Noblex is considered one of the best of the swing lense cameras, and you'll probably have a lot of fun with it.
When mechanical cameras sit around a while they need a bit of use to run smoothly, and dust and grit are a issue. If you run into banding you might need a cleaning. just a fact of life with this type of camera. Look forward to seeing your results
Noblex is considered one of the best of the swing lense cameras, and you'll probably have a lot of fun with it.
When mechanical cameras sit around a while they need a bit of use to run smoothly, and dust and grit are a issue. If you run into banding you might need a cleaning. just a fact of life with this type of camera. Look forward to seeing your results
The Noblex 6/150 U arrived today, with the slow speed module and Panlux meter. Everything seems to be in real good shape, and working as it should. I will check for banding tomorrow by running a few rolls of film through the camera.
The camera has three positions for focus, #1, #5 and Infinity. With the depth of field of #5 I suspect that I will use that position about 95% of the time. Unfortunately there is no shift, as I rather assumed there would be with this model. I probably would have used shift a lot as I really like to keep good perspective. On the other hand I will be scanning about 100% of the negatives I made with this camera and perspective can easily be corrected in PS, as I already do for all of my MF work with Mamiya 7II and Fuji GW690III.
Well, live and learn. I just read the instruction book and found that I do indeed have shift with the 6/150 U, but to engage it one has to open the front as when placing the filters or close-up lenses. I was expecting to see the shift on the fromt below the distance and aperture settings, but the U is apparently an older model and the shift can only be engaged by opening the front of the camera.
Yes, shift is a feature that I wish I had on mine. I also pasted a white label on top of the viewfinder so I can write down what kind of film I have in the camera or other notes, and some arrows in a circle reminding me which way to turn the darn barrel for changing filters so I don't loose a frame (counterclockwise, if you haven't read that part of the manual).
Yes, shift is a feature that I wish I had on mine. I also pasted a white label on top of the viewfinder so I can write down what kind of film I have in the camera or other notes, and some arrows in a circle reminding me which way to turn the darn barrel for changing filters so I don't loose a frame (counterclockwise, if you haven't read that part of the manual).
Learning to use this camera and the slow speed and exposure models has turned out be a bit more complicated than I expected. I spent most of last evening trying to figure out how to work the slow speed module, and most of this morning with the exposure module. Making negatives with the Noblex may turn out to be as much art as science, literally.
One thing that is really neat about the exposure module is that it actually controls exposure by slowing up or speeding up the travel of the drum to compensate for lighter or darker areas of the image. That could be a very useful feature if it works well.
Made it out today to test the newly acquired (used) Noblex 6/150 U. I was using ASA 100 film, rated at EI 50, so put the slow time module on the camera, and also exposed with the Panlux meter, which sets the shutter speed after you manually set (and program in) lens aperture.
Good news is that all of the equipment is working perfectly and I made a number of nice well-exposed negatives, with very even tones and no sign of banding. And using the shift was much easier in real time than I anticipated.
Bad news is that I made a bunch of careless mistakes from lack of familiarity with the equipment which resulted in several poorly exposed negatives. But those mistakes sent me back to the instruction manual(s) and next time out I hope to be better prepared. With the slow time module and exposure meter control this camera is fairly complex, certainly not as easy to use as a point and shoot film camera!
In terms of image quality my impression agrees with the comments made by others, i.e. it makes remarkable negatives with wall-to-wall sharpness and excellent contrast. The lens is a 50mm f/4.5 Docteur Optic.
Some of the rotating cameras have a built in shift, with the lense shifted up. My roundshot 35 http://www.jamieyoungphoto.com/roundshot%201.html for example. My bigger roundshot 70 mm has the ability to shift a great deal but only upward. When you need to shift down you can turn the camera upside down to shoot, though its a pain. I've been doing some shooting with antique (1900-1910 vintage)"al vista" swing lense cameras, mostly with a 7" by 16" camera. They were very frustrating as the "viewfinders" are basically worthless. I've had some pleasant surprises from the start, kind of enjoying the mystery when shooting now. http://www.jamieyoungphoto.com/AlVis...hotos%201.html and http://www.jamieyoungphoto.com/alvistacameras1.html When using your noblex, keep that in mind. I'd love to get one of the noblex cameras, but not right now. have fun!
Attached is one of my first negatives made with the Noblex 6/150 U. This is straight from the scanner except for the frame.
Fuji Acros, two seconds at f/11. Developed in Pyrocat-HD 1:1:100, 20 minutes at 70F, with minimal agitation. Subject was low contrast so N+ development was required.
The subject was in downtown Greenville, SC, about five minutes by car from my home.
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Originally Posted by jamie young 
