[pathdoc]

So I have to go to Toronto on business for a short time next month, and while the business itself does not take very long, the flight scheduling leaves me there from early on a Sunday morning local to late on a Monday evening. This naturally provides plenty of time both for photography and for camera shop browsing (oh God, my aching wallet), and because I won't have my family with me and no irreplaceable memories to destroy with a badly judged shot, I can finally allow myself the daring luxury of taking only a film body.

On previous holidays I have taken the Pentax ME with SMC-M 40/2.8 and then the MX with (for various reasons) the FA50/1.4, both of which performed pretty well at their best (the FA's manual focus was good enough with a split prism screen to help out). But this time I thought the Pentax M bodies have had their turn; let's go M42, unmetered, B&W and indulge in the photographic equivalent of tightrope walking without a net.

CANDIDATE BODIES:

1) Fujica ST705 - not strictly unmetered, but the meter in mine has recently become unresponsive, and without an EBC lens with the tab (expensive, plus I don't want to enter a second lens ecosystem) it was no different functionally than a standard Spotmatic anyway.
Upsides - it is only just bigger than the MX, and with a Super Tak 35/3.5 on the front it offers quite a compact package. It also has a unique viewfinder focusing arrangement that appears to be a split prism within a microprism ring within a fresnel lens within a matte screen - literally something for everyone - and a strange 1/1500 shutter speed (if 1/1000 is still too slow for those bright sunny days) plus depth of field preview.
Downside - some clever designer put the base tripod screw well off to one side, so there's no way on God's earth this thing can ever be put on the light table-top tripod that I've occasionally successfully used with even the K-5. Not a complete deal-breaker, but I can imagine times when I'd like to set the thing down and let rip on self timer.

2) Pentax S1a. Pure unmetered joy, just back from a CLA by Eric and itching to go places.
Upsides - Absolutely no question of battery power, so no cheating possible on that score and also no battery anxieties possible at airport security or in flight. It's also a later model, rated for the radioactive Takumar fifties if I wanted to take one (although my hot Super Tak is yellow and that would put an end to any thought of using colour film), though I'd probably put my (also recently CLA'd) Super Tak 55/2.0 Bokeh Beast on it, since that one is still fine with colour (checked on DSLR). My clip-on meter is currently in repair, but if I can get it back in functioning condition in time, it might be able to come with me.

Downsides - slightly meatier in the hand and though it's no taller from base plate to top plate, it's bigger from base to tip of prism and at least a centimetre WIDER than the 705. This is my smallest film body that will definitely NOT fit in a pocket of my Tilley vest with a lens still on (the MX with the FA50 barely did so, but was difficult to get out in a hurry and I usually broke it down for the longer flights). I may also be running up against hard limits with 400-ASA film in bright light, because the marked shutter speeds stop at 1/500.

Logic says the Fujica - sentimentality (and the desire to put the thing on a tiny tripod and fire it with a cable release from time to time) says the Pentax.

CANDIDATE LENS(ES):
1) S-M-C Takumar 28/3.5 - my widest M42 lens, but by no means the smallest.
2) Super Tak 35/3.5 - at least as sharp as my focussing skills, but Toronto by 3D map seems like the sort of big city where wider FOV is better. That being said, I've never actually been inside Toronto proper and I realise that the map is not the territory; looks can be deceiving and the 35 could be enough, especially if the streets turn out to be wider than expected.
3) "If it's good enough for Henri C-B it's good enough for me": Super Tak 55/2.0 or 50/1.4 (hot) - could be too narrow a field of view, but who doesn't occasionally want all the light their lens can drink in, especially when the light dims and they cannot crank up the ISO (because all the frames on that roll so far have been shot at EI 400 and push-processing is a non-option)? There is the slight risk of the 50/1.4 being confiscated if Security are screening for radioactives.
4) Industar 50/3.5 - this will probably come along because it's so small and light as to constitute no burden, but alone of all my normal or near-normal lenses it will show the user very quickly what the limits of their focusing screen are (especially the Fujica's central split prism) and it's just so darn FIDDLY. Also its clickless nature and the positioning of its f-stop scale make it the slowpoke of the bunch when it comes to making adjustments from an aperture you've already got set.

