Auto Telephoto Mr. Roboto
Jun 16, 2009This weekend was spent at the pool, just hangin’ out, pretty much. Now it feels like summer..
(photo – Leica, unfocused while experimenting w/ manual shutter and light settings. reminds me of this and this. very “bokeh”)
Oh! My mom found the other cameras! They’re so cool.. One of them, an old Canon, has crusty battery juice all over the back, but hopefully when we take them all in to be looked over/fixed it will still work. She also found a bunch of lenses, including this one really weird zoom one that looks like a missile-turbine-ish thing. Speaking of missiles, I had a dream the other night where Russia was firing missiles at us (us: some of my classmates and a teacher)… We were just standing there, and Ray looks up and goes “HOLY S–T IT’S THE K-9!” (K-9? Stereotypical Russian nuclear weapon code? My brain iz weird. [what's weird is that, in my dream, I subconsciously thought of that being weird/a stereotypical Russian weapon-name.. do I smell some lucid dreaming?!]) Then this huge rocket-thing flies down and hits right by us, followed by machine gun fire, then we go find shelter. It was scarrrry. Tavi and Keara also had strange dreams, I hear. Well, if you call meeting Zach Quinto/shooting zombies a strange dream, yes.
The old Canon.
The missile lens and another old camera, a Mamiya. The lens is super dirty, I doubt it would take any good pictures.
But doesn’t it totally look like some drill weapon-ish thingy?! No, it totally looks like something in Transformers, like one of their gun-arms or something. We just watched that in the car and it was very much higher than my expectations, actually.. I kinda liked it. Not as soul-worthy as Star Trek, but still pretty damn cool. I <3 Autobots.
And finally, the Olympus. My mom says this was her main camera (back when she was majoring in photography), and that she’s taken thousands of pictures with it/can remember using it so well. It was the first one we found.
There are some lenses for this one, too. I don’t know how to work them [yet] – just look at all those meters and stuff! – but, if I even get the cameras working, and choose to use them, for that matter, I’ll figure it out. Experimentation, right? You know, that’s not entirely true. Technical stuff (i.e. learning how to use those lenses) could use some additional advising, maybe some “usage of the Google machine,” but.. you get it.
A zoom lens we found. I think it’s the biggest (and newest/nicest looking) one we have.
I don’t know which camera it works for yet, but it looks really cool.
Auto telephoto Mr. Roboto.
By the way, my great-grandfather’s Polaroid isn’t an SX-70. Whoops. It’s actually a wee bit older (like, four decades or so), not even close to the SX-70. It’s so old, it still has the leather telescopic foldout thingy that cameras used to have. I’m almost positive it’s a Model 95A. It’s also in near-perfect condition, but I don’t think I would want to use it – it’s more of a look-we-have-something-that-could-be-in-a-museum item, y’know? What that really means, is, it will probably sit in my closet or our attic, again, until one day later in life I re-rediscover it and say, “whoa, look at this! dude, I blogged about this when I was like, 13!” If that’s how I talk in the future… I might have a robot voice and robot eyes and legs and arms. WE MIGHT ALL BE CYBORGS (or Autobots). God, I hope not… That would totally demean the awesomeness of humans and mankind (once again: and you thought I was a misanthrope!), however stupid we may be right now. (*cough* really stupid…) Dude, I’d much rather have a human brain than a robot brain. (And you can quote me on that.) Even though I’d probably be able to do math supah-fast (psshh, I can already do that) and play video games and go on the internet AND TWEET… AND BLOG from inside my head. But that’s what computer-contact-lenses are for! I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. Sometimes I kinda wish I was alive during the 60’s, etc etc, or that I lived/live in the woods. I mean, technology is great and all – incredible communication, health care and whatnot – but wouldn’t it be nice to just, I dunno.. have a pet bug or somethin’? ‘Tis a conversation for another time, I think. Anyway, here’s the Polaroid:
The original carrying case, with the manuals and stuff.
The guides.
The instructions.
It, closed.
It, open, with flash (missing bulb, though).
Notice how the meter is on 4. Could there still be film in there?!
