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eye-of-searle

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Posts posted by eye-of-searle

    scanning negatives? what gives the best production of FILM photos

    in The Wet Darkroom: Film, Paper & Chemistry

    Posted

    The file sizes on each image scanned and put on a CD is usually 1-2MB in size, unless hig res. scans are requested. High res. scans can and do cost significantly more.

     

    My local lab will scan a 35mm neg at something like 18mb for about $12 per image. I ended up buying a Nikon Coolscan V for under $600 and now each image I scan is around 135MB in size. That's a huge difference in quality and I have control of the end product. $600 is made up pretty quickly compared to $12 per scan.

     

    Jim

    adobe program

    in Mirrorless Digital Cameras

    Posted

    Another vote for PS Elements 4.0. It's a lot of bang for the buck. Easy to use and if you ever want to step up to the full blown PS version at some point, the learning curve will be much easier. I have also played around with Paint Shop Pro (don't remember the version) and it was very easy to use as well. I just went with Elements 4.0 because I was used to an older version of PS. Very easy transition.

    Off The Shelf Computer For Image Editing, Studio

    in The Digital Darkroom: Process, Technique & Printing

    Posted

    I'm about to purchaes this HP 7360 from COMPUSA.

     

    http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=335977&pfp=BROWSE

     

    It's got a good processor and 2mb of RAM right out of the box and a 300GB hard drive. This PC had Hp's new TV software which I will never use but it's still a good price for everything you get. You could probably add a decent monitor and still be around $1500 or so. And, did I mention it's got 2mb RAM?

     

    You can also get the 7350 series for about $100 less. The only differnce is a slightly smaller 250GB hard drive. I might actually go with this one since I will have external hard drive back ups.

     

    I have priced out a similiar Dell and the HP is just cheaper with better options.

    Ok, Ive got it narrowed down....

    in Nikon

    Posted

    Both are fine lenses and both produce great images. Of course the 35-70mm will be a little sharper but's also more money.

     

    The thing you need to decide is whether you need the extra width and reach of the 28-105mm. And, do you need the little the extra speed of the 35-70mm's 2.8?

     

    What are you going to use the lens for? For me, the 35-70mm was too restrictive in it's angle of view. Plus, I already have a 85mm 1.8 and 50mm 1.4 and 1.8 that I use for specific uses like portraits and other stuff. I really needed a good all around travel/wandering/candid lens so the 28-105mm was perfect for me.

    OT Coolscan V ED (LS50) neg scanner for B&W Leica scans.

    in Leica and Rangefinders

    Posted

    Trevor,

     

    First, I don't shoot Leica but rather Nikon so take this advise how ever you choose.

     

    I have had the Coolscan V for a few months now and I have been extremely happy with it. I use a lot of XP2 Super and it is very easy to scan and ICE does work with C41 B&W films.

     

    I regard to Vuescan, I have not tried it yet because I have been very happy with NikonScan. I see no need to change at this time. However, I have read that Vuescan handles highlights better than NikonScan. To date, I have not had any problems with highlights scanning with NikonScan. I just make sure the contrast is not to extreme before scanning. I found this controls the highlights very well. Contrast is very easy to adjust in NikonScan and take a couple of seconds. If contrast needs to be boosted after scanning this is also easy to do in PS.

     

    Jim

    PS Elements 4.0 won't open files?

    in The Digital Darkroom: Process, Technique & Printing

    Posted

    The whole thing crashed this weekend. The more I got into it, the more and more it looked like a bad hard drive or maybe the RAM. Too late now, it's crashed and I get a weird blue and white vertical stripped screen. Never seen that one before.

     

    My wife is taking it in today to her IT guys at her work. I can pay them $50 or a nice bottle of whiskey and they will fix it or tell me I need a new computer.

     

    I'm hoping for the new computer route. If the hard drive is bad, no sense trying to replace it out an out of date machine. I would rather just spend the money and get a new system.

    Something odd about my 17-55 - not wide enough?

    in Nikon

    Posted

    I also have to say the two look the same to me. The 17-55mm might be a fraction wider but again that might be due to the 18mm's distortion.

     

    I would not worry about it. I doubt you bought the lens for that extra 1mm of view. You probably bought it because it's a better lens.

