I JUST GOT A BOX OF SUPPLIES I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT!!

ScribbledShinanigans · Mar 3, 2011

Ok.. know what SOME of it does.

I have a fmaily friend that used to be into photography. I've recently fallen in love with it as well and have started collecting/using different cameras. When he found out he sent me a package of lenses, filters, a flash gun and an A-1, which is awesome because the AE-1 I have is on loan...unless she forgets I have it

Anyway. I know what the Zoom lens and filters do but other than that I'm basically stuck. So if you know what anything of this stuff does PLEASE help me out

1. 370 BVC Braun Flash Gun
a. first off, the only free manual I could find was in German. and i read somewhere it's basically useless because it doesn't tell you what any of the settings actually mean. so if anyone has a manual they can copy over or can tell me what the settings mean that would be great

b. He sent it with the Canon A-1 and I can't figure out where/if the cord connects to the camera

c. I also have a Canon rebel and I was wondering if it is compatible with it as well

2. Vivitar lens.( i THINK it goes up to 20 feet)

a.I can't get it to go on the A-1 but I assume it can since he sent it to me

3. Canon Beroflex Auto Tele Converter

a.????? I thought maybe it had to do with the Vivitar lens but I can't figure it out. I too scared to try it because I don't want to break anything.

3. Exposure Meter

a. I'm not really sure what to do with it/how it works

Any help would be appreciated!!!!!

P.S. I'm also new to this forum. Hello!

tirediron · Mar 3, 2011

All the photographic manuals you will probably ever need

The Vivitar lens is probably a zoom, likely one of a huge crop of 70-210 consumer zooms that were popular in the A1 / AE-1 era. They're decent glass usually.

The teleconverter is essentially an optical multiplier. Attaching this will multiply by a factor of [probably] 1.4, 1.7 or 2x, Please post pictures of the equipment - we can help you a lot better if we can see what it is.

Exposure meter is a device for determining what exposure settings (aperture and shutter speed) should be used given the ASA or "speed" of the film. Also called a light meter.

o hey tyler · Mar 3, 2011

ScribbledShinanigans said:
Ok.. know what SOME of it does.

I have a fmaily friend that used to be into photography. I've recently fallen in love with it as well and have started collecting/using different cameras. When he found out he sent me a package of lenses, filters, a flash gun and an A-1, which is awesome because the AE-1 I have is on loan...unless she forgets I have it

Anyway. I know what the Zoom lens and filters do but other than that I'm basically stuck. So if you know what anything of this stuff does PLEASE help me out

1. 370 BVC Braun Flash Gun
a. first off, the only free manual I could find was in German. and i read somewhere it's basically useless because it doesn't tell you what any of the settings actually mean. so if anyone has a manual they can copy over or can tell me what the settings mean that would be great

I'm not sure about this one. It should work on your Film SLRS, but do not under any circumstances try and fire this with a Digital SLR.

b. He sent it with the Canon A-1 and I can't figure out where/if the cord connects to the camera

What cord are you talking about? The cord from the flash?

c. I also have a Canon rebel and I was wondering if it is compatible with it as well

Is it a Digital Rebel? Or a 35mm Film SLR? As stated before, the Flash you have puts out too many volts for a DSLR.

2. Vivitar lens.( i THINK it goes up to 20 feet)

Does it say anything about having an FD mount? Or is it an EOS EF mount?

a.I can't get it to go on the A-1 but I assume it can since he sent it to me

The reason that may be is because it is not an FD mount lens.

3. Canon Beroflex Auto Tele Converter

a.????? I thought maybe it had to do with the Vivitar lens but I can't figure it out. I too scared to try it because I don't want to break anything.

I would bet it's another EF or FD mount issue. This seems to be the root of your problem. I haven't used a teleconverter, but I am assuming it would double your focal length of the lens you use it with. (if it's a 2x teleconverter)

3. Exposure Meter

a. I'm not really sure what to do with it/how it works

Does it come with a manual? You could google it and look for a manual, but you haven't provided any other information about the exposure meter. What brand is it?

Any help would be appreciated!!!!!

P.S. I'm also new to this forum. Hello!

Hi.

