dabow

<p>Hi folks,</p> <p>Continuing my plan to explore every corner of Scotland, I'm thinking of spending a week or so this September down in Dumfries & Galloway. It's an area I know very little about though. My research has started but I'd really appreciate it if anyone can offer any guidance on places to visit, what to see, where's a good central place to stay, and b&b recommendations, etc? I'm predominantly a landscape/seascape photographer but I'm also interested in castles/ruins, abandoned buildings, abbeys and areas of rugged coastline.</p> <p>Any help and guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!</p> <p>Dave</p>

<p>Hi everyone,<br> For years I've been using an Epson 3880 and recently upgraded to their SC-P800. I had an initial issue with the 3880 getting it to align large (A3+ & A2) prints properly when feeding through the printer - they'd often be slightly askew when feeding from the main tray leading to uneven borders around the print. I soon learned that by feeding from the rear manual tray this issue went away and prints would then align properly. However, I now have the same issue with the SC-P800 - prints are askew when using the main feed and with this printer there is no manual rear tray because it's designated for roll paper. So I'm now scratching my head. I've tried using the little plastic alignment tab that pulls out from the edge of the feed. I presume this is there to specifically ensure that paper is fed straight but it seems to make absolutely no difference!<br> Now I'm wondering if anyone else who uses this printer is encountering the same issue and if they've managed to find a way to get their large papers to feed straight? The paper I'm using is Ilford Gold Fibre Silk (310GSM). I have the Paper Thickness set to 3 and I've tried the platen gap set to standard and wide.<br> Any help on this would be very much appreciated!</p>

<p>As promised here are the results from processing with the old C-41 chems. I decided to discard all the stuff that had been opened. After five years in opened bottles with air in them I figured they'd be pretty much dead. As for the unopened Tetenal Colortec C-41 Rapid negative Kits, I opened one of them and processed two films successfully. The negs look spot-on. So after five years, if unopened, these kits hold good!</p>

<p>Thanks Kirk. A quick update on my distance scale issue now that I've had chance to look at the manual and do a bit more research online. Although the distance scale is on the extending bar and I can rotate it to set the desired focal length, nothing happens in the silver distance scale window - it just remains silver. Initially I thought this was just a window so I couldn't fathom out why the bar with the distance scales on it wasn't showing through the window. I now understand that there is a silver bar in the distance scale window that partially covers the distance scale - it's supposed to move as the bellows move, and where it stops it shows the distance. I suspect that this is broken and the silver bar is covering the entire scale and never moves.<br> I've checked the parallax compensation flag in the viewfinder when extending the bellows and this appears to be functioning fine. So all I need to do now is decide how likely it is that I'm going to need the distance scale, and the answer is probably not much if at all. I'll live without it for now and see if this presents an issue later on. At this point I doubt it will.</p>

Stephen/Kirk - thanks very much for your answers and for pointing me in the direction of the user manual. Wrt the camera back, I think it's because i'm used to backs closing with one click and the fact the Mamiya has two and one side seems to be adrift until extra pressure is applied for the second click threw me a bit. The seal looks good so I suspect this is more about me not being familiar with the camera. I think I can live without the scale but I'll read up on it further in the manual first. Your comprehensive reply has helped a lot Kirk, and my thanks for that. Dave

Hi folks, I recently purchased a Mamiya C330f off eBay. It was listed in 'Excellent' condition but I've noticed a couple of potential issues so would like to check with those knowledgable of this camera model if these are indeed problems: The first is the film door. When I close it it clcks shut but the right hand side tends not to shut properly at first and i have to press again on that side to get the door to close flush. My concern here is that the door may have been damaged at some point and that there may be an alignment issue. Or it could be that this is natural behaviour and all of the film doors on this model close this way? The second is the distance scale on the left hand side. There's no scale appearing on mine when I extend the bellows, it's just a blank strip of silver. I'm guessing broken, but is this a common fault? I appreciate this won't affect the function of the camera and it's probably not something I'd ever use anyway, just seeking clarification. The camera didn't come with a manual. Thanks for any help anyone can give. Dave

<p>Thanks everyone. I'll get back with the results at some point. I still have a few more films I need to expose first.</p>

<p>Yes, it's the Part-C I was told would be the issue. This one has an orange colour to it now, which I'm informed means it's probably dead. Ah well, I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed for the unopened bottles.</p>

<p>Thanks for the info John. Most helpful. All of the kits are in plastic bottles so I guess I'll just have to run a few tests and hope for the best. Is it just the developer which would be affected, or would the other chemicals also need to be thrown from the bottles which have already been opened?</p>

<p>Hi everyone,<br> I've been away from film for a while but recently decided to get back into it. A friend of mine gave me some C41 chemicals he's had stored in his loft for at least 5 years. He thought I might have a use for them but my concern is whether they'd still be usable after so long. There are 5 unopened Tetenal Colortec C-41 Rapid negative Kits, and one larger C-41 kit of the same chemicals which has been used, but the concentrates are in the original bottles i.e. unmixed with about 3/4's of the developer left.<br> As I say these have been in his loft in Scotland for about 5 years. My question is whether those of you familiar with these chemicals think they will still be usable or not? I'm also keen to hear from anyone whose used chemicals with similar or longer storage length and any resultant success/failure you've had?<br> Thanks in advance and any help/guidance on this would be much appreciated.<br> Rgds,<br> Dave</p>

<p>Hi Colin,<br> Many thanks for your reply. This is all very helpful information. As I'm mostly interested in seascapes/landscapes rather than wildlife I was thinking about the Ffionphort area. It seems there are a few beaches down there that could be interesting.<br> Thanks again and best wises for the New Year!</p>

<p>Hi everyone,<br> I intend to travel to Mull towards the beginning of April. I've been before, but last time it was a very brief one day trip and the weather was poor. This time I'll be there for a week.<br> My question is can anyone recommend a good self-catering cottage on Mull that provides a good base for photographic landscape and seascape locations? So relatively central I suppose, or close to an area with a lot of opportunity. I'm not too well up on Mull locations, so if you'd like to throw in a few recommendations that would be very welcome as well!<br> Best wishes for the festive season!<br> Dave</p>