"Alexandria07" wrote in message
...

Hey Everyone!!

So I bought a camera about 2 weeks ago.. I sold Digital Cameras for a
little while, when I was working for Samsung, and I know that I'm no
expert, but nonetheless, I can still take some pretty good pictures..
Anyways the camera I just bought is a 35mm Camera, which- apart from
having those disposable Kodaks for camping trips in elementary -I've
never really used. I was just wondering if you guys could maybe help me
out a little.. Do I have a decent camera? Am I missing equipement? I'd
love to soak in as much information as I can get!!

So this is what I've got:

- Ricoh KR-10 body
- Yashika CS-22 Auto flash
- Vivitar MC Tele-Converter 2X-22 (What is this anyways??)
- Ricoh XR Rikenon 1:2 50mm s
- Sigma Zoom
- Phototec 1 A 52mm lens
- Vanguard 52mm Polarizer lens
- Sigma Achromatic Macro lens

. among that he gave me stuff to clean the lenses, some batteries for
the camera, a carrying case, and cases for some lenses..

Can anyone help me?? It's very much appreciated!!

Alex


Welcome to the wonderful world of film! You'll never go back to "the Dark
Side" (digital)!
On a scale of 1 to 10, the Ricoh is probably a 7 or 8.

Download AND READ! the instruction manual, get a cheap roll of 100 or 200
speed film, and go outside.

The easy outdoor exposure system is the "Sunny 16" rule: Set the shutter
speed equal to the film speed- for ISO 100 speed film set the shutter to
1/125. For bright sunny scenes, set the f-stop to 16. For partly cloudy
skies, use f/11. For open shade, use f/8. For deep shade, set the f-stop to
5.6.

There are three exposure controls: the film speed- whatever film type you
buy, the shutter speed- how long the shutter is open, and the f-stop- the
amount of light that gets through the lens. The higher the film speed, the
larger the film grain (fewer and bigger pixels for digital users!). The
faster the shutter speed, the better the motion stopping. The smaller the
lens opening (larger f-number) the more depth of field you have- more stuff
is in focus near to far away. If you change the shutter speed to a faster
speed, and change the f-stop to a larger lens opening (smaller number), the
exposure stays the same, but you can stop motion more. Conversely, it you go
the other way (slower shutter speed, smaller lens opening-bigger number),
you get more depth of field- more near to far away focus.

The 2X tele-converter goes between the camera and lens, and doubles the
focal length. But it cuts the light in half. The easiest way to handle this
is to divide the film speed by 2: ISO 200 becomes ISO 100.

The polarizer filter is used to cut glare. Aim the camera at a window or
body of water with sun shining on it and rotate the filter. At some point
the glare from the sun will be minimized.
The Phototec 1A 52mm lens is, I assume, a filter, probably a skylight filter
that will improve the look of sky with clouds. It it commonly used to
protect the lens.
The Macro lens is used for closeup photos.

You don't specify the focal length of the zoom lens. 50mm is considered a
normal lens. 100mm would be two power, 200mm would be four power telephoto.
25mm would be one-half power wide angle. A zoom lens is more convenient, but
usually not as sharp or as bright as a prime (single focal length) lens.

Flash photography: Absolute Important Consideration: The shutter in an SLR
is a focal plane type. It has two curtains. One curtain opens and after an
interval, the second curtain closes. If the shutter speed is fast enough,
the second curtain will start closing before the first is fully open. The
film will be exposed as a moving slit from one side to the other. When you
shoot with a flash, the shutter speed MUST be set slow enough so that the
entire film is being exposed when the flash fires. The camera may have an
"X" shutter speed; otherwise use 1/30 second as the shutter speed with
strobe flash.
The light from the flash falls off with distance from the flash. The further
the flash is from the subject, the less light will reach the subject. An
auto-flash should compensate for this light fall-off. The flash unit should
have a chart on it telling you what f-stop to use for a particular film ISO
speed, and what the maximum flash distance is.

You don't say what the lens cleaning stuff is. If it is a liquid, trash it.
The old fashioned 'breathe on the lens and wipe it with a lint-free cloth'
works well.

Hopefully this info is helpful to you.