[MarkJerling]

Beautiful work Ismael!
Well done!

[gofour3]

Suddenly it is 1954!

What do you think?

Thanks,
Ismael

Beautiful work Ismael!
Well done!

Ditto, great job!

Phil.

[ismaelg]

Thank you guys!

I just can't put it down
Got this quick shots before heading to work.





Thanks,
Ismael

[titrisol]

Looks incredible!!!
Congrats!

[ismaelg]

Hello,

Had a few spare minutes last night and took a closer look at the leather case.



This old and stiff electrical tape suggests the belt is broken.


Sure enough


Carefully took it apart. I'm working on a plan to work on this. Consulting with a friend who has a lot of experience working with leather.


I also plan to polish the metal parts as well


I don't want it to look new. I just want it to be the best it can. This will be slow but I'm just having fun.

Thanks,
Ismael

[titrisol]

Let me know how you stitch that leather strap!
For the case I guess saddle soap will be recommended

[Argos]

Hello,

Had a few spare minutes last night and took a closer look at the leather case.



This old and stiff electrical tape suggests the belt is broken.


Sure enough


Carefully took it apart. I'm working on a plan to work on this. Consulting with a friend who has a lot of experience working with leather.


I also plan to polish the metal parts as well


I don't want it to look new. I just want it to be the best it can. This will be slow but I'm just having fun.

Thanks,
Ismael

leather can be patched or replaced

[ismaelg]

Hello,

The leather case lives!
I had the opportunity to go to a shoemaker's shop. I think he is the last one in over a 50 mile radius and probably more. The guy is a good friend and fellow Boy Scout leader. He was gracious enough to allow me access to his cool shop so I could restore the case. I wanted to do it myself. I was like a kid in a candy store with all those cool tools. Never claimed to be normal
The case and the belts were very stiff and dry. The broken belt was fixed with a "wrap" of very thin leather. A common period repair. Everything was cleaned and conditioned with proper materials. As I have stated multiple times before, I don't want to make these restorations look new. I want to get them the best they can be but keeping their character and patina.
The leather is now flexible and the case looks great! Most importantly, it works!









Back home, the bright metal parts polished out nicely without any drama.




And the money shot


Thanks,
Ismael

[sergysergy]

beautiful! thanks for sharing, Ismael.

[ismaelg]

Hello,

Guess who was out today:





Caption this:


Thanks,
Ismael

[arnold]

Hello,

The leather case lives!
I had the opportunity to go to a shoemaker's shop. I think he is the last one in over a 50 mile radius and probably more. The guy is a good friend and fellow Boy Scout leader. He was gracious enough to allow me access to his cool shop so I could restore the case. I wanted to do it myself. I was like a kid in a candy store with all those cool tools. Never claimed to be normal
The case and the belts were very stiff and dry. The broken belt was fixed with a "wrap" of very thin leather. A common period repair. Everything was cleaned and conditioned with proper materials. As I have stated multiple times before, I don't want to make these restorations look new. I want to get them the best they can be but keeping their character and patina.
The leather is now flexible and the case looks great! Most importantly, it works!









Back home, the bright metal parts polished out nicely without any drama.




And the money shot


Thanks,
Ismael

You have done admirable work, and in the name of all that is beautiful, congratulations!

[MarkJerling]

Hello,

The leather case lives!
I had the opportunity to go to a shoemaker's shop. I think he is the last one in over a 50 mile radius and probably more. The guy is a good friend and fellow Boy Scout leader. He was gracious enough to allow me access to his cool shop so I could restore the case. I wanted to do it myself. I was like a kid in a candy store with all those cool tools. Never claimed to be normal
The case and the belts were very stiff and dry. The broken belt was fixed with a "wrap" of very thin leather. A common period repair. Everything was cleaned and conditioned with proper materials. As I have stated multiple times before, I don't want to make these restorations look new. I want to get them the best they can be but keeping their character and patina.
The leather is now flexible and the case looks great! Most importantly, it works!

Back home, the bright metal parts polished out nicely without any drama.

And the money shot

Thanks,
Ismael

You're a Master Craftsman Ismael!
Fantastic work!

[womble]

Great stuff. It makes me very happy seeing these classics restored and being used.

[e_nogueras]

Ismael (ismaelg) in the wild with his restored 1954 Tower 23.

[ismaelg]

AR! AR! PITCHERS! WE GOT PITCHERS!

Hello,

Just downloaded the scans from the test roll. Negatives should be here by next week.
To say I'm very Very VERY happy is an understatement!
These are untouched scans except for the resize and the signature. Once I get the negatives I try to scan myself and see if I can improve on them. But I like these.
All of these were using Sunny 16 as starting point. Not even a handheld meter.


1/100 @ f11


1/100 @ f16


1/500 @ f8


1/100 @ f16


1/100 @ f11


1/500 @ f5.6

My favorite! The earlier picture posted by Edgar where I'm kneeling is taking this one.

1/100 @ f16


1/50 @ f16


1/100 @ f4


1/100 @ f8


1/100 @ f11


1/100 @ f8

I even did a studio test using the Xsync port to trigger the studio strobes

1/25 @ f16 with strobes connected to the Xsync flash port (Should have gone f11... oh well!)

Conclusion: This camera is not the fastest to use. I don't see it been used in a sporting event for example. But taking the time to properly focus, set aperture and compose and it will knock your socks off!!!
What do you think?

Thanks,
Ismael