My New "Precious"!

[Xia_Ke]

Finally got a chance to pick up a big brother to my Rolleicord. Got a Rolleiflex MX-EVS Type 2 with a Carl Zeiss Tessar f/3.5 taking lens. I LOVE this camera! It's all that I could have hoped for. Figures though that the day it would come in it would be a combination of rain and snow outside ( It did slow down a bit so I got a chance to run out for a quick test roll of Plus-X pushed to 500. Can't wait to get out and give this bad boy a real work out

As a side note, the camera pics were shot with my Oly SLR and the NEW TMAX 400 film. This film is insane in it's sharpness and fine grain. I was hoping to shoot both new and old TMAX 400 today for a comparison but, things came up and didn't get a chance to shoot the old version. Stay tuned for an up and upcoming comparison thread :thumbsup:



Next to the Rolleicord


Here's a couple of the shots from the test roll...

[Greg McCary]

Nice Aaron. I am sure you will get years of service out of it. There us nothing like having the camera you really want, yes? I may have to order some of the new TriX

[mtbbrian]

Nice!
Just don't go all Golum on us, OK!
:biggrin5:
Brian

[Xia_Ke]

Nice Aaron. I am sure you will get years of service out of it. There us nothing like having the camera you really want, yes? I may have to order some of the new TriX

For sure. Part of me wished I could have the option of a 15mm for my precious too Did you mean try out the new TMAX, not TriX? It is very sharp film and VERY low grain. If that's what you're after than definitely pick some up, you won't regret it.

Nice!
Just don't go all Golum on us, OK!
:biggrin5:
Brian

Thanks Brian No Golum here yet. That will be if I ever manage to scrape together enough cash for a Rolleiflex Wide and/or and a Rolleiflex 2.8C with the 10 blade aperture Xenotar!

[photophorous]

She's a beauty, Aaron. :thumbsup: Congratulations!

I'm looking forward to that Tmax comparison. I didn't like the old TMY, but I hear good things about the new stuff. I have some catching up to do with my database entries...been too busy lately.

Paul

[Xia_Ke]

Thanks Paul I should be able to run roll of the old TMAX tomorrow. The 2 camera shots above are shot with the new stuff using window light, an Olympus OM-G, and a Vivitar 28-80mm zoom lens. Looks to be great stuff. I think I still personally prefer Tri-X and Neopan 400 in that speed range though.

As for the database, I've been slacking big time as well and no real excuse Thanks for reminding me that I need to get back on that.

[mtbbrian]

Thanks Paul I think I still personally prefer Tri-X

Tri - X GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:thumbsup:
Brian

[Xia_Ke]

Okay, simmer down Brian. Have you been sniffing your fantastic plastic again? ...LOL I love Tri-X but, shooting MF, grain isn't as big of an issue as 35mm. If I was shooting more 35mm, than I think I would have to give definite consideration to the New TMAX 400 if I needed a faster speed film and depending on the subject I would be shooting. I wish I had another roll or 2 of it as I would love to try seeing how well it pushes to 1600.

[photophorous]

TriX will always be my go-to film but sometimes I want finer grain to capture more detail. I just haven't been too excited about Delta or Tmax so far. I want to try more Neopan eventually, but it's closer to TriX than Tmax, in the grain department. If...I mean when I get some TMY-2, I'll definitely try it at 1600.

I need to add some of my DD-X experiments to the database, and I have a few rolls in the fridge too. So far, I like DD-X a lot.

[Xia_Ke]

That's what I need to start doing next, playing around with new film developers. I've been very happy with HC-110 so far but, it's time to see what else is out there. I'm thinking I'll be going with PMK Pyro or Rodinal next order. Just finished off a bottle of HC-110 and will be trying Kentmere K110 next which is Kentmere's HC-110 equivalent but a couple dollars cheaper a bottle. Tomorrow or tonight I will be trying some new paper developer, Harman (Ilford) Warmtone. Should go nice with the warmtone FB paper's I have right now. Also, thinking about trying my hand at selenium toning next session as I didn't get a chance to try it out last round.

[mtbbrian]

Okay, simmer down Brian. Have you been sniffing your fantastic plastic again? ...LOL I love Tri-X but, shooting MF, grain isn't as big of an issue as 35mm. If I was shooting more 35mm, than I think I would have to give definite consideration to the New TMAX 400 if I needed a faster speed film and depending on the subject I would be shooting. I wish I had another roll or 2 of it as I would love to try seeing how well it pushes to 1600.

You're funny Aaron....
Brian

[Xia_Ke]

In my best Joe Pesci voice..."You mean, let me understand this cause, ya know maybe it's me, I'm a little ****ed up maybe, but I'm funny how, I mean funny like I'm a clown, I amuse you? I make you laugh, I'm here to ****in' amuse you? What do you mean funny, funny how? How am I funny?"

Sorry, couldn't resist

[jgredline]

Wow, I saw a lady with a camera that looked like that taking pictures and I was blown away. I did not want to ask her questions, but I was like what in the world is that...The more I learn and read about Film, the more there is to learn...

Congrats on your new toy...Aaron

[Xia_Ke]

You should have stopped and asked!

The more I learn and read about Film, the more there is to learn...

That's just photography in general...LOL I'm sure you felt the same way when you started building engines, right? Now look where you are. The Rollei's, and TLR's in general, are fun as hell. You should try one out sometime. Yashica TLR's can be had for cheap and the MF negatives are awesome.

[F-15_Flyer]

Well congrats to you too! Everyones gettin new toys! Good thing I have no money to spend, haha.

[Xia_Ke]

...I have no money to spend, haha.

Nor do I any more :cryin:

[w_keen]

I was messing around with a Rollei (don't know which one) 2 years ago in a store and loved it so much. I nearly had a weak moment but the price tag made me paused long enough to reconsider.

One question I have, how did you manage to get such great quality scans of your pictures into the computer? What kind of scanner do you use and is there a best practice? I don't have a scanner myself and would consider getting one that will scan both prints and slides.

[Xia_Ke]

Thanks w_keen The Rolleis are awesome cameras. Not sure I could picture myself shooting with anything else now. The Rolleiflexes can get very expensive. If you would like to get into TLR's try looking for a Rolleicord or a Yashica (with Yashinon lens). Both can be had at excellent prices and both have very sharp lenses. A decent Rolleicord can be had for about $125 - $150, while a you can pick up some of the Yashicas for under $100.

All my scanning is done with an Epson 4490 Photo into Photoshop 7. These are then exported as 16-bit grayscale TIFF files and uploaded into Lightroom. For some reason just can't seem to get it to work right to be able to scan directly into Lightroom. No real secret. I just try to keep the glass as clean as possible by wiping down with a microfiber cloth anytime I go to scan new negatives. 35mm can be a pain at times with Newton rings due to the curling of the film but, it's not really a issue with 120 film which is what I normally shoot.

[w_keen]

Thanks Aaron - I'll definitely research more on the scanner. Looks like a good buy.

[Xia_Ke]

w_keen, check Epson's website. They have them refurbed right now for $109 with free shipping and they come with 1 year warranty. I got mine refurbed from them and it looks new.

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/c...s&oid=63060806

[w_keen]

Thanks Aaron! Great link, I'm close to taking the plunge in getting the 4490. There was plenty of reviews on a 4990 which seemed to have great softwares but sadly it has been discontinued. Then there was that HP but software didn't get good reviews. 4490 seemd to be the one I'm going for.