joe_hodge

FWIW, Lightroom is still available with a non-subscription, perpetual license. Its hard to find, but if you search under 'all products' its still there as of this morning:

Thanks -- I'm well aware of the viewfinders on the non-pro EOS bodies; I had the 5 (A2E), which had a pentaprism viewfinder, but nowhere near as good as either the AE1 or OM2. Even my 40D is much better, although the crop factor helps in terms of magnification if not coverage. My photography is an on-and-off hobby (family events aside), mostly walking around Washington DC and shooting whatever catches my eye. I enjoy the process as much or more than the product, so film works well for me when I don't need to deliver the Christmas pictures for Facebook ASAP :) I've been developing at home and scanning, but I'm going back to a wet darkroom refresher class next month and brushing up my technique in advance. As I see it: AE1 - I learned on it, so it's the most familiar and 'gets out of my way'. Prone to problems long term from the shutter and electronics, although the battery is common. Lens availability seems limited/expensive. Viewfinder is nice, and has a split-prism. Nikkormat FTN - it's probably indestructible, and is compatible with a wide range of lenses I don't actually own, but could. The build quality of the 50/1.4 I do have is exceptional. Viewfinder is noticeably worse (dimmer/less coverage) than the OM2 or AE1, but nicer than the EOS5 I owned years ago. Wants a mercury cell for the meter, but zinc/air cells are available and an adaptor for silver oxide cells is $40, so not a real obstacle. OM2 - nicest viewfinder of all, and I already have a 200/4 to go with the 50/1.4 Needs a new prism, but those are easily salvaged from Ebay junk, and I can do the work, so no big deal. EOS - I have 20/2.8, 50/1.4, and 100/2 primes as well as 24-85/3.5-4.5, 28-135/3.5-5.6 IS, and 70-300/4.5-5.6 IS zooms, so I'm pretty well covered for glass. Too bad that between the lens design and viewfinders, it hasn't been fun to use in a MF/film mode. The 24-85 is my basic walking-around lens. If I go this route, it looks like an older 630 is a decent bet, or a newer 1n or 3, but not much else in between. Going back to the darkroom probably just has me overthinking this. I have everything I need, and more, but it's hard for me to not want to rationalize this down to either 1 film and 1 digital or even just one system altogether. What do other who shoot both film & digital do?

Yeah, OK, 'too many' is an exaggeration with only four (although it's actually five - I have an EOS M also that I forgot). I think it's that the three classic SLRs are all so similar that it seems silly to have one body and essentially the same lens for three different systems. (yes, I do have the second lens for the OM2) Real question: is there any sense to picking up an EOS film body and deferring the question of what to do about the others to a future date? Clearly the answer to having 'too many cameras' is another camera, right? :) I had an EOS 5 at one point, but I didn't much like the viewfinder or trying to manually focus the EOS lenses. Does anyone have experience with a split-prism screen in one of the pro models that will take one?

To keep this brief, I have had for years two cameras: Canon 40D with a handful of lenses covering 20 - 300mm, and an AE-1 with a 50/1.4 (Prior to the 40D I had a Rebel XT, but it was destroyed by immersion in apple juice) Most of my shooting has been digital, but i'll shoot/develop/scan a few rolls of Tri-X per year when I get the itch. I've inherited two more classic SLRs: an OM-2 with a 50/1.4 and a 200/4, and a Nikkormat FTn with a 50/1.4. Both in very good shape with working meters (within 1/2 stop of the 40D). The OM2 has the degrading foam issue, but cleaning that and replacing the prism will only cost me $25 and a few hours; actual operation is unaffected. The problem is that all three systems overlap, and I don't want/need it all! My first thought is to keep the OM-2 and my 40D, and sell the AE1 and the Nikkormat, but the Nikkormat has an all-mechanical metal shutter. The AE1 has an emotional attachment as it's what I learned on. None of the classic stuff has any real market value. What I'd really like is to have just the Nikkormat with fast 24/50/135 primes, but I don't see any way from here to there that doesn't involve a lot of money. Or, I could buy an EOS film body and get down to one system, but I must admit that I like the way a classic SLR goes with the 'film' mood :) There was supposed to help a question here, but I think I just need advice.

I've been away from B&W for a while, shooting digital, but I'm looking to get back in to the darkroom next month. I've kept my hand in with a changing bag and film scanner, but I'm looking to touch up before I go in to class. I think this is technically pretty sound, but I'd like comments, and especially anything I should change for printing vs. scanning. Canon AE1 w/50 1.4, Tri-X, developed in HC-110 'H' for 12 min@20C. Scanned at 2700 DPI and minimally processed in Lightroom:

I was just doing 400TX in HC-110 last night. I use 7.5ml of concentrate (NOT stock solution) to 472.5ml water. 12 min development @20C, agitation 5 seconds/min. This is dilution H (1:63), and it works consistently for me developing either 1 or two rolls in a dual-reel tank.