GAS

I've found myself a job.  Not a proper job, of course - been there, done that got the t-shirt etc etc.  No this job is to help a friend of someone in the Club sell their late husband's photo gear.  It's the sort of thing that's hard to say no to.  So about a week ago four bags of varying sizes were carefully placed in the back of the car.  I'm not sure what I expected, but it certainly wasn't this (Health Warning - could lead to a bout of Gear Acquisition Syndrome):

Nikon F3HP with the following AIS lenses: 24mm f/2.8, 28mm f/2.8 (close focus), 35mm f/2, 50mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.4, 100-300mm f/5.6 plus as many Nikon metal lens hoods as were ever made, I think, along with a bag full of Nikon&Tiffen filters (including a 72mm polariser and special hood made for the 85mm f/1.4).  All in 'as new' order except for the 50mm which has a scratch on the back element.

Hasselblad 503cw, dedicated winder and remote, 45 degree prism, 60mm CB lens and 120mm Makro-Planar.  Again with hoods and filters.  And again, 'as new'.

There's a couple of flashguns as well, if you like that sort of thing (Nikon and Metz).

It's fair to say this gentleman had expensive tastes.  I'd like to think he got a lot of pleasure from using this equipment.

Reed bed by the River Bann;  Nikon F3, 85mm f/1.4 On very old Barclay graded paper.

I set about seeing if the cameras were in working order - no reason to think otherwise but I thought it might make it easier to price/sell if we could vouch for them. Nothing whatsoever to do with me just wanting to play with a new toy. The very thought...  The F3 needed new batteries but after that everything seemed good to go, so I went out and about and snapped anything and everything just to see (a) how much I liked it and (b) everything was working OK.  Oops...wrong way round. Honest.

Naturally I had to try out the F3 and the 85mm f/1.4 first - a beast of a combination, it has to be said.  If it were ever dropped you would hope it didn't land on your toes, that's for sure.  The F3 is from another era to the FM3a that I have...it really is a solid bit of kit and feels like it would withstand a lot of abuse.  Mind you, you won't ever forget you're carrying it around...

The print is poor - I had a rare failure when developing the film.  My go-to for HP5+ is ID-11 diluted 1+1 but I thought I'd economise a little, since this film was just a test of the gear and I knew there wouldn't be any masterpieces on it.  So I diluted 1+3 and gave it the suggested 20 minutes. I was a bit too slap-dash though and must have messed it up somewhere along the line as the negs came out horrible - very low in contrast.  My mind must have been somewhere else...