Restoring a RCA 21CT55

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Back in the day, I used an analog Nikon 35mm SLR. In those days the camera did not have ISO settings or white balance settings. Film was generally slow, so one wanted a lens with an aperture that allowed the most light to strike the film such as 1.4. You bought “fast” film and high ISO ratings.

I haven’t operated that camera since 1998. Been using cell phone cameras. Recently my wife gifted me with a nice DSLR, mirrorless, APS-C sensor, with interchangeable lens’s. It’s been a learning curve adjusting to all the settings available. Case in point, white balance. What I learned, check the white balance of the subject your shooting. :-)

The “sweet spot” or maximum focus of my lens based on an Aperture of 3.5 is supposed to be about F9. So today, I tried that setting on the 21CT55, but all the shots turned out lousy.

From the old days of analog, shooting through the center of the lens (stopping down or closeing the lens) was usually the sharpest. A lens is curved so you have distortion at the outer edges of the lens. Sony used this anolgy effectively in advertising in 1968 with their one gun, one “lens” Trinitron. I found F16 worked the best for screenshots.

I think I’ve got it right?

I’ve attached two sets of comparison photos. You can see the blue “push” with auto white balance.