I’m joking of course, no good financial decisions are made by me at 2am.

I bought a large format film camera from 1939. Specifically a 4x5 film camera.

And I technically bought it about a week ago (at 2am), and it’s due to arrive between tomorrow and Monday.

I’ve shot a decent amount of medium format film before this (even developing it myself) but I have 0 experience with large format.

Worst case scenario I restore it and eventually sell it, best case scenario my photography hobby broadens further into more formats.

  • infinitesunrise@slrpnk.netEnglish
    10·
    3 days ago

    The tariff situation scored a rare save for my wallet a few months ago. Was seeking a rare edition of a specific bike saddle, found one in Germany for double the original retail price, triple after shipping. And it’s a relatively pricey brand to start.

    The seller canceled the order because the unpredictable tariffs made their DHL fees untenable for US shipping.

    • Gormadt@lemmy.blahaj.zoneOPEnglish
      7·
      3 days ago

      It’s helped me to stop importing camera gear that’s for sure

      It basically took things from “Yeah I can afford that” to “Shit that’s gonna cost god knows how much more when I try to import it”

      And my hours at work basically getting cut by about 20%-40% per week sure did help too (I work in the freight industry)

  • u/lukmly013 💾 (lemmy.sdf.org)@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
    2·
    2 days ago

    Yeah…

    I bought a Zip 100 USB drive with 5 Zip 100MB floppies for €22.
    I don’t know if that’s good or bad, hopefully it arrives.

    Also, I don’t know how to check the disks. Probably VM or live boot. Used storage devices could contain some stuff, and I am too curious to just overwrite it.
    Hopefully it doesn’t end up being police-worthy content.

    Welp, I paid €22 for used 500MB of storage in 2025. Good financial decisions indeed.

  • MidsizedSedan@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5·
    4 days ago

    I removed any shopping apps from my phone for this preces reason.

    Didn’t stop me from going to my PC though… :(

    • Gormadt@lemmy.blahaj.zoneOPEnglish
      1·
      3 days ago

      Literally what I do as well

      I also use a browser plugin called LeechBlock to block the shopping sites I’ll browse after 10pm… except it’s not on my phone yet.

  • PrincessTardigrade@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    3 days ago

    Large format film cameras are awesome btw. Also developing large format (sheet) film was much easier than 35mm rolls in my experience, and the results are so much better. Do you use a dark room or scan the negatives to work digitally?

    Ahh this is making want to get back into photography as a hobby. Would love to see you’re photos on here!

    • Gormadt@lemmy.blahaj.zoneOPEnglish
      2·
      3 days ago

      I’ll be developing the film myself but I do digital scans using my Lumix G9 in it’s high res mode, so the scans are about 80MP when I don’t do them in quads. Funnily enough I’ve shot more 120 film than 35mm film and loading 120 film into the developing tank definitely sucks so I’m looking forward to doing 4x5.

      I actually started building a 8x10 camera last year but hit a wall basically when it came to the shutter and also the film costs. So I put a pin in that project for the time being.

      My Graflex Speed Graphic arrived about an hour ago and I’m gonna have to do a decent amount of service on it as the shutters are both sticking and slow, though I won’t know how slow until I find my photoresistors to make something to check but they (by eye) are way off. Not to mention it’s movements are also kinda hitchy.

      But I knew it was gonna need some love when I bought it due to the fact it was made in 1939 lol

      EDIT: I’ll definitely share some of my shots here when I get them, I’ve shared some of my medium format shots on my PixelFed though if you’re curious. Not many of them but a few of them.

    • Gormadt@lemmy.blahaj.zoneOPEnglish
      2·
      3 days ago

      I’ve never heard of IodéOS, how’s it stack up vs LineageOS or GrapheneOS?

      And what device did you snag?

      • Sam, The Man@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        4·
        3 days ago

        According to their write-up, it’s based on LineageOS with some extra privacy functions. They seem to have an installer and I (tech-moderate-literate) need a little extra help ^^;.

        Got a Google Pixel 7. Moderate phone, but if the Linux Phone part ends up going nowhere it’s not putting me out too much money.