting, but complain about shadows.

And I have to shoot 30 products with same "edge of failure" lighting. 
So finally after numerous polaroids and several rolls of film (to see
how it really looks with subtlety), I lock everything down on the Linhof
4x5 (5x4 for those on the other side of the pond) and run 30 products
through the set with a roll film back.  

Get four of the rolls back and have total of one frame (perfectly
exposed).  Rest black.

After much hand wringing, swear words, attemps to blame my assistant,
studying the roll film back and then checking flash sync through the
camera, I finally discover that the flash is syncing intermitently. 
Finally discover that the X/M switch is just ever so slightly moved
toward the M (for bulb).  Normally this is taped, but tape had aged.  

So the strobe was going off just dandy, but too soon usually, before the
shutter opens as it needs to for old fashioned bulbs that take a while
to get hot.  And the movement of the switch just happened to happen
between the last polaroid and the shooting of all the film.

Why Schneider puts an M sync on a lens made in 1985 is simply beyond
me.  Even Leica, a company that seldoms lets go of the past, quite
putting M sync on cameras after the M2, I believe.  

And since it is raining (Hurricane Linda), we have the studio rented for
tomorrow and next day to German fashion catalogue photographers.

So I had to break down and move the whole set into my office space,
reset lights and get to start over.

And the catalogue is supposed to go to press on Monday next.

Now wasn't that story better than watching a rerun on television?  

Donal Philby
San Diego