Skeletons From The Closet - July Results - Konica I Rangefinder

July's camera, the Konica I rangefinder, continues to entertain me. Very basic in design, it's just fun to use.

 

(Click Here) to read about the Konica I.

 

I shot a roll of Fuji 400 color print film in the Konica, mostly around the small town of Leesburg, Virginia.

 

Summer Evening Light, by Reed A. George

Konica I Rangefinder, Fuji iso 400 Print Film

 

 

Leesburg Rooftops, by Reed A. George

Konica I Rangefinder, Fuji iso 400 Print Film

 

I took an evening walk around the Rust Nature Sanctuary, and made these images:

 

View From the Porch, by Reed A. George

Konica I Rangefinder, Fuji iso 400 Print Film

 

 

Porch, Nearer to Sunset, by Reed A. George

Konica I Rangefinder, Fuji iso 400 Print Film

 

 

Plank Floor Detail, by Reed A. George

Konica I Rangefinder, Fuji iso 400 Print Film

 

Come On In, by Reed A. George

Konica I Rangefinder, Fuji iso 400 Print Film

 

Barn Roof, by Reed A. George

Konica I Rangefinder, Fuji iso 400 Print Film

 

Decent processing for 35mm film is continually getting harder to come by locally. My past favorite was a brand new CVS drugstore with a brand new system; they've stopped processing film altogether. I understand I'm a dinosaur, and film doesn't make any money. However, now that it's gone, I have zero reason to ever go to that particular store again. Usually, I end up buying other things while I'm there. Not any more.

 

My back-up, a local Walgreens, seems to have lost the touch. With this roll of film, I found a lot of chemical residue and continuous scratches across the top of all of the images. I know the scratch didn't come from the camera. My last roll with them came complete with negatives cut into in the sleeving process (inaccurate cutting), and enough dust and fiber to convince me the technician wore wool gloves while processing. As much as I don't like to wait, The Darkroom (www.thedarkroom.com) is my best bet. They always return my negatives in the best of condition.

 

The Kid, by Reed A. George

Konica I Rangefinder, Fuji iso 400 Print Film

In the shot above, you can see the scratch along the top, and the remaining spots that I couldn't remove after washing the negatives in water and scanning with Digital ICE. Pretty bad. Others were worse.

Here's one more, shot at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC:

National Cathedral Garden View, by Reed A. George

Konica I Rangefinder, Fuji iso 400 Print Film

Processing issues notwithstanding, I am really enjoying the little Konica rangefinder. The more I use Konica cameras, the more I appreciate their lenses. They are really first-class. No wonder the Konica lenses in Leica mount always demand high prices.

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