balint

Using Color Matrix the contrast, lighting and colors on the print won't be any better. They will be more accurate.

<p>

Color Matrix is useful when your subject is mainly monochrome. Say you are taking a macro shot of a red rose, the colors on your photo will render shades of red. This situation might mislead a traditional bw meter (which will overexpose in this case), but with Color Matrix metring the camera will be able to determine the proper exposure even if the other components are missing. (green and blue in our case)

<p>

Install Linux and use gPhoto (with Gnome). That supports your camera and will not restart your computer.

The 17-35 is a 77 mm lens. I think this lens will block the light from the the built in flash so you will end up with an ugly shadow on your photos, especially when using the lens at 17mm.

 

In my opinion you cannot use the built in flash with that lens, so you have to have the SB-22 with you to make decent photos. I see no reason to go from F100 to F80 since the weight difference is 785 - 515 = 273 gramms.

Hello Ron,

 

on the photo I see that you used some kind of 8 pin connector. Could you let us/me know what kind of connector is that. Many people asks me what are the other options besides buying and modifying an MC-30.

 

Thanks

<p>

I am using a dedicated server running a custom made software as a database/labeling tool. My server is an old Pentium II with enough hard drives, running linux and <a href=http://balint.k-i-s.net/sw/po>Photo Organizer</a>. The software will provide a searchable database, with submission tracking, client management and label/brochure printing support, and all you need to have on your Mac is a web browser.</p>

<p>

If you are willing to invest in an additional hardware you can finally forget about various MacOS releases and version conflicts. Should you have more than one Macs you will be able to access the database from any of them (I assume that they are networked)

</p>

<p>

I have a <a href=http://balint.k-i-s.net/sw/po/demo>demo version</a> of the software online.</p>

<p>

I use my own software - which I made avaliable for you as well - to publish my photos online. Here is a <a href=http://www.k-i-s.net/sw/po/demo/folder.php?folder=3>sample folder</a>. </p>

<p>

It runs on Linux/Unix but it's also possible to install on windoze. If you want to know more about the software visit <a href=http://www.k-i-s.net/article.php?article=6>The Photo Organizer Home Page</a></p>

I have published a short description to <a href="http://www.k-i-s.net/article.php?article=20">build an MC-31</a>, along with a <a href="http://www.k-i-s.net/article.php?article=4">linux software</a> which downloads the shooting data, sets custom seetings and operates the camera remotely and prints labels which fit a 35mm frame.

Evan, take it apart once more, and when putting it back together push the button down, or if wouldn't work switch the lock.

 

I modified my MC-30, mounting an RJ45 socket into the back so that I can reuse the cable for other things and I had no problems assembling the thing. I do remember that it wasn't obvious, but pushing the button down, or switching the lock should be the solution.

 

cheers

 

balint

The F5 has two sets of custom settings. I use to set up A in Focus Priority, and B in Release Priority, so that all servo modes work the same. Than depending on the conditions I select the apropriate set. Usually I go with Release Priority and Continous Servo mode - the camera does the best it can regarding focusing, and I won't loose shots.

 

cheers,

For that price I would get it too. Perhaps you have read about the build quality and vignetting of this lens, but it is around 4 times less than the Nikkor, so I think it is worth it.

 

cheers

You have to remove the eyepiece from the camera. With a firm grip turn it anticlockwise, and remove it from the camera. Make sure that you don't touch the glass part of the eyepiece, just to keep it clean.

 

Put the rubber eyecup on the eyepiece, than fix the assambly with the metal ring which came with the eyecup. Gently screw back the assably.

 

Usually the eyepiece which comes with the camera is too large, so the rubber eyecup will not fit exactly. Nikon will tell you that you have to buy the DK-7 or DK-14 eyepiece, which I did for the F5, and works fine. For my F90x however I kept the original _bold_ eyepiece, and the eyecup fit quite well, didn't click (as it did with the DK-7) but it's holding firmly.

That's normal, and it does happen with my micro lenses as well, depending how close you focus. The camera always displays the effective aperture which isn't always the same as the aperture you set on the lens. I don't know however how the effective aperture is calculated.

