Buying film from overseas...

Molli

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Okay, you've got the url either from the address bar or somewhere else, but not quite the right one. Click on the image you just uploaded, if it's not already the main image in your browser at photobucket. To the left of the screen is a list of links. Something along the lines of For Email and IM, Direct Link and... um, something else. Can't go and look to verify since you're logged in there Anyway, you want the one that says Direct Link.
 
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gamincurieux

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Looking at your earlier pic..... see the white squares of what I think is your aperture adjusting ring? There's another ring or 2 below it. Now imagine you could attach this thing the lower ring..... that's kind of what I'm working on here...
 

Molli

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You got it - I was just about to pop up a photo-tutorial
If I'm measuring the lens in the right spot, it's 32mm across the face of the lens and, yes, 39mm from one side of the aperture ring to the other. And, yes, the flash was reflecting off the aperture ring in that earlier photo, making it look like white squares. The problem is, everything, from the aperture ring down to the front of the lens moves if I adjust it. Actually, I'm saying "the problem is" when I don't know if it actually is a problem Even if the entire filter holder moves with the aperture ring, it's far enough away from anything that it's not going to bang into stuff.
 
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gamincurieux

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Measure across the screw thread, where the lens screws into the enlarger, should be 39mm across from one edge of the thread to the other. Most lenses/enlargers have a 39mm thread, but some older gear might be something else.... asking about that is more for a back-up idea I have, which I can't be sure will work anyway.

The main thing is, if your lens comes out far enough to attach this and it doesn't bang into stuff, then sure you could fix this thing to the aperture ring & turn it with it - you only have to ever really turn it 2 or 3 clicks, wide open to focus then close it down one or two stops to the sharpest f-stop, that's only ever just 1 or 2 stops away from wide open. So, it doesn't have to turn much really.
 

Molli

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If I'm looking at this correctly - I've taken the entire lens out - it's directly attached to a circular base. The lens is held in place on the enlarger in almost identical fashion to the way the filter holder attaches - via a screw on the enlarger itself being wound into place. There's no actual thread at the back of the lens. Am I a complete nuffy and looking at the wrong thing?
 
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gamincurieux

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Noooo you're not a nuffy. The lens should unscrew from the circular base... I say 'should', but hell it really might not! Sounds like that's all one piece, the lens & circular base. Have to sleep on this one......
 

Molli

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Don't be troubling yourself on my account! It's officially the weekend - enjoy!

(It doesn't detach from the base, by the way)

Now, my thanks for your help, go to sleep!

'night
 
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gamincurieux

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Take some more pics & post em if you don't mind, looking up from under etc, would be handy to see more...
 

OldBikerPete

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w9cae said:
Molli is that an Gnome brand enlarger ?
Click to expand...
No, It's a Meopta - very widely used in the stone age.

Molli, the Meopta has a 'preview filter' which can be swung under the lens. If that filter were removed and it's mounting used to drop in filters cut into circles, that would do the trick. You could just drop in the preview filter when needed.

Peter.
 
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gamincurieux

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I'm probably going to have to sit this film buying round out, just this time though, I'm still very interested no doubt about it. I've had to (had to, HA!!!) spend a fair sum of money on some needed gear this last week, so as buying film this time was more for experimenting with some new types it'll have to wait a bit, I'll just chug along on whatever film is left in my fridge for the moment.....
 

Molli

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Thank you, Peter. I looked at what I might do with that preview filter's holder. The thing is, it's all of apiece. In order to put a different filter in, I'd have to break the red filter currently in it as it's held in place by two immovable metal clasps. To pry them up would almost certainly break the preview filter itself.
Not to worry as I'm happy to just hold the needed contrast filter beneath the lens.
 

Molli

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Is anyone still interested in doing this? If not, is there anyone willing to sell me just a couple of rolls of film and perhaps 5 sheets of 5x10 paper?
I'm unable to go into an order overseas by myself with the cost of p&h and Vanbar's is too expensive for me, particular given that this will be my first effort at developing and printing images. If anyone has any 'to spare', I would happily pay for the items themselves (obviously) plus the costs of packaging and postage. I'd actually prefer that it be film and paper you were close to throwing out anyway if it would mean selling it cheaper than brand new stuff.
Many thanks in advance to anyone who might be able to help me out

Molli
 

polyglot

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Molli: if you don't find someone closer (in Vic), PM me and I can send a little over. I'm in Perth though so it's gonna be about $10 shipping. Assumimg you still need to get paper developer (and fixer?), you're almost certainly best off getting a 25-pack of 8x10 RC from the same shop, should be $30ish.

If your enlarger is anything like mine (LPL C7700), the lens screws into a circular base and the circular base gets wedged into the bottom of the head by that screw you found. In my case, the circular base is indented: it goes in one way for 35mm and in the other way for MF, thereby changing the distance from lens to film by about 20mm and allowing you to achieve proper focus. Have a look where the lens goes into the circular plate - bet you see a thread coming out the other side and it is 39mm diameter.

Some older enlargers don't use the standard M39 thread though, they have lenses with smaller diameter (eg 25mm) that go clean through the lens board and then have a big nut on the back that holds them there. Show us a photo of the back of the lens board and we can be sure about which it is.
 

Molli

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I took these photos the other night whilst we were discussing this - I should have popped the lens along side a ruler because it's impossible to tell scale without one. At any rate, the lens seems to definitely welded into the circular base. That dark ring you can see around the lens itself measures 18mm, the shinier looking outer ring measures 22mm. Neither of these sections screw into anything on the enlarger itself; the entire circular base is simply held in place with the screw mentioned previously.

With regard to what you might have available to sell, that would be fantastic! As mentioned, while the prices at Freestyle are easily the cheapest I've seen, the postage and handling are killers. With Vanbar here in Melbourne, the reverse is true.

 
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gamincurieux

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I just don't get it..... since when did Meopta render the lens totally immovable?! I first printed on an already-quite-old Meopta in high school back in the early 80's and you could sure remove the lens back then if you wanted to.... what's going on with Molli's?!
 

Molli

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It's the Meopta Axomat 1a, if that helps any. Seriously, though, it's not a big drama for me to simply hold a filter beneath the lens so don't go worrying about it too much.
 

polyglot

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See that inner ring (with notches) in the photo? That's the back of the lens. The outer ring (no notches, maybe it's knurled) is the nut and it unscrews from the lens. The lens will then drop out of the lensboard, which you'll find has a plain hole of about 20mm in it. Assuming it's the lens you want to use, don't bother removing it for now. With a 20mm lensboard hole, replacement lenses for that enlarger will not be common but they will be very cheap!
 
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