PaulCoen

<p>The current Fuji 100-pack information seems to be:<br>

- FP-3000B discontinued as of November 2013 - anything made at that point will be expiring November/December of this year, but should be good for a year or two after that if you buy some of the remaining stock floating around.<br>

- FP-100C45 (the 4x5 film) discontinued February 2014, still some floating around<br>

- FP-100C - still in production, but who knows for how long. <br>

There are a number of parties interested in acquiring the manufacturing equipment from Fuji (especially since Polaroid scrapped their 100-pack production lines), but it's unclear that Fuji would be interested.</p>

<p>One thing to consider - unless you're springing for a solid-state drive, laptop drives tent to be 5400 rpm instead of 7200 rpm, which most desktop drives are these days. So they're generally slower on large transfers. The less RAM you have, the more likely Photoshop is to use the disk for scratch space, and you may find the speed drop frustrating. <br /><br />Are you using any 3rd party plugins, from DxO or whoever?<br>

One suggestion if you're budget conscious - outlet.lenovo.com. The selection can vary quite a bit, but I picked a new (not refurb or scratch & dent) Thinkpad Edge up for the kids schoolwork over the summer - an i3 with 4GB of RAM and a touch screen - for $380 with tax and shipping. I do know people who have picked up the refurbished models - they're as good as new. They regularly have models that have i3/i5 CPUs and 8GB of RAM. You just have to jump quick when you see one you want. If you're fond of HP, I think they have a similar outlet site. <br /><br /></p>

<p>Should be noted that Fuji has discontinued the FP-3000B packs - the price has shot up to $18 or $19 a pack from B&H and Adorama (it was $10 to $12 last fall). So a "big Swinger" isn't a great investment. I grabbed a few B&W packs last fall to use with my Land 360. I really love that film.<br>

They're continuing FP-100C. For now. <br>

I'm hoping that when Fuji finally ends production, the equipment gets to the Impossible Project folks somehow, but I'm not counting on it. </p>

<p>I notice that they've eliminated the GPS. That's a shame - it's one of the things I like about the A65/A77. I suspect it was sacrificed for the Wifi, which I'll admit isn't much of a selling point for me. It wasn't the most accurate thing in the world, but it was pretty good, and there are times (Blue Ridge Parkway comes to mind, or Franconia Notch in NH) where it was convenient. <br /><br />At the same time, the touted far-better AF and higher shooting rate is pretty impressive, and it sounds like the low-light / high-ISO performance is significantly better, which is important for a fair number of people.</p>

<p>Crashplan has an option called "Restore to door" if you need large data sets restored. They'll put it on an external HD and ship it to you, along with a return label to ship the drive back. Costs about the same as a large external drive. <br>

Given the fact that you're probably unlikely to need it (let's face it - a drive failure is the most likely issue, and if you've also got a local Crashplan - or other method - backup, you'd just restore from that), it's probably an acceptable option for many.</p>

 

<p>How is Firewire not supported on Windows 8? There are a number of supported IEEE1394 hard drives on the official compatibility list. I've used a Minolta Scan Elite II with a Firewire interface and Vuescan on Windows 8 and now 8.1 for the last year.</p>

<p>If you've got decent internet service - reasonably fast, and no data cap, you might want to look at an online system like Crashplan+. I wouldn't use it as your only option, but it's a decent solution to the "off-site" problem. There's also Carbonite, but they reportedly start throttling upload data rates after you pass the 200GB mark. I was using Mozy until they changed their pricing structure a couple of years ago, and I've been using Crashplan+ since. The annual rate for a single computer is quite low.<br>

You can generate your own encryption key (which they don't store), and it's unlimited storage. I've currently got over a terabyte backed up. The software also supports making a local copy, so I've got local, external hard drive that it backs up to as well. The software will allow you to restore previous versions of a filw.<br>

Again, I wouldn't use it as your only copy, or as a replacement for local backups, but it's a nice, automatic way of dealing with it on an ongoing basis. It's a useful tool. Restoring to/from a local drive doesn't in any way require communication with the company's servers or systems, by the way. When I had no internet service for a couple of weeks after Hurricane Sandy (but we fortunately had electrical service), I was able to continue to back up and retrieve data from my local drive. </p>

<p>1) I can't speak to the screen. One note about the Macs vs. the PCs - you can't easily add RAM to newer Macbooks. Make sure you get what you think you'll need when you buy it.<br>

2) My Lightroom retail purchases have generally included both PC and Mac versions. I think the retail license allows for installation on two computers. <br>

3) It's not that bad. For a smaller collection, I'd just copy over the network from one machine to the other. The Mac, using CIFS/SMB, can copy off a Windows file share. <br>

4) You don't say what kind of computer your wife has, so I can't speak to that. An external USB 3 hard drive should be reasonably quick. Just note that an external drive formatted for HFS+ for a Mac can't be read on a PC if she has a PC. <br>