 

cheers,

Evan,

 

VR does no miracles. Will save you 1 maybe 2 stops, but than you are at the very limit. In fact VR will never give you the sharpness of a lens mounted on a tripod. The detector which drives the VR mechanism has to detect movement before acting. That initial movement (which starts the VR to compensate) will cause some blurry edges anyway. I agree completely with Shun. I would buy no VR lens unless I would own 500 pounds in a second like Billy. :)

I would add to Ed's comment one thing. Lightning is also very important. If you want to go beyond 1:1 you will surely need some artificial light. Two (or more) flashes will do the work. I use two sb-28s and they do a great job with both of my cameras. Of course you could buy in a dedicated macro flash, but in my opinion a two-flash-setup is far more flexible giving me more freedom.

For those interested in a free database backed software check this out:<br>

<a href="http://balint.k-i-s.net/en/sw/po">http://balint.k-i-s.net/en/sw/po</a>

<ul>

<li>store pictures and related technical information

<li>multi-user support, with privileges and rights

<li>view individual photos

<li>view photo thumbnails organized in folders

<li>search

<li>accessible anywhere, if installed as part of a web service

<li>slide management support

</ul>

It is available for all major operating systems UNIX, Linux, Mac, Windows.<br>

Your feedback, suggestions and ideas are welcome.<br>

balint

Richard,

the play will not affect the image quality. Here is my story:

 

My cousin found her father's Nikon F with a 1.4/50 lens he bought before much before she was born. My uncle wasn't someone caring much about his camera, the Photomic viewfinder was in a very bad shape (I had to clean it out, and recalibrate it) and the lens had a jamming aperture ring and of course a lose focusing ring.

 

I unmounted the lens, to fix the aperture ring which was easy, but the real challenge was to fix the focusing ring. Whitout repair manuals I experiemented and fixed after all, but I cannot advise you to do it yourself.

 

There was a moment when I almost gave up, as I could not assamble the two main parts of the lens (coupled by the helical focus mechanism).

I did something similar, taking some photos of my cousin on the top of the Montparnasse Tower in Paris, by night.

 

So I set up my camera in aperture priority using matrix metering on the background - 30sec. I composed the picture with my cousing+boyfriend in the foreground, and I told them not to move for the time of exposure.

 

I set the flash to manual mode and adjusted the correct exposure for the foreground. While the exposing the background, I had enough time to play around with the flash and fire it manually, while aiming it to the couple.

 

The exposures were just great. A bit dull, as I was using only one flash, but we've got what we wanted. Next time I will use at least two flashes, all in manual mode.

The global frame counter cannot be displayed on the camera lcd. You need some kinda software like mine connected to the camera via an MC-31. I don't know for sure wether or not Photo Secretary will display such information, or the authorized people have some special service software.

<p>

Anyway my software will display the counter and also the roll counter. You can download it from:

<p>

<a href="http://balint.k-i-s.net/en/sw/gicon">http://balint.k-i-s.net/en/sw/gicon</a>

<p>

You can check it out on the screenshots <a href="http://balint.k-i-s.net/common/sw/gicon/screenshot">screenshots</a> on the top right corner of the Control window. Have fun.

I think a white background would work out better. There is a psychiatric problem with the black background. Certain companies will avoid putting their logos on black surfaces, if they can, because that would have a negative effect over their image. I have read once a report about these things and since than I noticed that several companies follow these rules. Just check out apple, nokia photo.net for instance.

 

Others say that text on white background is better for our eyes as well, as it is easier to read. By the way, reading. When I am doing web stuff I try to use default fonts. This is important, as one sets the font which is most suitable for her/his eyes and looks best on her/his monitor. I think that using default fonts would help your readers.

 

I have a technical note about the images. Especially the Canada map looks very foggy, because it's jpg compressed. The other maps look fine because they are gif. Make sure to use gif whenever the picture isn't a photo. When using jpg a sharpening filter will make your pictures look better on the screen (screens have a very low resolution compared to prints, so you have to enhance them by sharpening).

 

I have seen many brightness calibration strips but the gamma calibration is something new to me. Thanks for sharing that.

