Welcome To the Daily View

Today I am switching things up a bit. Instead of sharing a photo of one of our cafe guests or some of our plants, flowers or other form of nature I would like to share one of my better "flea market finds" in quite a while. Or in this case a local thrift store.

I am always (and I mean ALWAYS) on the lookout for cameras. Doesn't matter if it is digital or film, newer or older. Though older film is what I like the most.  And I must have somewhere between two and three hundred specimens in my collection. So when I come across a brand I have never heard of let alone seen I jump on it. As long as it's affordable of course. The same goes for unique models from brands I am familiar with. Well today I found one. And aside from a sticky shutter and a minor dent it is in pretty good shape. Especially for its age.

Today for the bargain basement price of just $8.00 I procured this beautiful 1966 Petri Racer.

Click For Full Size Image

As with most vintage 35mm Range Finder cameras this one feels awesome in my hands. Though I must admit that I am a sucker for aluminum bodied mechanical cameras. And this one is as solid as they come. It's also the more sought after 45mm F1.8 lens version.

Here is some more views.

Top View

Side View

Note the dent at the upper left of the lens. Not a big deal. It's merely cosmetic.

Unusually positioned shutter release on the front of the camera. at least for a Range Finder

Petri Camera Company. Never heard of them.

Close up top of camera

Yep. She was last serviced on November 11, 1968. A mere 49 ears ago. That's two years older than me :) But it seems that Comet camera may still be in business at 1209 Walnut Street in Philadelphia.

Cool huh? As soon as I can find a shop that will fix the sticky shutter I will take it out for some field testing. And of course I'll report back to you :) Oh, by the way, this wasn't the only vintage camera I bought today. Wait until you see the other bargain.

And now...

Yesterday's View...

Friday May 5, 2017

And that will do it for now. Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

Exploration Photography Daily View - November 11, 2016

Hi and welcome to the Daily View!

Early this morning before work I was in our basement going through some packed boxes looking for something. I didn't find what I was looking for but I did come across something really cool. 

Going back some years I inherited a handful of cameras from my Cousin Charles. Charles was quite the shutterbug and had a small but somewhat interesting collection. I have fond memories of him sharing it with me from the time I was a child and well into my adult years. In fact he is a very big part of why I love the art of photography. And today I would like to share with you one of the coolest cameras that is now mine to enjoy and preserve.

Here is the Pentax Auto 110.

Remember the days of 110 cameras? Yeah, me too. They sure were convenient but the quality was lacking. This was due to the very small negative. But with this camera Pentax attempted to improve the 110 image with what I believe to be the only (or at least one of very few) 110 SLR cameras with interchangeable lenses. I have never shot with this camera and seeing as 110 film was discontinued in 2009 you would think it impossible to do so now. But there is hope. And that hope is a company named Lomographische AG. They produce many styles of extinct film including 110. So perhaps I will snag a roll or two and see what this baby can do.

And now...

Yesterday's View...

Thursday November 10, 2016

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

November 2, 2014 - Photo Of The Day

And then some...

That's right. Today I will be posting a daily photo and more. I originally planned on two posts but figured this would work too. Let me explain.

Yesterday Kim and I went to the local Verizon Wireless store to have our phones checked out. You see after a recent update both of our phones started having battery issues. Each was fine the day before but after the update the batteries would wear down about half way through the day. This was too much of a coincidence. So anyhow when we stopped by the store and spoke with a customer service representative about it. We also told her that our monthly service rate was way too high and that we would be shopping around in about six months when our contract was up. Well one thing led to another and we ended up with two new phones and a monthly rate that is about $30 cheaper. All of this with unlimited talk and text and a nice data plan. In fact the only thing we had to pay for was a cover for each new phone. Nice!

So here I am with a new phone. It is a Motorola Droid Turbo. And it has a 21 Megapixel camera. So of course I had to go somewhere and try it out. And that is what I did today. And what better place than Valley Forge Park.

The only issue with today's "test run" was the weather. It's not that it was cold but it sure was windy. Which of course made the mid 40 degree temperature feel cold. In fact at times it was downright nasty. But I did it anyway and now I will share some of the results. While you browse please choose one for your own personal "Photo of The Day". How's that sound?

I am sharing some technical details under each photo. Also each one was adjusted in Photoshop. So here we go, the photos.

21 Megapixels Shot with camera's HDR setting.

21 Megapixels Shot with camera's HDR setting.

16 Megapixels Shot with camera's HDR setting.

21 Megapixels Shot with camera's HDR setting. Arch in the background.

21 Megapixels Shot with camera's HDR setting. My favorite tree.

21 Megapixels Shot with camera's Standard setting. Yes that's my shadow.

21 Megapixels Shot with camera's Standard setting. Washington's Headquarters.

21 Megapixels Shot with camera's HDR setting. General Washington watching over his troops.

So what do you think? Here's my take.

Overall I am satisfied with the results. In fact for a phone camera I am very satisfied. As you may have seen I included one photo at 16 Megapixels instead of the standard 21. The camera records in 16 Megapixels when it is set for Widescreen. To tell the truth I really didn't really notice a difference. 

The colors are pretty much correct except that I had to adjust the reds in most of the shots. I also adjusted the highlights to bring out details such as the clouds. Other than that I only did some minor tweaks to correct lighting. Much of this may have been necessary due to the bright sun.

Don't get me wrong. The direct out of camera results were decent. I adjust every photo I shoot no matter what I create it with. As far as I have ever seen there is no camera that can accurately recreate a scene exactly as it is.

So there you have it. I will be testing the video quality soon. There is a setting for the new 4K standard. that should be fun.

Thanks for stopping by and please come back soon.

Until next time...