Propeller Skies

Astute Propeller Skies readers will recall that way back in January, my friend The Professor was kind enough to donate a Fujica STX-1 to me. At first, I was a bit disappointed with the quality of the photographs. However, after shooting several rolls of film I realized the camera, being vintage and all, was lending some sweet old school flavor to my shots. I adjusted my subject matter accordingly and am now convinced the STX-1 is a most excellent Freegan find.

The STX-1 is over 20 years old, completely manual, and totally lacks superfluous modern gadgetry. It does feature through the lens (TTL) metering that would be convenient if the light meter was worth a damn. The Fujica STX-1 uses an averaging meter, which ensures that the exposure is always wrong. Approximately two weeks ago the meter finally broke, which is fine, since meters are for posers anyway. In contrast to the bootleg meter, the manual focus system with ground glass, microprisms, and split image is fantastic.

No review would be complete without a few sample photos. This monument in Oakland Cemetery was shot with the STX-1, a Fujinar 28mm f/2.8, and Ilford Delta 400 film. This other monument in Oakland Cemetary was shot with the STX-1, a Kominar 135mm f/2.8 and Ilford Delta 400 film.

The Fujica STX-1 is a swell camera for general shooting. I particularly enjoy the simplicity and have been using it to expose black and white film. This camera is totally bitchin’ and I highly recommend it, if you have the means.

Apparently, the retards have taken over at Nikon. They just announced the D2hs, which is essentially the same as the obsolete D2h, except it costs twice as much. Way to go, geniuses.

In modern America, Los Angeles is the archetypical city of the automobile. However, Los Angeles’ urban form was originally dictated by streetcars, not freeways. The first urban freeway in the United States was actually completed in 1959 in Detroit. Five years prior to completion of the freeway, the first step towards the ultimate implosion of Detroit was unwittingly taken when the Northland Mall, amusingly located in Southfield, opened along the aforementioned freeway.

Roughly fifty years later, after numerous failed attempts at revitalization and the loss of almost one million citizens (for comparison purposes, roughly four Macons), Detroit is unique among American cities in its wholesale abandonment. Other rusted out industrial cities along the Great Lakes, such as Buffalo and Cleveland, simply cannot compare to the sheer grandeur of the ruins of Detroit.

Urban explorers armed with cameras have taken an interest in the ruins and are busy posting the spoils of their adventures on the internet. dETROITfunk is one of the best sites and presents a singular vision of Detroit. The focus is on ruins and abandoned factories, which are often contrasted with renovations of gorgeous old buildings and some truly excellent graffiti. This site is set apart from myriad other urban exploration pages by the informed commentary steeped in architectural history. The included notes place the photographed buildings in the greater historical and geographic context. Enjoy the journey.

notes:

The first two paragraphs contain facts gleaned from the Detroit Historical Museums & Society.

I highly recommend paying a visit to this site, Levitation Daily Movie Freeze Frame. The concept and photography are most excellent. Ignore the story line, as it is contrived and not particularly interesting.

Last Friday, I paid a visit to Showcase and dropped off the first roll of film I shot with a Fujica STX-1 recurring Propeller Skies character Ted donated to me. Today, I finally saw the results.

As near as I can tell, the camera is between twenty-two and twenty-five years old. It spent most of those twenty-odd years sitting on a shelf in various places that Ted lived. As mentioned previously on the Prizzo Skeezy, most of the camera functions seemed to work, except for the meter. Given the age of the camera, I had very low expectations with regard to its performance.

Much to my surprise, the test roll that I shot came back looking pretty good. I wish I had put some more thought into subject matter, as all the photos were well exposed and showed no signs of light leaks. Additionally, focus appears to be dead on. I shot several of the photos with the Fujinon 50mm f/1.9 wide open and they came out tack sharp. A few shots did come out not so sharp, but that was due to operator error and not equipment issues.

My initial impression is this is a most excellent camera. Additionally, lenses and accessories are very economical via eBay. Unfortunately, they can be difficult to find, as these were never very popular cameras.

About eight months ago, I finally joined the space age and bought a digital camera. Astute readers will note that coincidentally, this is roughly the same time that the Nikon D70 hit store shelves in the United States. Approximately one month and a couple of thousand shots later, the D70 broke. I pulled out my old N65 that I was using for backup and shot film for about a month while waiting for the D70 to be repaired. Shooting film for a month reminded me why I went digital.

One of the key factors that made my decision to go digital much easier was E-6 Lab in Atlanta. Digital capture means freedom from dealing with dumbass lab employees incapable of following directions. It also means freedom from ever changing arbitrary and capricious turnaround times. However, I do miss the friendly and competent lab employees at Showcase.

Aside from the minor breaking for no reason episode, the Nikon D70 is an excellent piece of equipment. After the initial breakdown, I had no more trouble with it. After being forced to regress to the film age, I bought a second D70 body as a backup and had no trouble with it either.

What makes the D70 great is it works just like a film SLR and is reasonably affordable. Simply flip the power switch to “on” and take a photo. No waiting around for the camera to boot Windows®. Pushing the shutter release immediately takes a picture, with no shutter lag. What novel ideas. As a bonus, Nikon threw in the incredible 1,005 pixel meter used in their professional grade cameras. After 10,000 shots, I am convinced that this camera is incapable of incorrectly exposing a photograph. Of course, operator error in adjusting the camera settings can force it into poor exposures. Additionally, the i-TTL flash system is pretty damn good. It is not perfect, but I have rarely lost a shot because of i-TTL errors.

What makes the D70 better than film is the image is instantly available for review on the LCD. Even while the camera is still writing to the card. Another improvement is that white balance and ISO sensitivity can be adjusted on the fly. Shooting under tungsten light? No need to load a different kind of film, just push a button and twirl the command dial. Running out of light and need to get the shot? Push a different button, twirl the command dial, and increase the ISO sensitivity.

The only weakness of this camera is the worthless “scene” modes. These modes are unnecessary and are a waste of dial space. Photographers that need them should just buy a point and shoot and get over it.

This camera simply works like an SLR should. The program, aperture priority, and shutter priority modes work flawlessly. Manual mode provides full control of the camera, just like it should. The D70 is essentially the guts of a professional camera stuffed into a consumer body, with consumer auto focus. By the way, Nikon’s consumer auto focus is pretty good and pairing an AF-S lens with this camera bumps the performance up to excellent. I highly recommend the Nikon D70.

A big Propeller Skies shout out goes out to recurring Propeller Skies character Ted for unloading a Fujica STX-1 on me. For recurring readers not into old photography equipment, this is a fully manual SLR from the early 1980s, manufactured by the Fuji Photo Film Company. They were solid cameras that were eventually discontinued because they could not take enough market share from established brands such as Canon and Nikon. Unlike Leica, they never became overhyped, so bourgeoisie collectors with too much money and not enough sense ignored them. Because of this, some really nice lenses and accessories can be found on eBay for a song.

I finished the first round of consumer product safety testing this afternoon. The shutter seems to work and the lens stops down correctly when the shutter release is pressed. Amazingly, the flash sync circuitry still works and it successfully fired my modern Nikon SB-800 in A mode. Later this evening, I will install fresh batteries and see if the light meter still works. Tomorrow, I will run a roll of film through it, completing the final phase of consumer product safety testing.

Over the last few weeks, I had a blast posting photos of ruins over at underground. So, I set up a modest site of my own the other day and called it aspherical. Enjoy and feel free to leave comments telling me how great the photos are. I promise my head won’t swell.