Good morning, all;

First, Happy Holidays, which now will include mainly "Happy New Year."

We had an unusual Christmas, with the electrical power going out during a windstorm on Christmas morning. The electricity finally came back on at 0200 on Monday morning, Boxing Day. My major activity Christmas Day included responding to a neighbor's request to come over and help get his back-up AC power generator started. Well, a few hours later, and a reasonable cleaning of the carburettor later, the generator was running again, and there was power in the house. Even the television was back on so that their Uncle George could watch his needed football game. It is amazing what can happen to a carburettor when you let it sit for a couple of years with old gasoline in it. The main problem for me was removing and then replacing all of the covers and the other parts that needed to come off to gain access to the offending carburettor.

My major photographic accomplishment this Christmas was finding a Canon F-1 to replace one that just "disappeared" from a young man while he was living in Miami, Florida, a few years back. Well, actually the camera had some "help" with this "disappearing" act. This week I located a replacement F-1 body for him, and I think there is a suitable 1.4/50mm FL or FD mount lens here that will go onto that F-1. On Monday, he was talking about how he had used his old camera, and how much he had enjoyed it. It was very difficult to refrain from saying something to him at that time, because the camera was not ready then. It is now, and there will be a Post-Christmas presentation.

Now I can also look for a Canon 1.2/50mm lens to go onto my own Canon Pellix QL. I believe that the 1.2/50mm lens was the preferred lens on the Pellix to help restore some of the brightness in the viewfinder screen that was diminished with the half-silvered or semi-transparent (however you want to look at it) pellicle mirror in the Pellix.

Enjoy;

Ralph, Latte Land, Washington

Happy New Year to you and all!

It sounds as though your Christmas day was way more productive than mine. Around here these days the rage is propane powered generators which probably takes care of the infrequent use problem. I've often considered a generator, but by now after 40 years here figure why bother. We always have some bottled water around and we do have a big woodstove for emergency and supplemental heat.

I have an original F-1 body acquired about ten(?) years ago which works, although I detected a bit of shutter curtain bounce when I last tried it. When I do 35mm, I tend to gravitate to my "slightly more modern" A-1 which has served me for many years. The F-1 does have that serious functional elegance, the comforting heft of real metal, which later models have moved away from.

Anyway, a certain young guy should be ecstatic I'd think!

A very Happy New Year to all our readers.

Good morning;

Things are still going in the Canon FD camp here. There is now a Canon FD 2.8/28mm wide angle to go along with the 1.4/50mm normal lens. I am not sure if I want to look for an 85mm or a 100mm lens for a short telephoto to use with closer cropped photographs and for portraits. I really do like the 100mm NIKKOR and ROKKOR lenses I have. I do have all versions of the ROKKOR 85mm lenses, but I still prefer the 100mm focal length. Does anyone else have any suggestions for which lens focal length to use for portraits, and, as an a aid to help me, why you prefer that particular focal length?

Enjoy;

Ralph, Latte Land, Washington

The Canon FD 85mm f1.2 L is a fantastic lens I bought mine new more than twenty years ago and even though I worked in the trade in those days and got it at cost was very expensive and still are second hand, but because I'm a portrait enthusiast and use it a great deal was worth it, if that's too expensive the FD 85mm f 1.8 is a very good lens and more reasonably priced, as is the FD 100 f2.8.

Ralph, I've found that the 15mm Fisheye makes a wonderful portrait lens for use on those whiners you wish would go away and stop bothering you.

Good morning;

Christmas is going to be a little late last year. Well, it has taken a while for the guy who is going to get the Christmas gift to get back home. His TDY is over. He arrived home last Friday. Now I need to go down there to present to him his Christmas present. Yes, it is two months late, but he was not here back in December.

This is the Canon F1 with a 1.4/50mm normal lens, a 2.8/28mm wide angle lens, and a 2.8/135mm telephoto lens. Sort of the common kit that many people had back in the 1970s.

A few things have changed over the years. Flash bulbs are not as commonly available in the drug stores and grocery stores as they were then, so a Canon Flash Coupler D, Canon Flash Shoe to ISO Hot Shoe Adapter, was finally located to work with an accessory electronic flash made in the middle 1980s. Sometimes it is not easy to keep everything in the same era, and also be fully functional and ready to work.

He had bought his Canon F1 kit while in Southeast Asia flying UH-1 helicopters, but the kit "disappeared" while he was in Miami, Florida going through rehabilitation and retraining for two years following an accident.

It did take a while to get all of this together. One difficulty encountered was the seller of the first Canon F1 failing to mention that the viewfinder pentaprism was beginning to separate. A second F1 was located. e-Bay is not a good place to find camera equipment that is truly ready to work.

Enjoy;

Ralph, Latte Land, Washington

Good morning, Fred;

Thank you for the suggestion regarding the 15mm lens. As an alternative, am I allowed to take a more direct approach and bring along the Koni-Omega Rapid-M, and advance the film one frame for them?

Enjoy;

Ralph, Latte Land, Washington

Ralph, which version of the F1 did you get? That selection of lenses is still common today. Most of my kits are arranged with a 24, 50, and 135, plus the inevitable mid-range zoom; the only exception is my EOS kit, where they would cost me $4500. I've had to make do with zooms and the occasional Zeiss lens with C/Y mount converter.