Posted inCamera & Lens Repair Photography

Yashica Electro 35 GSN Rangefinder Replacement

My first attempt at finding a working copy of one of these fabulous but mechanically and electronically finicky cameras landed me a fine looking example of electronics that were way beyond repair. Still, the $30 price of admission was well worth the entertainment value of trying to fix it up. 🙂

The second attempt was an eBay buy that was maybe a 9.5 cosmetically and sound mechanically but had one major flaw which made it a pain to use… The rangefinder spot in the viewer that is used to focus was almost non-existent. For extra fun, it also had just a bit of vertical misalignment causing a “double vision” effect which made focusing difficult even on bright days.

Since I had the parts from a whole other camera, (happily the focusing mechanism on the broken GSN was in stellar shape) I decided it was high time to perform a little surgery and build… a Frankie.

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Posted inFilm Development Photography

Caffenol-C Developer

My recipes for Caffenol-C

  • Dissolve ingredients in order listed
  • Make sure washing soda is completely dissolved before adding vitamin C
  • Wait for bubbling to subside before adding coffee
  • Let developer stand for 5 minutes before use
  • Use within 30 minutes
  • Strain developer
  • Agitation: 1st 30 sec then 10 sec on every minute
  • Cross-Processing E6 Slide Film: 15min

https://flic.kr/p/9Ck7ve
https://flic.kr/p/9aS2Az
https://flic.kr/p/agUcSy
https://flic.kr/p/agRpCz
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Posted inFilm Development Photography

Rodinal / Adonal Developer

In this post, I am collecting my experiences developing black and white film with Rodinal developer. (Now sold as Adox Adonal.) I have a little notebook with all of this information that would be a huge pain to lose, so I’m transcribing those notes here and adding more as I learn.

For the basics, the wiki post is a great place to start… (Be sure to check those external links!)

Digital Truth has a massive chart of development times for Rodinal with all kinds of film as well as the Rodinal product leaflet. You can find the Adonal Material Safety Data Sheet (the stuff I use) at the Adox.de site. I ordered my 500ml bottle of Adonal from FreestylePhoto in the USA. In Europe, you can order from SilverPrint.

To check out other great images developed with Rodinal and get feedback from some really knowledgeable people, check out the Flickr Rodinal Group.

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Posted inAstronomy Astrophotography

Mountains on the Moon

https://flic.kr/p/5MwNHW


When the light is right, the edge of the moon can be very rewarding for imaging, or observing at higer magnifications. Taken with a Philips Toucam Pro webcam (lens removed), a Toucam to 1.25″ adapter, and a 2.5x Meade barlow. The telescope was a Celestron C9.25 with a JMI NGF-s focuser, carried on a Losmandy GM-8. The C9.25/NGF/GM8 combo was amazing for planetary/lunar imaging, especially under the still Florida skies I was living in at the time.

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