My next longest lens is the S-M-C Takumar 135/3.5 or a couple of also-ran M42 135/2.8's, but I don't actually anticipate needing anything that tele.

Which would you take, and why? And should I also take my Sekonic light meter (also battery-independent) and all its various peripherals, or just soar on the wings of Sunny Sixteen and see what comes out of it? (I do have a light meter app on my phone if I get really desperate.)

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Last edited by pathdoc; 06-17-2017 at 05:32 PM. Reason: typo

[Mr Bassie]

I don't know what I would take in your shoes. Probably the ME with the 40mm

But as for the two choices before us I would go as small as possible so I guess the Fujica and the super tak 35 and nothing else. No extra lenses and no light meter. Go minimal so you don't have to even think about what you are going to use. You have limited time so the fewer choices the better.

But whatever you take I hope you have a fun time and post some pics.

[photoptimist]

Tough decisions!

My personal bias would be that the 28 comes first (for architecture, cityscapes, and street scenes), then a 135 (for architectural details and more distant street life & objects), then a 50ish lens (just to be "normal").

But first, have you Googled "Toronto" and the date(s) you'll be there to see if there are any festivals or outdoor events going on? That might affect your camera and lens choice.

Second, check the weather forecast just before you pack. If it's partly/scattered clouds, you'll want to take a meter to handle rapidly changing ambient light.


Have fun!

[j0n4hpk]

For a truly film meter-less experience, go for a Pentax MX or KX - without batteries and matched FA, F, A, M or K prime lenses and memorize - really memorize - the film exposure table (if you ever learned by heart the multiplication tables, it's no sweat. If not, sweat!) of your chosen film.

[pathdoc]

For a truly film meter-less experience, go for a Pentax MX or KX... and memorize - really memorize - the film exposure table...

I considered the MX - it is my smallest manual camera by far, and if I need a crutch I can always put the LR44s back in - but I figured variety is the spice of life and it was time to do something new. Taking the "broken" Fujica or the S1a is my way of ruling cheating out. I don't have a KX, though oddly enough I do have the XR-1, the Ricoh near-clone, and that's just too big for a quick "travelling light" trip of the sort I have in mind.

(Oddly enough I have at times also considered the ME in its battery-less manual mode, but that would leave me having to either pull my Tmax 400 two stops or inflexible when it came to selecting some other combination of shutter speed and aperture than S16.)

Can you clarify what you mean by the film exposure table? The guide that's traditionally on the inside of the packet? That's practically already in my head. Or are you talking about the HUUUGE table I've seen somewhere on the internet that describes just about every lighting situation ever in terms of its exposure value?

[WPRESTO]

Lens-wise, when I was young and the lens was new, Pentax literature touted the 28mm f3.5 as the most versatile general-purpose snapshot lens for a Spotmatic. I owned both that camera and that lens, and I especially liked the rectangular hood with it's dedicated leather case.

[ChrisPlatt]

If simplicity is the imperative why not bring just the S1a with ST 35/3.5 lens?
I might bring a small meter, to check my judgement in case of tricky lighting.

If you don't mind a bigger kit add the ST 55/2 and/or SMCT 135/3.5 lenses.

Enjoy your trip!

Chris

[pathdoc]

If simplicity is the imperative why not bring just the S1a with ST 35/3.5 lens?

Because I'll be trying to travel light, and size matters - the Fujica is slightly narrower and shorter. And as already stated, it has rated shutter speeds 1 stop (1/1000) and 1.5 stops (1/1500) faster than the S1a (notwithstanding the S1a's "hidden" 1/1000), which may be of advantage if I want to open up for OOF effects in bright light.

