[Leica] End of an Era, Tak of Mac Camera Retires

[s.dimitrov at charter.net (Slobodan Dimitrov)]

Once B/W hits $15 to $20 a roll, for quality film, that will be just 
about enough for the amateur at play.
I'm already having permit and disposal problems with the City of Los 
Angeles over the photo center at Angels Gate Culture Center.
I'm currently looking for a white knight like Waste Management, etc., 
who can take over that problem as write-off with a non-profit.
I suspect that in the not too far off future home processing for the 
amateur will become a felony offense because of hazardous waste.
Although in Los Angeles County each household is allowed 150lbs of 
haz-mat materials per year. That's more than enough for the average 
home printer.
S. Dimitrov



On Apr 20, 2005, at 12:37 PM, TTAbrahams@aol.com wrote:

>  It is obvious that the midrange collectibles are losing value 
> quickly. In
> Tokyo the "mint" M3's and M4's are now at a price level that a couple 
> of years
> ago would have got you a user version of the same camera. My feeling 
> is that we
> are looking at an "adjustment" as the stock brokers call it.
> Remember the classic car bubble in the 90's. Cars that sold for $10 
> million+
> are now lingering at the specialist stores for 20-30% of that price 
> with no
> takers even at that discount!
>  There are only so many collectors out there and most of them have all 
> the
> rare stuff already. The big market was the collector/user market and 
> that is
> changing as we speak. I am fairly typical of that market segment and 
> albeit I am
> willing to pay fair value for a M2/M3 or Nikon SP I now have more than 
> I can
> comfortably use (and justify). When I go to stores in Tokyo or to swap 
> meet
> here in Vancouver I am no longer looking for cameras, I look for 
> lenses,
> accessories and "gadgets" instead.
>  The one camera that I am buying at the moment is the Nikon F - my
> justification is that I need several bodies for my experimental 
> Rapidwinder F (extremely
> limited production of 6-7 of them) but truth be told - I just like that
> camera. It is one of the most brilliant designs in 35mm camera. You 
> can add motors,
> meter prisms, special finders, etc. or you can strip it down to a 
> basic box.
> Lenses are plentiful and cheap (and good!). Oh, it is noisy and not 
> very
> sophisticated but that is the charm of that camera. It is the SLR 
> equivalent of the
> Leica M2 or Nikon S2. Unfortunately other people have realised that 
> too and
> prices are creeping up. "Beater" bodies used to be $ 50-75 and are now 
> almost
> double that. On the other hand I can buy 8-10 of them for what a user 
> M3 or M2
> would be! At the latest swap here in Vancouver I got a Nikon F with a 
> Prism
> finder (dented and scratched but clear prism) and an early 28/3,5 for 
> $120!
>  Karen's hope for a clean Nikon SP for US$ 1500 is quite feasible. In 
> the
> last year prices in Tokyo have dropped by almost 40% and will probably 
> drop
> further after the introduction of the Limited Edition black paint 
> Nikon SP. It is a
> gorgeous camera and I would dearly love one, but at $7000+ I can 
> resist it
> (now the lens is an other matter - a modern 35/1,8 could be 
> interesting and most
> likely a bit more flare resistant than my old one).
>  As for the slow decline in black and white film availability - I 
> suspect
> that in the future we will have to seek out speciality stores for our 
> needs.
> Kodak claims that they will continue to make films like Tri-X for the 
> foreseeable
> future (however, they did not define "foreseeable"). It could be that
> black/white film and chemicals will be more of an "artist" supply than 
> an "imaging
> store" supply.
>  The biggest problem is going to be chemicals - Kodak is getting out 
> of it
> and even basic stuff like Metol, Hydroquinone, and Phenodine is  
> getting
> difficult to find and the prepackaged stuff - D76, Microdol-X etc. in 
> the stores now
> is more often than not old stock. Well, pick up a copy of Steve 
> Anchells'
> "Darkroom Cookbook" and make your own. The Photographers Formulary 
> stocks most of
> everything you need and as a bonus - it is considerably cheaper than 
> buying
> "ready-mix". We should remember that the idea of packaged developer is 
> fairly
> recent. As late as the 50's it was quite common to mix your own from 
> scratch
> (with the added benefit of adjusting formulas to your own shooting 
> style).
>  As for film, try the Chinese "Lucky" - its 400 ASA film is quite 
> good. The
> base is different from Tri-X but the sharpness and grain is good 
> (grain is
> finer than Tri-X). You can develop it as if it is Tri-X in D-76 but in 
> Xtol it
> does not work very well (almost two stops off!) At $ 1,69/roll it is a 
> bargain
> and as I buy film in quantity (600-1200 rolls at a time) a $2 saving 
> per roll
> makes a big difference. The difference pays for a couple of 
> interesting lenses
> or more camera bodies - or even more important - airline tickets to 
> places I
> haven't been to yet!
>  There seems to be enough interest among camera users to ensure that 
> the old
> mechanical cameras will survive and the black/white devotees among us 
> might
> have to change some of our ways, but for the foreseeable future I 
> think we are
> safe. Maybe if enough of us ask Epson or HP for a dedicated 
> black/white printer
> they will make it. I would use it for proofing but for final prints - 
> nothing
> beats fiber base in a darkroom - at least in my opinion.
> Tom A
> ---------------------
> Tom Abrahamsson
> Vancouver, BC
> Canada
> www.rapidwinder.com
>
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>
Slobodan Dimitrov
http://sdimitrovphoto.com