Enlargements

I was consistenty disappointed when I try to blow up my 35mm negatives. My 8X10's did not meet my expectations. Not being able to enlarge my negatives was my prime reason for going medium format in the first place. Here is my first print where I did all the developing and printing.

Flashes

I have investigated several options for flashes for my Certo Six.



Vivitar 283- I bought one off of Ebay for $60. Its condition was not as described so I sent it back. Here is the manual.

Plus

• Lock that locks the flash to the camera's shoe so it doesn't wobble around at all.
• Powerful (guide number 120ft. @ ASA100)
• Four depth of field options
• Automatic bounce flash compesation (increases output to compensate for loss of light in reflecting)
• Auto thyristor technology

Minus

• Very top-heavy
• Very bulky

Vivitar 285 HV- still available new from B&H for $90. I returned it for the reasons below. Here is the manual.

Plus

• Lock that locks the flash to the camera's shoe so it doesn't wobble around at all.
• Powerful (guide number 120ft. @ ASA100)
• Four depth of field options
• Automatic bounce flash compesation (increases output to compensate for loss of light in reflecting)
• Auto thyristor technology
• 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 power options
• Zoom function

Minus

• Very top-heavy
• Very bulky
• Cheap, cheap, cheap construction! (looked anf felt like a cheap plastic toy)

Rollei 134 REB- Bought off Ebay for $20. Here is the manual

Plus

• Relatively compact
• Svelte
• Very slick head tilt function
• Nice quality (slightly better than Vivitar 283)
• Auto thyristor technology
• Lower center of mass
• Threaded for tripod mount

Minus

• Only two depth of field settings in auto mode (f4 and f11 for 100 speed film)
• Funky Rollei locking sync. cord (make sure you get a cord with this flash if you buy one)
• Non-locking shoe (I cut two shims out of brass shim material, drilled a small hole in each and placed them right under the thin chromed shim that's alreay in the flash shoe. I used the screw that' s already there to attach all three. This screw prevents the flash from sliding all the way in the shoe. I filed a notch in the flash shoe with a needle file so it would slide all the way in. The flash fits perfectly now- not wobbly at all)

I'm going to stay with the Rollei because it is so nice and compact for its power (guide number of 110 ft. w/100ASA film). I really can't stant the bulk of the Vivitars. The 283 is a close second as it is well built and has a locking shoe. The 285 HV is a piece of junk. The Certo does not need the zoom function of the 285 and the 1/4, 1/2, etc. power function can be accomplished by stopping down the aperture or by adding NDO filters.

Jurgen

Here is Jurgen's take on the Certo Six. Included are film loading and winding instructions.

Filters

The Certo Six takes standard 40.5mm filters, but you can't fold up the camera with a filter on. This makes using a UV or HAZE filter as a lens protector impractical at best.

In my opinion, ND (Neutral density) filters are very useful with the Certo Six given it's 1/250-1/400 second max shutter speed (depending on your shutter). They allow you much more control of depth of field in brightly-lit situations.

• ND 0.3 = 1 f-stop
• ND 0.6 = 2 f-stops
• ND 0.9 = 3 f-stops

Here is a nice site explaining ND filters

Tripod Adapters

Unfortunately, due to the focusing apparatus being where it is, the Certo Six does not fit on a standard tripod. Jurgen Kreckel recommended a Mamiya "N" tripod spacer . B&H sells them for ~$45. I got one on Ebay for $10, but it is too "fat" to accomodate the focusing lever. I came up with an alternative solution that has been working great, a male-female hex standoff. It's quite nice. The great part is that you can remove the "ever ready" case without removing the adapter. I will sell be selling them for...

• Stainless steel $40
  
• Zinc-plated brass $25
  
• Aluminum $20
  
• Zinc-plated steel $25

Just send $$ via Paypal to mycoleptodiscus@yahoo.com Shipping is included.

Sample Photos

Here are some sample photos, commercially developed, on TMAX100 and Portra 400NC and scanned at 1600 dpi.

1. Grand-Daddy Doug and Dagny Christmas, 2006
   
2. Great-Grampie Bill and Dagny Christmas, 2006
   
3. Steeple, First Presbyterian Chrch, Cooperstown, NY

My Certo Six

My Certo Six was purchased from http://www.camera-collectors.com/ for the very reasonable sum of $150. The camera was then sent to Jurgen Kreckel http://www.certo6.com/ for a full clean, lubricate and adjust (CLA) in addition to having the rangefinder rebuilt. It is in gorgeous condition. I can't really tell that it was ever used. You probably already know that the Certo Six takes 120 film and is a folding medium format camera with a coupled, parallax-corrected rangefinder, frame counter and lever winder. It focuses the entire lens assembly instead of the front element, just like a large format camera. Mine is equipped with a Prontor SVS shutter and f2.8/80mm Tessar lens.