[Leica] Kyle's First Camera Project

[tedgrant at shaw.ca (tedgrant at shaw.ca)]

Hey hey Crew!! :-)
This is a great idea! Well that is if you remember how to load a roll of 
film in a 60 year old camera when yer an 80 year old fart complete with 
memory bank failings??????????  :-)

Bought two rolls of ILFORD  XP2 film that can be processed with colour neg 
C41 processing. This old camera does not have focusing ability..... didn't 
seem to bother 60 years ago. :-) Probably didn't know any better! :-) There 
are 4 shutter speeds 1/25 - 1/50 - 1/100 - 1/150th - B - T. You pick the 
shutter speed you require and click down on a tiny lever on the side of the 
lens to make exposure.

Apertures: f4.5 - f6.3 - f9 - f12.7 - f18. Strange combination? You move a 
little leaver on front of lens.

Finally got the roll loaded, that was a bit of a chore as I forgot it 
required pulling the re-wind knob out of the base plate, insert roll, push 
knob back into camera body. When you advance film you have to push down on a 
strange looking little button thingie on the top that releases the frame 
counter. However I haven't been able to figure out how to turn counter wheel 
around to start at zero. So it looks like I start shooting at what should be 
Frame 25 according to film counter when it's really in the neighborhood of 
2-3-4?

Now this is an easy fix I learned when I loaded my own cassettes longer than 
the 36 frames because I had forgot the frame counter set to zero. I'd have 
rolls with 50 frames, some with 30 so it was an easy fix.............. shoot 
until the film couldn't be advanced, that meant you were at the end of the 
roll. :-) It worked OK providing you didn't advance to firmly and pull the 
film off the spool.... Then it was "Hello darkroom to remove film." OK so it 
was only a few times! :-)

And the really big big mistake right off first few clicks?????????? Yep I've 
already done it a couple of times................ I FORGOT TO ADVANCE THE 
FILM AFTER THE EXPOSURE!!!"  :-(   Nothing like shooting with an M8 to 
forget about that wee bit of action, so those frames might be rather 
interesting species to look at! :-)

I think now that I've made most of the "ROOKIES ERRORS," maybe?? I may 
venture out and see if I can find the odd photo moment in B&W without too 
many double exposures. :-)

Last bit? You do become accustomed to having a quick peek at the back of a 
digital camera once in awhile. Now? Film? Really old camera? Back to the 
olden days? Damn! Now I have to shoot it, take the roll into store, wait for 
processed negs, drive home, scan into computer before seeing the errors of 
my ways! :-(

WISH ME LUCK! :-)  Thanks folks! :-)

Actually the daunting question is, even if I do everything pefect. I wont 
have any idea whether the camera is actually working properly or not until 
the film is developed! Oh the agonies of expectations!

cheers,
Dr. ted