University Camera Closing after 50 years

[MattKing]

Movie Theaters

Still quite a few around here, including several that are newly built, although there is only one or two that can still project from film.

RECORD Stores

Sun records have a few dozen stores across Canada, and there are lots of little independent stores in Vancouver, with interesting/expensive product. London Drugs (a western Canada drugstore chain) has a good selection in most of their stores.

Shoe Stores...where the staff waited on you.

Any mall around here has lots of these, although the knowledge level of the staff really varies.

Toy Stores.

Lots of these still - both independent and small chains.

Ice and Roller Rinks

Roller rinks - not so much.
Ice rinks are numerous and very popular - people book times at 3:00 a.m. in order to play hockey in their "beer" leagues.

 

[Theo Sulphate]

When was the last time you saw a phone booth or a pay phone?

How many people 20 years old have no idea what those are?

 

[CMoore]

Still quite a few around here, including several that are newly built, although there is only one or two that can still project from film.


Sun records have a few dozen stores across Canada, and there are lots of little independent stores in Vancouver, with interesting/expensive product. London Drugs (a western Canada drugstore chain) has a good selection in most of their stores.


Any mall around here has lots of these, although the knowledge level of the staff really varies.


Lots of these still - both independent and small chains.


Roller rinks - not so much.
Ice rinks are numerous and very popular - people book times at 3:00 a.m. in order to play hockey in their "beer" leagues.

I doubt we need anymore comments from Canada......unless it helps ME personally, like your advice and suggestions in my Framing and Matting post.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I was born in 1946! Have seen more things go than most of YOU. Incl. the fabulous Fifties cars that used to roam the streets like wallpaper.

So you are my age. If you can be my age, I guess they will now let anyone be my age.

 

[lantau]

When was the last time you saw a phone booth or a pay phone?

How many people 20 years old have no idea what those are?

At our main post office they still had one from the old german federal postal service era. Bundespost-Yellow. I had one of my Minoltas with me, loaded with Provia, when I walked past in 2016. Luckily I took that picture becaus not long after it was replaced by a new open one in Magenta-Gray colour scheme of the privatised telecom. I think the old one did rust away at the bottom.

 

[chip j]

So you are my age. If you can be my age, I guess they will now let anyone be my age.

Well, at least I don't use "stomach" cameras.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Well, at least I don't use "stomach" cameras.

What is a stomach camera? Whatever it is, I do not have one. If you think that the Hasselblad is a stomach camera than you do not bother to read the threads. I have a prism on the Hasselblad. I have always had a prism on the Hasselblad. I regularly post that I have a prism on the Hasselblad. Both my Hasselblads are shot at eye level.

 

[chip j]

Yes, I tried to delete my remark, but I was too late. Sorry. But I do find hand-held 35mm more "lyrical" than 2 1/4 (and I've had every Mamiya med format outfit that they made).

 

[btaylor]

Never heard that: "stomach cameras." I have a lot of them and wear them proudly. Now I know they aren't "lyrical." I learn a lot from this forum! You old people are funny.

 

[cmacd123]

I doubt we need anymore comments from Canada......unless it helps ME personally, like your advice and suggestions in my Framing and Matting post.

But Us Canadians are the most talkative people in the world.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Never heard that: "stomach cameras." I have a lot of them and wear them proudly. Now I know they aren't "lyrical." I learn a lot from this forum! You old people are funny.

I was never crazy about TLRs. I did not like the left right reversal [prisms got rid of that problem], parallax offset [insert Paraminder], and polarizer inconvenience. So when I inherited the Mamiya C330 after shooting about a dozen film rolls, I looked to trade it in for a Rollei 6000 or SL66 or a Hasselblad. Samys has many Hasselblads and did not have Rolleis. Had they had Rolleis, that could well have become my camera of choice.

 

[mshchem]

I stopped in at University Camera today. I raided Roger's vast inventory of Paramount sync cords. Everything from bi post to Flash Wizard stuff. He sold me two Westcott strip softboxes, some Photogenic flash parts that are hard to find. 39mm lens caps, I bet he has a thousand different lens caps. Roger is a great guy, it's all going to be done April 15th. I still can't believe it is really happening.
Best Mike

 

[MattKing]

What is a stomach camera?

