August 2025 – Page 2

Run if I’m running…

Create an emergency preparedness plan.

That would something like:

If you see me running, just run after me and try to overtake me. I’m running for a purpose😂

Other than that such a thing doesn’t exist for the majority of people.

I love the attitude of the Icelandic people, they live on an island that is forever changing due to volcanic and seismic activity but they have such a mañana attitude. They know their environment and they are constantly prepared to move on out, with pretty much no real panic or concern.

One lady I spoke to who makes lovely art using glass and volcanic ash said, “ if I was constantly worrying how would I even begin to enjoy life?” And she is right you know. What’s the point of worrying about something that hasn’t even happened yet and making yourself sick over it?

The ability to get away from an incident fairly quickly is probably the best advice I’d give. But then again what do I know?

I tell you what though, I won’t be losing sleep over it.

Have a great day.

Sony A7II test pics – Warning Cats!

Now I’m not a Cat person as such and you are not going to find copious amounts of Cat pictures on my pages. However, tonight is different as I required a suitable model to just test the new camera, so here I introduce “Tabs”.

There is a story around Tabs, we purchased our current house about 8 yrs ago and she featured in all the pictures that the estate agents took of the garden. We thought she was the sellers cat but this is not so, she is a Feral soul, and this is in fact her territory and we have moved into it. It’s her property and not ours.

She chases all foxes and other cats from the garden and is an excellent mouser, she had a lovely relationship with our little dog that passed away last year, she likes the hedgehogs and she loves company.

But she will never enter the house, we have all doors wide open and she remains outside, she is more than likely a domestic cat that chose to go feral.

She is fed numerous times a day by us, it’s our way of paying her rent to use her garden. My new camera was purchased as an early present from my lovely wife, and needed a quick test, and Tabs was there in the garden mooching around as she wanted feeding. I therefore just rattled off a few shots to do some basic testing of the camera. I’m really happy with it, but there is still a lot to learn about it.

Have a great day everyone.

Comfort and silence

What brings you peace?

I guess this is quite easy, especially for me to answer, and I do suppose a lot of others out there will probably feel the same. I’ll read other comments later just to confirm this. But for me I’m pretty simplistic, for me it’s just two things, comfort and silence.

I know that makes me sound like I’m some kind of Monk in training but it’s not meant that way. I could have said solitude, but I like to have company, however when the occasion suits, solitude is good.

I find the company in choosing those I want to be with, those who know me and have similar likes and tastes to me. The silence/quiet/solitude aspect is what seals the peace, and to be in that position with the company you choose to be with is what truly brings me peace.

I’m a city dweller, I work in the city and the noise is 24hrs constant with no let up, I find peace in taking breaks away from that environment. Fortunately my work allows me to venture into some of the most beautiful parts of the countryside where I can find that peace, and as I work alone I also find that solitude. But that moment of solitude is often kept as a moment of time in my memory, to share at a later date with my loved ones, and so that perfect circle of finding and observing peace, starts again.

Hoping you all have a peaceful day. 🙏

Sony A7II Mirrorless camera

Wow. I’m a lucky cuss as Captain Sensible once sung.

Never really transitioning to digital photography properly, my dear lady wife took it upon herself to arrange an early birthday present for me after discussing technicalities with a photographer friend of ours. As I’m still stuck very much in the past with all my cameras (and anything else to be honest) they have decided to fully bring me over to the dark side and she has purchased me a full, mirrorless camera kit, yes the whole lot as a package apparently from someone similar to me, stuck in the past and not being able to master it. She’s brought me it as in her own words, “it was a bloody bargain, and I’d have been foolish to turn it down” so she thought of me and that was it. It’s a special birthday this year and she wanted to buy something special and this is it. She wanted me to have it now, as there is just too much of it to hide.

It’s going to be a cracking setup allowing me to fully explore the large void I have regarding digital photography properly.

Here is what is included, an extract from the email between her and the seller:

