bill_johnson3

In 1983 I was photographing a railroad station with an 8x10

positioned on the commuter waiting platform well in the clear of the

tracks. (This was in Merion, PA, west of Philadelphia on a 4-track

commuting rail line.)

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Under the dark cloth I heard a car drive up behind me, lock the

brakes, and skid on the gravel. Turning to see if I was about to be

struck, I saw that it was a police cruiser and the officer jumping

out, running toward me.

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"Alright buddy, just what the h*** do you think you are doing??!!",

he shouted.

"Taking photographs of the station" I stuttered, partly in shock from

this unbelievable intrusion.

"Oh yeah, with what??", he screamed. By now he was standing on one

side of the camera, I'm on the other side.

"This", as I pointed to the camera in front of him.

"That's a camera?", he growled in disbelief.

"Yes sir", I confirmed.

"Well,...don't get on the tracks!!", he grunted, and then stomped off

to his cruiser and pulled away.

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To this day, I can only imagine that someone saw my setup on the

platform, thought it was some kind of weapon (machine gun, rifle,

etc.), saw me "aiming" at the tracks from under the cloth (perhaps

waiting to blast the next train), and called the police. And this was

long before September 11, 2001.

I stand corrected. My 305 G-Claron is not multi-coated. My

apologies to all. Hope my comments did not steer David Clark down

any wrong paths. Good to see that there are enough concerned experts

watching this forum to keep some of us (such as myself) on

the "straight and narrow" when necessary!

Paul Schilliger--I believe the multicoating is mentioned on the

package, but I'll have to check it (when I get back home next week).

I'll also have to check for an "MC" or other indication on the lens.

Thanks for the double-check question; this will force me to look

closely at the lens instead of just taking it for granted!

I have used the 305 G-Claron since 1984 mostly with an 8x10 and

occasionally with an 11x14 which it covers with no problem. It is

relatively inexpensive, very compact, and, in my experience, has very

high resolution. I purchased it new in 1984 and it is multicoated.

Carl Weese indicates that his is not, so maybe some are and some are

not. The combination of extreme coverage and compact size makes this

an excellent large format lens for work in the studio or in the

field, in my opinion. I have no experience with the 240mm size.

(Bill Johnson)

Alan- Sean Yates and I have both experienced the "blues" with Dektol

and Azo, but evidently it is possible to alter the blue cast if you

experiment with the Dektol. You may also recall at the workshop that

Michael Smith said he occasionally uses Dektol with Azo to get just a

bit more contrast, but somehow manages to avoid the blue color.

Others seem to get a more neutral color with the Agfa developers, but

I am so pleased with the Amidol I haven't tried anything else yet.

Let us know your results if you have a chance to experiment.