When things go wrong (It hurts me too)

Nesster · 01-04-2011, 05:18 AM

I'm thinking of the Ellmore James version of the tune...

Anyway, an example of things gone wrong in so many directions... Kids, don't try this at home - it takes someone with long experience and college-level training in b&w photography to achieve these results

So What's Wrong With This Picture?

1) MX shutter hangs in the cold. Actually I've noted a pattern, I think maybe Pentax when they went miniature lost a bunch of reliability. Those tiny cameras break, drag, and really need CLAs by now. E.g. Nikon or even Fuji, if the Fuji has survived till now, are still clicking, while the Pentax is going to Eric.

2) Idiot photographer believes MX light meter in the cold - maybe because of the very pretty light show it puts on. I had moments where I was thinking, "Oh boy, there's more light than I thought!" as the ever colder batteries seemed to make the meter read faster.... Goes to show, I do throw away my common sense when offered a crutch in the form of a built in meter.

3) Foma 400 is slow, very slow, a sloth of a ISO 400, more like 160, in D-76 or Xtol anyway. And did I mention grainy and noisy? Yet cheap me thought, Let's try some fresh dated stuff (my first batch was recently expired) to see if it's better. Nope. I mean, when there's enough exposure it does give an old fashioned look, but there are better films to be had. I'm feeling bad I gave my daughter a roll to shoot when we went to the Met.

4) and scratches easy, does Foma 400. I'm hoping it's the Foma and not the newly acquired MX that does this.

5) and the scanner when pushed is very noisy and adds its own lines - Epson 4490 - and just about any scanner - likes some density in the negative. Too thin, and you see every blemish and water spot and scratch on the film AND the scanner noise and those lines that are dust on the top light...

**dadipentak** · 01-04-2011, 05:32 AM

Otherwise, it's a very nice photo.

titrisol · 01-04-2011, 08:51 AM

The scratches are bad, but the picture is OK

IMHO Foma400 is a decent film, and in Xtol should be closer to 400 than in D76
With AM74 (Amaloco) it works fine as 400.

Nesster · 01-04-2011, 09:23 AM

Kind of you

but the whole section of film from my walk in Chinatown is unusable - well under exposed and where I can recover an image it is always darker to the left and brighter to the right - i.e. something wrong with the shutter timing. I was shooting at 1/500 and actually the apertures weren't too far off at all, I should have usable images. Therefore I'm thinking the shutter was going off way too fast. It seems OK in warm air...

**ChrisPlatt** · 01-04-2011, 04:01 PM

Yeah, what a hunk of junk the MX is - needs a CLA after just 30 years!

Chris

Banjo · 01-04-2011, 05:03 PM

My MX needed two successive trips to the repairman (the second one was "on the house"), but works A-OK now.

goddo31 · 01-04-2011, 09:07 PM

Well, thanks for sharing and allowing us to learn from your problems Jussi.
My little MX has been going fine, but when I travel to a colder climate in a few months maybe it wont fare so well. Probably a good time to get some preventative maintenance done. For all I know it's never been serviced.

Sad to hear about your roll being ruined. I went through about 4 rolls with a sticky shutter early on with my ME Super (since retired

) and it was rather depressing to see your shots ruined.

cheers,
Jason

Jimfear · 01-05-2011, 02:16 AM

What was the temperature when you shot this? I haven't had anything like this happen with my KX and LX in the cold, or MX for that part but the MX hasn't really seen any action under about -10°C. My only complaint is that the blue needle in the KX freezes at around -17°C. Not a big problem though, you just have to check the shuttertime from the dial.

Nesster · 01-05-2011, 04:58 AM

...that's just the thing: it wasn't THAT cold, only around freezing or a little below. And, there are a FEW shots from that walk that are exposed OK. So I'm really scratching my head about this...

Jason - sorry to hear you went through 4 rolls like that. My little Chinatown loss is nothing compared to that - or to the time a couple of years ago I took a Spottie and a SMC Tak 100/2.8 to Brooklyn, with two rolls, and got some great pics (I thought) but developed them in Kodak Photo Flo

jolepp · 01-05-2011, 05:15 AM

Originally posted by ChrisPlatt

Yeah, what a hunk of junk the MX is - needs a CLA after just 30 years!

Chris

Yeah ... they don't make them like they used to, it has been all downhill since forging the Excalibur ;-)

stevebrot · 01-05-2011, 08:13 AM

Lazy curtain, Jussi! Probably made worse by the cold. Time to call Eric?

Steve

Nesster · 01-05-2011, 10:28 AM

Yep, Steve - the funny thing about the 'disposable' ST605 is the damn thing keeps working until it doesn't - but really these aren't repairable or worth repairing. But yes, now I have a whole list of cameras to send Eric - KX and MX at the top of the list. The MX definitely had some sort of hiccup, as other photos later on the same walk came out fine, even in the cold. Go figure - I'll watch the shutter after having the camera out on the porch for a while.

tuco · 01-05-2011, 10:54 AM

Mysterious, dark, moody, captivating and unique. It's genius!

