what waS your last photography related purchase?

[Mal Paso]

I bought $80 worth of steel to build a copy stand so I can easily post my analog photos. The prebuilt units are expensive for anything good and they ship only slightly better than enlargers. The camera mounts looked a bit anemic as well. The mast is 6 feet and I'm thinking a 2x3 foot bed. I bought twice as much tube as needed for the slider and realized on the way home that extra piece could make the mast removable. I have gas and MIG welding and have been thinking about it far too long.

 

[abruzzi]

some expired Foma 100 and 200 in 5x7, 45% off from Stearman.

 

[mshchem]

300mm f5.6 EL Nikkor. Humongous, bigger than my other 300mm enlarging lenses. Absolutely beautiful

 

[Stanbey]

I found this lovely Kodak Vigilant six-20 (https://developerfluid.net/kodak-vigilant-six-20) in an antique shop in Lisbon. I wasn't expecting much -- the lens had fungus and I was expecting the bellows to have a few sneaky holes in them -- but I have been really impressed with the results so far. I've just taken it apart and cleaned/de-fungused the lens elements so it's only going to get better! Man! Those lovely 6x9 negatives!

It also had an exposed roll of Kodak Verichrome Pan in it. I wasn't expecting there to be anything usable on that after all these years, but I developed it and was delighted to find a few "good" images.

Excellent 6x9 negatives from something that fits in my pocket! Really happy with it!

 

[Donald Qualls]

I bought $80 worth of steel to build a copy stand so I can easily post my analog photos. The prebuilt units are expensive for anything good and they ship only slightly better than enlargers. The camera mounts looked a bit anemic as well. The mast is 6 feet and I'm thinking a 2x3 foot bed. I bought twice as much tube as needed for the slider and realized on the way home that extra piece could make the mast removable. I have gas and MIG welding and have been thinking about it far too long.

I'd be interested in seeing a build thread in the appropriate department. My ability to weld is limited, but if all else fails I can rent a generator and welder...

Excellent 6x9 negatives from something that fits in my pocket! Really happy with it!

If you don't mind the cost of film (and in this case, trimming spools or respooling), there's hardly any way to beat a good 6x9 folder. Two of my favorite cameras are my Moskva 5 and my Voigtlander Rollfimlkamera (the latter quickly approaching the century mark and still going strong).

 

[Stanbey]

If you don't mind the cost of film (and in this case, trimming spools or respooling), there's hardly any way to beat a good 6x9 folder. Two of my favorite cameras are my Moskva 5 and my Voigtlander Rollfimlkamera (the latter quickly approaching the century mark and still going strong).

Lovely. I totally agree about the convenience and all-round loveliness of the 6x9 folders. I would love to get my hands on Voigtlander Bessa II especially if it's got the semi-mythical apo-lanthar lens.

Having said that, I really don't mind the 620 rolls in the Kodaks. You can get the empty spools from AliExpress for peanuts and it only takes a couple of minutes to respool a roll of 120 onto them. I do them in batches so I always have a range of various 620 rolls in my bag.

 

[Donald Qualls]

You can get the empty spools from AliExpress for peanuts and it only takes a couple of minutes to respool a roll of 120 onto them.

Are those steel/brass spools, or the plastic ones Shanghai GP3 comes on (and that seem to be used for many commercially respooled offerings)? In my experience, most of the Kodaks before about 1955 would accept a trimmed 120 supply spool, and a few would take up onto the trimmed spool as well (with my Reflex II it depends on how well I trimmed and my level of risk aversity).

 

[Stanbey]

Are those steel/brass spools, or the plastic ones Shanghai GP3 comes on (and that seem to be used for many commercially respooled offerings)? In my experience, most of the Kodaks before about 1955 would accept a trimmed 120 supply spool, and a few would take up onto the trimmed spool as well (with my Reflex II it depends on how well I trimmed and my level of risk aversity).

