Hello (again)!

[noelbotevera]

After two years of being away, I'm back!

So my account apparently got hacked a few months ago and I must've posted a bunch of scams. I'm sure many a laugh was had at my account's expense, but thankfully I managed to have that cleared up with the mods. Password's been reset, and account is tied to an email I can actually read and access.

For those who haven't met me or found my posts, I'm Alex and I'm from south-central Pennsylvania! There used to be an active forum member who lived in my area, but I'm unsure if he's been active recently. While I've been passionate about transportation for a decent chunk of my life, as I grow into being an adult I'm starting to understand that I'm more passionate about travel rather than signs or road design. I hosted a roadmeet in Pittsburgh in 2019 when I was 15, and for those who were there, thank you for going along with it! It wasn't exactly the best planned roadmeet...

In the two years since I've been away, I started a degree in computer engineering at Penn State and currently call State College home! For those who have known me for a bit, I've had an interest in both computer science (though that really meant computer software) and electrical engineering (though that really meant computer hardware, and some audio stuff). When I heard about computer engineering, I knew I would prefer a school that offered it. Penn State did (alongside Purdue and Michigan, but Michigan is pricey and Purdue is a bit too far from home for my liking), they offered me a scholarship, and now I'm a junior deep into my core classes. I've felt pretty darn passionate for my degree -- mathematics felt right for me, and I always liked tinkering with electronics. I'm hoping to take a class in real analysis to complete a math minor.

Since living in State College I've learned to appreciate life without a car, relying on buses and bicycles. It's inconvenient to say the least, but I can still get/make food and buy supplies as needed. I also love not having a car bill. I do miss being able to drive around as I pleased, and there are days where I wish I wasn't in State College, but knowing a friend with a car is just as good as owning one.

I've also bought a film camera! A Canon AE-1 manufactured in September 1982. It came with a 52 mm prime lens, and I bought a third party zoom lens (35-70 mm) and a Speedlite 155A (flash bulb). I plan on buying more lenses in the future; macro lenses are off the table since this camera can't lift up its mirror. I also plan on dabbling in doing my own film development, but as it stands I just have my rolls shipped off or developed back home.

I plan on updating my travels thread with stuff from 2022-2024. I've been to a lot of places in the last two years, including Kiwiland (New Zealand).

That's about it for now. Hope to see some old and new faces!

[freebrickproductions]

Welcome back!

[hotdogPi]

Your account was never banned, so I don't think anyone ever did anything with it.

[rickmastfan67]

Your account was never banned, so I don't think anyone ever did anything with it.

His account was, because it got compromised and spam got posted via it.

[Hunty2022]

Welcome back to the forum!

[formulanone]

Welcome back!

I'm not sure why you can't use a macro lens; the mirror should flip up regardless of lens because it's a single-lens reflex camera, meaning the two mirrors work together but one has to flip up to expose the light against the film, since the spring mechanism opens the film curtain. Macros do take a lot of patience and one annoyance I've found is that you need more light than you think; either you're too close to the subject and shadowing it or you just have to carry more lighting so it doesn't "miss" the subject.

With the advent of Canon's different digital sensors (ASP-C "cropped" and full-frame "35mm"), you cannot use an EF-S lens (designed for crop sensors) on a full-frame camera, because the mirror will tap the back of the protruding lens element. However, you can use the EF (no-S) lenses on both types of DSLR bodies. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

The AE-1 was the first SLR camera I owned, and I also still have the FD 50mm f/1.8 and the same Speedlite 155A. The flash still works with my Digital Rebel T3 and my EOS R mirrorless, though the flash recycling times are positively ancient compared to modern flash equipment. The T3 has a built-in flash but the full-frame R does not.  But hey, mixing equipment that's 4-5 generations apart gives me some glee, along with the FD-RF adapter when I want manual focus and settings.

I have heard there's a handful of reputable shops which will perform a seal kit and a "CLA" (clean, lube, adjust) for roughly $100-150 depending on condition. The prices for film cameras are starting to heat up again, but some of the FD primes are bargains so as long as you're not looking for L-quality stuff. If you have a decent 35-70mm lens and that prime in the 50-55mm range you'll be fine.

[dlsterner]

Welcome Back Alex!

And from another computer engineering grad (although from the nascent days of that field [late 70s]), good luck in your studies!