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That $40 shutter timer tool that took 3 weeks to show up from China
I was stuck on a Pentax Spotmatic that had the slow speeds all gummed up. I figured I could just eyeball it like always and call it good. But the 1/15th and 1/8th were way off again after a day of testing. So I caved and ordered one of those cheap digital shutter timers from Aliexpress for like 40 bucks. It showed up 22 days later in a beat up bubble mailer. I spent about an hour that first night learning how to use the thing. I guess I'm just stubborn and thought my ear was good enough for years. Has anyone else fought with timing lenses by feel only to finally give in and buy a proper tester?
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the_lee1d ago
Laugh out loud - Grandpa counting Mississippi's is about as scientific as me sniffing my shutter to check the oil. Guess the $40 misery stick finally beat the "trust me bro" method.
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My grandpa had a 1950s Leica that he swore he could time by counting "one Mississippi" in his head. He'd fire off a roll, develop it, and if the negs looked thin he'd just adjust his count. I watched him do this for years with pretty decent results actually. Then one day he let me borrow it and I must have bumped the speed dial because every shot came out like a foggy window. He never blamed the camera but I noticed he started keeping a little notebook of his "Mississippi timings" after that. Sometimes the old ways work until they don't.
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