I could see how you could get horizontal scratches in a landscape orientation with the film canister. But the vertical scratches seem a little puzzling.

kryss · 01-05-2011, 12:42 PM

Originally posted by jolepp

Yeah ... they don't make them like they used to, it has been all downhill since forging the Excalibur ;-)

Excalibur? try Garden of Eden.

kryss · 01-05-2011, 12:44 PM

Originally posted by Nesster

I'm thinking of the Ellmore James version of the tune...

Anyway, an example of things gone wrong in so many directions... Kids, don't try this at home - it takes someone with long experience and college-level training in b&w photography to achieve these results

So What's Wrong With This Picture?

1) MX shutter hangs in the cold. Actually I've noted a pattern, I think maybe Pentax when they went miniature lost a bunch of reliability. Those tiny cameras break, drag, and really need CLAs by now. E.g. Nikon or even Fuji, if the Fuji has survived till now, are still clicking, while the Pentax is going to Eric.

2) Idiot photographer believes MX light meter in the cold - maybe because of the very pretty light show it puts on. I had moments where I was thinking, "Oh boy, there's more light than I thought!" as the ever colder batteries seemed to make the meter read faster.... Goes to show, I do throw away my common sense when offered a crutch in the form of a built in meter.

3) Foma 400 is slow, very slow, a sloth of a ISO 400, more like 160, in D-76 or Xtol anyway. And did I mention grainy and noisy? Yet cheap me thought, Let's try some fresh dated stuff (my first batch was recently expired) to see if it's better. Nope. I mean, when there's enough exposure it does give an old fashioned look, but there are better films to be had. I'm feeling bad I gave my daughter a roll to shoot when we went to the Met.

4) and scratches easy, does Foma 400. I'm hoping it's the Foma and not the newly acquired MX that does this.

5) and the scanner when pushed is very noisy and adds its own lines - Epson 4490 - and just about any scanner - likes some density in the negative. Too thin, and you see every blemish and water spot and scratch on the film AND the scanner noise and those lines that are dust on the top light...

Awesome,extremely creative.

01-04-2011, 05:18 AM	#1
Nesster Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: NJ USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 13,072	When things go wrong (It hurts me too) I'm thinking of the Ellmore James version of the tune... Anyway, an example of things gone wrong in so many directions... Kids, don't try this at home - it takes someone with long experience and college-level training in b&w photography to achieve these results So What's Wrong With This Picture? 1) MX shutter hangs in the cold. Actually I've noted a pattern, I think maybe Pentax when they went miniature lost a bunch of reliability. Those tiny cameras break, drag, and really need CLAs by now. E.g. Nikon or even Fuji, if the Fuji has survived till now, are still clicking, while the Pentax is going to Eric. 2) Idiot photographer believes MX light meter in the cold - maybe because of the very pretty light show it puts on. I had moments where I was thinking, "Oh boy, there's more light than I thought!" as the ever colder batteries seemed to make the meter read faster.... Goes to show, I do throw away my common sense when offered a crutch in the form of a built in meter. 3) Foma 400 is slow, very slow, a sloth of a ISO 400, more like 160, in D-76 or Xtol anyway. And did I mention grainy and noisy? Yet cheap me thought, Let's try some fresh dated stuff (my first batch was recently expired) to see if it's better. Nope. I mean, when there's enough exposure it does give an old fashioned look, but there are better films to be had. I'm feeling bad I gave my daughter a roll to shoot when we went to the Met. 4) and scratches easy, does Foma 400. I'm hoping it's the Foma and not the newly acquired MX that does this. 5) and the scanner when pushed is very noisy and adds its own lines - Epson 4490 - and just about any scanner - likes some density in the negative. Too thin, and you see every blemish and water spot and scratch on the film AND the scanner noise and those lines that are dust on the top light...

01-04-2011, 05:32 AM	#2
dadipentak Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Baltimore, Maryland Photos: Gallery Posts: 11,590	quit your nit-picking Otherwise, it's a very nice photo.

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01-04-2011, 08:51 AM	#3
titrisol Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: In the most populated state... state of denial Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,854	The scratches are bad, but the picture is OK IMHO Foma400 is a decent film, and in Xtol should be closer to 400 than in D76 With AM74 (Amaloco) it works fine as 400.

01-04-2011, 09:23 AM	#4
Nesster Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: NJ USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 13,072 Original Poster	Kind of you but the whole section of film from my walk in Chinatown is unusable - well under exposed and where I can recover an image it is always darker to the left and brighter to the right - i.e. something wrong with the shutter timing. I was shooting at 1/500 and actually the apertures weren't too far off at all, I should have usable images. Therefore I'm thinking the shutter was going off way too fast. It seems OK in warm air...

