Rob MacKillop
Edinburgh Correspondent
Every good forest needs its fire.
In my music life, every five years or so I sell most of my equipment and purchase new stuff, and head off in new directions. It keeps me interested in music, and for someone who teaches music everyday, that's important.
I seem to do something similar with photography, buying and selling equipment periodically. Here's what I have now:
Bronica SQ-Ai with PS 180 2.8 lens - in excellent condition. Medium format. I've just sent off my first film to get processed, but screwed up the first two shots due to not understanding the Mirror-Lock-Up procedure. I've been advised that I don't really need to use it, even hand held.
Epson Perfection v550 - to scan the medium-format negs. Not exactly Hasselblad quality! But it is my entry into scanning. It will help cut costs in the long run. All I need to pay for now is film, and the processing of it. I'll do the scanning myself, and only print those images I want to frame.
Sigma SD Quattro with 30mm 1.4 Art lens - still to arrive from Ffordes (where some of my old equipment went in part-exchange). I've missed the Foveon sensor, especially for b&w work - only a Leica monochrom does it better, in my opinion. Other lenses will be acquired over time, but the 30mm 1.4 seems to be a cracker to start with - see @Brian Moore 's recent images.
Nikon FE with Nikkor 50mm 1.8 lens - a decent eBay acquisition from a couple of weeks back. A beautiful camera, possibly the most beautiful I've had in my hands. It is mainly an Aperture Priority camera, as opposed to my (now sold) Canon AE1P, which was mostly a shutter-speed priority camera. Happy with it, now I understand the two-needle system within the viewfinder.
Olympus Trip - Loaned my first Trip to my daughter, and never saw it again, hence this fairly recent acquisition. Just a fun camera to use. I'll be taking it with me when we see The Rolling Stones on Saturday in Edinburgh! Unfortunately, we have a back-row seat, so the band will be little dots in the distance, or giants on screens. But it's certainly going to be a memorable event. I got an email from the organisers saying all cameras with interchangeable lenses will be confiscated! No pro-level cameras allowed. Was David Bailey a pro??
Konica Hexar - which I've had a for a few years now, and have no intention of letting go.
In my music life, every five years or so I sell most of my equipment and purchase new stuff, and head off in new directions. It keeps me interested in music, and for someone who teaches music everyday, that's important.
I seem to do something similar with photography, buying and selling equipment periodically. Here's what I have now:
Bronica SQ-Ai with PS 180 2.8 lens - in excellent condition. Medium format. I've just sent off my first film to get processed, but screwed up the first two shots due to not understanding the Mirror-Lock-Up procedure. I've been advised that I don't really need to use it, even hand held.
Epson Perfection v550 - to scan the medium-format negs. Not exactly Hasselblad quality! But it is my entry into scanning. It will help cut costs in the long run. All I need to pay for now is film, and the processing of it. I'll do the scanning myself, and only print those images I want to frame.
Sigma SD Quattro with 30mm 1.4 Art lens - still to arrive from Ffordes (where some of my old equipment went in part-exchange). I've missed the Foveon sensor, especially for b&w work - only a Leica monochrom does it better, in my opinion. Other lenses will be acquired over time, but the 30mm 1.4 seems to be a cracker to start with - see @Brian Moore 's recent images.
Nikon FE with Nikkor 50mm 1.8 lens - a decent eBay acquisition from a couple of weeks back. A beautiful camera, possibly the most beautiful I've had in my hands. It is mainly an Aperture Priority camera, as opposed to my (now sold) Canon AE1P, which was mostly a shutter-speed priority camera. Happy with it, now I understand the two-needle system within the viewfinder.
Olympus Trip - Loaned my first Trip to my daughter, and never saw it again, hence this fairly recent acquisition. Just a fun camera to use. I'll be taking it with me when we see The Rolling Stones on Saturday in Edinburgh! Unfortunately, we have a back-row seat, so the band will be little dots in the distance, or giants on screens. But it's certainly going to be a memorable event. I got an email from the organisers saying all cameras with interchangeable lenses will be confiscated! No pro-level cameras allowed. Was David Bailey a pro??
Konica Hexar - which I've had a for a few years now, and have no intention of letting go.
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I have a couple of TLRs and several Holgas and a very decent old Voigtlander 6x9. But I have long coveted a medium format rangefinder or SLR. 