However, both @photoptimist and @WPRESTO both have a point, and the 28/3.5 is not yet out of contention.

[pathdoc]

Did some extended practice tonight with my intended travel vest and both the ST705 and the S1a carrying in and drawing out of the right lower outer pocket, with both the 28/3.5 and the 35/3.5 fitted.

The surprising winner is the S1a with the 35mm lens. The Fujica is smaller overall, but the RHS of the grip is very crowded with controls and initially offers a slightly less secure grip on the camera when pulling it out of the pocket. The S1a's slightly greater width is offset by much of this being on the RHS of the lens mount, allowing more fingers to grip it more securely.

The only downside, to the extent that it is one, is the slight loss of field of view.

Further to these experiments, I determined to see how my various fifties would travel. The Super Tak 50/1.4 looks fantastic, but its bulk makes it a difficult draw out of the jacket. My SMC Tak 55/2.0 has chosen this moment to develop embarrassing problems with its focussing distance scale, which isn't rotating with the lens any more - so it will need a CLA/repair at some stage (of little import now that I have an S-M-C Tak 50/1.4 to go on the Spotmatic F).

On the other hand, my Super Tak 55/2.0 gives away nothing very much to the multi-coated lenses in functionality, and I have ways of dealing with flare (or living with and making use of it).

PRO: With an Asahi Pentax push-fit lens cap snugly (I've checked!) on the end, it's barely longer than the 35/3.5 while at the same time being a stop and a half faster when such things start to count. It snaps into focus beautifully on the S1a's microprism-Fresnel viewfinder as if made for it (which it pretty much was).

CON: Slightly longer, bulkier and heavier size and weight makes it slightly more awkward (just enough to notice) for carrying in, & getting it out of, the pocket. Like the MX and FA50/1.4, this would be a combination best travelled with in the broken-down condition (and then why not just take the 50/1.4, or even the 28mm?), then put on a cross-shoulder strap once I disembarked, for walking about with. As a sole lens, it would offer a significantly more restricted field of view (but then there's that Cartier-Bresson philosophy again).

If I get greedy and take two lenses, I can choose the 28/3.5 and the 55/2.0 and have a pair of lenses in 2:1 focal length ratio (or as near as makes no difference), ideal for a two-lens travel set. At this stage I intend to forego a telephoto... if only because I may yet find something secondhand while I'm travelling, and could make up the deficit "on the road" (suggestions for places in Toronto in which to do this are now invited).

While the default position if it all gets too much will simply be to toss the 35/3.5 on the front of the S1a and roll with it, I think it's fair to say that things just got a little more complicated. Interesting too, but complicated.

[pathdoc]

UPDATE: Upon realising the simple, brutal truth that I really wasn't going to be able to get away with a single piece of carry-on luggage only, I elected also to take my camera bag and bring all the candidates. So the final lineup will be:

Pentax S1a (currently loaded with Tmax 400).
Super Tak 35/3.5 (compromise solution, currently on the camera for compact pocket carry).
SMC Tak 28/3.5 for wide angle work.
Super Tak 55/2.0 for low light and bokeh.

I ruled out the Super Tak 50/1.4; it's never really successfully been de-yellowed despite all the days it spent on my windowsill and I find it a little worse to focus with than the 55/2.0 in poor light. So it stayed home. The 135/3.5 stayed home too; it's a bridge too far for a very brief trip, and there will probably be things other than photography competing for my spare time (heresy, I know).

I agonised over whether to take my closeup filter set but left it at home in the interests of economy of space. In the end, I found I'd left my 49mm reversing ring in the camera bag, so with a selection of lenses that all have this filter size, I'm set for macro if opportunity knocks. How to calculate exposure for that is the next question, seeing as I don't have a through the lens meter in the camera nor my reference tables with me, but I'll cross that bridge if I come to it. (It's comforting to know that I have a 2:1 macro solution on hand if I really, really need it.)

