My new friends

[sun of sand]

I just bought a Ricoh Five One Nine off ebay for about a quarter. 45mm f1.9 fixed lens having 6 elements ..seikosha shutter
Trigger rapidwind thing
Neat. The lens should be decent enough


The real find though is the Foth Derby I was given for free (II, I guess)
It's a sweet little camera.

I can't put the thing down!
I've only done some initial testing trying to find a way around 127 film and the damn f3.5 lens is sharp
I did a little test with a target last night using this foth, zuiko, rokkor, xenon and industar

Zuiko seems sharpest (loupe on neg) followed closely by the industar and rokkor
Foth RIGHT there ..and I did the test wide open at F3.5 instead of 5.6 for the others ..and scale focused -though I had the 7 foot distance pretty much translated
Xenon I have to redo as it's not as sharp as the others - extremely probable quick release issue

So
127
modify the Derby to take 35mm somehow
adapt the lens for Leica mount

 

[Rich Ullsmith]

You are an ambitious individual! Please share the creation when completed, please. I love stuff like that, just not very handy, so please show if possible.

 

[sun of sand]

I really want to keep the Derby going as is
probably just buy 127
but I will fudge up an adapter to use it on leica mount when time permits
really wish I had a lathe etc but then that'd be something else to learn


I stuck the negs under my new D5 w/aristo and with a grain focuser read the 3 bar target

all I can say is that with the Foth at 3.5 and very carefully scale focused -no marking for 7 1/3 feet on the derby
The Derby actually seems to resolve more than the Zuiko 50 1.8 at 5.6

The Zuiko LOOKS sharper and I figure it's due to contrast
The Foth is much less contrasty a lens
BUT the Foth went 1 1/3 - 2! more 3-Bar "squares" than did the Zuiko before getting very mushy/unreadable

? I read that as being pretty damn good.

The Industar rigid 50 3.5 ugly stick is a contrasty lens reading just about equal with the Zuiko
Maybe more contrast than the zuiko to make up for resolution, i dunno

Minolta 7s Rokkor less contrasty and resolves just about 1/2-1 square 3-bar less

still have to redo Retina f2 Xenon but in 4x6 landscape prints looked "just as good" as the other lenses

 

[sun of sand]

I did my little test again ..this time at 3 1/2ft f9
Zuiko sharpest
on standard 3 bar test target Zuiko reads somwhere in the 100+ range counting all bars before too mushy to truly discern
Foth reads around 85 bars
Xenon reads about the same

Foth has less contrast than the Xenon
Foth reminds me of a 20's-30's kind of sharpness
Xenon looks 50's sharp
Zuiko has a 70's-80's professional sharpness with touch of dreamy
technical terms

Foth and zuiko seem to be on the same page but the xenon appears to focus further in than the lens says
as in 3.5 ft may be more like 3.7 ft. Rangefinder off a little?

Of the three I like the xenon best. Gives a weighty, rougher/grittier, rounded look. Sensual
Zuiko gives a lightweight, skinny, smooth feel to objects. Rather unromantic and indifferent

My Foth is pretty good at sharpness -atleast when get distance of subject correct- and low on contrast. I'm calling Foth sensual and "unsharp"
perhaps self-confident