Too much crap

[cooltouch]

Cooltouch your camera collection could be a camera store it seems like.

Just about, except most folks wouldn't be interested in my gear. Almost all of it is manual focus. The collection continues to grow, though. An amazingly clean Zeiss Super Ikonta BX arrived at my doorstep yesterday. Definitely the nicest Super Ikonta I've ever seen. I have a soft spot for Super Ikontas. I call them "Pocket Hasselblads."

Hey Frank, it's nice to read about another Airhead rider here. I own two -- a '76 R90/6 and an 88 R100RS. The old R90 gets ridden the most, but it's down for a top-end overhaul at the moment. Can't wait to get it back on the road with a fresh top end. I've never owned a Honda 750, but that R100RS sorta fills that slot for me. It's a hooligan bike, for sure -- or at least hooliganish for me.

 

[frank]

Cooltouch, hello! I recently sold my '76R90/6 to pay for my moto-trip. (documented in a blog linked to in my signature) The Honda is going back to my brother in law from whom I bought t, and I'm now a one bike guy with the '81R100.

 

[nolanr66]

I am not a motorcycle guy but I bought myself a Honda 750 for a College graduation present in 80 and rode around on it for about 3 years. I commuted on it and after 40,000miles it needed a timing chain and an exhaust system. I was flat out sick of riding it so I sold it and never bought another motorcycle. I always liked the boxer BMW's however. I have not owned one or ridden one but I like the way they look and how quiet they are. I am a 2 wheel guy in my own way however. I have a Lighthouse road bike (bicycle) and ride about 80miles a week. Last year 4500miles. Right now I am trying to toughen up for the Tierra Bella Century at the end of the month. At 68y/o I may be the oldest rider out there or at least one of the oldest. I do not carry a camera when cycling. Even my old flip phone camera does not work.

 

[nolanr66]

Back on the to much crap topic my K3 focus screen will be here from BHPhoto today and tomorrow morning the screen and my FM2n are going to be on the way to Garry's camera for a CLA and repair of the rewind lever. I am excited about putting the camera to use. The film advance on it is the smoothest I have owned. He is going to repair the rewind lever, CLA the entire camera and install the focus screen for $63.00. I will let you know if I am smiling or not in a couple weeks. He has a 5 day turn around. In theory this camera will be my regular shooter. I have a F100 and an FG also which I will use from time to time. I have a Olympus OMD EM5 for travel and video.

 

[cooltouch]

Frank, an 81 R100 is a nice bike indeed. Which flavor is it?

Nolan, the Airhead boxers are timeless classics. They just keep going and going and going. The early ones -- say before 1984 or so? -- have a larger flywheel and as a result, massive amounts of low-end torque, which is very useful for just general riding situations. The later ones have a lighter flywheel and rev much faster (think Porsche and you won't be off by much), but they have no low end grunt. Still, they're very capable machines in their own right. My 88 R100RS is a blast to ride.

As for my crap, yesterday I decided to try and organize a pile of cameras and lenses I've had sitting on the dining room table. My wife has been out of the country for the past few weeks so I was able to get away with the disorganized mess. I put all the lenses away where they belong and all cameras that didn't have any film in them. This left a rather large collection of cameras on the table. I need to get out and burn through some film. Right now I have at least arranged them so they don't take up much room. The collection includes a Canon EF and T90 and a P rangefinder, a Pentax LX and MX, a Nikon N80, and a Moskva 5 6x9. I'm tempted to add my new-to-me Super Ikonta BX to the pile, but I think I'll wait.

 

[EdColorado]

I just have too much photographic equipment but I get my calm from having it all around me...

This really is the whole thing Ralph. I'm the same way in that when I'm tense or having a hard time dealing with some issues in my life I can go down to my camera room and relax. Just handling a favorite camera, fixing an old folder, it calms me and helps me to be ready to "get back at it". I really cant say why old cameras have this effect, but they do and I'm not complaining. I see no reason to get rid of anything, except as I do on occasion to free up some fun money to buy some other camera I want to play with.

 

[James Page]

Listen to me - we're not making film anymore. We're not making film cameras anymore. When I'm elected President, all that is going to change. You know what? I'm going to have Kodak make Kodachrome again and they're going to thank me for it. I'm going to make film great again. Fuji is discontinuing peel-apart instant film - well, when I'm President that's not going to happen. We send billions of dollars to Japan - the cars, the electronics - huge amounts of money. Believe me: Fuji is going to be making FP-100C for a long time. When I'm President, the film and film camera industry is going to be huge. Absolutely.

Best post ever,

 

[RalphLambrecht]

I guess most would surmise I have far too much crap. Many years of buying/selling but buying more than I sold because the really good deals were tough to pass up. Literally dozens of old Graflex cameras just laying around collecting dust because I have a somewhat difficult time cleaning, photographing, listing, selling, shipping. I quit selling for several years due to a neurological issue and also because the bottom fell out of the market after 9/11. I finally started selling again about three years ago when I could no longer work and bring home a paycheck... that was after a year of living off of my decimated 401K. I need to set up a schedule to list at least one relatively valuable thing per week or several small items per week. Even then I don't think I could ever be rid of it all.

The funny thing is I want to keep nearly none of this stuff and I'm literally stumbling over things I don't need or want. It's just a bit of a challenge for me these days to get much of anything done, even very easy tasks. Anyway, that's my stoopid excuse/story and I'm stickin' to it!!

