When the camera you buy becomes the deciding factor for your ethics rating

[David Lyga]

But, Brian, maybe that 'something else which it says' might be because the overall price asked is too high and NOT because of any mechanical fault. In other words, because it might not sell might not implicate any fault on my part. - David Lyga

 

[BrianShaw]

True, but it could also mean the all of the worry doesn’t matter since nobody wants it anyway.

 

[BrianShaw]

... and the price is quite possibly RIDICULOUSLY
high.

 

[David Lyga]

I agree about the 'ridiculously high' assessment. When certain camera models become an obsession it is time to seek alternatives.

However, on Cardinal's website I do not see ANY used film cameras. Where are they? - David Lyga

 

[removed account4]

I agree about the 'ridiculously high' assessment. When certain camera models become an obsession it is time to seek alternatives.

However, on Cardinal's website I do not see ANY used film cameras. Where are they? - David Lyga

Hi David
Info is emailed if you email and ask. I used to have a Yashica and sold it when I was in school and broke ( along with about 30 rolls of film ). I LOVED that camera. I took some of my best photographs with it, and I have always wanted to buy another. Typically the 124MatG's have film advance problems so I shy away from them and just dream about getting another. I assumed that the one you fixed-up didn't, so I emailed and asked how much it was ( thinking maybe I would be able to afford it [they usually sell for between $200+300 on the auction site]) and sadly I learned that I still can't afford one. LOL! To think I bought mine used in 1986/7 for $125, sold it in 1991 ( with all that film ) for $100... maybe one of these days I'll be able to get another one. The lens is superb, and ( except for the sometimes wonky film advance ) the mechanics are great too!

David: I'm guessing your handiwork was pretty good. They probably put a buff coat of wax or shoe polish on it, shined up the chrome and gave it the once over to make sure everything was to "spec" ... then again it could be a completely different camera they are selling / told me about, and the one that was purchased from you is in the curio cabinet behind glass because it was the first camera the guy who bought it from you ever used ( when he was just a tike ) and it was sold to you by mistake...

It is a good story though, toddler gets camera, toddler uses camera, store sells camera by mistake, purchaser fixes up camera sells back to the former toddler and the universe is made right again .. I bought a lens years ago from a stranger in a camera shop and when I brought it back to my studio, the guy across the hall said " the guy you bought it from built and lived in the studio you are in " like a squirrel, or carrier pigeon finding its way home

YMMV
John

 

[David Lyga]

As far as pricing goes ...

back in 1966 when I was 16, I talked my father into letting me buy (with his monetary help) a TLR (because I thought that 35mm was 'inferior'!) We went to a discount store (Caldor's) in Waterbury, CT, and I selected a MInolta Autocord CDS for $120. (That was a small fortune back then; minimum wage was slightly over $1 per hour.) The Yashicas then available on the shelf were a bit less but 'I was told' that they were not quite as good as the Minolta. (The 35mm SLRs on that shelf were more expensive.) 120 Verichrome Pan film was 43 cents a roll but the clerk talked me into using the 'superior' Plus-X Professional which was 55 cents per roll. (By the way, bulk 100ft rolls of B&W 35mm film were about $7 then.)

Also, on the counter were 'generic' B&W 120 rolls that cost only 6 for $1. This gives an indication of pricing when I was a teen.

As far as my handiwork goes, I simply removed the glass elements and cleaned them thoroughly (without getting dust back in!!!). I also flushed the S/T and shutter mechanisms with lighter fluid to get the debris out. It worked well. - David Lyga

 

[BrianShaw]

That’s funny (more coincidentally ironic, I suppose) about the film. I shot only Plus-X until it was cancelled. One day my favorite shop didn’t have any in stock and “twisted my arm” into buying the Verichrome they had. I was convinced it was inferior but had no option. After 1 roll I realized how wrong I was. But verichrome had been cancelled and that was the last roll he had. I also missed out on Super-xx due to a stoopid bias.

 

[BrianShaw]

... BTW, you have/had a great Dad. Mine was great too, but not quite that generous on non-necessities.

 

[David Lyga]

... BTW, you have/had a great Dad. Mine was great too, but not quite that generous on non-necessities.

There WAS an ulterior motive on his part: At the last minute he cornered me and said if I buy this there will be 'no car'. Thus, I owned 'no car'. By the way, my allowance was about 50 cents a week. - David Lyga

 

[BrianShaw]

Mine was about the same, but I was expected to put half in the bank.... which I did religiously. My brother, on the other hand didn’t. He always had more fun than me.

