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

[gregj.lorenzo at shaw.ca (GREG LORENZO)]

Slobodan, Patterson (I believe) makes environmently friendly dark room 
chemicals. Have you looked into this?

Regards,

Greg

----- Original Message -----
From: Slobodan Dimitrov <s.dimitrov@charter.net>
Date: Thursday, April 21, 2005 9:09 am
Subject: Re: [Leica] End of an Era, Tak of Mac Camera Retires

> 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
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Leica Users Group.
> > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
> >
> >
> Slobodan Dimitrov
> http://sdimitrovphoto.com
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>