ScribbledShinanigans · Mar 3, 2011

I got the vivitar o! just took some adjusting!

this is the Vivitar:
http://anscandraw.wordpress.com/vivitar/img_2107/

This is the converter, which I'm not quite sure what you mean by multiplying by a factor. Sorry I don't know all the terminology yet :/
http://anscandraw.wordpress.com/vivitar/img_2115/

This is my light meter. I'm not sure how to adjust everything I'm assuming the top numbers are the shutter speed, but I'm not sure of anything else
http://anscandraw.wordpress.com/vivitar/img_2116/

This is my Flash gun
http://anscandraw.wordpress.com/vivitar/img_2117/

And I know what this does but I'm not sure what it's called...I just call it the clicky button. heh
IMG_2118 | Scribbled Shenanigans

Thank you for all the help!

PJL · Mar 3, 2011

The last thing is a cable shutter release. You screw it into the camera and press the plunger to activate the shutter remotely.

The light meter is interesting. Definitely Russian. I don't know what "kino" (the pronunciation of KNHO) means, or "gost" (the pronunciation of the word on the bottom right). DIN (bottom left) is an archaic style speed rating for film. You can convert ISO to DIN through this link:

Film speed - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The top number seems to be shutter speed, while the number right below that is f-stop.

The teleconverter is a 2x converter, which means it will change the field of view of the attached lens to the equivalent of double the focal length, so a 50mm lens would have the field of view of a 100mm lens. It also means that your maximum aperture is doubled too, however.

Nikon_Dude · Mar 3, 2011

Kino can mean film/movie/theater. Not sure what the correct translation for purposes of the light meter would be.

dxqcanada · Mar 3, 2011

Braun BVC 370 review: powerfull and very well built flash

Take the lens cap off the Vivitar ... the ring will provide the type of lens it is.

The Teleconverter is a Canon FD type mount ... so it will fit on the Canon A-1.
You have to turn the chrome ring not the lens.
The Vivitar lens is also probably a ring but only black.

ScribbledShinanigans · Mar 3, 2011

The film speed chart is great! thank you! I got all of these things from a friend who is originally from Germany, which probably explains a lot , ha.

How do I use the meter, though? the only part that moves is the shutter speed dial(that I can tell anyway). Would I move it over the correct f-stop?

I see you have an Canon AE-1 as well. Any idea on how/if you can attach a flash gun, like mine?

dxqcanada · Mar 3, 2011

Canon AE-1 instruction manual, user manual, PDF manual, free manuals

MissCream · Mar 3, 2011

Lucky!!!!

All I got was a dick in a box

PJL · Mar 4, 2011

^ If you use it the right way, it's a gift that keeps on giving.

If the flash gun is truly meant for your camera (probably is), you screw the metal bottom bracket into the tripod mount of the camera. The flash gun sits along side the camera body. Then you plug one end of the cord into the flash and the other end into the camera body.

On the shutter speed dial, your camera probably has a number with a lightning bolt next to it (usually its 60 on older cameras). What that means is that your shutter sync speed is 1/60th of a second. That's the shutter speed you'll have to use in order to get correct exposure with the flash. The flash unit should have some sort of scale on the back that tells you what f/stop to use at what distance given a particular film ISO. That's manual, anyway; I could never figure out "automatic" flash on those older cameras. Anyway, check out dxqcanada's link regarding the flash. Very informative.

PASM · Mar 4, 2011

GOST was something equivalent to ISO (universal standard) in the Soviet system. Point the top of the light meter at a bright light source (maybe remove a protective cap) Does the needle move?

ScribbledShinanigans · Mar 4, 2011

MissCream said:
Lucky!!!!

All I got was a dick in a box

well, atleast your box only required 3 easy steps ;-P

ScribbledShinanigans · Mar 4, 2011

PASM said:
GOST was something equivalent to ISO (universal standard) in the Soviet system. Point the top of the light meter at a bright light source (maybe remove a protective cap) Does the needle move?

There is a button on the side that you slide, when you slide it opens the top to expose the meter to the light and the meter moves. I don't know how to set the dial though. I'm wondering if, since the shutter speed moves and the f-stop doesn't, I move the correct shutter speed over the given f-stop in the camera. I really have no idea though

PJL · Mar 4, 2011

Check out this link. It's also a Leningrad light meter (that's what it says in Russian in the middle), a little more modern, but you should be able to identify everything on your meter on the one in the link.

ACP - Leningrad-7

As far as the "kino" issue, that may mean that the light meter you have was also intended for use with an 8mm movie camera.