tim_and_melody_carpita

Just bought the Nikon Coolscan V ED and love it. I've had it for a week so granted I'm still getting used to it but it's nice and sharp. In fact so good I can pick up grain readily on 400 and 800 speed film so a little grain reducer and you're set. I compared for weeks the Minolta vs Nikon and honestly the The Elite 5400 is a tad sharper and can batch scan slides but the nikon is faster and from what I've heard more reliable. I can honestly tell you the 5 ed is a truly great machine. They're both great machines from what I've researched so I don't think you would be disappointed with either. Just make sure if you get the nikon and install the nikon view software it copies over a dll into the system32 directory that causes Nikon scan software to hose in post processing. Copying over the right dll fixes it. If you get the nikon and have the problem email me.

 

 

I'll try to get a pic up here for you to see what it can do.

Also do some digital watermarking. It embeds an unique identifier into the image itself that validates it as your own. Here's just one site that does it. <a href="http://www.digimarc.com/mypicturemarc/buy-now.asp">Digimarc</a> There are others but that's just one. Also don't use larger than 800x600 pics along with what others have suggested of using them embedded in macromedia director. If you want to keep 80% of the people out of them, rename the files to *.exe the program will still open them up fine as Jpegs or whatever but the autorun feature sees it as an executable and throughs up errors which will fool a lot of people.

I have a 1n-rs (non e-ttl) and a Elan 7 (e-ttl). Is it woth the extra cost? I tend to do a lot of people pictures (well, most of my daughter) so it works pretty good. Worth the 280$ I paid for the 420ex flash, so for me it was worth the extra cost. Is it perfect, nope, but still very nice. With the 1n-rs and TTL I would have to dial back the flash most times but not so much with the Elan 7 and E-ttl.

 

 

My best luck is with metering in matrix mode, 420ex flash, normally lit room, dial back the flash about 1/3 stop. It seems to work better in matrix metering mode for it's compensating for more of the scene so it tends to give you better results.

 

Hopefully that helps you out. For some people it isn't worth it but if you're like me that does photography to relax, it does make it a little easier.

I shoot both the elan 7 and 1n-rs, for a studio setup the Elan 7 would work just fine. The 1n-rs is a amazing and can be found for about 300+ on ebay. Personally I would go with the Elan 7 but since you can find used 1n-rs' on ebay for about 400+ a brand new Elan 7n is about that much. If you're going to be using a flash then the Elan7 if you're going for complete control and fast focus the 1n-rs. Also with the 1n-rs you can see what you shot for the mirror doesn't flip up. Go for the Elan 7n and use the cash you save on something else. If you need speed the 1n-rs is the way to go. Hope that helps.

If you like your camera and lenses, don't leave them in the heat. If you do get one of those bags with the cooling gel and put it in there, it'll keep in "normal" temperature for about 5 hours. However, if you spend that much money on a camera I suggest keeping it with you, I've had numerous stereo's stolen from my car that I just put crap ones in now. High prolonged heat and severe cold can damage lcd's and other internal functions. Heat will kill the ccd and lcd. If you want a camera that is pretty resilent, all manual. Just my .02$ worth.

What lense? If you're using a 50mm 1.8II it's just lense flare or wider it's just lense flare, my 100mm and 100-300mm work great. I've had similiar issues with my 19-35 on my elan 7. So I would probably try a different lense, the 1n-rs seems to really like the 100mm f/2.0 from what I've tried.

