I needed to return to the fundamentals. because I suddenly realized I hadn't shot film in the studio since I got the Nikon D2X in 2005. I had three film cameras loaded with UFX 400, no flash meter, and then realized I never had used such fast film in the studio ever. usually iso 125 or less. Not a good return start to the studio So I used the 5D mk III to get an idea on power settings. All the Alien Bee strobes were set to the lowest setting 1/32nd power, and I played with the light falloff edge by physically moving them closer or further away.
Two of the three film cameras came out with good exposures, but the Mamiya C3 (using the 80mm f2.8 Sekor) was the absolute thinnest negatives I have ever seen. I had to tilt the film for a light image to be revealed - otherwise it looked like clear film base. I was able to image a handful anyway. Oh, the problem was operator error. While cocking the shutter my fat finger moved the sync from X to M - so the strobe was going off 20 milliseconds early every single time.
Canon A2E The eye focus is a gimmick, but a good body for $20 - no diopter like the A2
This little Yellow Diecast Maisto Smart City-Coupe 1:33 scale "Pull-n-Go" Car survived 7 kids and three grand sons until one of the fathers of said grand kids broke it. I went to find a replacement, and that is when I found out they are collectable. - so I fixed it instead. Everyone can still play with it except Ben. Shot with the Canon A2E with an adapted Nikkor-S-auto 5.8cm f1.4 Non-ai lens wide open.
Tina Kino wrote:
If you don't mind would you share the name of the seller (pm me if you like) -
I'm not opposed to ordering from Japan, but I did read about a lot of disappointing experiences so am kinda wary to be frank.
Sorry, I didn't write that very clearly -- I bought nearly all my film cameras and lenses from Japanese sellers on eBay, not just one seller. I don't keep track of the sellers' names; in my experience they've all provided the same good service and speedy delivery. I only had one bad experience: a lens that was advertised as having no fungus but in fact was infested with it; the seller gave me a refund. All my other experiences have been great; you just have to take the ratings (Near Mint, etc.) with a grain of salt and read the descriptions and look at the photos carefully. I've seen a lot of "Mint" or "near Mint" listings where the description will say things like "tiny bits of fungus," etc. so I base my decisions solely on the descriptions rather than the ratings.
Tina Kino wrote:
Oh wow, wouldn't have thought - does not look like Rodinal to me! Either way, I like it 🙂
..just had a look on eBay - sadly there's only offerings from Japan, and not exactly cheap either!
For what it's worth I do already have a (fairly) rugged point-and-shoot I'm happy with (a Yashica T3) - but would love one with a 28mm lens..
The Fujis are superb. I like them so much I have two. Huge VF, surprisingly powerful flash, excellent lens. And one of the best features IMO is it only turns off if you turn it off - no auto shut off which I find very annoying.
There are two models - regular and pano. Get the pano one (it also shoots regular format) as it has other features like being able to set the focus distance manually. They are the same money.
bjhurley wrote:
Ah, maybe they've gotten more expensive; I got mine for US $90 two years ago, mint condition in the original box and manual. The camera was never sold outside of Japan and I got mine (along with most of my other film cameras and lenses) from an eBay seller in Japan. The manual is only in Japanese but I was able to use my scanner with optical character recognition and then Google translate to get the instructions for the functions I was curious about. It's a great camera.
Desmolicious wrote:
The Fujis are superb. I like them so much I have two. Huge VF, surprisingly powerful flash, excellent lens. And one of the best features IMO is it only turns off if you turn it off - no auto shut off which I find very annoying.
There are two models - regular and pano. Get the pano one (it also shoots regular format) as it has other features like being able to set the focus distance manually. They are the same money.
When I was buying a film point & shot for our daughter a year ago, I was rather tempted by the Fuji, but I didn't think it was quite what she wanted (in the end, I got her a Pentax Espio Mini, which has been great), although I was also tempted to get one myself. Your posts prompted me to look again ....
They are fairly thin on the ground, on the well known auction site at least, but I did see one that seemed reasonable, so I bought it for c.$135 USD including tax and free FedEx or DHL delivery. It is "top mint" (woo hoo) but, perhaps more importantly, 100% feedback and "There is no fungus" for both the finder and lens, along with all the other usual "There is no xxx". In any event, for that much money, I'm willing to take a punt. Didn't see any panos, unfortunately.
Although I could fancy something like a Contax G2, I just don't think it's worth spending as much as they now seem to go for when it's possible to buy something like this Fuji for an order of magnitude less. And I can put a nice Leica strap and sticker on it. (I need some more Leica stickers, actually.)
Thank you both for causing me to revisit this particular little gem! Fingers crossed that it works. If it does, it will certainly be going to Marrakech with me in a few weeks' time.
PS. This photo with the rainbow colours on the ground is superb.
Sorry for the slow response. I just had time to really start investigating the whole meter discussion a bit more, in particular regarding external light meters. Thanks both for your helpful comments—I think at this point I have to research more before I buy. I don’t really understand what the differences and what not are among light meters well enough. Ideally, I want something tiny that can reflect and incident meter that is under $200—not sure how practical that is/if that product exists.
The basic concepts I understand well. And I have used and am familiar with both the zone system and the Sunny16 recently. I do think I need more precise control regarding reading the light for optimally exposed photos—I don’t often shoot slide films. When I have in the past, I just used the spot meter on my digital camera and with a +/- EV.
And the XG-1 is cheap SR mount camera from Minolta. It was actually gifted to me with a Mino 50/1.7 from a pawnshop. The light seals were shot, so I ordered some off eBay and it’s been fine once replaced. The metering is forced (that's the only option) average, which for scenes with high contrast tends to be poor/lead to missed exposures. Which is why I Sunny 16 that camera as well, getting better but not pinpoint results. It takes my Mino 58/1.2 which I love on film even more than digital.
Any recs or further input regarding light meters for film are welcome as well.
Mino 58/1.2 + Fuji200 - Last photo before we put him down.
So I used the 5D mk III to get an idea on power settings. All the Alien Bee strobes were set to the lowest setting 1/32nd power, and I played with the light falloff edge by physically moving them closer or further away. 
