tomasz_zakrzewski

I'm professionally almost exclusively digital photographer but my personal

projects I shoot on film. I need to finally buy a scanner for MF negs. I wanted

to buy Microtek 120tf but their availability is very scarce and they are

generally very rare and I'm afraid I won't get any support or other users'

feedback with this machine. That's why I think about the Nikon Coolscan 9000ED.

Having said that I have some important questions to ask before I decide on this

machine:

1. my 120 type negs are cut in strips of 3 6x7cm frames. Can I scan from such

strips without the need to cut them shorter? Will the strip fit somehow into

the scanner? Will I be able to scan all 3 6x7cm frames from one strip?

2. Can I scan MF and 35mm frames (especially from 6x6 Hasselblad which I plan

to buy soon)with borders to achieve the classical look which can be done in

traditional darkroom?

3. Do I need any additional glass film holder?

4. I need the scanner mainly for my silverhalide b&w negs. Do you think it will

scan them well for big (22x22 inch) enlargments on Epson 7800?

5. Do you think that Silverfast is better than NikonScan with color negs?

I have Nikon Coolscan 4000ED and it's a brilliant scanner apart from sharpness

issues. With older slides I have to scan with focus set to two different

heights and then merge the two scans in Photoshop to achieve really good

sharpness across the frame. Is the 9000ED better in this regard? B&w negs are

also a problem because th egrain structure should look the same in the middle

and in the corners of the frame.

Of course I'd like to get the best for my negs but Imacons are out of my range,

unfortunately.

Best regards

Tom

I have about 2000 negative film rolls waiting to be scanned. I just can't find

a good solution to this task.

I have a flatbed (Epson 4870), but results are too poor, I also have Nikon

Coolscan 4000ED but I can't spend my life doing the scans.

Certainly, not all of the frames are keepers, but they're all part of our

family's history and I'd want to preserve the images in best possible quality.

What where other peoples's choices? Scanning with a minilab? Some sort of high

productivity scanner?

The tricky part is that my films are mainly color negatives. I have been

unsuccesful in finding good scanner software. VueScan, NikonScan are nowhere

near to the look of well made print from a negative, and I know how to use the

software's various functions effectively, I think. Is there any solution?

SilverFast?

My last question: I have seen very good scans made on digital minilabs. How are

these scanners capable to do that? What is the "engine" of these scanners so

that they don't clip highlights, are reasonably sharp and give good color and

contrast, exactly what I'd need in my scans?

Regards

Tomek

Pete, I'm trying to find these cartidges on MIS site but have problems with it. I only find standard cartidges. I'm on the fence deciding on UT2 Cis form my Epson 1280 but I'd definitely want to try UT2 in carts if it was really available, working and economical.

Can you say anything else on your system? Are you happy with it? What's so "friendly" in the design of these new cartridges?

I have an Epson 1290 at home currently. I'm going to buy it from my

friend, it is in very good condition (very clean, not much used).

Having tested it for several days I noticed that the printer emits a

strange high pitch sound while printing at the beginning and at the

end of page. This sound comes from the left side of the printer when

you look at it from the front.

And ideas on what would cause this? I'm not going to bother as long

as it's not a sign of some part going to break.

I absolutely love Fujifilm Reala but sometimes need more speed. Did

you find any ISO 400 negative film to have the same characteristics

as Reala? I tried NPH which I quite like but I'd really prefer more

saturation.

I think that saturated color + moderate contrast and very good skin

tones is what I'm looking for. Most standard negs give too high

contrast.

I want to make my scanning workflow as efficient as possible. I was

told that I ought to profile my scanner and was adviced to buy an IT8

target from www.targets.coloraid.de (price mattres to me). If this is

the route to take which IT8 target should I buy? I really don't know

why there are different targets made on different films.

I scan with Nikon Coolscan LS-4000ED, mainly with Vuescan but also

with NikonScan. My goal is to get the best result from scans from

negs (Reala, NPH, Fujipress) and also from slides (Provia 100F,

Velvia 100F, Velvia).

If I sort out the filmscanner profiling, I'd also like to profile my

Epson 4870 flatbed scanner for 120 negs and chromes and for scanning

archival prints. Which IT8 target should I look at?

Apart from IT8 profiling do I need to do anything else to get as high

color consistency as possible? My monitor has been calibrated

recently with Eye1. What about ICC profiles, do I need them?

I'd like to buy the Photoshop CS Full Version (I'm interested in the

English version).

I can buy it at &1060 in Poland, where I live, but it's really too

expensive for me. Adobe USA sell the program at $649 at their online

store.

Is there anything wrong in buying software directly from Adobe USA?

Will they consider my copy legitimate and will I be able to register

it? I'd like my copy of PS CS to be upgradable in the future.

Are there any other ways to buy PS CS at good price? I'm completely

lost in all the possibilities, different upgrade methods etc.

How to avoid scams? Which sellers can be recommended and which should

be avoided?

On ebay there are offers consisting of PS 6 and PS CS, the v.6 is

only for registration for upgrade (serial). What should I know about

such offers?

I'm looking for a list of differences between Photoshop Elements 3,

Photoshop 7 and Photoshop CS. Is there any available?

I want to check things like:

what works in 16bit color, curves, sharpening, resizing, actions,

channels, restrictions on color spaces, history, working speed etc.

Best regards

Tomek

Hello all,

I basically have one fundamental question: buy two printers - (2x

Epson 1280 (1290s), one for color and one for b&w or a single printer

for both color and b&w (Epson 2200 (2100).

I've spent last month on learning all I could on MIS setups for those

printers but I'm still a bit confused and I lack hand-on experience

yet.