I know this is late. Great choice for a camera. I bought a elan 7 last november and have been enjoying it ever since. Being that I'm from the great pacific nw too my favorite films are kodak 800 indoors with no flash or fuji nph 400 indoors with a flash (canon 200ez). Outdoors, it's the fun time. For flowers velvia is fun or kodak 100e(slide) is more natural or portra 400vc. Cameras west in bellevue is a pretty nice place to go, friendly people and pretty knowledgeable staff. Don't get caught up in the prime vs zoom, I use both and love both, I like the primes for low light and the zooms for outdoors. My favorite lens are the 50mm 1.8 (wide shots with low light), the quantary 19-35 for really wide shots (really fun) and the 100mm f2.0 for wildlife (extremely fast focus). Email me if you need any more info, I've just started with photography about 2 years ago as a hobby, it will consume you sooner or later. Now I have more camera gear than computers :)

Depends on cash flow if you have the cash to get a eos 3 with a good lense then do it you won't regret it, if you're short on cash get the 7 and a good lense. The Eos 3 is more durable but if you want durable go for the 1v (drool).... My wife's camera was going to be a eos3 but after playing with a 1n-rs we went with that one (used 1n-rs) couldn't afford the 1v at that time. That's why I suggest the 1v, it's everything you dream about and more. It'll last you forever and take whatever you dish out.

 

I do know that the elan 7 is very durable ( 2 falls already) I'm really not careless but like you said accidents do happen. Only thing I don't like is the battery door holder (flimsy piece of garbage) but other than that a good camera.

 

Like everyone else said spend the money on the lense.

 

Just thought you might want to see a couple shots - they're scanned so they look a little fuzzy but you get the idea.

 

this was done off a eos 10s with the 50mm 1.8 lense

http://www.photo.net/photo/1170173

 

this one was off the elan 7 with the sigma 19-35mm

http://www.photo.net/photo/1250848

 

Tim

Having just bought a Elan 7 the best thing I can suggest is read the manual twice. The matrix metering is nice for landscape however I tend to use the center weighted for people. Also, don't use the built in flash unless you really need to, it burns the batteries fast and it's underpowered. Only use it if your are within 5 feet of the subject any further and it's pointless. Get the 420ex or 550ex if you need a flash, I use a 300ez which does alright.

 

The lens I usually have on the camera is a Sigma 19-35 for landscape (decent lense) example: http://www.photo.net/photo/1250848

or indoors I use the Canon 100/f2 (very very nice lense) sorry no example yet. A good lense is worth it's weight in gold. The 50mm f1.8 is nice addition for 80$ or the 100/f2.

 

Best advice is look at the link the other posted to the EOS facts and EOS flash facts. Other than that take as many pictures as you can. Hope that helps.

 

Tim

There isn't just one answer. Like you I'm starting to get serious about photography but not a professional (I still consider myself a beginner). However, my wife and I bought a 100-300mm f5.6 which is the one we use mostly for outdoor photography aside from landscapes which for those shots we use the 50mm 1.8. Sounds like you already have the 28-90 covered so I would focus on a 100-300 zoom or something on that order. The reason I say that is we had a 28-200 tamron lense and I found myself wanting to be just a little bit closer which is why we bought the 100-300. I prefer the zoom for outdoors so I can frame the picture better if I cannot walk around due to the terrain. If you do low light outdoor photography it may be worth it to get the 300mm f4.0 zoom. Personally I like the primes due to the fact they tend to do better in lower light (we have a 50mm 1.8 and a 100mm f2.0) which is really nice. Also invest in a good sturdy tripod and use it often, I cannot tell you how using a tripod has increased the quality of my pictures. In all the equipment that I have the weak link is me... so given that I'm still a beginner my opinion of what a good set entails would be a 24mm, 50mm, 100mm or 85mm and a zoom that covers the 100-300mm range.

