The past month was the rainy season, called monsoon, in Arizona. This year the much needed rain was plentiful, daily and revitalising. The desert turned to a garden of wild flowers and lush green meadows; although many towns and cities suffered damages from flash flooding.
With restricted possibility for outdoor adventures, I decided to tackle a task I have been putting off for a long while – repairing, cleaning and adjusting some of my classic cameras that have been sitting on the shelves without exercise.
First, I took on the adjusting of the shutter second curtain on two 1980s Olympus OM-1 cameras. It is a tedious job but I find it relaxing as I am very patient with detailed work. And, as a break from the detailed work, I played with the electrical system of a non-mechanical 1980s, the Minolta X-700. Indeed, the latter was much easier to fix and wanted to take the Minolta for an outing after having ignored it for 20 years!
Here are the cameras I worked on
The X-700 was a popular camera 40 years ago, primarily because it has an Aperture Priority mode allowing the photographer be creative with the choice of lens apertures without worrying to simultaneously adjust the shutter speed. Of course these functions are now “prehistorical” with digital cameras, but 40 years ago it was the dream of every amateur photographer to afford such a camera (Nikon F3 had that function but was beyond the price range of many).
The other attraction of the Minolta was the fast 50mm lens. I find the Pentax lenses of that era better built and rendering more pleasing photos, but the Minolta was well received in the field.
… So, rolled about 12 shots 35 B&W film into an old Kodak canister (yes, I still buy 100 meter of bulk film and roll them myself…) and went for a short trip on memory lane.
My goal was to test if the camera still works (meter, Aperture Priority mode, frame spacing, etc) and see how an old “fast” lens (f1.7) renders background blurs in the very bright desert sun. The challenge was worthwhile since the camera has an upper shutter speed of only 1/1000 second which means I would not be able to use the 1.7 aperture in bright light.
But wanted to try.
The photo atop this page is from downtown Prescott. I took it at f4 and let the camera decide on the shutter speed. I focused on the man with the cowboy hat rather on the historic sign to see how the forefront and background are rendered.
Then, I tried using the 1.7 full aperture with scenes where shadows and sun mixed. Here are three compositions:
1. Sun filtering through tall trees. This abandoned car (can you see it?) was perfectly camouflaged by the trees, the filtered grades of shade, and tall grass. The lens “interpreted” what I saw through soft edges, blurred background and good sharpness in the center. It gave the moment an almost psychedelic feeling!
2. Bright reflections in the background. Many of the Prescott retirees collect, maintain and use vintage cars. This one was parked in a semi-shady spot with the sun reflecting on the building behind it –a perfectly natural set-up to test the lens.
It is overexposed since the limited shutter speed of 1/1000th of a second could not handle the amount of light at f1.7. But, it does have some allure from an artistic point of view.
3. Full sun. I knew this will be too much for this old camera and its prehistoric electronic shutter at Aperture Priority mode. And it is. But the fun part of the photo is the look the passenger rider gave me when I clicked. Given the folding mirror slap, I did not see her noticing me, and that is what makes street photography delightful.
As expected, the photos will not make the front page of the National Geographic Magazine. But for those like me who enjoy using old cameras as much as getting good photos, it was a pleasure to take the 40 year old Minolta X-700 out of retirement, albeit for a short moment and bring back many memories.
Next, I will find out if my hours of work on one of the 40-year old Olympus OM-1 succeeded in adjusting the travel timing of its second curtain…
August 30, 2022
© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2022
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