joffre_swait

Eamonn,

It is my understanding that there are pretty stringent government rules dictating what a manufacturer can present as "refurbished". Specifically, these are units that have been returned to retailers after NO use by the consumer, but by law they can't be sold as new and have to be sent back to the manufacturers to be inspected, put back into "as new" condition, then repackaged, before they can be resold. And even then they can't be called "new".

So the printer you received is unlikely to have been heavily used by some "print house". I don't think refurbished printers are any more prone than new ones to break down ... one might even argue that they've undergone twice as much QC as regular units.

A call to Epson should clarify what they call refurbished.

Joffre

Ulrich,

I have used the 50mm lens now for 3 years, and never once with the auxiliary viewfinder. I have never felt its lack ... it has become my favorite lens! Many pictures on my website have been taken with that lens.

Joffre

www.CaptureLight.com

Gentlemen, thank you for your suggestions. They have raised a couple of information omissions in my initial description. I used incident light metering. The meter is not off because I simultaneously was shooting with a Rolleicord using the same meter and metering technique: those shots came out correctly exposed.

I certainly can correct by metering with a lower ISO, or just doubling the exposure time.

Is it possible that the aperture scale is off? Specifically, because the aperture mechanism is one stop off? How could such a problem be corrected?

Joffre

I was recently able to pick up at an estate sale a Brooks Veriwide

camera in great shape. For those who don't know this camera, it's got

a 47mm/f8 Schneider Angulon lens that's got 100 degree coverage and

is (nonetheless) rectilinear. I've had it CLA'd, and it seems to be

working like a charm.

Just one problem: everything seems to be underexposed by about one

stop, uniformly over the image area. So it's not a fall-off effect.

And the technician that did the CLA says the times are good.

Question: can anyone suggest what might be causing the systematic

underexposure? I can simply remember to double exposure times to

correct this, but if there's some known reason I'd rather correct the

root problem.

Thanks, and best regards.

Joffre

I have been scanning (on a Polaroid sprintscan 120) the first medium

format color negatives I've ever shot (NPS 160 shot at asa 100). The

negatives look great, and after a little trouble, I figured out how

to scan them effectively. I'm very happy with the color palette,

which is quite neutral.

However, I am quite surprised at the grain! I'm scanning at 4000 ppi,

and the grain is discernible even in the scanner's thumbnail, and in

PS at 100% magnification, smooth areas look something like a close-up

of a fine sandpaper. I have only scanned transparencies up to now.

Is this experience par for the course with color negatives? Thanks

for your responses!

Joffre

Thank you much, gentlemen. Your comments have all been helpful.

One more question, if you'll bear with me. The camera did not come with a dark slide. Is it necessary to cover the slot (say, with electrician's tape) to prevent light leaks?

Thanks once more in advance.

Joffre

6. How does one remove the back from the lens? I've found the lock mechanism on the lens housing, but loosening it doesn't permit lifting the housing off the back.

Joffre

I have just purchased a Brooks Veriwide at an estate sale ... as

background for some questions I've got, here's a description of the

camera: it has a SA 47mm/f8 lens with corresponding viewfinder, and a

film back with a 6x8 (actual dimensions) opening and labelled "Brooks

x1 Back".

Here are my questions:

1. What are the weak spots on this camera? mechanically? optically?

operationally?

2. Any suggestions about where to get this CLA'd by folks that are

acquainted with the camera?

3. The film crank/uptake mechanism seems very similar to Mamiya

backs. Do they operate similarly to the Mamiya's?

4. There is a little knob near the film crank that has 120/220

written on it. Does this know actually do something, or is it just a

reminder for the photographer? If it does do something, how is it set?

5. Is it correct that these cameras get 7 exposures per roll of 120?

I guess that's all for now! I'd appreciate anyone's help on any of

these questions.

Joffre

Hi Hakon,

This is straightforward to do with basically any camera ... I have done it with both Rolleicords and Mamiya 7II's. It requires having either Photoshop CS or a program like PTGui (a front end for panorama stitching). Just take your pictures normally, without worrying about nodal points, just make sure there's 20-30% overlap in the frames. Then scan and use the photo stitching capabilities of these softwares (easiest to use, but most limited, is PS CS).

These programs, and others like them, make necessary corrections of the component images to permit them to be joined. Success rate is relatively high!

Joffre

1. Define a paper type of appropriate dimensions (13x40), and select it for use.

2. Prepare the image to be the right size, at 360 ppi. It seems that the 1280 driver does strange things when the submitted file is too big, and there's no sign to indicate you've got too big a file except when you see a partially printed out picture. Here's how to get around that ...

3. In the printer driver, indicate that you wish to see the preview of the image before it is sent to the printer.

4. Print the image. It will now show up in the preview. If you can see the entire image, you're good to go. If you can't see the entire image, cancel the printout. Return to step 2, resize the image using 240 ppi instead.

