jacobmiles

Hi all. My favorite color film in 35mm was Fuji NPC. Sadly discontinued a few years ago. Does

anyone know if there is a film made by anyone now that is

similar in look?

<p>Thanks very much for the advice, gentlemen. <br>

John, thanks - I'm looking for both inspiring examples and the "why" of good composition. Per your suggestion, I ordered The Photographer's Eye (and The Photographer's Mind) by Michael Freeman. A friend also told me about a transformative photography workshop his friend took in Montreal - I will follow up about that and see if I can attend.<br>

Jeff, thanks for the advice - if I can relax enough myself when working with a person I will keep up a stream of dialogue. I'm sure it's at least partly a matter of my own relaxation at the time. By organizing the shot, I was referring more to moving the camera around to "organize" the elements in the scene, although I'd also like to play with still life arrangements.</p>

 

<p>Hello. I would like to learn more about two core photography subjects:<br>

1) the principals of image composition/structure, meaning how to organize the elements of the scene into a visually compelling image,<br>

2) techniques of working with a portrait subject. <br>

In the latter case, when I want to take an impromptu photo of a friend, they often freeze up because they're being photographed, and I'm not sure what to say or do to relax them and inspire compelling moments. <br>

In the former case, I want to understand and create great art.<br>

At the risk of sounding naive, does anyone recommend any books, courses, or general next steps that will help improve my skills, or anything else to recommend? </p>

<p>Thanks very much - that clarified it perfectly. </p>

<p>Hello. I just bought a Mamiya 6, and I've never used a rangefinder before. I understand the parallax correction, but this sentence from the Mamiya 6 manual confused me:<br>

"The composition will be within the lines of the bright frame. 83% of the field of view is visible at infinity;, and 100% is visible at the minimum focusing distance."<br>

What does that mean? The "bright frame" is the square superimposed in the viewfinder, showing the boundary of the recorded image. At least, that's what I thought it was until I saw that sentence. What is the "field of view" in the above sentence? How does that sentence affect composition?<br>

Thanks for any help. <br>

- Jake</p>

<p>Thanks for the response Matt. That saves me some time, money and bulk.</p>

<p>And yes, you don't lose any image data, so it wouldn't matter in most circumstances or to most people, but one piece of information I'm often interested in that I do lose is what exactly I was looking at and how I meant to frame the shot when I pressed the shutter. Now I can determine that reliably.</p>

<p>Thanks for the quick response!</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Hi. I'm very interested in the Pentax K-x, and I'd like to use my 50mm lens from my K1000. Does anyone know if it will meter with manual focus lenses? I know that cameras like the Nikon D300 let you dial in the focal length and its metering modes will still work. Is the same true of this one?</p>

<p>Thanks for any help.</p>

<p>- Jake</p>

<p>Hi guys. The short version of my question is this:<br>

If I use a camera with less than 100% viewfinder coverage (e.g. 96%), then in order to reproduce the image I actually saw through the viewfinder, can I always crop the same number of pixels off the final image, or does the number of pixels I need to crop from the border vary depending on the focal length and focusing distance of the lens used to take the shot?<br>

The long version of the question:<br>

100% viewfinder coverage tends to cost noticeably more - only the higher-end cameras offer it - and I'm trying to decide between the Pentax K-x, which offers less than 100% coverage, and the K-7, which offers 100% coverage but if twice the price and looks bigger and heavier. The only important difference ot me is the 100% viewfinder, so that what I see at the time of the shot is the same thing I see when I look at it the next day, when I'm not in the same frame of mind and don't remember precisely where I meant to crop the image when I pressed the shutter button.<br>

However, I don't need 100% coverage at all if I can reliably and mechanically reproduce the image I really saw through the viewfinder the next day. So, if the number of pixels I need to crop off the border doesn't change with the focal length or focus of the lens, then I can do a test once by photographing graph paper or a ruler, and determine the number of pixels on each edge that the viewfinder isn't showing me. Then I can write a script that calls ImageMagick on all of my images after I've shot them, automatically cropping en masse to match the viewfinder image. Much less expensive, a lighter and smaller DSLR, and no difference in my ability to precisely compose an image in the moment.<br>

But I can't figure out whether the cropping would have anything to do with the lens, i.e. whether I would need to crop a different number of pixels off the edges depending on the focal length and focusing distance of the lens when I shot the picture. I think the answer is no - that it's always the same number of pixels - but I wasn't sure. And I don't currently have a digital camera with a zoom lens, so I can't quickly test it out. If no one knows I'll do a test with a film camera and some different length primes, but I'd appreciate any input.<br>

Thanks for any help.<br>

- Jake</p>

Hello. I just shot a card full with my Nikon D70, which I've used many times in

the past, and I see that a small shadow spot appears in some of the images (I

don't think all of them). I noticed it during shooting and tried to clean the

lens of dust but I didn't see anything on the lens that would create such a

shadow. This makes me think it's something inside the camera, for example the

sensor. I do not see the spot through the viewfinder. I've attached an image

with the problem - you can see the black spot on her forehead. Does anyone

recognize this problem, and if so can you recommend a remedy? Do I need to get

it serviced? If so, any recommendations in NYC?