>>If my math is correct then the EOS 1nrs need +1/3 EV for exposure, i.e. 67% for 1nrs vs 100%.<br><br>

The camera auto compensates for this so you don't have to. <br><br>

 

 

>>The veiw finder is dim by 1 stop, i.e. 33% for 1nrs vs 67%). The<br> >>1nrs' light meter working range seems(?) shifting toward low end by<br> >>1 EV (but how about high end?) My concern for the RS technolody is <br>>>that if any image quality decresed in the long run.<br>

 

I was reading that Canon actually used the pellicle mirror as early as the 80's http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/camera/1976-1986/data/1984_nf1-hsmd.html so I'm assuming they have the experience to make them well enough to keep the image quality from degrading over time. Honestly the things I've read about the camera from people that have used them for years suggest they are nothing but reliable and produce outstanding pictures. Sorry about the previous post if my math was off. A F2.0 lense will act like a 2.2 lenses with the RS not a 2.8. Sorry about that. <br>

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Some sites i found on the RS:<br>

 

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/canon/fdresources/pellix/ <br>

http://www.camerareview.com/templates/reviews.cfm?camera_id=79<br>

http://www.camera.canon.com.my/photography/nut/98issue/06topic/06topic_e.htm <br>

 

Hope that helps.

 

Tim

My wife and I just purchased a Canon 1n RS a couple months back. At first I was a little concerned about the 2/3rds stop light loss however after 3 months of a lot of fun I found it not to be a big concern due to the lenses we have. 50mm f1.8, 100m f2.0, 100-300mm f5.6. Definately with the 100-300 we use a tripod on cloudy days using iso 200 film. Other than that no worries.<br>

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>> I guess my biggest concern is regarding the amount of light loss<br> >>thru the mirror, does it affect the autofocus and exposure<br> >>conditions? <br><br>

Nope, autofocus is a breeze, very little hunting in low light. Get some nice primes and you'll be in heaven. Took a lot of convincing when I wanted to get the 50mm because my wife had a 28-200 tamron lenses and she didn't think we needed a new lense. After getting the 50mm she was very very happy and opened the door to get the 100-300 and 100mm of which both are AWESOME. <br><br>

 

>>Would I need to use tripod more often than if I used a similar <br>>>camera with flipping mirror? <br><br>

Not really unless you use lenses with 5.6 or higher and you run iso 200 film all the time. What the fixed mirror light loss does do is makes it more critical in your film speed choice and lense choice. I usually prefer the primes due the low light capablities. Essentially think of a f2.0 lenses as a f2.8 lense on the RS. It all depends on your equipment choices. If you like to use zoom lenses that are 4.5 - 5.6 I would go for the non RS 1n or EOS 3. <br><br>

 

 

>>Do I need to use faster lenses in the f2.8-f4 range vs. the f5.6 ones? <br><br>

Don't have to but it does help. With a 5.6 lense I would be more aware of your film speed.<br><br>

 

>>Also, any mechanical problems I should be aware of? <br><br>

Things to watch. Powerbooster bottom has separate power switch. Make sure you turn it off along with the main camera bodies power. Take your camera in every couple years to have the mirror cleaned a precautionary measure. You'll be fine if you don't but it never hurts. <br><br>

 

Things I like: SIMPLE to use, Weight (I like a solid camera), when you hit the shutter button the picture is taken with no delay. (6ms on RS mode). Also a trick I learned, take the last picture on a roll in RS mode for it will rewind the roll in 4 seconds. Also the feature I least expected to be useful turns out to be my favorite: Seeing the imagine as the picture is taken. No viewfinder blackout. It's nice because you can see the expression on someone's face at the moment you take the picture so you know if you need to retake it or not.

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Things I don't like:

Rarely get to use it, wife won't let me touch it :(

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Hope that helps. E-mail me if you have more questions.

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Tim

I think the 20mm would be a lot of fun however the 50mm seems to me the most used lens my wife and I own. We have used it at wedding receptions, family outings, outdoor, landscape, etc. We don't use it for portraits for you need to be too close to the subject. We use our 100mm for that (with great results). You'll be happy to have a prime in your bag for after I convinced my wife that she would enjoy the 50mm she finally gave in and we got it. She cannot live with out it now. Hope that helps you out.

 

Lens:

 

Canon 50mm f1.8 MKII, Canon 100mm f2, Cajon 100-300mm f5.6.