larry_menzin

Does anyone have experience with the 50mm Distagon FLE vs the 60mm

Distagon for infinity landscape applications? It seems that my 50mm

Distagon is considerably sharper than the 60mm Distagon at infinity.

This is the opposite of what I expected. Perhaps my 60mm Distagon is

faulty? Any ideas?

I have a Linhof Profi III Ball Head mounted to a Gitzo 1321 Leveling

Base. Any attempt to remove the ball head causes the panning part of

the head to rotate, no matter how much I tighten the panning knob.

Any ideas on how to remove a stuck panning head?

My filter is a Heliopan 105mm sealed circular Kaesemann polarizer, so I don't worry about lubricant getting between the elements. Maybe some sort of Moly grease would do the trick.

I just purchased a used large polarizer and when I turn the

polarizer, there is some resistance and a squeaking sound. Any idea

of what product to use to lubricate between the two rings?

I have a few floating around.

The Hasselblad 160mm F4.8 CB is also a Tessar design.

People confuse resolution with sample rate. The cheapo flatbeds might be able to take 2400 or 4800 samples per inch, but with their cheap plastic lenses they are unable to resolve 2400 ppi.

 

The limiting factor in scanning is now the optics, not the CCD electronics or mechanical stepper. The higher you go up the chain, the better the optics, with the Nikon 9000 at an intermediate point and even higher end scanners using Rodenstock or Schneider lenses.

People confuse resolution with sample rate. The cheapo flatbeds might be able to take 2400 or 4800 samples per inch, but with their cheap plastic lenses they are unable to resolve 2400 ppi.

 

The limiting factor in scanning is now the optics, not the CCD electronics or mechanical stepper. The higher you go up the chain, the better the optics, with the Nikon 9000 at an intermediate point and even higher end scanners using Rodenstock or Schneider lenses.

People confuse resolution with sample rate. The cheapo flatbeds might be able to take 2400 or 4800 samples per inch, but with their cheap plastic lenses they are unable to resolve 2400 ppi.

 

The limiting factor in scanning is now the optics, not the CCD electronics or mechanical stepper. The higher you go up the chain, the better the optics, with the Nikon 9000 at an intermediate point and even higher end scanners using Rodenstock or Schneider lenses.

I don't think the 2mm Tiffen glass filters are made anymore. The B&H web site only lists 4" square polarizers in the 2mm size. Tiffen makes tons of 4mm glass filters, but these seem to be intended for motion picture use with prices in the $250-300 range for panavision size.

 

I just received a glass 0.3 ND grad made by Heliopan in the 4mm thickness as new old-stock from a dealer, but when I removed it from the case, the filter showed signs of delamination and is destined to be returned as defective.

 

It just seems exhoritant to spend close to $1000 on a glass grad set (0.3, 0.6, 0.9) even though I like the look and feel of glass more than the resin filters.

What are the big differences between resin grads like Lee (2mm) and

4mm glass grads (Tiffen, Schneider, etc.) beyond issues like

scratching?

 

The resin grads are in the $70-80 range, while glass filters of

comparable size are $300 and up. Is there anything to justify the big

price (and weight) disparity?

If you want to spend a little cash, the 1.4XE does a good job. I don't see much of an optical penalty with it.

I bought a used 553ELX from them in February and on the last day of their 100-day used warranty, the mirror pre-release stopped working. I called them and they had me send it to their Hassy repair vendor in NYC and I received it back in 10 days in full working condition, free of charge. Adorama has good deals on used items, but their rating system is haphazard and their order fulfillment is sometimes slow. Never a problem with a return. Unlike B&H, you don't need an RMA for returns.

$700-800 is a typical price on the western side of the Atlantic. I recall paying about $700 with the hood.

What is the difference between the Luna Star F2 and the Digipro F?

They both seem to have similar specs but the F2 is almost $200 more

expensive than the Digipro. Is there a known reason for this?

I've had this problem a few times with the HP DJ 130nr. It was banding in the bottom 1-2 inches of a print of a snowscape. There was nothing I could do to solve the problem.

I have a PME prism finder and purchased a -2 diopter lens that was

added to the PME eyepiece by unscrewing a ring and placing the

diopter lens on top of the original lens. It works fine. The PME

eyepiece is more than 1/4" thick.

 

Yesterday I received a PME51 finder purchased from KEH. It had a thin

eyepiece that did not seem to accommodate diopter lenses. If I recall

correctly, Hasselblad went over to a system where the entire eyepiece

was replaced with a diopter eyepiece. Is this the case? Is there a

way to distinguish between the part numbers?

 

Also, the thin eyepiece did not seem to accommodate the viewfinder

magnifier that I had with my PME since it is not thick enough. Are

there any solutions for this?

I am looking for the best attache-style case for medium format

equipment. There are several brands of air cases that meet the new

airline carry-on size requirements such as Lightware, Tenba, etc.

 

Does anyone have experience with these bags?

I currently own a Sekonic L778 meter and I'm looking for an

additional meter.

 

The key issues I have are the short time-out period when the meter

switches off automatically (and the user has no control over the

length of this period) and the annoying battery check every time the

meter is switched on.

 

Are there newer Sekonic products that resolve these issues and make

the meters more user-friendly? Or should I start looking at the

Gossen line-up?

Tony, were you using the 50mm CF FLE or the regular CF? There is a world of difference between them with the FLE version much better.

Is anyone familiar with the remote IR release unit for the 555ELD?

Does it mount to the front of the camera? Is there a line of sight to

fire it when standing behind the camera? Is there any information on

this item? It is too new for both of my Hassy manuals.

I have the 40mm CF version, which is considered better than the 40mm C, and I would call infinity landscape barely acceptable with my lens. The only 40mm Distagon that really performs well for infinity landscape applications is the 40mm CFE IF version for about $4500.

 

In most cases where inifinity sharpness is required I stick to the exceptional 50mm CF FLE and only use the 40mm when I absolutely must have the larger FOV. On the other hand, the 40mm CF FLE performs very well close in.

Try replacing the battery. When the meter dances around that usually means a low battery.

I bought a Pentax 90mm LS lens from them that had internal fungus. They accepted an immediate return and also refunded shipping one way. As long as they honor their return policy, you can always return an item that has been over-rated.

I just got a Quantum Turbo C battery and this product is tremendous since it weighs only one pound and has connectors for both the camera and a flash unit. Not cheap, though.