Iunderstand the feeling;first you pay top dollar for it.Then you are being asked to practically give it away and even made work to do so;send me a list;can I see some pictures;can you ship for free;I hate being taken advantage of;nobody wants the crap enough to pay for it.

 

[nolanr66]

Frank, an 81 R100 is a nice bike indeed. Which flavor is it?

Nolan, the Airhead boxers are timeless classics.

Well I have a 2015 Subaru Forrester with a boxer engine. So far the car is great.

 

[jvo]

from the school of thinking outside the box... one too many wives?

now, can you really ever have too much?

 

[JohnArs]

Hi Ralph

I have also with all 35mm MF and GF about 15 cameras but I would sell only the old digitals, which are not anymore up to date, but I do not sell any analog cameras, you never have to much cameras!!!!

 

[cliveh]

I think having lots of cameras is a bit like being a horologist, as instead of being surrounded by time and its passing, you are surrounded by cameras and their potential to capture multiple moments in time. Even though you can't use them all at once.

 

[EdColorado]

I think having lots of cameras is a bit like being a horologist, as instead of being surrounded by time and its passing, you are surrounded by cameras and their potential to capture multiple moments in time. Even though you can't use them all at once.

Hmm, that's a cool idea. Instead of the now normal "52 cameras in 52 weeks" thing, how bout "52 cameras in a day".

I'll let myself out now....

 

[Tim Layton]

If it brings you joy and happiness, then keep it. I am sure your wife would want you to be happy. I figure all of my stuff will get sold at my estate sale for about $1 and all of my negatives will go to some eBay shark that sells them off one by one for a few bucks.

I just have too much photographic equipment but I get my calm from having it all around me, which drives my wife nuts.Getting rid of it is not an option(I love it too much) and most of it was bought from money painfully saved up to get the 'best' I could afford.Recently, my wife made a suggestion I could possibly live withut a selection together for each format such as you most loved 35mm with a set of the most likely used lenses.TREAT THAT LIKE GOLD OR EVEN DISPLAY IT IN A Glass cupboard and just get rid of the rest.Do the same for 6x6 and 4x5 and a lighting kit and enjoy all the freed up space. Has anybody done something like that?What do you think? Is it enough to still enjoy the equipment with the pride of ownership,cut down on maintenance, required CLAs and have working equipment around when you need it?

 

[benjiboy]

Even if you paid "top dollar" for the stuff at the time if you no longer use it and really need the space so badly I.M.O. you have to accept the fact that time moves on, commodity values change and accept the loss.

 

[fstop]

Well I have a 2015 Subaru Forrester with a boxer engine. So far the car is great.

everyone loves them until at 90,000 miles you have to replace the timing belt or have the high mileage problem they all seem to have~ warped head on the drivers side.

 

[nolanr66]

everyone loves them until at 90,000 miles you have to replace the timing belt or have the high mileage problem they all seem to have~ warped head on the drivers side.

Well timing belts are regular maintenance and you just get it done when it's time. Same with tires, brakes and the rest. I will let you know in about 10 years how the car held up. The same with my FM2n that I just had repaired and serviced. About 10 years should tell the story on it's reliability.

 

[ColColt]

Sort of off the cuff but my little Corolla-S has no time belt but a chain so, no fear there. It's now 12 years old and I was told not even the radiator hoses would be replaced as they last nearly forever and they don't even stock the hoses at the dealer. That's reliability.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Timing chains wear out and should be regularly checked. Also if the oil in not changed on the recommended schedule, the timing chain stretches and then snaps bending the push rods and valve stems.

 

[ColColt]

By the time that one wears out I'll be six feet under. It's a 2004 with 65,200 miles. By the time it wears I'll be long gone. Being from the old school I take it back for an oil and filter change at 3500-4000 miles.

Keep in mind this is a Toyota, not a Ford. Their chains don't stretch.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Any mechanic will tell you that all timing chains can stretch. The automobile manufactures order their parts from the same source. For example most push rods and valve stems are made by TRW.

 

[ColColt]

I got concerned about three months ago about the upper and lower radiator hoses as they were 12 years old and was told by two different people at the Toyota dealership they never needed to be replaced. I had never heard of that...after all, they're still rubber. They were quite adamant about the fact the OEM parts from Toyota were much better than many of the others and that they didn't even carry those parts. They pretty much told me the same about the chain.

Now, the serpentine belt does need changing periodically and I did have that done not long back as it began to have little cuts in it but the chain and radiator hoses-no.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Timing chains wear out and should be regularly checked. Also if the oil in not changed on the recommended schedule, the timing chain stretches and then snaps bending the push rods and valve stems.

Any mechanic will tell you that all timing chains can stretch. The automobile manufactures order their parts from the same source. For example most push rods and valve stems are made by TRW.

A loose or stretched chain should be adjusted to prevent engine damage. A mechanic can tell when the chain needs to be replaced.

 

[ColColt]

Back in the mid 80's I restored a 1950 Plymouth...flathead 6. No telling how many miles was on that car as I'm sure the odometer had been around several times. When I pulled the engine I was a bit surprise to see the chain hadn't stretched that much and certainly not enough to cause timing problems or valve damage. It got replaced, nevertheless, with what I recall as a Cloyes timing chain.

 

[nolanr66]

Well the good news on my FM2n is that Garry's camera repaired my re-wind knob and CLA'd the camera and it's in the mail to be delivered on Wednesday. The cost was $63.00 including shipping. I have $157.00 into the camera so far including a new K3 focus screen and I expect it to take snaps of those Grand kids for many years or at least until that timing chain breaks and the valves get munched.