University Camera Closing after 50 years

[MattKing]

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.

No - they optimized them by emphasizing tonality and resolution over edge contrast and macro contrast.
Not soft at all.

 

[mshchem]

Update on University Camera. The sales are in full swing, I bought all of Roger's 16 x 20 Ilford paper at 50%. I'm set . The film processing is done, I could have bought a Fuji Frontier C41 machine for half the price of a Jobo, but alas my wife would have killed me. Roger Christian is 10 years older than me and I can't keep up with him. Roger knows just about every photo shop, stuff is being sent all over. I was there today ,a customer came in wanting a routine develop and print. When she found out there's no one left that processes film,she said "I guess I'm going to have to get a new camera " Photo Pro in Cedar Rapids has an excellent lab ,that's where we sent her .
Roger gave me enough C41 chemistry (damn Fuji cartridges) I told all the kids in the store they could have free processing for life. One rule, they need to let me show them how. So when I drop dead they can still shoot film. I really don't know how we will all get by without the shop.
Mike

 

[chip j]

I dearly miss Progressive Photo some 8 yrs after it closed.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Roger gave me enough C41 chemistry (damn Fuji cartridges) I told all the kids in the store they could have free processing for life. One rule, they need to let me show them how. So when I drop dead they can still shoot film. I really don't know how we will all get by without the shop.
Mike

Do you have plans for dropping dead?? Interested readers want to know?

 

[mshchem]

Do you have plans for dropping dead?? Interested readers want to know?

Heck No. They will find me slumped over my sink drowned in Bromophen. I don't shoot much color, just enough to stay somewhat proficient in processing and printing. I have a feeling even with free processing the kids at the store will not keep me busy.

You make a good point. My wife keeps telling me that my nephews are going to get stuck cleaning out my stuff. I will just have her get on Photrio and say come 'n get it .

It will take a short semi-trailer to get it all!. I stopped counting after the 6th or 7th enlarger.

Today's haul from UCAM was a boat load of ACROS 120 in date 3 bucks a roll I just hand Roger a hundred and start filling a tray until he say's stop.
Mike

 

[Sirius Glass]

You make a good point. My wife keeps telling me that my nephews are going to get stuck cleaning out my stuff. I will just have her get on Photrio and say come 'n get it .

Why not just take it with you? Have closets, shelves and cubbie holes built into the casket.

 

[chip j]

I just asked a friend yesterday if there would be chemicals in Heaven. (He didn't know, and he was at a Catholic seminary for 4 yrs)

 

[mshchem]

I just asked a friend yesterday if there would be chemicals in Heaven. (He didn't know, and he was at a Catholic seminary for 4 yrs)

According to Kevin Costner, "Iowa, I guess it is Heaven" and since I have chemicals. I would say Yes!

 

[Wayne]

I just asked a friend yesterday if there would be chemicals in Heaven. (He didn't know, and he was at a Catholic seminary for 4 yrs)

That explains why he didn't know.

 

[mshchem]

Today was the final day of business for University Camera. Place has been a mad house last few days. Plenty of bargain hunters, but a lot of well wishers and happy/sad people. A labor of love, but it was time for Roger and his wife Chris to get out and have some fun. Next few weeks will see clean up. Nothing much left after today, what little is left over will probably be going to dealer friends and colleagues. I have a fully equipped darkroom, I told the young people there they are welcome, I had a couple of well heeled customers ask me about developing and printing. I told them they couldn't afford custom printing . They understand, I think the Fuji Frontier printer and scanning station UCAM had cost well over 125 grand new. Different world. We are blessed in that we have PhotoPro in Cedar Rapids Iowa. Outstanding lab, very well run.

I found more cool off beat stuff at University Camera. Print dryers, enlargers, color heads, sodium vapor safelights, paper cutters, cameras and lenses of every type. An amazing place. It was a great time and a bit sad, but very sweet end, to a very important part of Iowa City history and culture.
Best Mike

 

[CMoore]

And so it begins.....unfortunately.
This might not be directly related, but.......
Golf courses (for the average person) have turned into apartments and shopping malls.
The beautiful gun range at Anthony Chabot Park was squeezed out of existence last year.....after about 55 years. It was gorgeous, like a country club.
We use to go to the beach when i was in High School. I took my wife there a few years ago, to show her the places we use to hang out in Soquel and Santa Cruz, they had restricted, residential sticker parking. We could not even get out of the car.
San Francisco has finally been Manhattan-ized.
Bleacher seats and baseball games cost a Million Dollars.
Slot -Car tracks and Hobby Stores.
We are not even allowed free and easy access (on the weekends) to the elementary schools where we live. When i was a kid, we went to the schools all the time to do stuff. If neighbors see kids at a school yard on a Saturday now.....they call The Police.

We should all be Ready/Aware of the possible, eventual disappearance of Film

 

[chip j]

+10 on SF

 

[Wayne]

We are not even allowed free and easy access (on the weekends) to the elementary schools where we live. When i was a kid, we went to the schools all the time to do stuff. If neighbors see kids at a school yard on a Saturday now.....they call The Police.

Me and a friend were called into the 300 lb principals office of our parochial school for riding our bikes in the parking lot on a weekend. Once there, he picked us up by our hair and told us we better have it cut by the following week. That was 1970.

Of course every green place I used to go back then has been paved over too. The golf courses that were developed into housing were once farms.