I expect this is another version of what I used to hear referred to as the "navel view of the world".
When I was doing a fair amount of wedding and portrait photography, it was important to have the option of eye level viewing, because we used to prefer people pictures that have the same viewpoint as our eyes do.
Nowadays of course, 99+% of all people photos are "selfies", so I would tend to think that it might now be way more acceptable to show the world from the waist level perspective.

 

[MattKing]

Yes, I tried to delete my remark, but I was too late. Sorry. But I do find hand-held 35mm more "lyrical" than 2 1/4 (and I've had every Mamiya med format outfit that they made).

Including the ones with prism finders?

 

[Sirius Glass]

I expect this is another version of what I used to hear referred to as the "navel view of the world".
When I was doing a fair amount of wedding and portrait photography, it was important to have the option of eye level viewing, because we used to prefer people pictures that have the same viewpoint as our eyes do.
Nowadays of course, 99+% of all people photos are "selfies", so I would tend to think that it might now be way more acceptable to show the world from the waist level perspective.

"navel view of the world" is something else that I did not care about with TLRs.

 

[MattKing]

"navel view of the world" is something else that I did not care about with TLRs.

Then you should have added one of these!

 

[chip j]

Including the ones with prism finders?

Yes, I had the 330 w/a mirror "prism" that reversed the image & the 645 w/a prism. Actually I got rid of the 330 because the lenses weren't sharp enough, and the 645 because it was too heavy. The 6 was quite lyrical, but no good for close-ups of shop windows because of the parallax.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Then you should have added one of these!
View attachment 193831

In the 1970's I bought a Porroprism for my father to use on his Mamiya C330 cameras. Ones he used it he never took it off. It was on the camera when I traded it in.

 

[faberryman]

Yes, I tried to delete my remark, but I was too late. Sorry. But I do find hand-held 35mm more "lyrical" than 2 1/4 (and I've had every Mamiya med format outfit that they made).

Lyrical. That's a new one.

 

[chip j]

That's an old term--haven't you read many serious photography books?

 

[faberryman]

That's an old term--haven't you read many serious photography books?

I have read quite a few "serious" photography books in my time, and I don't remember ever reading that 35mm was more "lyrical" that 6x6. I must have read the wrong books. Perhaps you could elaborate on what you intend to mean by invoking that descriptor.

 

[MattKing]

Yes, I had the 330 w/a mirror "prism" that reversed the image & the 645 w/a prism. Actually I got rid of the 330 because the lenses weren't sharp enough, and the 645 because it was too heavy.

In the 1970's I bought a Porroprism

Both of these sound more like the porrofinder than the prism finder in that picture. The prism finder is/was a big step up in quality/cost/weight from the porrofinder.
And if your C330 lenses weren't excellent, they needed service. Mine have performed admirably for many years. I've rationalized my kit down to just two, but of the four different focal lengths I've owned and used, all performed extremely well.
The Mamiya lenses do tend to balance the resolution and contrast equation in a slightly different way than lenses of European origin tend to. But that isn't restricted to Mamiya.
The proof is in the prints - they yield beautiful prints.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I never had a problem with the Mamiya lenses optics. I did not like that the 250mm had to be hand cocked while the 65mm and 80mm cocked on film advancement.

 

[chip j]

I'll just say that prints from my mighty Durst M35 Micromat (35mm only) were significantly sharper than prints my friend made w/his Beseler 23c & Negatrans. The Durst is a near point-light source (and has marvelous tonality to boot). Prints my friend made of my Mamiya 6 negs WERE sharp enough for me.

 

[chip j]

If you read "The Mamiya Handbook", you'll find that when Mamiya switched from chrome lenses to black ones, they optimised the optics for their main users--wedding & portrait photogs--they made them softer.

 

[chip j]

I have read quite a few "serious" photography books in my time, and I don't remember ever reading that 35mm was more "lyrical" that 6x6. I must have read the wrong books. Perhaps you could elaborate on what you intend to mean by invoking that descriptor.

The term pops up a lot in serious photo-criticism--like the fabulous articles American Suburb X used to post on individual photogs.