I already read this recent thread http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-

fetch-msg?msg_id=009lS9 in which David S. Stein recommends going the

2200 route with color inks for both color and b&w. I'd happily do it

due to cost and space requirements but I'd like more comments from

you, especially on how close or far of each other the results are in

b&w matte prints from a b&w system like MIS UT2 and from b&w from

Epson 2200 with MIS Archival Pigment Inks used with Quadtone RIP (I'm

on Win XP but I hope this program already runs on it).

What can you say about achieving neutral b&w with both systems, what

about effects of toning (for example when I want to achieve platinum

print effect)?

I assume I'd have to use Eboni black to get excellent matte b&w

prints. Can Eboni black give good effect on pearl/semiglossy papers

(I know it's not suitable for glossy papers)?

My black and white prints are mainly planned for exhibitions and

portfolios. Color prints are needed for portfolio purposes mainly (I

think I want to print color larger than 13x19" with a separate

printer).

If I sent a small file (say 5x7" at 300dpi) would anybody print this

file for me with a quadtone system, another person with color inks +

QTR and with black ink only for comparison? Only then I would be able

to judge with my own eyes what I really need (in my country very few

people use such advanced system but maybe somebody from Poland would

chime in?)

For me the Lensbaby is neither fish, nor fowl. Too little distorion for the real "Mark Tucker" aesthetics and too bad for regular pictures.

At least it looks so from the sample pictures on Lensbaby site. Or do you have better experience with the Lensbaby?

> Emre Safak wrote: So you like Mark Tucker?

He, he, Emre I also like Mark's photos very much. I recently saw his Berlin/Dresden/Prague gallery and I got very interested in the technique he used for these pictures. I wanted to know what's his lens with the tilt effect and what camera he used. I even asked him in an email about it a week ago but he hasn't answered yet.

So do you think that his Berlin gallery is digital with texture added in Photoshop later?

And what about the tilt effect?

> On another note does anyone seen or know how the Sigma 80-400mm OS > compares to the nikkor 80-400mm VR?

Be warned: the Sigma 80-400 OS won't work with Nikon F5 (see info on Sigma's site).

I know and hate this problem, am myself looking for a remedy.

In my case the problem is with underexposed frames only, the well exposed ones are always ok. Is that the same in your case?

Tomek

I have the Arcus 1200 from Agfa. All is fine apart from the most important thing - Dmax. Slide scans are very noisy in the shadows. It was a big disappointment for me, especially that I paid $ 900 for it 3 years ago.

Tomek

I'm trying to decide which focal length proves most useful for my

purposes. I'd like to ask you to speak from your experience and

consult my thoughts with you.

I use Cambo 45SF with 6x9 back most of the time. I shoot commercial

cityscapes for calendars with it. I almost excusively use Rodenstock

APO Grandagon 4,5/55 lens, although I also have an APO Sironar-N

5,6/210mm.

The difficult part is to choose a third lens so that it can be most

useful not only for 6x9 but also for 4x5". Today I shoot cityscapes

but I want to start shooting interiors in near future. If the client

wants a 4x5" slide I have to be able to shoot in this format. 55mm

would be too wide most of the time. I guess that getting a 75mm lens

would be quite clever - a 21mm (in 35mm terms) for 4x5" and a nice

wideangle for 6x9.

And I'd also like to ask you for opinions on standard lens for 4x5" -

is it advisable to get a 150mm lens or a bit wider, like 135mm? I

know it's the fourth lens, but these 'standard' lenses are quite

cheap so I can add it to my buying scenario.

I don't really want to buy new so my last question is: haow do I know

which lesnes are good and which are poor? How do I know what is the

circle of coverage for lenses that are no longer produced?

Regards

Tomek

> what do photographers believe their role is (creative or documentary)

The photographer in the theatre is mainly for documentary purposes - that's what the theatre needs the photographer for. But when the photographer really enjoys his work and feels creative, then he can think about more personal pictures, photos which are valuable in themselves, which can reflect the photographer's ideas.

> and what sort of problems do you encounter?

Problems are mainly technical, not philosophical :). Shooting large musicals you have to be very quick, meter faultlessly, change films/cards quickly, not overlook any important gesture, watch for perfectly synchronic movements of the dancers etc.

In arranged scenes in small plays you have to be creative in choosing the key scenes for photos, arrange actors and props so that composition is great, watch for shadows and highlights etc.

See my pictures at www.zakrzewski.art.pl Thatre photography is my main job. I love it!

Thanks to all of you for your answers on this 'body color' topic! This thread is already longer than it deserves, that's why I think it can be quitted now.

One word of explanation: the average 1 month's salary in my country is 400 dollars, the FM3A costs 1000 dollars here. Now you probably see why I want to spend my money on the longer lasting model.

Regards

Tomek

www.zakrzewski.art.pl

I want to buy myself the FM3A but I still have to decide which body

color to choose. Which version will show less wear after several

years of use? I currently have the FM2 chrome which is in excellent

condition after several years of (rather sporadic) use and wonder

what can I expect from the black version in terms of wear. Will the

paint peel off the metal parts in climate with normal temperature and

humidity? Are the corners prone to paint abbrasion?

I plan to use this camera as my companion for my personal photography

(let's say it's street photography and cityscapes). That means good

treatment of the camera, strolls on the streets of my city,

occasional bike rides.

BTW which color is more professional in your eyes? ;-) I know it's

kind of foolish but this thought also comes to mind when considering

a classic 'personal' camera like the FM3A. I'm gonna keep it forever!

(the FM2 too :-)

Regards

Tomek

www.zakrzewski.art.pl