I know these are relatively new, but...
I have a pair of Nikon F4's and an F6. The F4's are built like tanks and
been bounced around the inside of my car I don't know how many times,
and I've never had anything break.
If you ever have a chance to use an F6, give it a whirl. It is a refined
piece of pro 35mm gear the likes of which we will never see again.
Smooth, quiet, accurate, no real idiosyncrasies. It feels good to shoot
with it.
Tim Daneliuk <mailto:tundra@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
January 6, 2018 at 12:15 PM
War stories! I love war stories!
So, I'm in college, I have a shiny new Nikon F
Apollo and I'd replaced the Photomic Head with a straight pentaprism . While at
Disneyland one day, I sat down to change film. When I stood up, I neglected to
put the strap back round my neck. The F and the 35mm f/2.8
plugged into hit the pavement about 3 feet later. I picked it up, dusted it off,
and kept shooting. The only damage was a very minor cosmetic ding.
Although I mostly shoot larger formats, I still own two very well cared for
F bodies - A chrome F and a black Apollo, both with fully functioning
Photomic FtN heads. They are lovely cameras and still work flawlessly.
However, I have to say, the greatest 35mm body I ever owned was an F3. I just
found a "new" one (new old stock, essentially) that I snapped up as soon as I
could. Incredible machine the likes of which we shall never see again.
Jean-David Beyer <mailto:jeandavid8@xxxxxxxxxxx>
January 6, 2018 at 11:32 AM
I slipped and fell into the Merced River (or one of its little
tributaries) in Yosemite park in about 1974. I was holding my Nikkormat
FTn in one hand. I was in over my head, but I managed to keep the camera
out of the water until a well-meaning person tried to rescue me. I asked
that he take the camera, but his help tipped me over and the camera got
soaked. As soon as I got out, I removed the battery and shook the water
out of the camera. I also removed the film and let it dry a few hours in
the sun. The shutter sounded a little slow, but it worked. I did switch
to black-and-white film.
A week later I took it to Marty Forscher an his merry men. They replaced
the shutter, did a CLA, and it was as good as new. For some reason, no
water went into the lens.
I am glad that was fresh water.
Laurence Cuffe <mailto:cuffe@xxxxxxx>
January 6, 2018 at 11:15 AM
I am profoundly sympathetic with the sentiment of this post, but have one slight reservation. I was touring in the south of France, and while in the "aero-city" theme park near the Ardeche, my Canonet QL17 got slightly splashed with water. The water entered the shutter mechanism and the camera has never worked since. Lovely lens though.
Best
Laurence Cuffe
Sauerwald Mark (Redacted sender mark_sauerwald for DMARC) <mailto:dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
January 6, 2018 at 8:23 AM
Several years ago, my wife and I lived in Maine. I gave my wife a new Canon digital camera for Christmas. We had a tradition of taking a walk in the woods behind our home on New-Years Eve, and that year we took our walk (on snowshoes). She put her new camera in the pocket of her parka, and I put a Canon Canonet QL17 in my pocket. Half way through the walk, her camera failed. I sent it in for warranty repair, and was told that the camera could not be repaired, and that it was unrealistic to expect any camera to survive outdoors in Maine. My Canonet, which was 40 years old at the time, is still working flawlessly, and is my go to camera for poor conditions, and when I want to carry a camera in my pocket.
Your Epic might not have been built to the same standards as the 80 year old Leica, but it was probably far better than anything being made today. Most cameras today are in phones that are not expected to last 5 years.
Mark
From: Richard Lahrson <gtripspud@xxxxxxxxx <mailto:gtripspud@xxxxxxxxx>>
Date: Fri, 5 Jan 2018 10:16:25 -0800
Subject: [pure-silver] Wonder...
My Olympus Stylist Epic w/35 2.8 an
electronic wonder of the '90s broke
(the electronic shutter switch failed).
My '30 Leica that sat down for 1/2
century works great & is being CLAed.
I suppose the Epic needs the circular file.
Rich
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End of pure-silver Digest V5 #4
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