Michael Waite

I'm hoping for some advice or recommendations on a suitable gel or other material. I'm exhibiting some work in a gallery that has windows that allow direct sun. Over the course of the afternoon there are different light and shadow patterns moving over the walls and this will sometimes make viewing the work difficult. I don't think the gallery is interested in a long term solution for this, so I want to execute a reasonably priced short term (one month) fix. There are 6 window panes, each about 1 x .5 meter. Perhaps I could just buy sheets of tracing paper, cut them to window size & then position over each pane with some of those new sticky dot adhesives. I was also pondering something like ND or diffusion gels, but haven't had any experience with them. Just wanted to put this out for any ideas or suggestions.

Hi Ian, it does still have the loop formers & your explanation makes sense. I'll remove them & try again. Thanks.

Here's a link to a brief clip showing how the K3 footage looks. It has the potential to be nice but there is a serious problem with image stability. I sat in on the telecine & the operator reckoned it was caused by a shutter problem. It's the irregular vertical jerkiness, should be obvious even on youtube. I bought this camera after waiting more than 2 months for the first K3 I ordered to arrive. The day after I exposed this test footage the original camera was delivered. It took over 3 months & I suspect that Australia Post had mislaid it. I didn't have any film to test it with but it looks in great condition and seems to run very well. So I think if the first camera had been delivered on schedule I would have had a well functioning camera & no need to stuff about with the problems the second camera has caused me.

Update - my repair guy got the camera running by using a washer to get the shaft back into alignment. Everything else seems OK. Over the past few days I exposed two rolls of Kodak 250D that are currently at Deluxe Sydney for processing. Should be ready in the next day or so. They're very nice people at Deluxe, by the way. I'll have it telecined along with some Single 8 that I just sent to Japan for processing, so I probably won't get to view the footage for a week or so. The film looked & sounded to be running through the camera smoothly. The repair cost was very reasonable & the seller is going to refund 10% of the purchase price so things have worked out slightly better than they might have. Thanks for all the advice. I also picked up a B+W 77mm 1 stop ND filter on sale for $45 which was a good deal. I can use it on the K3 lens & a couple of my Canon still lenses.

Retro is still in business, I bought 5 rolls of 25 from him last week. Delivery was very fast. I didn't email him, I just sent the money by paypal & included a message confirming what I wanted. I'll be sending the 5 rolls back to him on Monday for processing. A year or so back i also bought some camera bits from him, a viewfinder cup for a Fujica Z800 & some other part. Prices were reasonable & he was easy to deal with. The R25N film looks beautiful, a real 1970s look. I put some on youtube but their processing desaturated the colour to an extent that dosn't make it worth using as an example.

I showed it to a camera technician & he found the problem pretty quickly. Next to the shutter trigger button is the main shaft from the spring that drives everything. At the top of this shaft is a brass adjusting screw set in a piece of cast iron. The cast iron has been slightly bent at some time, probably by being dropped when the front cover was off - couldn't have happened during shipping or anytime the cover was on. It may be fixable by adding a washer under the cast iron to get it back in alignment - can't try to bend the cast iron or it will break. By loosening the screws under the cast iron he did get the camera to run. My options are to pack it up & send back to Ukraine & try for a refund, which would be a pain in the arse & cost me about $100. Or, let the tech have a go at correcting it. He mostly does still cameras but is excellent at what he does & if a simple washer fixes it them I'm in business shooting film. Will report back when i have a conclusion. BTW I did take the baffle plate off when the spring was fully wound & nothing happened - obviously due to the stuck shaft. Thanks for the advice everyone.

You're right, I worked that out today, pull up on them slightly & they move out of the way. So that's not an indicator of the problem. I suspect it's something to do with the shutter button action. It doesn't feel right when I press it, like it doesn't travel far enough. I did have a look inside & can't see anything that is obviously broken or out of position. I'm going to try & find a technician in Sydney to look at it, if that doesn't work out I'll be arguing with a guy in Ukraine about a refund & looking to buy a third one.