Rick, I used the pb-4 mostly with my pc35 lens reversed with 2 sb28 flashes. I could go beyond 1:6 with this combo. Exposure wise, I rely completely on the flash system, which does a great job. The only thing I have to take care to set the lens' aperture on the flashes.

<p>

I never used the tilt-shift features of the bellows, as my subjects were moving all round, and had no time to set the right focusing plane. I was happy to get them in focus.

<p>

For non macro work there is only one nikkor, the 4/105 Bellows-Nikkor which is pretty hard - if not impossible - to purchase. For more info on the Bellows-Nikkor follow this thread:

<a href="

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=000eZG">http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=000eZG</a>

<p>

cheers,

When I was looking for a slide scanner (almost two years ago) I said the same: I won't need such a high resolution. So an Epson will be just fine, my linux box was fully suporting Epson scanners with transparency adaptors, so there was no contest.

<p>

I used the scanner for web-work so the 1200dpi resolution was just fine. But I quickly noticed that the scanner is doing a very bad job in the highlighted or shady areas, not talking about the fact that I could not get sharps scans - ever - with the Epson.

<p>

Recently I decided that I will get a Coolscan 2000, but after comparing with the LS-40 I decided to get the newer one. The LS-4000 with its price was out of question, since the extra features of the pro version weren't critical for my purposes. The difference between the LS-40 and LS-4000 is:

<p>

<table align=center width=80% bgcolor=gray celpadding=1>

<tr bgcolor=white>

<td></td>

<td>LS-40</td>

<td>LS-4000</td>

</tr>

<tr bgcolor=white>

<td>Resolution</td>

<td>2900dpi/12bit</td>

<td>4000dpi/14bit</td>

</tr>

<tr bgcolor=white>

<td>Speed</td>

<td>42 seconds</td>

<td>38 seconds</td>

</tr>

<tr bgcolor=white>

<td>Batch Roll Scanning</td>

<td>Up to 6 frames</td>

<td>Whole roll with additional SA-30</td>

</tr>

<tr bgcolor=white>

<td>Batch Framed Slide Scanning</td>

<td>None</td>

<td>Possible with SF-200</td>

</tr>

<tr bgcolor=white>

<td>Interface</td>

<td>USB</td>

<td>FireWire</td>

</tr>

</table>

<p>

I chosed the LS-40 because of its price, and because I am nearly sure that I will not purchase the SF-200 or the SA-30 for the price of a used LS-40.

<p>

Software wise I cannot give you much advice since I have Linux on my box.

Goto steves-digicam and check out the camera reviews. There are some comparisions as well:

<li><a href="http://www.steves-digicams.com/2002_reviews/nikon_d100.html">Nikon D100</a>

<li><a href="http://www.steves-digicams.com/2002_reviews/s2.html">Fuji S2</a>

I had similar problems with an F5, but turned out that the batteries were low. Once, after pressing the DOF button the apertre blades would not open up but would stay jammed to the value set by the camera. Removing the lens would solve the problem but then I got suspicious on the accus I was using at the time. Replacing them with normal batteries solved the problem.

My F5 developed similar problems. I had to reglue the rubber coating on the entire camera. Here is how I did it in less than 3 hours:

<ul>

<li>I removed the rubber coating. I also removed the double sided tape from the camera body, which suposed to hold the rubber coating.

<li>After everything was removed, I cleaned the camera body with alcohol. The inner sided of the rubber coating was sticky from the double sided tape. I tried to clean it with alcohol with no success. Than I applied a layer of rubber based glue and left it to dry. Than removed the glue - difficult process - but this was the only way I could remove that sticky dirt from the rubber.

<li>Now that everything was clean, I used tesa double sided tape to fix the rubber coating on the camera.

<li>Cut straps of double sided tape and cover the entire surface - whitout overlapping regions - of the inner side of the rubber cover. It is very important that you apply the tape first on the rubber and not on the camera. I tried that way and it come off instantly.

<li>After finishing the rubber cover carefully easing it on the camera body.

</ul>

I did this few months with my own, and so far so good.

Have you considered the PB-4 bellows? This bellows unit allows you to shift and tilt the lens. Perhaps its movements are not as fine as the pc-nikkor's, but will work fine with any lens. And will cost you much less - this was my reason purchasing it instead of the 85mm pc lens.