Pretty cool, no? There are more pictures of all the cameras and stuff on my new Flickr account. I just bought the Pro because I figure, if I’m going to start sharing a lot of photos I ought’a have one, right? It was highly advised by a lot of Flickr aficionados, so I think it was a good decision.
Anyway, C U L8R, G8R. CN U UND3RSTND WAT I SYNG? Oh, and don’t worry; this isn’t going to be all obsessed with photography all the time. ~diversity~, y’allz.
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I like the second picture because it looks like the light is racing against each other. :] Gahh… you make me want to spend moneyz on a really nice film camera. I discovered my mom’s [sorta] old Polaroid earlier this year and haven’t done anything with it cuz she said “The film is really expensive for that” so I kinda forgot about it. I also have my grandpa’s old camera that I’ve never used, but have played with since I was a wee little tater tot. You may have inspired me to look into these things! :D
Of all the lenses I own – Nikon 18-105mm VR (which came with my D90), Nikon 50mm f/1.8, Sigma 10-20mm, and Sigma 70-300mm, my favorite lens to shoot with is the 50mm f/1.8 non-zoom lens. It’s one of the best lenses ever made and one of the least expensive. The f/1.8 means it has a really large aperture which lets you shoot very fast in low light and get a narrow depth of field.
I highly recommend getting a 50mm prime lens. The quality of a prime lens is usually better than any zoom lens.
Oops – it looks like you do have a 50mm prime lens on that Canon. Enjoy it!
I’m pretty sure the book I used to learn the basics was “Photography” by Barbara London Upton and John Upton. Or some combination of those names. The older editions would work just as well as the more recent editions and would be cheap at a used bookstore. I was probably looking at the 2nd or 3rd editions. My Dad used it when he was teaching photography, and I’m pretty sure when I took a class in college it was a version of the same book. In other words, it’s a classic textbook. If I could find the darned thing I’d send it to you.
It’s funny what you said about robot brains and all. We joke that my Dad has a light meter in his brain – if you tell him the film speed and aperture you want he will tell you the exposure. And vice versa. And he’s always right. Speaking of which – a light meter will be really useful if you don’t already have one. PS that flash thing is not at all what I was thinking of but it’s really amazing.
I told my mom about this post and she said “It’s funny what he said about his mom’s old Canon OM 1. That was my main camera for years also, and seeing his picture of it brought back very specific sensual memories. One’s camera can become a part of one’s body.” I knew that darned thing looked familiar! :D
Just in case anyone was wondering -cuz I know you all were- my grandpa’s old camera is actually my great grandpa’s camera. ‘Tis an old Kodak. My mom said “Everything on it is manual, including the shutter speed settings. In other words, you need a separate light meter and converter or be really, really good at sensing light availability and adjusting the shutter speeds accordingly. Whether it works or not I haven’t a clue. I have never put film in it. Lenses and mirrors can get knocked out of kilter pretty easily though, especially when they are the main toy of an active toddler. ;)” Yahhh.
Oh wow, an OM-1. All manual and rock-solid. Heavy as a brick but as tough and hard to break. Damn fine camera. Between that and the Pentax K-1000, among the very best 35mm cameras ever made.
If you don’t want to bother with a light meter, the basic rule is in normal sunlight with a film speed of 200, use a shutter speed of 1/250 with an aperture of f/16. If you want to adjust it, when you use a faster speed, use a larger aperture (lower number). Here’s a good chart:
http://www.garageglamour.com/tips/bdeguide.php
You seem to be diving into all things photo. Thought this news would interest you:
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=7896093
The end of an era.
ancient cameras are the best, they are magical.
I actually have that Olympus as well! I used it for photo in high school, and 3 years later, still use it!
Love the blog!
Those Polaroids are so cool! I have one too. It sits in my storage unit and someday I will find it again and say, “oh my god, I forgot about this, I got that when I lived in San Francisco and I wish I would have used it.”
i have the olympus, it was my dad’s when he was majoring in photography too.
hahah, coincidence.
film is the best, the images are pure.