5) Yes.<br>

6) It looks like Apple has an international warranty on Macbook Pros. That isn't the case with iPad/iPhone/etc. You can check that here: http://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/ and I'd recommend calling them to verify. The only other international warranty I've had experience with is Lenovo (formally IBM) Thinkpads least some levels include an international warranty. Looks like accidental damage protection is excluded from the international warranty program with Lenovo. Not sure where HP and Dell are on that these days. <br /><br />7) If you don't go the Mac route, I'd also take a look at the Thinkpad W530. You can actually get a1920x1080 display with a built-in color calibration sensor. You can also go up to 32GB of RAM on them. Again, just make sure the warranty level is appropriate. </p>

<p>I picked up a Wacom factory refurb small Intuos5 from Adorama over the summer, primarily to use when touching up photos (getting rid of marks on scans of slides and negatives). It's a million times better than doing the same thing with a mouse. Faster, my hand/wrist feels better, etc.<br>

I've got Windows 8 on this desktop, and having a giant multitouch tablet has been handy as well.<br>

Also, the kids have loved using it to draw on the computer. </p>

<p>This could get complicated, and you're possibly going to be having to fiddle with it. I've recently been messing with an older Polaroid Land Camera, and I'll go into some detail blow just so you get some perspective. If you want instant, I'd recommend the Fuji Instax. <br /><br />You can still use the Type 100 pack format Polaroid Land Cameras (like the Land Camera 240) with the Fuji FP-100C or FP-3000B (black and white) peel-away film. The ISO 3000 b&w is the more flexible film. They're not cheap - it's $8 to $10 for a pack of 10 exposures.<br>

I've used both with a Land Camera 340. One note - the meters in the older cameras don't work as well, probably because the electrical resistance increases over time as the components age. I was ending up with dark pictures until I taped a piece of anti-static bag over the meter "eye" (the meter was off enough that you couldn't compensate with the exposure dial). <br>

The only other thing is that you really need an original polaroid pack - just one - to swap the metal cover off it onto the Fuji packs. I've been doing this, and the metal clip inside the camera hasn't been a problem - I can pull the film out easily. Without that, the metal clip presses on the fuji plastic cover, and the film can stick. You then have to time the development, based on the ambient temperature, and peel them apart at the right time. Finally, the chemicals left on the cover are somewhat caustic, and the picture isn't instantly dry. <br>

You're also looking at no flash - it's tough to find a Land Camera with a working flash (the flash in my 340 doesn't work). </p>

 

<p>Looking at Ian Lyon's "Improving Lightroom Performance", while an SSD can make some operations faster, it's not the slam-dunk that we'd hope. For a lot of operations, RAM and CPU make a bigger difference. The takeaway is that it will make a lot of operations slightly faster, so the program will feel more responsive, but for a lot of things (generating previews, rendering, previews, etc), having the catalog on an SSD. <br /><br />http://www.computer-darkroom.com/blog/will-an-ssd-improve-adobe-lightroom-performance/<br>

<br />Based on that, it also may be that USB 3 vs. Thunderbolt question might be best decided by price - it's not clear that the drive speed would make a major difference most of the time.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>There's nothing wrong with this. I do the same thing - internal drive primary, backup drive external. I'm using Crashplan+ to manage the backups, though, so it's handling copying my files to the external drive and to Crashplan's remote servers (encrypted).</p>

<p>They couldn't reproduce Polaroid's opacifier, which is why there's the light sensitivity issue. Apparently there's no way to produce an exact match for it, some of the chemical components may no longer be available. And some of the other chemicals and dyes that Polaroid used to use have been banned or aren't available any longer and are being recreated from scratch. </p>

<p>I don't use grain or sharpening either (I use Lightroom for that). I generally don't use restore fading, but I do have IR dust removal on pretty much all the time. I'm scanning in a lot of agfa film (vista, optima) and I find that I have to knock the green brightness down to 0.95 just to make things easier. I'm also primarily using white balance or auto.<br>

When I get really stuck are photos that have a lot of sky and/or water, and are lacking gray/white/black areas. I've just never had much luck. That's the one situation where the old Minolta app (I'm using a Scan Elite II) was easier to use. </p>

<p>Minolta Maxxum/Dynax 7 and the 5. The 7 is just a fantastic camera. And the autofocus is staggeringly fast - when I first got it, when shooting moving targets, I couldn't believe it was actually locking on until I processed the film. And it's light, even with the vertical grip on there - and AAs will run the camera for an amazing amount of time.<br>

The Maxxum 5 isn't as sturdy, but the FPS decent, it has DOF preview, and it weighs nothing. With a 50mm lens on it, you can fit it in a coat pocket. I've seen them used, in good condition, for as little as $80. </p>

<p>Off the top of my head, you've got four choices - upgrade to Lightroom 3 (the last two releases supported the RAW formats used by the A77, A65 and NEX-7), or use the free, standalone Adobe DNG converter to create DNG versions of the files, after you copy them off the camera but before you import them into Lightroom. Or use the Sony software to convert them to TIFF files ahead of importing them. Or shoot RAW+JPEG until Lightroom comes out, use the Sony software to handle transferring off the camera, and import the JPEGs into Lightroom and upgrade once LR4 comes out.</p>

