Ditched my N80....

ic-racer · Feb 5, 2023

...and got out my 8x10. While Huss is enjoying the beach and taking pictures of seagulls I was freezing my toes off. Eleven below zero C. I went back the next day at about 0C and most of the ice had melted.

11x14 print on Ilford MG FB. Lots of dodging and burning and a little reducer here and there.
Shen-Hao 8x10: Fujinon 250/6.7: Hp5 8x10.

Huss · Feb 5, 2023

Ok, that is an acceptable reason.

ic-racer · Feb 5, 2023

Tried something more dramatic printing this one.

Huss · Feb 5, 2023

It’s cool… but I like the first one more.

ic-racer · Feb 5, 2023

I did go back there with an Autofocus Nikon but have not processed the roll yet.

ic-racer · Feb 5, 2023

Huss said:
It’s cool… but I like the first one more.

Side by side, I do like the first one. I'd like to re-print the second one. It took two days, or two printing sessions to do the first one.

I just got a big shipment from B&H yesterday with more 8x10 paper; I thought I had a whole box of 11x14 but only a few sheets. So I'll have to wait. Maybe I'll order some 16x20 for both of those.
I also went out with just about every format to the same place; 34mm, 6x6 TLR, 6x6 SLR and 4x5" so there may be a few more that are a little different. I was able to haul the 6x6 up to a different viewpoint.
For 35mm I used the N55 with 4AA pack and it held up well in the cold.

Sirius Glass · Feb 5, 2023

I too like the first one better. You show a well developed eye for finding great compositions in nature - kudos.

blee1996 · Feb 5, 2023

I do like the first one more as well: more gradation on the water and ice gives them a richer smoother look, like a stout beer.

Lugging around an 8x10 in that temperature is real dedication!

ic-racer · Feb 5, 2023

So I went back there with some other cameras that were easier to carry than the 8x10.

This is the good old Rolleicord. It did freeze up once and would not advance, so back to the car and warm it up, then it advanced and I got the whole roll exposed. This was the best one:

This is only printed to about 7"x7" on 8x10 paper. Ilford MG FB.

ic-racer · Feb 5, 2023

It was a little warmer the day I took the 4x5 Horseman FA with 90mm Topcor lens. The Horseman has a rotating back which was nice.

The Horseman FA is a little fiddly doing front drop. The whole camera has to be put on its side and I was not up to that with my gloved hands. So I pointed the camera down, without respect for correcting converging lines.

This is different than the first post in the thread. Indeed with the Shen-Hao 8x10, I did use front drop and corrected converging lines. I think that gives the image a majestic nature.

Huss · Feb 5, 2023

So what I am getting out of this thread is your N80 is so incredible it takes four other cameras to replace it.

ic-racer · Feb 5, 2023

Huss said:
So what I am getting out of this thread is your N80 is so incredible it takes four other cameras to replace it.

Exactly! I'm actually seeking another with a broken back. That way I will have two of them with metal latches on the back.

No good negatives from my N80 yet, but sometimes it takes years to get a good negative from a camera. I only print the good ones.

This is what I'm going through this winter. Nine months of negatives.

MattKing · Feb 5, 2023

Don't you mean that you've "frozen out" your N80?

ic-racer · Feb 5, 2023

MattKing said:
Don't you mean that you've "frozen out" your N80?

One of my electronic Rolleiflexes locked up on me when I lived in Minnesota; it never worked again. So, the N80 is my newest camera, I'm still babying it, though I suspect it would work fine in the freezing cold

eli griggs · Feb 10, 2023

ic-racer said:
One of my electronic Rolleiflexes locked up on me when I lived in Minnesota; it never worked again. So, the N80 is my newest camera, I'm still babying it, though I suspect it would work fine in the freezing cold

Jury rig a inside the coat power packet, with a workable coiled electrical wire running to your cameras contacts, using graffers tape to hold it in place, if the 'door' has to stay open, tape craft styrofoam, with a pocket for the door, in place with graffers tape too.

Cold kills batteries, and even a small amount of power going into your cameras circuits might help it no fail, so keeping the camera on might help you out.

Keep a few spare batteries in your warm coat, as well.

IMO.

Eli

ic-racer · Feb 11, 2023

I keep an extra battery pack in my pocket. The Nikon MS-18 is a spare AA insert for the MB-18 N75/N55 battery pack.

I don't have the AA adapter for the N80.

Sirius Glass · Feb 14, 2023

ic-racer said:
I keep an extra battery pack in my pocket. The Nikon MS-18 is a spare AA insert for the MB-18 N75/N55 battery pack.

I don't have the AA adapter for the N80.
View attachment 329389

Keep the batteries warm in your pocket and put them in only when your are photographing instead.

Ditched my N80....

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