GAS GAS: Please Share your Latest Acquisitions Big and Small

Looks really beautiful! Is Leotax anywhere near Leica in terms of build quality, rangefinder accuracy, optical performance etc.?

The Leotax F is slightly bigger, and somewhat heavier than my Leica IIIg roughly from the same period. Presumably to create a bit of room for the flash synchronisation.
The camera certainly feels very solidly built and operation feels and sounds as smooth as the IIIg.

The shutter curtains appear to be a bit snappy so I suspect that they move at about the same speed (1/50th of a second) as the IIIg, as opposed to 1/30th or 1/20th of older Leica models.
As it was capping on 1/500th I gave one curtain spring an extra half-turn, but am still testing that roll, so I can't say if it helped.

Rangefinder/Viewfinder optics are similar in layout to the Leica IIIb, IIIc and IIIf models.
The accuracy of the Rangefinder is the same as the base-length is the same.
Adjustment can be done the same way as with the Leicas. It was slightly out of whack when I received the camera.

The 5cm f/3.5 Simlar appears to be direct copy of the Elmar, with a 1-1-2 layout of the elements and the aperture sitting between the front two groups.
Can't comment on the quality of optical parts themselves, but the build quality of the lens certainly feels just as good as a Leitz lens.
It renders very similar to the Elmar as well in my opinion.

Only problem I ran into, quality wise, is light getting into the film chamber through the openings in the top of the shutter crate through the viewfinder/rangefinder optics.
The openings are there for the flash sync wires to go through. If this is due to missing seals or baffles from a previous repair job, I can't tell.
The chrome plating appears a little more sensitive to wear.

I'm currently running a roll though it, after (hopefully) sealing the light leak. I'll share some results here when I'm done. ;)
 
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An yesterday I received the clamp attachement for mounting the Graflex slave flash for my Speed Graphic camera set.

Still looking for some of the original wiring to hook it all up. (Mainly the cable to link the flash synchronizer to the shutter actuation solenoid).

clamp.jpg
 
Not a new acquisition, but rather one which has been with a repair shop for a long time! I just made the payment for the finished work on the Petri Color 35 that was part of a box of broken, worn out and/or fungus-y cameras I took from a backwoods yard sale last year. The Petri was the best condition of the lot, very nice shape but the shutter was frozen up. Advance Camera was able to fix her up, I'll have it in hand in a couple of days to confirm it for myself! Excited to shoot the little thing.
 
Epson XP-970 A3 printer to allow me to start making prints for club meetings and hopefully competitions. I am printing black and whites on Marrutt lustre paper and the results look pretty good to my eye. Just researching alternatives to original cartridges now, it looks like Epson sell the ink in bulk containers so refillable cartridges might be a good option.
I've never had any problems with compatible cartridges on Epson printers in the past, unlike on Canons. I now print so rarely that I can shell out for Epson cartridges, though. Refillable would definitely be a good move.
 
A nice combo if I do say so myself.
Have fun with it Andy.
Already took it on a day trip to Glacier Point in YNP, but it was extremely hazy from all the fire smoke which wasn't ideal for getting great images. Testing in worst looking into the sun conditions.
Z5 GP1.jpg
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Hiking down Panorama Trail ......
Z5 Panorama Trail.jpg
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Both images SOOC
 
I took delivery off the Viltrox 24mm F1.8 today.

First thoughts..

Looks nice with a good solid feel.
AF speed is fast and accurate.

Center performance at F1.8 is excellent. F5.6-F8 seems to work well for edge sharpness.
Light falloff and distortion is well corrected in LR/ACR.
Flare resistance seems good.

Size is great.
Very petite and light in weight for an F1.8 FF wide angle. 2.7-3.3" and 11.9 oz(340g)
Makes a really nice fast 35mm lens for my Z50 which will likely be where it spends most of it's time.

Not so's.
It's not cheap at $429US.
CA in the OOF areas.
Minimum focus distance isn't great.
Distortion and falloff may not be corrected in jpeg /video.

My verdict:
Well worth the $. Especially for it's ability to "fit in" with Nikon Z's DX format.
Should be really nice on the ZFc as well.

samples-3.jpg
 
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