     

    Jim

    PS Elements 4.0 won't open files?

    in The Digital Darkroom: Process, Technique & Printing

    Posted

    Trevor, thanks for all the information. I did everything you suggested except for Firefox. I may do that tonight.

     

    Good News? My system is running much better and I cleaned out a ton a trash off my hardrive. Wow! I had a lot of crap on my system.

     

    Bad News? Elements 4.0 is still having problems opening files. I am starting to think it's a hard drive issue. I'm at work right now so it will be tonight before I can do any more investigating.

     

    I will try a system restore tonight and see if that can help anything.

     

    Jim

    PS Elements 4.0 won't open files?

    in The Digital Darkroom: Process, Technique & Printing

    Posted

    Hey Dennis, thanks for the suggestion. That was one of the first things I checked I actually have about 53GB of my 80GB hard drive free. I am pretty good about getting images off my hard drive and archived.

     

    Any other suggestions?

     

    BTW, I always have photo CD's made at my lab to use as proofs and the files are only about 2MB each at most. I tried opening one of these file directly off the Photo CD and it opened with no problems. However, after doing some minor tweaking, I tried to save it on my hard drive as a Jpeg and the system froze up again. This is driving me nuts!

    PS Elements 4.0 won't open files?

    in The Digital Darkroom: Process, Technique & Printing

    Posted

    I have been using PS Elements for a couple of months now. My

    computer currently only has 512MB RAM and I understand the lack of

    performance because of this. I have another 512MB in route. I most

    deal with TIFF files anywhere from 50MB to 130MB is size. Scanned

    using a Nikon Coolscan v. Until yesterday, PSE 4.0 always opened

    my files with no problems except for the slow speed. Now, when PSE

    4.0 tries to open any file regardless of size, my system locks up

    and untimately shuts down. The windows on the screen get all

    broken up and everything just locks up. This happens without fail

    as of yesterday. I am going crazy here. I have defragmented my

    files and I always make sure PS is the only program running.

     

    Is this just a result of my lack of RAM? If so, why did it just

    start happening now? PSE 4.0 and previously PS 7 ran fine until

    yesterday. I know the extra 512MB coming will help with speed but

    will it at least let me open my files in PSE 4.0?

     

    Sorry for all the questions. It's just extremely frustrating. I

    guess worse case scenerio is I have to get a new computer than can

    handle more RAM and has a faster processor. I currently have a

    Pentium 4 1.6 GHZ with 80GB hard driver and of course, 512MB RAM.

     

    Any help or suggestions are much appreciated.

     

    Jim

    negative scanner question

    in The Wet Darkroom: Film, Paper & Chemistry

    Posted

    My first choice would be the Nikon Coolscan V at $550. It's a great scanner and does very well with B&W. Very easy to use right out of the box. For color, you get ICE which can be a life saver. BTW, ICE does not work on traditional B&W negs so that might not be important to you.

     

    My second choice for B&W would probably be the Konica Minolta Scan Dual IV at $230. It does not have ICE but if all you are going to scan is B&W, who cares? I have never used it but people seem to like it. The main reason people pass on this scanner is the lack of ICE but again, with B&W only it's not a concern.

     

    Do a search here on these forums on each scanner and you will find a lot of info and opinions.

    Tripod for SLR

    in Accessories

    Posted

    I have the Slik 700DX and love it. However, it's big and heavy. I would probably suggest the 300DX if size and weight are a concern.

     

    I terms of quality, the Slik 300DX and 700DX are both very well made and very sturdy. The included heads are pretty nice but you can always put a different head on later if you so choose. My 700DX has been banged around a lot and has been in water may times. After a good cleaning and drying it has always been 100%.

     

    To me, the Sliks are some of the best bargains out there in terms of tripods. Sure they make some crappy cheapos but the 300 and 700 series are top notch.

    Calgary / Banff in late-May - Wildlife and 70-200?

    in Nature

    Posted

    The Elk in Banff will let you get within a few feet. You will probably need something wider. They walk freely around some of the less crowded parts of the town. It's been a few years since I was there but I remember there being a color tag system to let you know which Elk can be approached and which cannot.
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