5. Then print the image out again, checking the preview to see if it's all there. If it is, print it out; if not, resize ...

Joffre

http://www.naturescapes.net/062004/ej0604.htm

Joffre Swait

Rodolfo, here's a link to an example:

http://www.the-gallery-of-china.com/chinese-landscape-painting-23.html

Now imagine altering this picture (http://www.capturelight.com/Panoramas-Color/images/200304_MultnomahFallsPan.jpg) in such a way that the same perspective as the painting is achieved.

Joffre

Classical Chinese landscapes have a peculiar perspective that is

achieved by laying out near objects in an expanded foreground that is

viewed from a slightly elevated point (sort of like a wide angle

lens), while far objects are compressed in the background (sort of

like a telephoto lens). Spatially, it's as if a normal perspective

were distorted so as to be molded to a J-like plane that the artist

is facing "from the side" (i.e. the J is turned sideways), with

the "dip" and short upturning leg closest to and facing the artist.

With that confusing preamble, my question is as follows: assuming one

has a photograph taken with a normal lens, is there some way that the

photograph's perspective can be molded to such a custom perspective

plane? Specifically, is there some way of accomplishing this in

Photoshop CS? Other software?

I am aware and have tested the perspective correction tool in CS, but

the effect is not quite right, though it works partially.

Any thoughts would be most welcome.

Joffre

I often use a graduated ND filter in a Cokin holder on the Mamiya 7II. I simply estimate where on the lens the graduated part should be, based on the viewfinder image. I have not been disappointed by this method, but then again, maybe it's because I've never used a Hasselblad.

The other method, generalizable to any camera, is to shoot two frames (highlight and shadow exposures), then combine digitally. More and more I am coming to use this method, not because of any inconvenience associated with the estimation method on the 7II, but because combination is easy, quick and flexible.

Joffre

As was just said, go to Home Depot and buy a 2-way level; super-glue that to a hot-shoe accessory holder that you can buy at any camera store: voila', a spirit level that mounts in a hot shoe! I've been using mine for about 2 years now, works great.

Joffre

I shoot film (particularly Velvia 100F, Provia 100F and TMax 100),

mainly with a MF 6x9 view camera. For some time I have been thinking

that it would be interesting to use a compact digital camera as a

light meter (particularly for histogram evaluation) and framing

device. My questions are as follows:

1) Has anyone tried this digicam/film combination out?

2) What digicams would be recommended for this (should have manual

mode, I suppose; and it should be easy to get at the exposure info on

the spot)?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Joffre

Thanks for all the suggestions you've put up. I'll be following these up on the net and getting info to plan my two days.

Joffre

I'm going to be in the RMNP (based from Estes Park, on the east side

of the park) for a couple of days next week. I'd greatly appreciate

your suggestions of places to focus on [pun intended] ... I've never

been to this park, and would like to make the best of my time there.

Specific lakes, waterfalls, forests, etc. are all welcome suggestions.

Joffre

Hi Norm:

It was only a few months ago that I made a mad overnight dash from Portland to shoot the Painted Hills. It was a MOST worthwhile trip ... one of the most unusual places I have ever been! Very photogenic, particularly for color abstracts. It's out of the way, so there weren't too many visitors, which was good for shooting.

Plan to be there early in the morning and for the setting sun, both should be good opportunities. You may be able to entertain yourself in between shooting in nearby (~20 mi) forests.

Joffre

I just had two shutters overhauled at Calumet Photo in Chicago: (312)440-4920. The work was well done.

Steve Grimes' shop also does CLA's of shutters, do a web search to come up with contact info. I've never used their services, but the LF community uses them extensively and to their satisfaction.

Joffre

I'm looking for a wide-angle for my VH-R and have run across a

FUJINON SWD 65mm f 5,6 on an auction site. Will this lens be useable

on my camera?

Thanks for any help!

Joffre

to get something goin' or not?

Joffre

Hi! I'm in North Central Florida, in Gainesville ... love to get together for field trips.

Joffre

Hi Trevor,

Less than a month ago I acquired a Horseman VH-R with 105mm and 180mm lens, 6x9 RF back and a monocular viewing accessory. The viewing accessory is most beneficial because it has an approximately 2x magnification, which makes the 6x9 format QUITE workable. I just returned from my first trip with the equipment, and I found it quite a bit more manageable than my 4x5 setup. I wish I had the viewing accessory for my 4x5 camera.

I did find myself out of movement a few times, but not enough to get frustrated. I would not concern myself overly much with this aspect for landscape work.

On the weight side, however, please note that some 4x5 setups are likely to be lighter than the rather robust Horseman technical cameras.

Joffre

Gentlemen,

Thanks so much for your responses thus far! A prior search to the archives yielded many mentions of lenses used with these cameras, but not much mention of difficulties, board types, general criteria for lens selections, etc. You have provided a wealth of specific information that should be very helpful in the future to others.

Please keep the specificity high in further materials!

Thanks again!

Joffre