A complete photography essentials bundle built around the superb Sony A7 II.
Ideal for anyone seeking a high-quality full-frame mirrorless setup, whether upgrading or starting fresh, with everything needed to shoot immediately.
All items were purchased new in 2023, barely used, and are in mint condition throughout. No scratches, scuffs, or marks. Everything has been stored with great care and is fully functioning.
Included in the Bundle:
– Sony A7 II Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera Body:
Renowned for its incredible image quality, excellent dynamic range, and in-body stabilisation, the A7 II is perfect for serious photographers seeking a reliable, high-performance full-frame camera.
✅ Mint condition.
– Sony OSS FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 Zoom Lens:
A versatile all-rounder lens, ideal for landscapes, portraits, and everyday photography. Equipped with Sony’s Optical SteadyShot stabilisation for sharper handheld shots.
Includes Original lens cap and lens hood plus Spare lens cap and spare lens hood.
✅ Mint condition.
– Samyang AF 35mm f/1.8 FE Prime Lens:
A fast, sharp, and lightweight prime lens, perfect for portraits, street photography, and creative work in lower light thanks to its wide f/1.8 aperture.
Includes:
• Lens cap
• Lens hood
• Lens shell (protective sleeve)
✅ Mint condition.
– Sony F20M Detachable Flash Gun:
Compact and effective external flash gun to elevate your low-light photography.
Includes Sony velvet drawstring storage pouch and Two AAA batteries.
Note: The only minor point is the missing hot shoe cover on the Sony F20M flash gun — this does not affect performance. The flash can be stored safely either attached to the camera or in the provided Sony velvet pouch.
✅ near mint condition.
– Cleaning Essentials:
• Giottos Rocket Dust Blower — perfect for safely removing dust from lenses and camera sensors.
• A handful of lens wipes for easy on-the-go cleaning.
– Aodelan Wireless Remote Shutter Release Kit:
Ideal for tripod work, long exposures, or remote shooting without touching the camera. Reliable wireless connection. Ideal for starry sky photography and taking solo selfies on a mountaintop!
– K&F Concept 64-Inch Aluminium Ball Head Adjustable Tripod:
Durable tripod with adjustable height and ball head for precise positioning. Suitable for travel and studio work. Angle and height of legs are adjustable independently of each other which is ideal when resting it on rocky or uneven terrain. It can also be used “upside down” to shoot handsfree at ground level.
✅ mint condition, never used.
– Vanguard Camera Kit Case:
Sturdy, protective camera bag with organised compartments for carrying and storing your equipment securely. Compartments are adjustable with velcro edges.
✅ excellent condition
– Sony Alpha Soft Carry Case:
Original Sony-branded protective soft case for carrying and storing the A7 II R camera. This has a velcro lens hammock fitted inside so the camera with lens attached can be carried safely.
✅ near mint condition
SD card NOT included.
Additional Information:
I paid £**** in total for these items.
Happy to provide further details or additional photographs on request. Also more than happy to share images I have taken with this kit.
Serious buyers only, please.

I apologise in advance if I start to show more photos on these pages, but fear not. It is and will always be a site dedicated to traditional photography, its equipment and repair, and that will never change.

I believe my wife is fed up with me carrying around old equipment and wishes for me to just “Get with it”

There is a definite method in her madness, bless her. Such a wonderful and thoughtful gift. As if I could love her anymore ❤️

Have a wonderful day.

Trains at Melton

Here are four photos taken whilst I was visiting the signal box at Melton Mowbray. This train line is between Leicester and Peterborough and has a number of Victorian era signal boxes still in use today. All pictures taken with my IPhone 14 Pro Max.

View towards Leicester from Melton Mowbray

Have a happy day. 👋

Ghost radio service

No, I’m not talking about secret Russian radio stations, that seems to be all the information you can find, regarding ghost stations on the internet. This Ghost service station has popped up on DAB radio in the Uk, in Leicester, and there is no info that I can find about it online, and all that it seems to be broadcasting is someone making spooky ghost sounds. Have a look at this little video I made of it, only about 30 seconds long.

Spooky

I’m wondering if someone is having a laugh on this channel, maybe it’s on hold, just awaiting a new residency, who knows? I believe this is based somewhere in Leicester city as I’m unable to tune it, anywhere outside of the city limits. I’m surprised that our radio regulators at OFCOM are allowing it, however radio standards aren’t what they used to be nowadays.

Strange one isn’t it?

Have a lovely day all.

Fuji Finepix S9500 test pics

I purchased this camera for just £8:00GBP, damaged a few weeks back. It’s a 9mp camera from back in 2005. It was the simplest of repairs and that post can be found here: Fujifilm Finepix S9500. It’s a lovely little camera, and today we took my 11 year old nephew to Liverpool for the day, to celebrate his birthday and to do a stadium tour of his favourite team. And i took the Finepix S9500 to see if it worked, and I’m pleased with the results. I got some looks of sympathy when I pulled this one out of the rucksack, but who cares, I fixed this, and it works. Yes your big flash fandango cameras are lovely, but to be honest I’m just interested in enjoying my time out with family and getting some snaps. Here’s a selection from today. Nothing special, as I said just snaps.

Today’s snapshots, I think the camera works

And that proves it works.

Have a great day.

Daft cat

At work I frequently visit the station at Hinckley in Leicestershire and I can pretty much guarantee that this fellah is there kind of challenging me to go get him off the tracks. Personally I think it’s a person reincarnated, trying to tempt me 😂. It’s uncanny that it’s always about when I’m in the area….spooky!

Have a good day.

Olympus Trip 35

What the listing stated:

This lot is being sold for PARTS / REPAIRS, it is currently NOT in a working condition

Olympus Trip 35 w/ D. Zuiko 40mm F/2.8 Lens
& Original Lens Cap

EBay

I brought this item along with a Canon A1 as a job lot. The full detail of what was in the auction and how it progressed can be found here: Not the lottery, but for me – just as good

The page regarding the repair of the A1 can be found here: (Still in draft – coming soon)

Meanwhile here is a little history about the Olympus trip:

The Olympus Trip 35 is a 35mmcompact camera, manufactured by Olympus. It was introduced in 1967 and discontinued, after a lengthy production run, in 1984. The Trip name is a reference to its intended market—people who wanted a compact, functional camera for holidays. During the 1970s, it was the subject of an advertising campaign that featured popular British photographer David Bailey. Over ten million units were sold.