 

[CMoore]

That’s funny (more coincidentally ironic, I suppose) about the film. I shot only Plus-X until it was cancelled. One day my favorite shop didn’t have any in stock and “twisted my arm” into buying the Verichrome they had. I was convinced it was inferior but had no option. After 1 roll I realized how wrong I was. But verichrome had been cancelled and that was the last roll he had. I also missed out on Super-xx due to a stoopid bias.

What did you eventually "Replace" the Plus-X with.?

 

[BrianShaw]

What did you eventually "Replace" the Plus-X with.?

FP-4+

But I still have some plus-x squirreled away.

 

[jtk]

Hi David. I think what some might be thinking is that this was the kind of event that many might chat with a friend about over a cup of tea but not something that most folks would post on a photography forum. You did and that part of your soul was bared for public scrutiny. Public scrutiny can be both kind and harsh. Be happy.

Yes.

 

[Berkeley Mike]

I see this as a fairly simple event in a business model. Not everyone is comfortable with that model.

 

[David Lyga]

I see this as a fairly simple event in a business model. Not everyone is comfortable with that model.

The major problem with you, Mike, is that you are entirely too rational, too sensible, too politically incorrect for being a winner in today's social paradigm. You will suffer mightily for that mental default.

MY! How much that fraction distills into the lowest common denominator, without losing a cent of its value! Too many wish to wade through using grand numbers within the continuum of life, even though a simpler solution is readily at hand. Socially, you will suffer, but to the merit of an increasing intrinsic value. Thank you for your sensible words. - David Lyga

 

[faberryman]

The major problem with you, Mike, is that you are entirely too rational, too sensible, too politically incorrect for being a winner in today's social paradigm. You will suffer mightily for that mental default.

MY! How much that fraction distills into the lowest common denominator, without losing a cent of its value! Too many wish to wade through using grand numbers within the continuum of life, even though a simpler solution is readily at hand. Socially, you will suffer, but to the merit of an increasing intrinsic value. Thank you for your sensible words. - David Lyga

I have no idea what you are talking about.

 

[David Lyga]

What did you eventually "Replace" the Plus-X with.?

OK, by 1978 I learned that 35mm truly was not trash and opted for the rather sensational (and original) AE-1. I never looked back, but continued with Plus-X (no Verichrome Pan alternative for that size). Then came along T Max 100 and I tried it and married it. I have to admit that its grain is even finer than that of the discontinued Panatomic-X. So that is the sordid story of David Lyga's introduction to this obsession. - David Lyga

 

[David Lyga]

I have no idea what you are talking about.

Well, my thoughts distill into this pedestrian parlance:

When you have a simple explanation for life's events, it makes no sense to aggrandize such solutions into a panoply of increasing confusion. In sum, I did a simple act for which there really was no need for all of us to write a Russian novel dissecting such pedestrian act. - David Lyga

 

[BrianShaw]

I still don’t get one thing. Isn’t this over and it’s time to move on with a happy life?

 

[Sirius Glass]

I still don’t get one thing. Isn’t this over and it’s time to move on with a happy life?

That ship pulled out of the train station and sank when it chugged around the track a very long time ago. It is merely a waste of bandwidth at this point.

 

[David Lyga]

I still don’t get one thing. Isn’t this over and it’s time to move on with a happy life?

I am waiting (patiently) for that initiative to manifest, my dear Brian. - David Lyga

 

[David Lyga]

That ship pulled out of the train station and sank when it chugged around the track a very long time ago. It is merely a waste of bandwidth at this point.

Sirius, you are serious about logic and common sense. - David Lyga

 

[CMoore]

OK, by 1978 I learned that 35mm truly was not trash and opted for the rather sensational (and original) AE-1. I never looked back, but continued with Plus-X (no Verichrome Pan alternative for that size). Then came along T Max 100 and I tried it and married it. I have to admit that its grain is even finer than that of the discontinued Panatomic-X. So that is the sordid story of David Lyga's introduction to this obsession. - David Lyga

That explains it..... Thank You

 

[Theo Sulphate]

In sum, I did a simple act for which there really was no need for all of us to write a Russian novel dissecting such pedestrian act. - David Lyga

"A 149 post journey begins with a single thread creation. "

- Famous Chinese proverb

 

[BrianShaw]

I always attributed that as an famous New Zealand proverb. Ha ha ha.