Month: March 2025

Last year, I found a Kenko KFM-2100 on eBay for incredibly cheap—if you know how ridiculously expensive spotmeters are—and immediately bought it. It works very well, except that it seemed to drain batteries in much less time than the expected 100 hours of continuous use. Today was my day off, so I sat down to tackle the problem.

The battery contacts were blackened, possibly a remnant of battery leak corrosion that had not been successfully cleaned. Luckily, this could easily be solved by re-tinning them. After my attempt to take apart the meter was blocked by too many too tiny ribbon cables, I decided to tin the contacts without removing the battery compartment. I had to proceed carefully to avoid burning the plastic case with the hot tip of the soldering iron, but the repair appeared to be good, confirmed by the absence of the ‘bc’ battery check symbol when the meter is switched on.

For a more thorough test, I set up some LED lights and took pictures of various household items, using the Kenko for metering. The same battery that was previously reported as low was still working after the few hours of the session. I could now say that the repair was a success.

I then developed the film in the bathroom, P needing the kitchen to prepare dinner, and I agitated the tank in a figure-of-eight motion, which I had just read about. Two novelties in my process. The new agitation method is now my favourite, as it saves me from fiddling with the tank lid and from dealing with leaks. Developing in the bathroom was also more convenient, because I had the entire bathtub as a work area and did not have to worry about spillages.

Anyway, here are the pictures that I like from today’s development.

This weekend we are staying indoors as P continues to recover from the pain in her lower back, which had her immobilised for most of the week. She was well enough to help me fix bird spikes on our garden fence, which we hope will deter pigeons and neighbourhood cats—and the occasional foxes—from climbing over and making a mess.

Earlier this morning, I was of a mind to pop out to Mytchett Lake for a couple of pictures, but I lost the drive after that bit of DIY. This mood is reflective of how I have been feeling despite recent improvements in the weather.

Instead, I sat in my alcove office, dismantled the Nikon Coolscan V ED, and gave it some much needed TLC. After I put it back together, I fitted new rubber feet to the bottom, as the original feet had worn out thin.

I picked a set of negatives from 2009 to test the scanner and found these pictures reminding me of when Woolworths stores were closing across the UK.

***

Nikon UK got in touch with me and offered a re-repair of the Nikon D850. This is after I remarked in their customer satisfaction survey about the washers/shims intruding onto the viewfinder area. I was reluctant to accept, explaining to them that I wasn’t prepared to have the camera sent to Europe for another month. But they promised that I would benefit from a priority repair in their UK workshop, which would take at most 10 days. I took the offer and will be posting the camera to them in the coming week. I have to say that so far Nikon’s customer service has been very good.

From a ten-year-old negative newly scanned on a Nikon Coolscan V ED, a picture of a fruit vendor at the now-defunct Farnborough Sunday Car Boot.

Yesterday and today, P and I finally hiked a new trail in Minley. It’s less than a ten-minute drive away from home, yet we put off going there for more than a year. It’s also now my favourite of all the trails near us. The terrain is quite diverse, changing from pine woodland to heathland to open fields.

Minley Manor can be seen from the trail. It has quite an interesting history: built by former colonist bankers, acquired by MoD, then presently owned by Chinese investors who operate it as a hotel, wedding venue, and Chinese cultural centre.

Hello, Spring. It looks like the good weather will persist throughout the weekend and into next week.

Today, P and I climbed up Caesar’s Camp. We were lucky to see the resident cows at the top. But I did not take any pictures because I had to stay quiet so as not to spoil the videos that P was making of them. By the time she finished, they moved down a steep slope out of my sight. As usual, the view from the summit was worth the climb.

I took a few test pictures with the D850 and made the same pictures with my Nikon FM2. I reckon the dappled sunlight will come out better on the black-and-white film.

I went walking for three hours, and all I shot was this lousy picture.

Yesterday, P and I hiked 15 km around Claycart Bottom and Long Valley, and today another 15 km along Basingstoke Canal and Mytchett. Physically rewarding, but photographically unfulfilling.