So, a K3 arrived in the post today, reasonably well packed & looks in good cosmetic condition, however it doesn't work. I wound the main spring (anti-clockwise), pushed the shutter button & nothing happens. I've read up a bit about them - previous troubleshooting threads on this forum & the manual & videos at the k3camera site, so I think I know the basics of how they work. There is one thing I have noticed when looking into the film loading area. Not sure of the correct names of the parts but there is a black spool just to the right of the film gate which is surrounded by four rollers set in pairs, 2 above and 2 below. From looking at the manual I think the black spool is the main sprocket, not sure if the small rollers have a name but the film runs between them & the main sprocket. In a video I watched about how to load film in the K3 I saw the operator was able to pull the roller assemblies away from the main sprocket for ease of getting the film in. However on my camera these roller assemblies appear to be jammed in position, with gentle pressure I cannot get them to move. Does this suggest what the camera problem might be? I know there is a small catch off the side of the main sprocket near the film gate that gets pulled aside to allow the rollers to open up but moving this makes no difference. I'm thinking that something is seized inside & that's why nothing happens when I press the shutter. I'd appreciate if anyone with inside experience of these cameras could give me some advice. I'm prepared to have a go at repairing it if I have an idea of what section to work on. By the way, this is the second K3 I've paid for. The first was posted from Poland in mid November & has never arrived. Perhaps I'll get post office compensation down the track. So now I've bought this one that was DOA. All I want to do is shoot some film.

I'm buying a K3 which comes with the usual accessories including 5 filters. There is a 2 stop ND which would be useful as I have a couple of rolls of 250D to shoot. Does anyone have any experience with the quality of this filter? Does it cause any colour cast for example? If it's OK I'll use it, if they're bad I'll buy a quality brand filter.

I recently learned that there's a lab in Sydney that processes short rolls of ECN-2. Neglab at Hurstville does it for $15 a roll, although I'm pretty sure that is process only and doesn't include a positive film print as A&I used to. Probably not of much interest to people in the USA, but I intend to use them.

In my experience with a standard 814 the internal meter is accurate. I'm sure Canon took any light loss into account when designing it. I don't think it loses a stop anyway, more like half a stop. I used to check the camera meter against my Soligor spot & they were always very close. Of course what Alessandro says is also sensible re technique.

Thanks for posting these, I like the look of that film. The frame of the guy at the phone booth at night is beautiful. Can you tell me how you lit that, e.g. what is creating the pool of light he's standing in and also the light on the big tank in the background. The frame below it with the couple dancing is also interesting. Are those blue circles a particular lens flare from shooting a certain lens wide open? Overall most of the daylight shots look somewhat soft and pastel, is that the nature of the stock or some art direction also? Generally to me it looks a bit '70s/'80s, in a good way.

The Sound & Vision Stock Shop in Artarmon, Sydney has a good supply of Kodak stocks.

In July this year these guys told me that they still process short rolls of ECN-2. I haven't used them, but they must be one of the last still offering the service. I'd be interested to hear from anyone with direct experience re the quality of their work. frank@thecamerashop.com Frank Ringsmuth Plant Manager The Camera Shop 25 7th Ave. S. St. Cloud, MN 56301 Phone 320-259-5826 Toll-Free 800-793-0112

Hi John, thanks for writing about how you made the video. It looks good, very moody. I always like seeing some interplay between different colours of light, in this case the cool tones of the night interior and the fish tank room contrasted with the warm light that comes near the end. Two slight criticisms for you, #1 your website looks good but the text is a little hard to read, white (or is it very light grey?) on a black background is difficult. #2 and this is probably nit picking but I felt the two lights coming from behind her through the window in the night lounge room scene were too bright. They are exposing almost white on the window and I think they would have looked nicer & suited the mood better a bit dimmer and bluer.