01-04-2011, 04:01 PM	#5
ChrisPlatt Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Rockaway Beach NYC Posts: 7,696	Yeah, what a hunk of junk the MX is - needs a CLA after just 30 years! Chris

01-04-2011, 05:03 PM	#6
Banjo Inactive Account Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Australia Posts: 207	My MX needed two successive trips to the repairman (the second one was "on the house"), but works A-OK now.

01-04-2011, 09:07 PM	#7
goddo31 Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,576	Well, thanks for sharing and allowing us to learn from your problems Jussi. My little MX has been going fine, but when I travel to a colder climate in a few months maybe it wont fare so well. Probably a good time to get some preventative maintenance done. For all I know it's never been serviced. Sad to hear about your roll being ruined. I went through about 4 rolls with a sticky shutter early on with my ME Super (since retired ) and it was rather depressing to see your shots ruined. cheers, Jason

01-05-2011, 02:16 AM	#8
Jimfear Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Uppsala, Sweden Photos: Gallery Posts: 576	What was the temperature when you shot this? I haven't had anything like this happen with my KX and LX in the cold, or MX for that part but the MX hasn't really seen any action under about -10°C. My only complaint is that the blue needle in the KX freezes at around -17°C. Not a big problem though, you just have to check the shuttertime from the dial.

01-05-2011, 04:58 AM	#9
Nesster Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: NJ USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 13,072 Original Poster	...that's just the thing: it wasn't THAT cold, only around freezing or a little below. And, there are a FEW shots from that walk that are exposed OK. So I'm really scratching my head about this... Jason - sorry to hear you went through 4 rolls like that. My little Chinatown loss is nothing compared to that - or to the time a couple of years ago I took a Spottie and a SMC Tak 100/2.8 to Brooklyn, with two rolls, and got some great pics (I thought) but developed them in Kodak Photo Flo

01-05-2011, 05:15 AM	#10
jolepp Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Finland Photos: Albums Posts: 3,196	Originally posted by ChrisPlatt Yeah, what a hunk of junk the MX is - needs a CLA after just 30 years! Chris Yeah ... they don't make them like they used to, it has been all downhill since forging the Excalibur ;-)

01-05-2011, 08:13 AM	#11
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Lazy curtain, Jussi! Probably made worse by the cold. Time to call Eric? Steve

01-05-2011, 10:28 AM	#12
Nesster Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: NJ USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 13,072 Original Poster	Yep, Steve - the funny thing about the 'disposable' ST605 is the damn thing keeps working until it doesn't - but really these aren't repairable or worth repairing. But yes, now I have a whole list of cameras to send Eric - KX and MX at the top of the list. The MX definitely had some sort of hiccup, as other photos later on the same walk came out fine, even in the cold. Go figure - I'll watch the shutter after having the camera out on the porch for a while.

01-05-2011, 10:54 AM	#13
tuco Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Pugetopolis Posts: 11,029	Mysterious, dark, moody, captivating and unique. It's genius! I could see how you could get horizontal scratches in a landscape orientation with the film canister. But the vertical scratches seem a little puzzling.

01-05-2011, 12:42 PM	#14
kryss Banned Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Alberta Posts: 218	Originally posted by jolepp Yeah ... they don't make them like they used to, it has been all downhill since forging the Excalibur ;-) Excalibur? try Garden of Eden.

01-05-2011, 12:44 PM	#15
kryss Banned Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Alberta Posts: 218	Originally posted by Nesster I'm thinking of the Ellmore James version of the tune... Anyway, an example of things gone wrong in so many directions... Kids, don't try this at home - it takes someone with long experience and college-level training in b&w photography to achieve these results So What's Wrong With This Picture? 1) MX shutter hangs in the cold. Actually I've noted a pattern, I think maybe Pentax when they went miniature lost a bunch of reliability. Those tiny cameras break, drag, and really need CLAs by now. E.g. Nikon or even Fuji, if the Fuji has survived till now, are still clicking, while the Pentax is going to Eric. 2) Idiot photographer believes MX light meter in the cold - maybe because of the very pretty light show it puts on. I had moments where I was thinking, "Oh boy, there's more light than I thought!" as the ever colder batteries seemed to make the meter read faster.... Goes to show, I do throw away my common sense when offered a crutch in the form of a built in meter. 3) Foma 400 is slow, very slow, a sloth of a ISO 400, more like 160, in D-76 or Xtol anyway. And did I mention grainy and noisy? Yet cheap me thought, Let's try some fresh dated stuff (my first batch was recently expired) to see if it's better. Nope. I mean, when there's enough exposure it does give an old fashioned look, but there are better films to be had. I'm feeling bad I gave my daughter a roll to shoot when we went to the Met. 4) and scratches easy, does Foma 400. I'm hoping it's the Foma and not the newly acquired MX that does this. 5) and the scanner when pushed is very noisy and adds its own lines - Epson 4490 - and just about any scanner - likes some density in the negative. Too thin, and you see every blemish and water spot and scratch on the film AND the scanner noise and those lines that are dust on the top light... Awesome,extremely creative.