The Trip 35 was a point and shoot model with a 40 mm ƒ/2.8 lens, solar-powered selenium light meter, and just two shutter speeds. In ‘A’ mode, the camera operates as a Program automatic, choosing either 1/40 s or 1/200 s. The camera could also sync with flash, and has a range of aperture settings, from ƒ/2.8 to ƒ/22. In flash sync mode, the shutter is set at 1/40 s. Apart from a simple four-position zone focus system, and an ISO setting from 25 to 400,^[2]the camera has no other photographic controls. The camera has a Prontor-Compur sync connector and a hot shoe. Its lens was a coated Zuiko 40 mm ƒ/2.8, with four elements in three groups.

The camera has an ISO range of 25–400, as films faster than 400 were uncommon at the time and delivered reduced image quality. 25 speed allowed the use of Kodachrome, while 400 speed allowed use of Kodak Tri-X and similar fast materials under low light. Earlier models, from the first few years of production, have a maximum ISO speed of 200.

The use of a selenium photocell to select the shutter speeds and aperture let novices use the camera as a “point & shoot”. No batteries are needed to power the camera.

The lack of more than two shutter speeds was not a problem. At 1/200 s and ƒ/22 with 400-speed film, the camera could deliver correct exposure in full sunlight, while at 1/40 s and ƒ/2.8, correct exposure could be obtained under bright fluorescent light, without a flash.

Wikipedia

And who could ever forget the series of star studded television adverts, featuring the photographer David Bailey, put together to promote this camera.

David Bailey

I never really got to use one, I admired one from a distance instead. My brother in law, Jim had one around about the mid to late 70s and he took some fantastic snaps with it. I wasn’t into photography at that time as I was still more interested in LEGO and Tonka trucks. However he did let me try it a couple of times, it really was that easy to use.

I’m not really sure what the problem is with this one, as the listing was not really clear on its issues. I just really wish sellers would just take a few seconds to describe the problems, it really could be an instant decision for the buyer – is it repairable or not? I’ll just have to wait until it’s arrived, and then i can do an assessment of its condition.

Assessment:

Well, it’s arrived and cosmetically it looks fine. However, zoom in a tad and the issues become apparent. It’s been dropped at some time, the lens has a little bit of wobble and you can see the outer ring of the lens has an obvious dent in it.

It does wind so that’s a bonus. The exposure button works and it clicks as it should, and the old selenium exposure meter appears to be responding, the red flag appears in low light and thus the exposure button will not depress. This is good.

When you half press the exposure button you would expect to see the relevant shutter leaf aperture close down, to the corresponding f- stop reading, this occasionally happens. If you move the lens barrel slightly it does have an effect, but it looks as if there is also some contamination on one of the shutter leafs, all of this is probably as a result of that tumble that has occurred sometime in the past.

Obvious lens wobble

I will definitely have to remove the whole lens housing from the camera to see if I can do anything regarding that wobble. This is going to be quite some task, and I’m not confident I will succeed, but who knows.

Let’s attempt to get inside.

Repair:

To get into the lens there are three tiny screws on the inner turret bezel that have to be removed that sit around the edge of it. This then pulls out and the lens optics can then be unscrewed.

Here are then two more screws that allow you to remove the selenium light sensor. Below this are three brass screws that hold the body to the lens. One of these screws were loose, hence the wobbly lens, this must have occurred when it was dropped.

I’ve pretty much had a cleanup here, applied a tiny drop of camera grease to the ring mechanisms, and tightened all these screws, and now the turret is nice and tight. I’ve just given the shutter blades a wipe with a soft brush and that is all it really needs. I’ve reassessed the camera, and tested its operation and it’s all good, working just as expected.

Result:

The dent in the ring remains as it’s causing no issues and is a subtle reminder of its past. The lens issue and its movement has been repaired and this in turn has cured the issue with the sticky aperture blades.

I haven’t touched the inner workings in the top of the camera such as the light metering, as it’s working fine and what’s the point in fixing what’s not damaged?

I’ve still to run a film through it, and this will be done shortly as I have quite a backlog of film cameras to be tested. As soon as I have photos available I will link through this posting.

Really pleased with how this has gone, a nice easy fix but I can’t believe just how small those screws are around the lens bezel. I need my eyes testing that’s for sure.

Thanks for passing by, as always it’s very much appreciated.

Mamiya M Autofocus – 35mm point and shoot camera – Part two

Here we are again. I recently wrote of my failed attempt to get this 80s camera operating here: Mamiya M Autofocus – 35mm point and shoot camera.

Not one to give up on a project I have looked at a suitable donor camera and believe I have found one as detailed below. Only difference is that I had to buy two cameras as they came as a bundle. Not a problem as I can always do a separate post on the other one, the two have cost me a total of £15:00GBP bartered down from the original price of £30:00GBP. A bargain! So let’s just call it £7:50GBP per camera.

What the listing stated:

mamiya shutter button is stuck. red light on the right comes on. some external corrosion pictured

ricoh no power at all

EBay