The ones I got were metal. These ones: https://a.aliexpress.com/_EQCcKTp . They work perfectly in my Kodak Vigilant.

I read that you can just trim down the flanges on a normal plastic 120 spool, but I was worried that the larger diameter central rod would make the film extend beyond the end of the flanges. Does it not? Besides it seemed like a massive faff compared to just buying ten of them.

 

[loccdor]

A bunch of Sensia 400 film that I hope very much has retained most of its speed, or I'm a fool out of a wad of cash. Need to shoot one more roll of slide before I develop the test.

If it's in good shape, it'll be extremely useful.

 

[Donald Qualls]

I was worried that the larger diameter central rod would make the film extend beyond the end of the flanges. Does it not?

The outer surface of the backing paper on a tight (new) roll is a perfect guideline for trimming the flange. I've never had light leak problems doing this in either my Reflex II or my one Brownie Hawkeye Flash that accepts a trimmed 120 roll.

 

[pbromaghin]

Kentmere 8x10 paper for contact sheets and a Stearman SP-445 are on their way from B&H.

 

[alanrockwood]

Olympus Pen FV, order placed a couple of hours ago.

 

[rduraoc]

A Simma roller and a Simma color drum that will allow me to print up to 40x50 in my very tiny darkroom.

 

[ole-squint]

A 13.5 inch by 250 long foot roll of Eternal E9220 photopolymer film for making polymer photogravure plates.

Most manufacturers and distributors of these photoresists insist on two 500 foot long rolls as a minimum order, so finding the distributor linked below selling in 250 foot long rolls was a pleasant surprise as it completely does away with trying to organize group orders.

International Electronic Components | Consumables

International Electronic Components Inc. (IEC) is a leading supplier of consumables, equipment, and services to the printed circuit board industry in both Canada and the United States. International Electronic Components Inc. @ copyright 2026

www.ieccan.com

One more thing...it came to $78.76 US without shipping...a massive saving compared to ready made metal plates where one supplier is charging $63.00 US for a single 16x23 Toyobo KM43 plate!

What are you using for support of the film?

 

[mshchem]

I canceled my order of the Pentax 17, put in another $400 and bought a pristine Nikon F6.

 

[MurrayMinchin]

What are you using for support of the film?

0.02" thick PETG plastic, as recommended in the David Kachel ebook:

Books 21st Century Dry Polymer Direct-To-Plate Photogravure

Photogravure, Direct-to-Plate, direct to plate, Imagon, polymer, book, new technique, polymer plate, David Kachel, non-toxic, making art safely,

davidkachel.com

I got it in a 4'x8' sheet that was shipped as a roll, then cut it into various sized plates I foresee using. Ended up with at least 6 of each size which should be good for years to come...test/reject plates can be stripped and then recoated with photopolymer as long as it doesn't get scratched.

 

[Mal Paso]

I canceled my order of the Pentax 17, put in another $400 and bought a pristine Nikon F6.

Very Cool!

 

[RezaLoghme]

A 60mm CF Distagon for my Hasselblad V-System. I like the look and hope that ergonomics are going to be better than the 50mm C Distagon.

 

[murdockhendrix]

10 rolls Catlabs X Film 320 Pro (120)
Photographers Formulary TD-16 4L package

 

[RezaLoghme]

A FK300 3 meter release cable for my Hasselblad 553ELX

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

metol and 4x5 Rollei IR.

 

[Paul Manuell]

Another Pentax 645NII body to keep the one I already have company

 

[Disconnekt]

Even though it was last month, I got a JJC Film Cutter to make cutting my 35mm & 620 (ok well, respooled 120 onto 620 spools) film easier, using scissors were always a pain to use for me when cutting 35mm film.

 

[RezaLoghme]

Yet another Hasselblad E12 magazine, hopefully the last one. For the time being. I think.

 

[mshchem]

Yet another Hasselblad E12 magazine, hopefully the last one. For the time being. I think.

You can always use another magazine!!!