What makes you grin? Antidote to grumpy thread

[Guest]

Today has not been great. A slow day at work, I lose half my kebab on the way back in off break and I had some dire news off MM5 about my Wirral based storage arrangements going tits up.

 

However, my FED-1 turned up at work from the Ukraine.

 

 

I did some cross referencing on the serial number (yes, I am that sad) and it turns out I have a FED-1G, produced in 1954 or thereabouts and the last of its type before the FED-2 began production.

It's a half arsed copy of a pre-war Leica III, and having never used an Ablon when loading film or a rangefinder for shooting, I may have something of a steep learning curve with it - although having studied a few how-to guides on YouTube, it shouldn't prove too difficult. The lens is this funny little lockable M39 50mm that you pull out and twist into place. You focus it with that lever wheel thing to the left of the lens body which aligns the LH viewfinder with a ghosted image you overlay, using the RH box to compose the shot, allowing for a bit of parallax air.

 

I'm going to move my OM-1 and FED-3 on pretty soon though, along with some more Corgi and Dinky models from my keeps box.

 

I have quite an odd collection of 35mm camerashite now - it's one of my other passions seeing as how you don't have to deal with nobhead price gouging landlords to keep them around. I really, really want a Rolleicord of some kind - the Lubitels and Yashicas TLRs can go and shit on Len's face for all I care.

 

List now is:

 

1955 FED-1G (boss)

1955 Carl Zeiss Werra Olive (utterly mad little thing)

1957 Halina 35X (shiny and a bit shit)

1966 Zorki 11 (shiny and a bit odd)

1966 Yashica Lynx 14 (finally in the UK after being bummed for £21 between HMRC and Parcelcunt, also broken)

19?? FED-3 (for sale)

1971 Olympus FTL (with shitted up focussing screen - I'm looking for another that doesn't cost £££££)

1978 Praktica EE2 (Pete-M's, has the LOUDEST shutter in the world - CRUNCH)

197? Olympus OM1n - (for sale).

 

2008 Nikon D60 ('shit' DSLR, according to my Canon toting poseur Uni colleagues who can GTF).

[Guest]

I thought it said Panasonic. Never heard of it! Just looked it up here:

http://classicgaming.gamespy.com/View.php?view=ConsoleMuseum.Detail&id=38&game=12

 

I regret selling/giving away my collection.

 

My mate Gary at school was Nintendo mad and managed to buy a Virtual Boy in 1996. It gave you a headache after about 10 minutes. I had a Supergun and a few JAMMA boards a couple of years ago which sold for fuck-all on eBay and nearly broke my heart. Bought and flogged a Sega Saturn on for pennies, and had an Amiga CD32 for a bit but sold it on after getting a daft offer on it from a friend of a friend. I'd like to try an Atari Jaguar - that would be a laugh.

[Cavcraft]

Talking of games console things, despite being a bit 'pre-decimal' when it comes to that kind of shit I don't think you'll ever beat Desert Strike and Jungle Strike. The Mga-Drive was quality, my missus used to do her nut when she got up in the morning to find loads of bits of bof roll stuck to the telly screen as I used them as markers for fuel dumps.

There was also an F1 game with a yellow box that was a right laugh for crashing etc, and Road Rash was also good fun. I got as advanced* as a Nintendo 64 when it all cmae horribly on top and my son used to hand me my arse on a plate when he was about 3, so I did that time honoured dad thing and pretended I was too busy to play anymore because I was getting hammered at every game.

[Spiny Norman]

I really, really want a Rolleicord of some kind

 

I was 'investigating' an old box in a cupboard the other day and pulled this out.

 

 

I've got a few old cameras too, that Rolleicord, a lovely old Kodak Retina 11a, a Braun Paxette SLR, and an ancient Nagel Vollanda roll film jobbie. I also have a Lubitel 166 and an old original Lomo somewhere too, not to mention my old 35mm Minolta SRT & XD7s, a Yashica FX3 with all the leather covering peeled off it, and the modern digi stuff, a Nikon D40, a D5000 and a wee Fuji bridge thing I just snapped up on Egay for £37!

 

I'm just starting to get back into photography again after ignoring it for years.

[Tayne]

However, my FED-1 turned up at work from the Ukraine.

 

Is the Ukraine good for camera shite?

I'll be there in a week.

[ashmicro]

My big mate John is well into all things camera, and despite his trying to teach me stuff for about the last 20 years, I still can't use an SLR! He bought a secondhand Lubitel medium format camera for £20, years ago, but it had a light leak, so he shelled out £60 on a Chinese MF camera called a Seagull. I have never seen such quality photos, amazing stuff. One of John's mates bought a Hasselblad DSLR for something bonkers like 20 grand

 

Dunno about Ukraine specifically, but I've been told that the former Soviet bloc was quite good at cameras.

[Tayne]

I know the Soviet bloc made some nice stuff, it was more s question of availability for me (or even cheeky eBay resale).

I'm aiming to pic up a few vintage watches whilst I'm there.

