Tips and tricks for MF/TLR/Autocord

[nick_clark]

I would advise getting a lens hood. The lens is coated, but like all TLRs is not deeply recessed in the body, so is prone to flare. There are plastic Bay1 hoods for only about $7 on the bay, but they use the inner bayonet and then you cant attach a yellow filter too, which would be useful for black and white outdoor shots. If you can find one, a metal hood that uses the outer bayonet is better, as you can still use filters with it.

The Autocord is great. Arguably the most well thought out TLR design with an excellent lens.

There's a metal hood on the way

 

[mooseontheloose]

Nick, I see you are looking for a Bay 1 filter as well, and I have a few comments about that. I've bought probably 10 different filters over the past decade for my TLRs and now I'm down to 3. Maybe it's just me, but I find that the filters are not secure when on the camera and can be prone to 'unlocking' and falling off when you don't notice and/or even when you do but it's impossible to get them (like, when you are pointing down, photographing a river, and "plop" there's goes the filter...). I've since gotten a Bay 1 - 52mm adapter, which lets me use all of my current filters (including my infrared ones), reduces the chance of vignetting, and does not require me to carry any additional filters. I don't know why, but I never have a problem with the adapter unlocking, but I always do with the regular Bay 1 filters. Of course, the down side to that is that I can't use a lens hood.

Of course, I'm not suggesting you don't get the Bay 1 filter, as it would allow you to shoot with the lens hood (recommended), I just thought I'd mention this as an alternative.

 

[Dan Daniel]

Rachelle (and Nick), you can put a lens hood onto the 52mm adapter. I have a nice metal hood. I needed to trim it back a bit to avoid vignetting, but that was easy. Even though it covers part of the viewing lens I notice almost no light fall-off or blockage.

Any idea why your filters fall off? There are pins on the inside of the bayonet and the filter should be retained by them. You need to twist enough to push the extended flange over the pins, but there should be a slot in these flanges for the pin to slide into. The pins are spring-loaded so it might take a bit of effort. Or the Minolta bayonet is slightly off the spec of Rollei filters or such, too tight?

 

[mooseontheloose]

Dan, I'm not sure. It could be the last - Rollei filters on a Minolta - or maybe just bad luck? When I put them in I feel them locking into place, but if I'm out shooting a lot I do find that the filters will loosen as I go. As I've mentioned, the adapter doesn't move, so I've always assumed it was the filters. I don't really think about it anymore, since I travel with multiple cameras and need to cut down on what I bring, so I've using the adapter rather than the regular filters and haven't had any problems with it.

 

[nick_clark]

Hi Dan and Rachelle, thanks for the tips. I think I'll have a go with a second hand Bay I, and it it causes drama I'll have a crack with an adapter. I don't have any regular colour filters at the moment so compatibility isn't a huge consideration.

 

[eli griggs]

Minolta made a very good polarizer set-up for their autocords, I'm still looking for an affordable one myself.

Looking for filters, don't forget about series filters and adapters. They are usually very inexpensive and were made by a number of companies, so you can try them until you find what works for you. You can also try gel/polyester filters, using them square or cut to fit the series filter holders you have.

 

[bernard_L]

Re: parallax. What I do is compose through the viewing lens, make a mental note of where the lower edge of the frame is on the main subject, and, just before tripping the shutter, move up that lower edge (slight tilt of camera) relative to the subject by the estimated distance between the two lenses. That is not rigorous, because the foreground/background is not the same for the two lenses; the rigorous correction is not by tilting, but shifting the entire camera; which is not easy to do hand-held. You may or not find a device to do that from Minolta; there is the Paramender for Mamiya TLRs, that might work if the lens-to-lens distance is close enough.

 

[nick_clark]

Minolta made a very good polarizer set-up for their autocords, I'm still looking for an affordable one myself.

Looking for filters, don't forget about series filters and adapters. They are usually very inexpensive and were made by a number of companies...

What do you mean by 'series' filters?

I've yet to see one of the coupled polarisers in real life. Would love to pick one up though!

 

[calebarchie]

Drop in filters aka no thread

 

[macfred]

http://silverbased.org/series-filters/
http://silverbased.org/series-filters/

 

[mooseontheloose]

I've yet to see one of the coupled polarisers in real life. Would love to pick one up though!

When I got my first Autocord I went a bit crazy and over the next year sourced every thing I could for it, including the Minolta coupled polariser. The effect is not as strong as more modern polarisers, but it works nicely. When I didn't have it I just used a normal polariser - hold it up to your eye, get the effect you want, and hold it in front of the taking lens, and shoot - which is the same thing I do now with my rangefinders.

Unfortunately when I moved back to Japan in 2010 I had to make some hard decisions about what photo equipment would come with me and what wouldn't, and since at the time I was mostly shooting square with my Bronica, I left most of the accessories behind for the Autocord (although I did bring 2 TLRs with me). Now that I've gone back to shooting with the Autocords I wish I had all that stuff with me, but I guess I'll have to make do with what I have until I go back to Canada next year.

 

[Film Smells Good]

I'm not sure if your Autocord has it, but mine has a little ring around the shutter button that you can turn to lock the shutter to prevent it from accidentally firing. It is also handy to lock the shutter open if you're doing long exposures, just press and hold the shutter and flip the ring around and it will stay open. Flip it around again to disengage.

I find this very useful as I rarely carry around a shutter release cable.

If you're looking for a camera bag for your Autocord, try the Lowepro Apex 120 AW. It's an almost perfect fit for mine, and lets you chuck it around with other stuff with a lot more peace of mind. Previously it went around naked, which ended up being awkward a lot of the time because you never want anything else touching your beautiful TLR

 

[prumpkah]

In case you missed it, check out this site for useful Autocord info:

http://fredmath.wixsite.com/minolta-autocord-en

 

[Kiruna69]

Point it at something interesting... press shutter!


Steve.

...and forward the film and repeat
That's the way to go!
Enjoy the Autocord. I just bought one myself

 

[GRHazelton]

If you don't have the instruction manual, go to Mike Butkus' excellent site, https://www.butkus.org/chinon/minolta.htm. And send him a few dollars to keep up the excellent work. Do note that my Autocord L warns about changing the shutter to or from 1/500 if the shutter is cocked; this may depend on the age of the camera - mine has the old shutter sequence. The focus lever is a fragile alloy, if the grease stiffens it might break and then.... Also when loading film probably best to have the lever at infinity, since the camera will be perhaps face down on a table top and the lever will be at some risk. The meter on my Autocord L works! but it is a clumsily executed EV system; I use a separate meter. Of the three TLRs I have, YashicaMat 124G, Zeiss Ikoflex 1b, and the Autocord L, the Minolta is my favorite. All have excellent lenses, but the Autocord to me handles better.
BTW, filterfind.net is a good source for Bay 1 filters, Tim really knows his stuff. I've had good luck with his Bay 1 filters and I scored a good metal hood on Fleabay which secures to the outside of the lens, allowing it to be mounted with a filter in place.