heller_harris

How much does your heaviest setup weigh? I read (somewhere on web) that your tripod and head should support at

least three times the weight of the camera system. I think that you're probably close with this setup, but it's

worth checking.

Nardulli used to be very good. Normal turnaround is still six hours on processing. Very professional outfit. 1710 N. LaBrea, just above Hollywood Blvd. <a href="http://www.nardulli.com"> www.nardulli.com </a>

<p>Imagexperts does good prosumer work. It used to be practically next door to Nardulli, but has moved a few blocks away. 6630 W. Sunset. <a href="http://www.imagexperts.com/"> www.imagexperts.com </a> <p>

I've had good luck with A&I, too. <P>

Freestyle has a large educational and mail order business. I suspect that most of the pro work goes to Samy's and/or Calumet. Anyone know if PRS still does the rental business?

I have an ETRS that has cracks in the frame that holds the viewfinder. It's plastic. It still holds the rotating finder, but there's a lot of play. To be safe, I use only the WLF on that body. Lift the finder off and check around the screws that hold the frame in place. You may have been sold a damaged camera.

good luck

<a href="http://www.mpgsystems.com/products.htm">MPG Systems </a> handles them in the US. They supply parts and may repair as well.

Don't know why it would be soft. What were you scanning?

I also use the neg sometimes. Here's my daughter meditating. Sort of. Notice the waves of whatever, visible only in this process!

HH<div></div>

HI -

This may not be detailed enough, but it might be worthwhile to take a look at the <a href="http://www.sekonic.com/classroom/classroom.asp"> Sekonic site,</a> which offers a section on tips and technique.

HH

Hi -

In the "Downloads" section, Peak offers calibration images and a printer profile.

h

Here's a recent sale of an <a href="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BRONICA-EC-TL-ec-tl-professional-camera-testet_W0QQitemZ220159075906QQihZ012QQcategoryZ3350QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItem"> EC</a> on Ebay.

Hi Martin,

You can get the Spyder2Express 'wrong' if you don't have the monitor set to defaults when you begin. I made that mistake the first time that I ran the program. AFAIK, the 'Express' version of the software doesn't offer many (any?) options and/or the chance to validate the profile. There's a Before/After button, but that's about it.

I continue to find frustration in printing, so I rarely do it.

Good luck.

Heller

You can use those hardware store halogen worklights - they're essentially the same as 'broadlights'. Bounce two or three or four of them into a large piece of foam core and they'll put out a fair bit of nice, soft light. It will spray all over the place, so you'll have to use black card or flags of some sort to shield the lens and keep the light where you want it.

 

There are a few problems: The lights put out a lot of heat, which makes them difficult to handle and uncomfortable to use in a small space; they create a fire hazard; they pull a lot of electricity; the color of the light is very warm; they don't produce much light (next to strobes or sunlight), so it's difficult to use a high shutter speed and/or a small f-stop.

 

OTOH: Continuous lamps can produce a very, very nice quality of light, especially for portraits, and is used by some photogs with big budgets (and big crews).

I've had good luck with <a href="http://www.peak-imaging.co.uk"> Peak Imaging. </a> I won't walk into Jessops for anything.

You might try PRS. And I just stumbled on this website: <a href="http://losangelesphoto.com/index/index.asp"> Los Angeles Photo, </a> which lists shops and rental houses.

Connecticut College is just over the bridge in New London. Why don't you see what's going on over there?

Since you are new to the camera, you might want to checkout <a href="http://www.graflex.org"> Graflex.org. </a>

Hi - The Photoshop User/PhotoshopTV guys did a session on a method that requires no eyeballing/guesswork.

 

Step 1: You first set White and Black points with the threshold tool. To do this, open a Threshold Layer, which pulls up a histogram and turns the image into black and white (no grays). Push the slider all the way to the left and work up (right). The screen should be white. Mark the first visible (black) pixel. (Mark: Shift-Click with Eyedropper tool set at Point Sample.) That's your black point. Go all the way to the right and work down (left). The screen should be black. Mark the first visible (white) pixel. That's your white point. (NOTE: It's good to briefly uncheck the "Preview" option, just to make sure that you're not marking a piece of dust, etc.) Once you mark both points, discard/cancel the Threshold layer.

 

Step 2: Create a neutral/middle gray Solid Colour layer. Set the blend mode to "Difference". Open a new Threshold Layer. Push the slider all the way to the left and work up. Mark the first visible pixel - that should be middle gray. Cancel/discard the Threshold Layer. Discard the Solid Colour layer.

 

Step 3: Open a Curves Layer. Use the three eyedroppers to set the Black - White - Middle Gray points. Save this layer.

 

For most images, I skip the middle step; setting the white and black points is sufficient. If I'm worried about colour cast, then I do the middle step.

 

You can probably find better instructions and a full explanation at the Photoshop TV site.

 

Good luck.

HI -

I just re-calibrated with my Spyder2Express. From what I see, it asks that the monitor be set to Factory Defaults for brightness and contrast. Where are you reading that it asks you to set contrast to the highest level? And when/where do you set the brightness with the squares? I remember that from Adobe Gamma, but not from the Colorvision software.

The way that I do it, there's nothing subjective about the process; the software and colorimeter do it all automatically. You set the brightness & contrast to defaults, place the hardware on the screen and then walk away. The simplified software for the Express offers virtually no options, but it's not subjective.

Try running the software with the monitor set at factory defaults and see if it works better.

Heller

Double-check that the monitor begins at the correct default settings. I'm using a Spyder2 Express, and I had trouble my first attempt because the monitor wasn't set correctly.

good luck.

It would be awkward to do this on the fly, as the process involves warm water, rollers, drying space, etc. Polaroid sells a kit that includes everything that you need (or used to), but it's not the most portable of processes. The Daylab idea is probably the best way to go.

 

I believe that the 5X4 Polaroid sheet film can be processed later, so that's another possibility. You could take along a pinhole camera or an old Graphic, which aren't that much larger than the older Polaroids. (I have a 110a conversion; it's large.)

It appears to be the same colorimeter. They're in the software business.

D'oh! Once more.<div></div>

oops. Forgot the snap.<div></div>

Hi -

Here's another attempt. I just used Threshold to set the white, black and middle-gray points. It restored a more neutral tone without using any other curves or colour correction. The photo clearly needs more adjustment, but this will start the work at a neutral place.

IIRC, you have to remember to release the mirror before you wind the next frame on, otherwise you'll face another blacked-out screen. It's okay if you're shooting multiples of the same setup, but a PITA if you're moving on to a new shot. I don't use the feature often, so I forget and waste a couple of frames every time I use mirror lock-up.

If mobility is an issue for you, then you might want to consider getting one of the Sekonic incident meters that feature a built-in spot meter. If it's difficult to get an accurate reading in incident mode, then you can switch over to spot. It takes a little bit of experimentation to get used to spot reading - you have to learn to adjust for the reflectivity of the exact spot that your metering - but it sounds like the best solution.

Did you try the <a href="http://tinyurl.com/3982ao"> Polaroid site? </a> They have detailed instructions. I used their transfer kit with 669, and never had any of the problems that you described. IIRC, the water was warm, but nowhere near boiling.