I post things here.

I don't think there might be a more boring and hated piece of technology than a printer, yet this is a post about a printer. A photo printer.

The Canon Selphy CP1500.

Three years ago, I restarted riding my bike regularely after an hiatus of several years, so I dusted off my old 2005 Specialized Hardrock Pro and as expected, a bunch of parts failed (suspension seals, transmission issues, bottom bracket, bearings, tires) and although it's not impossible to find good quality compatible parts for an old bike, it's a chore, so the idea of getting a new bike has been brewing in the back of my mind.

The Hardrock has been a really good bike, but the time came to retire it, so I've been keeping an eye on some potential replacements:

• Specialized Chisel - An hardtail with a very light aluminium frame and some interesting technologies (they call it hydroformed alloy). A bit expensive and low end components, but very cool.
• Canyon Exceed CF6 - Great value for money with great components. I do not love the frame design, but it's growing on me. A bit suspicious of the direct to customer business model though.
• Cannondale Scalpel HT 4 - A carbon frame hardtail. I love the frame design. Also a bit expensive for its components.

I was gravitating towards the Exceed but I ended up getting none of the above. The 2024 Canyon Lux Trail CF7 caught my eye because Canyon ran a end of season sale that had a 30% discount, bringing its price close to what I was willing to spend. I checked a few reviews online and hit the "order" button.

The CF7.

I might have rushed shooting this roll of black and white film (Ilford HP5 Plus) as I was eager to test the Olympus, and the time came to develop it. I chose to do it myself, and this is how it went...

I bought a cheap starter kit from the local photography shop. It comes with a Paterson tank, a few bits and bobs to make life easier and some Adox chemicals: 100 ml bottles of Adonal (Rodinal), Adofix Plus and Adoflo II (developer, fixer and wetting agent).

Black and white development kit and a few more things: measuring cups, clips to hang the film and the film lead extractor.

If I recall correctly, the last time I loaded a roll of 35 mm film into a camera was about 25 years ago...

My 1969 Olympus 35 SP like many other old cameras from the 50s through the 70s used obscure PX625/PX13 1.35 volt mercury-based batteries. These were popular because they could deliver very stable power supply for a very long time, ideal for the purpose of light metering. Because these where mercury-based and mercury is highly toxic for both humans and environment, countries ended up banning them.

A mercury-based Varta V 625 PX battery.

This creates a problem for old camera enthusiasts that were left without suitable replacements for their cameras.

I got myself an old rangefinder film camera. I did some quick verifications, and although everything seems to be working well, I'd like to test the shutter speeds as cameras tend to get sluggish after decades. This camera is 55 years old so that's to be expected, but I want to know by how much.

So there's an opportunity for a cool little project here.

So how to test the camera's shutter? There are a few Arduino projects for that purpose, but my only Arduino board is in use. I do have a shiny RP2040 board lying around unused that was only used for some quick experiments, so I thought I'd try and make my own version of a shutter tester with parts I already have.

Behold the shutter speed tester in all its glory and ignore the mess of wires...

I always wanted to get myself a film rangefinder, so I'm constantly keeping an eye on auction sites for inexpensive rangefinders that I like.

After a few failed bids on various cameras, I found an auction for a 1969 Olympus 35 SP that peaked my interest, it looked ok, despite the description stating that it was "untested but seemed to be in working order". I gave it a try and ended up winning it for a nice price.

The Olympus 35 SP. Don't mind the background mess in my tiny workshop.

The SNES Classic came out a few days ago and I had to get one. Here are a few notes on this 16-bit time machine.

The box design is heavily inspired on the original box.