[RedSparrow]

I have always wanted a decent East German Ruhla watch. They were pretty well made though and so fetch high-ish prices.

[ashmicro]

I'm aiming to pic up a few vintage watches whilst I'm there.

 

 

A guy I know spent a fair bit of money on, and waited quite a long time for, a Russian watch called a Poljot, "as worn by Cosmonauts". It was RUBBISH, kept stopping. The supplier eventually replaced it, and the back kept falling off that one. Apparently the ones produced before 1990 are much better.

[retrogeezer]

Nice collection.

What's the thing next to the dreamcast?

 

 

Panasonic 3DO, perhaps the ultimate in console shite. Unfortunately I can't get it to work and it seems the controller port may be buggered

 

 

Is that the one you got from me a couple of years ago?? It was working fine wasn't it?? I took photos before sending it and everything.

[Negative Creep]

Nice collection.

What's the thing next to the dreamcast?

 

 

Panasonic 3DO, perhaps the ultimate in console shite. Unfortunately I can't get it to work and it seems the controller port may be buggered

 

 

Is that the one you got from me a couple of years ago?? It was working fine wasn't it?? I took photos before sending it and everything.

 

 

The controller I got with it doesn't work so I presumed that was buggered. To be honest I forgot about it soon afterwards, but having tried a Mega Drive pad that doesn't work either. Need to get hold of a replacement official pad really but they aren't that easy to come by

[retrogeezer]

oh dear, it was definitely working when I packed it all up, I made sure I played a game on it before hand. The console is working though right?

 

The 3rd party controller did feel pretty cheaply made though compared with the proper one, have you taken the controller apart at all?? I've often found mega drive controllers need a clean on the contacts inside and it might be the same.

 

S

[retrogeezer]

had a look on line, sega controllers will not work and may damage the console:

 

[3.7] Can I use Sega Genesis controllers on my 3DO?

 

A: NO! And attempting to use a Genesis controller could damage the controller

and/or your 3DO!! You _can_, however, use extension cords for Genesis

controllers on your 3DO controllers to increase the length of the cable.

 

[3.8] Can I use any other system's controllers on my 3DO?

 

A: Yes. There are 2 Super Nintendo controller adapters available for the 3DO.

These will allow you to use Super Nintendo controllers on your 3DO. They may

also allow you to use other Super Nintendo accessories, such as the light gun.

This has yet to be confirmed, but it may be possible.

[myglaren]

Today has not been great. A slow day at work, I lose half my kebab on the way back in off break and I had some dire news off MM5 about my Wirral based storage arrangements going tits up.

 

However, my FED-1 turned up at work from the Ukraine.

 

 

I did some cross referencing on the serial number (yes, I am that sad) and it turns out I have a FED-1G, produced in 1954 or thereabouts and the last of its type before the FED-2 began production.

It's a half arsed copy of a pre-war Leica III, and having never used an Ablon when loading film or a rangefinder for shooting, I may have something of a steep learning curve with it - although having studied a few how-to guides on YouTube, it shouldn't prove too difficult. The lens is this funny little lockable M39 50mm that you pull out and twist into place. You focus it with that lever wheel thing to the left of the lens body which aligns the LH viewfinder with a ghosted image you overlay, using the RH box to compose the shot, allowing for a bit of parallax air.

 

I'm going to move my OM-1 and FED-3 on pretty soon though, along with some more Corgi and Dinky models from my keeps box.

 

I have quite an odd collection of 35mm camerashite now - it's one of my other passions seeing as how you don't have to deal with nobhead price gouging landlords to keep them around. I really, really want a Rolleicord of some kind - the Lubitels and Yashicas TLRs can go and shit on Len's face for all I care.

 

List now is:

 

1955 FED-1G (boss)

1955 Carl Zeiss Werra Olive (utterly mad little thing)

1957 Halina 35X (shiny and a bit shit)

1966 Zorki 11 (shiny and a bit odd)

1966 Yashica Lynx 14 (finally in the UK after being bummed for £21 between HMRC and Parcelcunt, also broken)

19?? FED-3 (for sale)

1971 Olympus FTL (with shitted up focussing screen - I'm looking for another that doesn't cost £££££)

1978 Praktica EE2 (Pete-M's, has the LOUDEST shutter in the world - CRUNCH)

197? Olympus OM1n - (for sale).

 

2008 Nikon D60 ('shit' DSLR, according to my Canon toting poseur Uni colleagues who can GTF).

 

I used a Voigtländer Bessamatic with a Zoomar and a nice Rollieflex 2.8 while on holiday on Kärringön (Sweden) in the 60s.

 

 

The Bessanatic/Zoomar was absolutely brilliant. Bloody great rubber lens hood like a wastebasket.

[myglaren]

Oooo now that is scariest yet.

 

I think dysons are a bit over-rated, but have been unable to find a vacuum yet that I am impressed with. Vax was pap, most of the other have achieved as much as you could expect with my rubbish budget. The best so far though is a £35 Tesco's number. They don't do spare parts though "bin it when broken, buy more" attitude.

