Hi guys,
We have this discussion on a regular basis on forums, taking advantage of $200-500 dollars saving on a new camera body and running the risk of having to trust a foreign warranty, plus the time delay of sending your cherished camera several thousands of miles through many postal services and the like.
The recent Sigma sport I purchased and returned took fifteen weeks to be returned to the person who sold me the lens, in fact it got lost en route, but all was well that ended well!
So with the digital camera market in decline and announcements from Nikon and Fukushi.....oops  Panasonic, coupled with a strong interest in medium format ML and the new resurgence of film, it was with great consternation that I approached the purchase of a new silver halide photographic medium.
The big question... was it to be....
Authorized official market.......or
Grey market...........
This was going to be a tough call!
In the end I went Flea Market!!
Nikon FM3a + Sigma 28-70 F2.8-4
and a Mirrorless MF Linhoff Technika 150mm F4.5 Zeiss Tessar. 4X5" plate camera.....
I took the lack of warranty risk and bought the two for 60 euros!
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And what are you going to do with them?
I must admit the Nikon is a little gem of a camera, first off the shutter wouldn't fire, nothing, I downloaded the PDF, nothing there which pointed to something I was doing wrong. Then I turned the motor-wind coupling on the base plate by hand and it fired, the coupling showed signs of corrosion and I applied some WD40 and some thin oil and kept firing, that loosened it up and then it was fine. Everything works now metering, shutter speeds and all.... it's a goodie.
The 4X5" Linhoff is just the most "fabulously constructed camera" I've ever seen....point!
The whole thing is made in diecast aluminum 3mm thick and more, it weighs 2.8 Kgs and feels heavier than that. It's the point where photography crosses over to German precision engineering beauty, nothing is compromised, there's not a micron of play anywhere. It's built like a quality lathe!
Everything is adjustable, it's as if the goal was to have no limitations anywhere, nothing to hold you back...you want to focus to 4mm...no problem. You need tilt, shift at any angle...you got it!.... To be honest I enjoy the time spent just holding it, it's a bit like looking at a work of art....it's what i have said here before about my favourite camera the Voigtlander Bessa II...mechanical perfection!
Optically there is little fungus and I mean a little, in the center elements, no fogging though, I was in there in five minutes and removed and cleaned the rear and front elements, the remaining requires the lens to be disassembled to access between the elements in amongst the shutter mechanism, full of zillions of springs and you know what.......there I go not!
I've never tried repairing shutter mechanisms, the shutter works fine and doesn't hesitate at longer exposure times;.
Frankly there is little to cause image degradation and I'm sure it will make fantastic quality photos. I haven't the film plate carrier for the sheet film, that was the only missing item.
I will do what I can in terms of cleaning and lubricating this camera like I've done the Nikon, it's come up quite well. Many of these cameras go from flea market to flea market chucked in a box getting scuffed and damaged so just saving them from more degradation is something, many are already too far gone already with scratched lenses and looking beaten up, there are at least twenty or thirty cameras on sale every week.
I guess I'll put the Linhoff on the bon coin when it's looking nice, the Nikon tempts me to at least run a few rolls of B+W through it, the 55mm F1.2 has already found it's way on to the mount and looks "just the ticket on board"!
Like I say shooting silver halide is a "retirement dream" mainly for the pleasure of these old superbly constructed cameras, probably a lot lore than the silver halide itself, somebody with the space time and wherewithal will put this camera to better use than I could living on a small boat!
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When you are taking pictures for your own enjoyment and not to satisfy customers nothing is better than experimenting with different gear and techniques.
I am rediscovering film and the darkroom, enjoying it a lot
I would love to have a darkroom to do film work...landscapes and portraits...... but it's just not practical on a boat of 9 meters!!
But I must get at least a roll of B+W film to put through the Nikon!
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You don't need a darkroom to develop B/W film. I worked two decades exclusively with a changing bag to put the film on the spirals of the developing tank. Close the lid and it's light-tight, you just need to fill in the chemicals. You need to dry max 1.6 m of wet film in a dustfree space. Then you can scan the negatives.
I just wonder what you guys think to get out of this? The only reason to go film, no, three reasons for me: better and instant archival qualities, artistic reasons to reduce some possibilities or doing a production without any battery. I still could do that, the Yashica FX3 only needs a battery for it's exposure-meter, the rest is mechnaical - and who needs to mether the exposure? Only whimps. Real male photogs can sense the light with their urine.
As toni-A's example clearly shows, there's nothing to gain with that old film stuff, especially not in colour negative where the colours will fade away over time.
I used to use the cupboard under the stairs, I don't fancy doing it in the bilge..... :wacko: Ugh!
It's those mechanical cameras that I love, it's a bit like the love of Swiss quality watches..ironically I wear a Seiko battery watch. B) Love film cameras, use digital.
No battery in the Linhoff either, and the Nikon FM3a only needs a battery for metering or if you use it in aperture priority.
The tempter would certainly be the Linhoff 4X5" plate camera, because there you will get a serious increase in IQ, actually 5X4" is a 14.93 times greater surface area., that's not an insignificant amount, you wouldn't even need that great a scanner to get very good quality.
Just for kicks and giggles I'll find out how much plate film is!
As for 35mm well I think we all know how it compares to a FF sensor, especially a 36 Mps one.  You have to like the look!
Just had a quick squint.....Box of 10 colour negative around $45 Box of 10 B+W about $35......less than I thought,
then you have to load them in the carrier, then I'd have to buy a bunch of those...and the beat goes on!
I would always pay a lab these days and get them to scan the negs..it's not like when you go out birding and come home with 200-300 shots.
Getting sucked in again....reality check...no stop, I'll keep polishing it, I now realize that someone has already cleaned the lenses, it's the etched coating I can see..it's not that bad actually!
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If you want Swiss quality, get a Leica or - for real - an Alpa, Bolex movie cameras were also Swiss made. Anything else is Japanese quality, which is already pretty decent. 
A changing bag allows you to sit on your kitchen table - no bilge involved.
Kitchen??
Table??........
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Quote:
As toni-A's example clearly shows, there's nothing to gain with that old film stuff, especially not in colour negative where the colours will fade away over time.
Well, my test was with a cheap expired film overexposed, but yes if you are looking for the ultimate image quality, digital is a clear winner especially with newer bodies.
Using digital is like driving a modern car, using film is like driving a bike, a bike will never be as comfortable and fast as a modern car, but sometimes, you just wanna enjoy a bike ride...
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