<p>My two cents - I just moved from a Konica-Minolta 7D to the A65. Do I like the controls/handling on the A65 quite as much? No. Then again, I have a Maxxum 7 film camera, and a 600si before that, and both of those had a lot in common with the 7D, so I haven't had to learn a new control layout in years.<br>

If you're going to be taking the camera to places that the additional seals matter, or the sturdier body matters, it may be worth it. But the A65 is capable of taking pictures of equal quality, and you can put the money you save towards a lens or - if you don't have one - a flash. I've been using my Minolta 5600HS flash with it, works great.</p>

<p>The Maxxum 5 and Maxxum 7 cameras DID work with the K-M SSM lenses introduced not long before the Sony sale. They should work with any of the newer Sony full-frame lenses as well. The Maxxum 9 needs an upgrade that can only be done by a service center - the part is no longer available - to support SSM lenses.</p>

<p>I'm wondering if there isn't more than one cause here. There was a REALLY specific shutter problem in the 5D and 7D that caused the "classic" FFB problem (my 7D finally got bad enough last fall for me to send it in shortly before the extended warranty on the issue ended and they reportedly ran out of the part). It's possible that in the later cameras it has a different cause. It could just be that the shutter is wearing out, rather than the specific, defective part that the 7D/5D had. The intermittent nature of it does sound like a similar issue, though.<br>

One thing to do is to shoot RAW, pull one of those pictures in and see if there's any image at all. On the "classic" FFB problem there often was an image, just a very, very dark one, and you could make some if it out if you really cranked the exposure of a RAW image up in ACR/Bridge or Lightroom. If you can get it to happen with a fairly bright scene while shooting in RAW, see if you can see anything at all using the Sony software or another raw processing program. That'll at least tell you if the shutter is misfiring but you're getting a dim image, or not really firing at all.</p>

<p>If you're looking for something that has an integrated lens that can get put in a coat pocket and a pretty good zoom range, the G12 would be a good choice. I looked at the G10/G11 after the G11 came out (I ended up buying one), the picture quality just seemed a lot better, especially at anything over ISO 400.<br>

One feature I really do like is the integrated ND filter. At the time, the price point on the compact system cameras was substantially higher (about twice), and it didn't seem worth it. Lower-priced models have been introduced since. And while the optical viewfinder in the G11/G12 isn't great, it's good to have in a pinch.<br>

If you do go with the G12, I'd recommend picking up a flash. The Canon Speedlite 270EX (or the new 270EX II) is a good match, and having an external flash (even a small one) substantially increases the flexibility of the camera.<br>

If you want to have a camera that gives you a lot of control over DOF, one of the compact system cameras like the NEX or the Micro 4/3s might be a better choice. I've had to substantially change my shooting style when using my G11 vs. my DSLR or SLR cameras (I have a Minolta Maxxum 7D and 7 that I'm still using). It's a lot easier to throw the background out of focus with a larger sensor. If you get a little creative, the macro mode on the G11/G12 can let you do some of this, but not nearly to the same extent you can with a larger sensor.<br>

I can't complain about that too much - there are worse things in the world than having to figure out a different way of shooting.</p>

<p>The Maxxum 7 and 5 both included SSM support, if I remember correctly. Both came out after the Maxxum 9. I have both the 7 and the 5 (manuals not handy at this point), but no SSM lenses :)</p>

<p>The Maxxum 9 required a modification from Minolta to use the SSM lenses. I've never seen a used camera dealer indicate whether a particular unit has been modified or not</p>

<p>No, the last camera to support the cards was the 700si, although some card features were rolled into the 800si and some of the later cameras.<br>

If you set the later cameras to continuous AF, they're pretty good, but I'm not sure how much of the card logic (program shift if a moving subject is detected) was incorporated into the later AF software.<br>

The Maxxum 7 will show a depth-of-field display on the navigation panel if you've got a "D" series lens attached. Not the same, but helpful.</p>

<p>I'd suggest going back a series and looking at the Maxxum 5 or the Maxxum 7. The 7 has more features, and you can probably find one between $200 and $250. You can get a used 5 (or the Maxxum 70) for below $100. The 7 was the fastest-autofocusing SLR on the market for years - I think one of the Nikon pro film offerings eventually beat it out, but it took a long time. <br>

The 7 is surprisingly light. The 5 weighs almost nothing. There is a battery/control grip available for the 7, the 5 has a battery-only grip available, if you can find one (BP-200).<br>

The 5 and the 7 both support SSM lenses. Not sure about the 70 - it came out later, so I'd think it would, but I'm not sure.</p>

 

<p>You could look at the new SA-50F18 - the 50mm APS-C lens that Sony released recently. It's got a maximum aperture of f/1.8, and the effective length on the 7D would be 75mm. It's about $150. You should be able to do what you want with the background.<br>

As an alternative, a good used Minolta 50 f/1.7 goes for between $130 and $150 these days. I've used one on my 7D on any number of occasions.</p>

<p>That's amazing - and note there's <em>no</em> mention of safety at all - and I'm pretty sure that mercuric chloride is rather toxic. Maybe as bad or worse than the uranium nitrate?</p>