achmadi’s sanctuary

I got my first rangefinder camera from Ebay, not that expensive compared to voigtlander bessa, zeiss, or leica. 70 SGD for Minolta HiMatic 7sII, I think it’s manufactured circa 77 – eighties, perhaps older than me. First thing I realize from this little baby is: IT’S SO DIRTY

There are many parts need to be cleaned, including the lens (it has some fungus). So the next day I took it to some camera shop in Peninsula Plaza for full service. If I’m not mistaken that place called “Prime”. The guy that I met named Leslie (CMIIW), he is very nice and friendly. It ended with another 90 SGD for full cleanup, 7 bucks for lens cap, and another 5 bucks for strap. I don’t know if the service + accessories will be more expensive compared to the camera’s price. But after all those things, it turned almost like a new, sharp, and snappy. As long as the final result is good and I’m happy, all those bucks are really worth it.

Next step is testing, especially the light meter. Oh, I have to say that the original battery for this camera is no longer manufactured (mercury is poisonous, not good for our mother nature). Several people on Internet forums said I can use hearing aid battery because it has almost the same voltage. The original is 1.35v, that battery is 1.4v. There’s always a chance for over exposure, but I can live with that. So after everything complete, I swing by getting a film.

My first film is Fuji Pro400H, many people (in the internet forum of course) said that this film is good. So I give it a try. I’m quite unsure whether the light meter works or not. What I mean is really works, and give a proper exposure metering instead of just it works in viewfinder.

Well, being a complete newbie on film camera makes me struggle for about half an hour just to load the film.

D’oh!

Well, there’s always a first time *grin*

Yesterday I process my first roll and get the small index print to see if the light meter really works, and I’m very surprised to see it still works, and the result is very nice. I’m so happy to see the dynamic range is way better compared to my digital result.

I was asking that nice uncle from Ruby photo (I did my film process there), how much it takes to process it into digital (scan it), and he said some number around 12 bucks. Hmm… quite expensive for me. That makes me thinks on getting a flatbed scanner that able to do negative/slide scan. There’s a tiny voice doing math calculation inside my brain, I already have more than 10 rolls of film on my cabinet, so for them I need to spend at least 120 bucks. No no no, not a good option to digitized those film to them. To expensive for damned el-cheapo like me.

So I was dropping by to John 3:16 (this is the best camera shop in Singapore IMO, in term of services), too bad they didn’t have any. But they said I can go to Challanger and get an Epson scanner. Well, my next destination is Challenger and I found several scanner, too bad they only have Canon and Epson.

The entry level is Epson V300, and they quote me 248 SGD. Not bad for a film scanner, small and still affordable.

Last night I’m doing my homework trying to dig how’s the scanner’s performance and stuck into this page. Looks promising *big grin*, so it could be my next target. I’m not really interested in Canon, dunno why, perhaps it’s just my instinct.

*fingers crossed*

update:
- The scanner already sitting next to me
- It takes a while and quite hassle to do all the task (scan, post process)
- Post processing is a must, default output from this scanner is somewhat slightly blur, over expose and greyish to me.
- For serious pictures, I’d like to have them scanned by hi-grade professional scanner.

I took this snapshot before this baby getting serviced

And here’s some result from my first roll with this “consumer-grade” film scanner:

I took this picture, after Friday pray. On the bus stop near Bedok Food Centre.

Typical crowd after office hour in MRT station

Taken nearby La Salle, on my way getting Gudeg at Kantin Aneka.

This uncle is having a rest, he must be quite tired during that time. Too bad I can’t take a picture he and his pipe.

They seems so serious discussing something, but one of them looks like getting bored

Hawker centre on Golden Mile Complex, near SimLim and LaSalle. Waiting for my Gudeg.

Took this on my way looking a mosque near Sim Lim. Remind me of my childhood, going home from madrasah in the afternoon.

La Salle and the next HDB complex

Signature Building, Changi Business Park

Playing with lights. Too bad that the scan result is not as good as the image from professional lab.

Tree, took it on my way home from office.

Raining season in Singapore, and I was trapped in MRT station without umbrella. Folks, umbrella is a must-have during this time.

Heavy rain, thank God I was already inside the cab. Took it on my way home.

Blur is a feature. Taken from the cab

My favourite transportation, MRT. Fast, reliable, and not expensive.