 

I bought a £30 Tesco cheapy vacuum cleaner. It blew up earlier this year. Really big sparks! Was absolutely rubbish. We've now got a Henry, which is superb.

 

When I first met Mrs Wobbler, she had one of these. (the red one in fact)

 

Was bloody superb and felt capable of surviving a nuclear war. Apart from the suction hose. Which broke. Foolishly, we binned it and replaced it with the inferior Tesco thing, which was forever clogging its filters. My mother has had many Dysons. Very clever, but also very fragile.

 

ALL MODERN VAKYUMS R SHIT!

 

We had a Volta* (Electrolux bargain bin model) that I paid a tenner for, new but clogged with fibres from a brand new carpet that the customer had been told not to vacuum. The salesman (doubled as a photomodel in our studio) sold them the most expensive Electrolux and flogged the Volta to me. Had it for fifteen years, replaced with an Electrolux, also ran for around fifteen years. Then A Bosch, NEEB selling them for half price (£100) and had a £50 voucher from the local paper so £50 instead of £200. Light as a feather, seemed flimsy but powerful, reckoned I might get a year out of it, lasted 9 and I was a bit sick of it although there was really nothing wrong with it. Use a Miéle now, wonderful thing, my third in four years as the kids knick them when their forty quid shitvacuumes fall to bits.

 

*looked just like the one you indicate but a nasty orange colour.

[Guest]

I really, really want a Rolleicord of some kind

 

I was 'investigating' an old box in a cupboard the other day and pulled this out.

 

 

 

PM me if you're thinking of selling the Rolleicord. A couple of my mates have had bad experiences buying them off eBay. Would love to give one a go and see what photos I end up with.

[M'coli]

I am not long back from Bourne.

This beast came by me so close I felt its exhaust on my camera hand & my legs as it went past!

[Caffiend]

Oooh, I was there too - great day, FABULOUS weather!

 

Loved the Dakota fly past

[dollywobbler]

Crikey. That's three people I know who were there then. Did manage to catch a Lola procession in Huntingdon once. Timed it spot-on and was the first car stopped by Police. "Fine, I'll park here then. Excellent!"

[M'coli]

It was stunning weather - those V16s sound awsome, but the V12s and V8s and straight-6s and 4s sounded pretty nice too, as did the Cooper-Bristol.

[Guest]

I am not long back from Bourne.

This beast came by me so close I felt its exhaust on my camera hand & my legs as it went past!

 

Jesus, they ran it through the town?

 

I mentioned BRM Celebration Day on BBC Radio Humberside & Lincolnshire, by the way. Wish I could have been there.....

 

Top shot.

[Caffiend]

Jesus, they ran it through the town?

They certainly did. There was one point where we wondered if the bend where we'd stood for photo purposes (as they had to slow down a bit) might not be *quite* the best place to stand

 

There were also a couple of occasions where I wanted to prod parents in the ribs with a sharp pointed object to get their toddlers back behind the ropes

 

But it was *brilliant* to imagine that this was a teensy taste of what a Grand Prix might have been like back in the day.

[Tayne]

I'm aiming to pic up a few vintage watches whilst I'm there.

 

 

A guy I know spent a fair bit of money on, and waited quite a long time for, a Russian watch called a Poljot, "as worn by Cosmonauts". It was RUBBISH, kept stopping. The supplier eventually replaced it, and the back kept falling off that one. Apparently the ones produced before 1990 are much better.

 

Been there, done that.

Oh no! by Tayne, on Flickr

 

 

Happy with this one though.

Russian Watch No 2 by Tayne, on Flickr

[retrogeezer]

Nice... ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[ashmicro]

That second one is much nicer, Tayne. What's the full name of it?

 

I really fancy a TAG Monaco, but they're 2 grand and while I love watches, that's mental.

[Cavcraft]

That 'Nonet' isn't a watch, it's a work of art. Take it they're silly money?

[messerschmitt owner]

That 'Nonet' isn't a watch, it's a work of art. Take it they're silly money?

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=poljot+watch

[ashmicro]

Not silly money by any means! I reckon Poljot should be the 'Shiter's choice - not expensive, and only for those "In the know". Taps nose.

 

This is nice

 

 

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/POLJOT-watch- ... 337c6e5354

[Cavcraft]

Ta gents, currently got my eye on these...

 

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110959244031? ... 1438.l2648

 

 

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261108384733? ... 1438.l2648

[Negative Creep]

oh dear, it was definitely working when I packed it all up, I made sure I played a game on it before hand. The console is working though right?

 

The 3rd party controller did feel pretty cheaply made though compared with the proper one, have you taken the controller apart at all?? I've often found mega drive controllers need a clean on the contacts inside and it might be the same.

 

S

 

 

Nothing obviously amiss on the pad's PCB, although it does indeed feel cheap as hell. If I'm feeling brave I may take the console apart and see if anything has burnt out console side