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Comment by frompdx | Hacker News Reader

I like old gadgets and collect them to have and to use.

- Nikon LS-IV 35mm film scanner.

- 2007 MacBook running OSX 10.4 because 10.4 is the last version to support Classic Environment which I need to use Nikon Scan for mac. Works great but I can't access the internet securely so I don't connect it to a network.

- Gameboy Pocket with Pokemon Red along with the Prima strategy guide.

- Sony Play Station. The first one.

- Xbox. The first one. No controllers though.

- A few cameras made between 1950 and 1990 that I use regularly. All work well. Before smart phones, digital cameras and PCs were the original obsolete the day you bought it items. I've never cared for the churn and prefer film for this reason.

- An adding machine from the 1920s. Probably my oldest gadget at the moment.

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Forgive my pedantry, but do you have a PowerBook or iBook? IIRC the Classic Environment was never supported on Intel, even in Tiger on Intel.

Also, have you tried VueScan? It supports my similarly-ancient Microtek film scanner on modern Win/Mac/Linux computers: https://www.hamrick.com/

> do you have a PowerBook or iBook?

I have this intel based macbook: https://everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook/specs/macbook-cor...

> IIRC the Classic Environment was never supported on Intel, even in Tiger on Intel.

Nikon Scan software for MacOS will only work with MacOS that has classic environment support. I don't know all of the specifics but I can tell you that my efforts to run the software on newer versions of the OS (10.6 and up) were met with errors stating the app required classic environment.

> Also, have you tried VueScan?

Yes, I appreciate the work the software developers have done to continue supporting old scanners. I'd rather not pay for closed source software to support my scanner at the moment when I can use the software that was part of the package Nikon originally provided as part of the purchase price of the scanner. I might change my mind if the price was more appealing for the version of VueScan required to unlocked support for dedicated film scanners. I could see myself paying $20-$30 but probably not $100 when I have the option to pay nothing.

For the $100 you do get basically a perpetual license with updates, so it's not really a bad deal if you have an older scanner that it will work with. And it will run on Linux as well.

The oldest camera I have that I still use (there's a few that are 'retired') is my c. 1954 Speed Graphic.

True, probably if I did not have my old macbook handy I would pay the $100. When it dies or becomes unusable I'll pay for VueScan. For now I'm telling myself I'm keeping two pieces of old tech out of the land fill.

The speed graphic is a neat camera. I used to have a busch press camera of a similar vintage but sold it a few years ago. Never used enough to justify keeping it. Plus it was just too heavy for my style.

My oldest camera in regular use is my Leica M2. The serial number dates it to 1958. It was my favorite camera until a Rolleiflex stole my heart. If you haven't tried one yet I really recommend it. With the exception of the film counter resent lever that is too easy to bump on accident the 2.8f is the most well thought out camera I have used. I like to take portraits and people really gravitate to the Rolleiflex. It's a lot of fun.

I had for a while a Mamiya C330, because it was a lot cheaper than a Rollei. And interchangeable lenses! It was a lot of fun, but I ended up trading that and an RB67 for a Hasselblad.

That's a pretty good trade. I'd like to get my hands at a Hasselblad at some point in the future. I might have to get a bigger closet first.

Where are you sourcing your film from, and are you developing on your own in a darkroom or sending it out to a lab?

> Where are you sourcing your film from

Frequently, Amazon. I also buy from a local shop but Amazon usually has better prices as much as it pains me. The film I shoot is usually 400TX or HP5 for B&W. For color I usually shoot Ektar 100 or Porta. I shoot both 35mm and 120 format film.

> and are you developing on your own in a darkroom or sending it out to a lab

Lately I use a local lab.

I also have all of the equipment to develop and print B&W film. My plan is to build complete darkroom in my basement. The pandemic has put my plans on hold for the time being though.

I buy film from Film Photography Project, B&H, Adorama, and FreeStyle Photo. Most of the brick and mortar camera stores that still exist sell some film. For development I do black and white at home and send color out to thedarkroom.com because I don't shoot enough color to make the chemistry cost effective. I print black and white in my bathroom darkroom.

I'm still able to find 35mm, 120 and 4x5 film easily. I have a 127 camera that is a bit harder to find film for.

Glad to see there are others on HN that are keeping film alive. The great thing about film cameras is they aren't obsolete until the film is impossible to find. Even then there are work arounds and modifications that can be made. A local shop used to sand 120 roles to fit 620 cameras for example. They also cut film to fit Minox cartridges.

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