Cory Ammerman 
, Jan 17, 2012; 05:58 p.m.
After a couple of minor surgeries and a liberal application of Ronsonol, I finally managed to get my Hi-Matic 7 that I acquired last year with a frozen shutter back in action. Having never user a rangefinder before, I was looking forward to trying this camera out. Overall, my first impressions are very favorable. The only issue I have encountered thus far is that the rangefinder needs adjusting, which my research tells me should not be very difficult to do.
A few technical details for those interested. According to Wikipedia, the Hi-Matic 7 replaced the original Hi-Matic (circa 1962) in 1963 before being replaced itself in 1966 by the Hi-matic 7S. It is equipped with a 45mm f1.8 Rokkor-PF lens that, on my copy, appears to be both contrasty and super sharp. It has an aperture range from f1.8 to f22 in full-stop increments. The mechanical Seikosha-LA shutter offers speeds from 1/500 to 1/4 seconds (also in full-stop increments only), plus bulb, and has a self timer option. This model has a coupled CdS meter that allows for fully automatic operation in addition to full manual control. The meter on my copy does appear to still be in working order. After repair, I compared the meter readings against my DSLR and it appeared to be spot on, but when I went out yesterday, the needle was jumping around a bit, and then quit working. I think the old mercury cell battery that came in my Nikkormat FTn has finally given up the ghost. Consequently, all of the exposures were made using Sunny 16, since I don't have a hand-held meter.
I wanted to shoot B&W film for my first outing and the only option available nearby was some BW400CN. 400 speed film isn't usually the best choice in daylight with a camera that has a max shutter speed of 1/500 unless you want to be stuck at f16 all day, but, luckily, it was very overcast for most of the day yesterday. Most of these images were shot at 1/500 and f8 or so, with a few exceptions as the sun came out at the end of the day.
As for processing the scans, I had Walgreen's include a CD with the prints. The prints looked OK, but the scans all had a greenish tint to them, so I had to do a simple black and white conversion in Capture NX2. I adjusted the brightness on most of the pictures to bring out a little shadow detail (the b&w conversion made most of the pics darker), but no sharpening or contrast adjustments were made.
Enough talk I guess. Time for some pictures. First things first though, a little camera porn.
Hi-Matic 7
Cory Ammerman , Jan 17, 2012; 05:59 p.m.
porn
Cory Ammerman , Jan 17, 2012; 06:00 p.m.
This is the first shot off of the roll. The seals around the film door are pretty crummy, so I was concerned that there might be some light leaks. I fired off a couple of frames to check it out before sealing the door up with some vinyl electricians tape around the outside of the door. Doesn't appear to be any leaks, at lest not that show up under overcast conditions. In bright sun it may be a different story.
#1
Cory Ammerman , Jan 17, 2012; 06:00 p.m.
#3
Cory Ammerman , Jan 17, 2012; 06:01 p.m.
#3
Cory Ammerman , Jan 17, 2012; 06:02 p.m.
main street trolley terminal
Cory Ammerman , Jan 17, 2012; 06:03 p.m.
fountain
Cory Ammerman , Jan 17, 2012; 06:05 p.m.
Haven't heard much about Occupy Wall Street in the news lately, but apparently our local group is still going strong. We don't have a Wall Street so I guess Occupy Main Street will have to do.
occupiers
Cory Ammerman , Jan 17, 2012; 06:06 p.m.
demolition
Cory Ammerman , Jan 17, 2012; 06:07 p.m.
These next few are from later in the day as the sun started to come out.
stairs