 

Thanks.

 

- Jake<div></div>

Hello. I've read such good things about the Mamiya 6 I'd like to take a look at

one and perhaps buy it. I can't seem to find anyone on the internet that sells

the Mamiya 6, just reviews saying how good it is. Where can I buy this thing?

 

- Jake

Hello. I have a Rolleicord III and I bought a Rolleinar 1. I'm confused as to

how to attach it to the camera - there are three separate lenses, two of the

same flat size and then a thicker one. All of them are able to attach to either

the taking lens or the viewing lens, and they stack so I could put the thicker

one on one of the thinner ones. My guess is that the thicker one handles

parallax, but I don't know which lens it goes on.

 

Any help?

 

Also - I've read some posts that say that the Rolleinars only sort of help

parallax, that they fix the viewable area but not the angle of view. What does

that mean? I thought parallax was the different angle of view.

 

- Jake

Hello. I'm looking for an affordable lab in New York that processes b+w films,

preferrably with xtol or D76 (the one I tried uses TMax), provides consistent

results, and that preferrably also provides CD scans at the time of processing

for 35mm. Does anyone know of one? I know there are a bunch of places between

5th and 6th Aves. below 23rd. St, so I'll make inquiries there, but I'd

appreciate any leads.

 

Thanks.

 

- Jake

Hello. I have a Rolleicord 3 (bay 1) that I like a lot*, and my only

complaint is that I can't switch to a 2X focal length, particularly

for portraits. Does a 2X teleconverter exist for the Rolleicord? Or

perhaps some combination of another brand's teleconverter and a

Rolleicord adaptor?

 

Thanks for any help.

 

- Jake

 

*incidentally, I didn't like this camera much until I installed a

Maxwell viewing screen, but with it the camera is a delight to use.

I've never been able to quanitify the difference between a 35mm image

and a 6x6 image when printed the same size, but my qualitative

impression is that the tonality is better. Is this my imagination?

Is there any reason medium format tonality would be better than 35mm

at the same enlargement size?

Where can I find this shutter-release button?

Hello. Do Rolleinar close up lenses fit on a Rolleicord 3, or only on

Rolleiflexes? Also, what is the effect of using a Rolleinar? Will it

be roughly the same as the close-up focusing I get with my Mamiya

C330? If anyone has experience with the Rolleinars, what is the

effect on image quality? Vignetting?

 

Thanks for any help.

 

- Jake

Thank you for the link, Mark. I contacted Harry about a brighter screen and an overhaul. After that, this Rolleicord will be a powerful machine.

 

For those interested, it is worth it to me to improve on this Rolleicord, rather than get a Rolleiflex, because I prefer the handling of the Rolleicord. The knob is an improvement over the crank for me, not a detraction, because along with the right-handed focus knob (which lets me keep the camera firmly held in my left hand the whole time), advancing the film doesn't jostle the camera around between shots. It's a slight nuisance to cock the shutter before firing it, but not really. I just wish they'd made a Rolleicord with a Planar.

 

In addition, in this case I picked up the Rolleicord for $32 on eBay, because it's dented on the bottom and looks generally like hell. Adds to the "This baby's all I need" effect. So spending a couple hundred on it for a screen is okay with me.

Hello. I have a Rolleicord III. I prefer the controls to a

Rolleiflex, and of course the size and weight, but I have two problems

with it: 1) I find the dim viewfinder nearly impossible to use, and 2)

the taking lens vignettes when focused close and opened wide.

 

Are there remedies to either of these problems? Are these problems

true of all Rolleicords, or just mine? I'd prefer not to go with a Va

or Vb, because I like having all the controls on the right side so I

can keep it held in my left.

 

Thanks for any help.

 

- Jake

I'd be using it for film, not prints. Will it fix film in 30 seconds?

In Adorama I saw something called High Speed Fixer. The bottle

claimed to fix film in 30 seconds. The guy at the counter said there

was no difference between this high speed fixer and Ilford rapid

fixer. Anyone know if that's true? Be nice if it really did the job

in 30 seconds, save some darkroom time.

Hello. I recently plugged in a Lowel DP I hadn't used in quite a

while, and when I turned it on it flashed and then went dark. I then

turned the switch to the off position, and it turned on fine. It

seems to work perfectly now except that the on/off switch has reversed

itself - off turns it on, on turns it off.

 

Do we feel this light is still usable, or is it now an electrical hazard?

Incidentally, this is for developing 120 b+w film.

I wondered if anyone's ever tried just using a thermos to develop b+w

film? I was thinking of getting a unicolor motor base and a thermos

and seeing what I could do. The trickiest part, I think, would be

finding a thermos of the right size to hold a stainless steel film

reel. Perhaps there's another way to hold the film away from itself.

 

If anyone has tried this or similar ventures, please enlighten me with

your experience.

I'm sure it would. It also costs $200 - I got an email back from them.

Hi guys. I discovered that Harbortronics can <a href="http://dp-now.com/archives/000689.html">modify the D70</a> with a 2.5mm electronic shutter release jack. They do it with the D70 lens cap on (they don't touch the optics), it doesn't affect camera operation at all, and they provide one-day turnaround. I emailed them for the cost.