jeffrey_abelson

"My understanding is that the design flaws were worked out - I could mount YOU on my unilock and the legs won't move..."

 

I didn't actually mean that I could mount you, but that I could place you on my unilock...

 

FULL DISCLOSURE -

with my old calumet 45 mounted on the tropod - with a pretty extreme leg spread (the column was horizontal and the camera was about 3.5 feet off the ground, when I put enough weight on the tripod the one leg did spread a bit - I do, however weigh about 170 pounds - a bit more than the tripod was meant to handle. With the legs closer set and a vertical column, the legs offer much more stability - I do love this tripod...

I don't like the way the camera loads - it's slow and clunky.

Is it recommended to get involved with filters (for b/w and color) -

or should I just get a pure exposure and fix later in photoshop?

"Same difference. The guy who makes the Uniloc is the same guy who designed the Benbo. There was some kind of buyout gone bad and lawsuits etc. They don't lock any better."

 

My understanding is that the design flaws were worked out - I could mount YOU on my unilock and the legs won't move...

AA says to previsualize the finished print (including, I guess, the printing method, developer, film base and all) before even pulling the trigger.

One good thing about photography school - you'll make contacts and other students will evaluate your work and you'll emerge in a world of photography. One bad thing is that all that money your spending on classes can buy gear and film - and you're gonna need both. My friend recently took a portrait lighting class at ICP - he learned, for like $600, exactly the same lighting techniques that I'd got out of books and experience in my own home studio - where I MADE money as I learned to shoot portraits. My studio has always covered the price of all my gear - including computers and scannners and stuff - as well as my processing (digital and traditional). If I thought school would help my career I'd jump, but I know too many film school and photography school grads who ain't making money.

Unilock is designed by the same guy who designed the benbo but left the company to start unilock - the unilock supposedly works out the flaws of the benbo design - though I never used a benbo so I don't know. The unilock can go into almost any position - it's an amazing feat of engineering, but it is slightly heavy (I hike with mine all the time) - i have the major 1600 system - they have smaller one...

can you post an example of the problem?

"Expired film from a store (Calumet, Freestyle, Samy's Camera, B&H, etc.), Yes.

Off Ebay, no."

 

Off of ebay: I recently got 80 sheets of type 55 for $120 - expired in '02-03 - it works great. I got 180 sheets of polacolor pro $100! Expired 3-4 years ago - works great! I got 60 astia qls for like $80 - about 2 years ago - it's sat in my freezer and expired in '98 - it works great and most recently, I got old tri-x film packs - $7.99 per 16 sheets- that expired in 1986!!! It works great. I've bought so much expired film off of ebay - in every format I shoot, and, except for one pack of expired Polaroid pack film (the pods were dried out) - which O got refunded, I've had no problem what so ever.

"For starters, do a search on the life and works of Harold Eugene "Doc" Edgerton"

 

didn't he use multiple shutters triggered electronically?

It's all subjective my friend. I see very few photos that I call good, much less great - including my own! Format is irrelevant to quality - it's also a much different experience - I doubt that Larry Clarke or Nan Golding or Ryan McGinley could do their work with a calumet 45 and it's very possible that the above would care to or know how to use one!<div></div>

" 2. Uses a standard cable release"

 

Sure about that one?

"...but I find that I have to hunt to find something 18% grey, and that's not really convienient when I am at or near 1:1..."

<p>

why not try a zone system and compensate for your tone instead of searching for the 18% grey? Try this <a href="http://simplifiedzonesystem.com/">Simplified Zone System</a>

I have one, I use it all the time and I love it - but no, I would opt for an N90s - it's still cheaper, with far better metering and AF as well more recent design. As to weather proofing, my F4's finder gave me some trouble in Maui - it was fine back in NYC>

Polaorid color film is about 1/2-1 stop darker than "regular" print film.

Is the camera set on Aperture priority? If so, it will show 60. Set it on Manual.

 

Jeffrey

"They don't make those anymore so you're buying films which expired decades ago. They're already quite damaged..."

 

If film is properly stored, it can survive for years - particularly b/w -<div></div>

I don't know if there is an AC adaptor for the shoe-mounted 285, but if there ain't, you not only bgurn through batteries, but the recycle time slows down after just a few shots.

I would get a fast lens - you sure don't need 200mm in a small club - I find that 105mm is usually on the long side in small clubs - I use a 105 1.8, a 50 1.4 and a 28 2.8 and when I use my sb28, a 70-210 F4. When you use the flash you can use much slower film for a better saturated look. IMHO, under those green, red and blue spots, desaturation makes the skin tones look better.

"Some can't understand that using a scanner to digitize a piece of film can actually result in less time in front of the computer."

 

No dice - unless you have proofs made at the lab or shoot only slides - and then, only if you scan very few images - slides or negs. I'm sweating a big scan job right now: 2400 dpi scans of b/w and color negs - about 14-15 rolls. I processed the b/w myself and had my lab develop only the color negs, no proofs - so I had to scan contact sheets myself. Each 2400 dpi 35mm scan on my epson 2450 has go to be about 5-6 minutes - and that doesn't even count the editing that I'll have to do when this is done. Digital would cut this so far down, time wise: copy to hd, photoshop batch contact sheet, pick image and then digital workflow: crop to format; levels, curves, hue/sat, usm - print - done...

Almost any camera than can be hand-held is fine for "street photography" - Weegee used a Speedgraphic 4x5!

I don't think the skin tone is in the strobe brand - I'd be worrying much more about the technique!

Medium format is not about sharpness - 355mm lenses are very sharp - it's not even about enlargement - I can usually tell MF prints even at small sizes: it's about the tonal smoothness and incredible detail you'll find on a well exposed and properly focused MF photo. I find that for real sharpness, I have to shoot my Mamiya 80 2.8 (645) stopped down to at least f8 for real sharpness and any depth of field. Also, you might want to shoot at least a few rolls before bumming like that.

I've been shooting mostly film, my G2 has been gathering dust- though, for my live event stuff, I'd use my digital more if I could use my Nikon glass.<div></div>

Hi all:

 

I had much better negs this time - though some were still not as dense as I would've liked. This is my first experience with unloading old film packs and using a 4x5 tank. I may have let some light leak into the pack, thus the last few images are more dense than the first few (I'd already shot some films, unloaded and resealed the pack to reshoot the remaining films)- assuming that the film near the beginning would be effected more so than those films near the end. I shot at 250 asa and developed in Pyro for 16 mins at 70 degrees, 2 minute stop, 7 minutes fix, 30 min bath - no restain as per Jay, and let dry in the overturned tank (the film is kept in place by a restraining bar that fits across the top) for about an hour before transferring to a hanger.<div></div>