[Sandy Hancock]

After ignoring all the advice you offered for my trip, I feel unqualified to comment
Enjoy Toronto.

[wombat2go]

let's go M42, unmetered, B&W and indulge in the photographic equivalent of tightrope walking without a net.

Which would you take, and why? And should I also take my Sekonic light meter (also battery-independent) and all its various peripherals, or just soar on the wings of Sunny Sixteen and see what comes out of it? (I do have a light meter app on my phone if I get really desperate.)

Are you using C41?
I have taken photos with the old vintage Graflex and RB67 unmetered cameras here and my experience
is that there are a lot less exposure problems than I expected.
I process C41 strictly at the data sheet values, and do not adjust it.
I use the old Pentax 3/21 spot meter, but often I use it for first exposuree then leave it in the bag.

For practice, go outside in the morning and estimate the stop up from sunny that you would use,
then check it with the meter.

I am presently reading "Risk Savvy" by Gerd Gigerenzer.
He talks a lot about the advantages of gut feelings over detailed analysis.
People who develop ability with gut feelings about their field can not explain how they do it, but they rise to prominence over the analytic guys.

Toronto is a nice place for photos!

[pathdoc]

@wombat2go

I am shooting Tmax 400, which I'm going to be developing myself - probably in standard chemistry, since I didn't get a chance to try it in Caffenol before I left and I don't want any nasty surprises.

In lens terms, the ultimate answer turned out to be "28mm". A couple of glances through the viewfinder at 35mm convinced me that nothing else was going to be wide enough for walkaround (and 24mm might even have been better, if only I had had one), though if I am up early enough before my appointment tomorrow I may yet put the 55mm on and go in search of smaller details.

I'm pleased now that I left the macro filters at home - they would have served no worthwhile purpose.

I just got back from taking my S1a to dinner at Asahi Sushi on Church St., which is on the right hand side as you walk south from Bloor St. An Asahi beer was also enjoyed. Also to be recommended is Presse Cafe at 85 Bloor St. East. The staff were nice enough to let me take an artsy picture or two of their espresso machine, and if that comes out I will post them a shot. I also took a bucketload of architectural shots and some statuary.

My battery-less Sekonic Studio Deluxe has been working overtime, especially since I found a neat little workaround for determining which aperture to shoot at by reading directly off the gauge. Normally you can either read it the slow way OR put in any one of 12 specific grids to match the ASA and shutter speed you want to shoot at and only then can you read the aperture directly off markings on the dial. (There is a chart to tell you which to use, a photocopy of which I have in the grid sleeve.)

However, by experiment I determined that with no slide in at all (the low light default), the direct-read conditions correlate to 400ASA, 1/60 which is easily hand-holdable with any of the lenses I have with me now, and which has been providing usable apertures for the more shady (i.e. sun-sheltered, not morally dubious) pictures I have taken.

With the high slide in (most of today's shooting), they correspond to 1/2000 at 400ASA. In other words, leave the camera at 1/500, read the aperture directly off the dial, close down two stops, and shoot.

Most of the times I've taken a guess and flicked the Sekonic out, it has confirmed my suppositions; when things got trickier, I shot directly off an incident reading. Hopefully I don't make any horrendous processing errors and they will all work out.

[wombat2go]

OK, I nearly could have joined you.
Wife and son drove to Stratford yesterday for a play and we discussed all of us going and staying overnight closer to Toronto,
but I decided to stay home.

[ChrisPlatt]

I am presently reading "Risk Savvy" by Gerd Gigerenzer.
He talks a lot about the advantages of gut feelings over detailed analysis.
People who develop ability with gut feelings about their field can not explain how they do it, but they rise to prominence over the analytic guys.

I will add that one to my reading list.

My wife and I once took an ACE photography course taught by a sculptor.
He urged us to ignore the exposure meter etc. and just "spin the dials".
His photos were pretty bad, often well beyond the film's exposure latitude.

With experience all those analytics eventually do become intuitive "gut feelings"...

Chris