110/16mm Camera Image Quality

ic-racer

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Have not used the black Minolta 16QT that I got in 1986 for a while because the shutter was sticking.
I took it apart and cleaned with alcohol but still occasionally sticking. My diagnosis was a weak shutter spring. So I tightened the spring moving it over one slot. I was able to reach in there with tweezers and pull the spring out of the slot visible and move it to the next slot tighter. Worked like a charm!

Also, a cool little know fact is the shutter speed lever has a continuous action on the slow speed (30/sec) escapement. What that means is that one can set inbetween shutter speeds. So, only 30 and 250 are labeled, but if you set the lever about half way between it is about 1/100th.
 
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ic-racer

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What do you think of this cool little flash I got to replace the original Minolta flash. The original flash was smaller, but not automatic. Mine stopped working in the late 1990s but someday I could put a new capacitor in it.

However, this tiny Sunpak is a two-range Automatic flash that even has a rotating head for bounce.

If anyone else has tiny strobe/flash/speedlights please show!
 

Patrick Robert James

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ic-racer said:
Nice! Are you slitting your own film?
Click to expand...

Thanks, and yup. I made a slitter a few years ago with some wood, some bolts and a lot of nuts. I used the nuts to space the blades, then I filled it with epoxy. Seemed like a good idea at the time, but the blades have worn. I kicked the can a bit by putting in more epoxy to use a different part of the blades. I need to just buy a JimmyLee slitter like you have there. I slit film off of 100' spools of Eastman XX. I've found the film to slit better than others. Foma for example chips and scratches easily. I think the same reasons why movie film goes through cameras easily are the same it slits easily. I slit tons of film at a time then put it in a 100' can. To get the right length I use a correct length piece of string and hold it with the film as I pull. Works well and is fast.
 

xkaes

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ic-racer said:
However, this tiny Sunpak is a two-range Automatic flash that even has a rotating head for bounce.

If anyone else has tiny strobe/flash/speedlights please show!
Click to expand...

Finding a tiny HOT-shoe flash for the Minolta QT & MG-s -- they use the same hot-shoe flash adapter -- is a challenge. There are LOTS of BIG auto-exposure flashes that will work, but I've discovered an unfortunate problem with the small auto-exposure hot-shoe flashes -- it's also a problem with the manual-exposure hot-shoe flashes as well.

Unlike most hot shoes on cameras, the Minolta QT/MG-s hot-shoe adapter only has a electrical contact one ONE side of the shoe (a hot shoe has one contact in the middle of the base/shoe and the other on the side(s) -- HARD to see). check you Minolta QT/MG-s hot-shoe adapter -- you'll see that the shoe only has a metal contact on one side.
While most LARGE flashes have contacts on both sides of the flash shoe, most small flashes only have it one ONE side -- and almost every SMALL flash I have found the side contact is on the WRONG side to work with the Minolta QT/MG-s hot-shoe adapter.
Examples of small auto-exposure flashes -- Yashica CS-14 & Konica HX-14.
Like, I said, there are larger flashes, like the Sunpak Auto 101 with contacts on both sides, and the Minolta Auto 118X, but these are mush larger and heavier -- defeating the purpose of a submini camera.
The Cosina CX-11 is very small, has AUTO, and has contacts on both sides, but is impossible to find.
 

jbrubaker

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I went for a walk on the RR tracks today with the new Minox C. All photos are on Tmax 100 film developed in Legacy-Pro L110 1:31 for 6 minutes:

 

Bronson Dugnutt

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I finally got my grubby mitts on some 16mm ImageLink HQ and tried a test cassette under overcast sky. The Canon 110ED20 accepts unperforated stock so I'll probably try that next.

Minolta QT, 1/30s, F3.5 ( ~ ISO 12 from a reflected reading of dry concrete)
D-23 1+2 8'
V800 negative scan




A revision of the new Godox Lux Junior flash with an articulated head for bounce/swivel (and the output adjustment dial on top) would be an ideal sub-mini flash... maybe they could call it the 'De Lux'.
 

Huss

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Also very nice!
 

Donald Qualls

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Bronson Dugnutt said:
( ~ ISO 12 from a reflected reading of dry concrete)
D-23 1+2 8'
Click to expand...

Wow, that looks amazingly good for document film. I need to load up some cassettes and try that in one of my13x17 cameras. In the past, I've shot at higher EI and used special low contrast developers, but the images never looked that good.
 

Bronson Dugnutt

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Slight correction, it's EPM ImageLink HD, not HQ, on pet 13 base (catalog #114NXGS) with a 2019-04 expiry date. The equivalent stocks in 35mm and 105mm are #114NXHU and #114NXL1, respectively.

I had to make a few educated guesses on how to best process the film but am quite pleased with the first go. It performs well in low contrast scenes.

Made in Belgium about a decade ago. Neat.
 
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Bronson Dugnutt

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A couple more frames from some ImageLink HD. Same camera and developer (left sitting on the bench overnight) but partly cloudy today rather than overcast. Naturally I had to stop down a bit but never went much past f8. The contrast can get pretty strong with this combo, depending on the light.




And a set of underexposures from the Canon 110ED 20. I accidentally loaded a cassette tabbed for ISO 400 metering and the 4.5 stops of ND I attached to the meter just wasn't enough. Aside from using a 100 ISO cassette next time, I might just pop out the camera's battery and use the mechanical shutter. 1/125s @ F2 should give about the same exposure as the QTs 1/30s @ F3.5 and also allow for manual aperture control.


,

There is also a 'hidden' 1/30s fixed shutter speed when a flash (or hotshoe cover...) is attached to the camera. When activated it mechanically couples the aperture to the focusing scale for use with a flash of GN ~14(m) (think Nikkor Auto GN lens), also compensated for 100 or 400 speed film. I'm not certain if the 1/30s speed is also mechanical or requires the battery in place. I'd be nice to find out the camera could do both 1/125 and 1/30 when unpowered.
 

Bronson Dugnutt

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Not too bad, only a 1/4 - 1/2 frame of slop... pretty much what you'd get on actual 110 perfs. It's a beast of a camera, despite the bulk and less-than-optimal ergonomics.

Great showing of Minox as of late. There's a pawn shop near me that has a busted copy of a B (I think) but the sticker price is still ridiculous.

 

Bronson Dugnutt

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Rollei 16, Ektachrome 100D



Minolta MG-s, ImageLink HD @ ISO 6
D-19 reversal, 3'30"


FPP BW 3 (2383), Parodinal 1+100 60'
 
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Bronson Dugnutt

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It's from an S, IIRC.

This isn't exactly 16mm, but one could consider Double8 a sort of 'quarter-frame Minox'.

Wollensak 8 Model 53
FPP Double8 ISO 100, Xtol stock
Morse tank, V800 scan
 
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