Getting rid of the low-end to make the higher-end cheaper

"Rich" wrote in message
...
Irwell wrote in news:gxmq3ghqapmx.s8lo4gv00l8u$.dlg@
40tude.net:



Nobody is forcing you to buy plastic cameras. So don't.

Better yet, start the RichAMetalOnlyCameraCo.

RAMOCC? The mistakes go in before the name goes on.


It does exist, but they call it Leica.

Sell millions do they?

David Dyer-Bennet wrote:
Me writes:

I think my first camera (Ambi Silette) was a birthday present. My
father had a B&W darkroom, he'd buy outdated film cheaply and store it
in the fridge. One time he bought a massive roll of 35mm B&W negative
film packed in a large aluminium cine film can. For some obscure
reason (as I was only about 10 or 11 years old) I got the job of
working in pitch-black, unrolling, cutting, attaching it to reels,
rolling it up and fitting it into a stack of used 35mm cassettes
donated by the local camera store. The result was a few unexpected
fingerprints, more than a few loaded with the emulsion on the wrong
side, cassettes which could contain anything between about 20 to over
40 exposures and many with the film not attached properly to the
reel. Despite taking all care to allow for my sloppy workmanship, when
advancing the film, we'd frequently end up with the entire roll on the
take up spool with no way to rewind it, taking the camera home, and
working by feel in a dark sleeping bag in a dark cupboard, to load it
directly into the developing tank. The film was cheap, but the
"keeper" rate was abysmally low.

I started bulk-loading my own film around 1969, but I used bulk loaders,
rather than doing it entirely by hand. This pretty much avoids
wrong-way emulsions and fingerprints at least.

I was always afreaid of dropping a cassette and having the end pop off,
ruining an entire roll of film. Never actually happened though.

I've still got my old multi-pocket photographer's waistcoat the back
of which is a large dark bag pocket. Elasticated cuff sleeves get
inverted out from it so you can muck about with unexposed film, load
developing tanks, etc., without needing a darkroom.

--
Chris Malcolm

Chris Malcolm writes:

David Dyer-Bennet wrote:
Me writes:

I think my first camera (Ambi Silette) was a birthday present. My
father had a B&W darkroom, he'd buy outdated film cheaply and store it
in the fridge. One time he bought a massive roll of 35mm B&W negative
film packed in a large aluminium cine film can. For some obscure
reason (as I was only about 10 or 11 years old) I got the job of
working in pitch-black, unrolling, cutting, attaching it to reels,
rolling it up and fitting it into a stack of used 35mm cassettes
donated by the local camera store. The result was a few unexpected
fingerprints, more than a few loaded with the emulsion on the wrong
side, cassettes which could contain anything between about 20 to over
40 exposures and many with the film not attached properly to the
reel. Despite taking all care to allow for my sloppy workmanship, when
advancing the film, we'd frequently end up with the entire roll on the
take up spool with no way to rewind it, taking the camera home, and
working by feel in a dark sleeping bag in a dark cupboard, to load it
directly into the developing tank. The film was cheap, but the
"keeper" rate was abysmally low.

I started bulk-loading my own film around 1969, but I used bulk loaders,
rather than doing it entirely by hand. This pretty much avoids
wrong-way emulsions and fingerprints at least.

I was always afreaid of dropping a cassette and having the end pop off,
ruining an entire roll of film. Never actually happened though.

I've still got my old multi-pocket photographer's waistcoat the back
of which is a large dark bag pocket. Elasticated cuff sleeves get
inverted out from it so you can muck about with unexposed film, load
developing tanks, etc., without needing a darkroom.

Wow, never had that in a vest. I've still got at least two changing
bags at home, though (kept them to be able to load 4x5 sheet film;
that's the last film camera I've kept).

I do know how to use a sportcoat as a changing bag, though.

--
David Dyer-Bennet, ; http://dd-b.net/
Snapshots: http://dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/data/
Photos: http://dd-b.net/photography/gallery/
Dragaera: http://dragaera.info