david_hedley

<p>Thanks Michael - that's really helpful.</p>

<p>I'll be living in Sao Paulo for the next couple of years, and would like to know where to obtain 4x5 film (Ilford Delta 100 if possible), together with supplies of developer & fixer. All leads & information gratefully received.</p>

<p>Thanks guys - I'm just trying this kit out as an alternative to large format, and it's good to understand some of the Hasselblad idiosyncracies.</p>

<p>I have a 501C/M with 50mm, 80mm and 120mm lenses.<br>

On the 50 and 80mm (both silver lenses), there are shutter speeds longer than 1s marked on the barrel of each lense (after the B mark), but I can't turn the shutter to these speeds. Is this possible, or are they simply marked for reference? It would be great to be able to access these speeds if possible.<br>

On the 120mm Makr-Planar, there is an F marking after the B. This seems to be almost the same as B, except that the aperture blades fully open just before the rear blinds close. (With B the aperture remains fully stopped down until the rear blinds have closed). Can someone explain what effect os created by choosing F rather than B?</p>

I've had a 5D with the 24-105mm lens for a while now, initially to supplement my large format work, but I'm interested

in getting more out of a versatile and powerful workhorse. To start with, I'd like to do some macro work, and would

like guidance on the options I think I have.

 

First, would a 25mm extension tube work well with the 24-105 zoom? (If possible, I'd like to avoid getting another

lens as I have far too many already, and one of the nice things about the 5D is the way in which the 24-105mm zoom

handles most of what I need). If the extension tube/zoom lens combination works, what maximum magnification

could I achieve?

 

If that's not a viable option, what are the main differences in the field between the 100 and 180 macro lenses? (I'd

incline towards the 180 as it would complement the 24-105, but would either of these lenses do a much better job

than a simple extension tube?)

 

Thanks

If you already have a particular type of landscape image in mind, why not stay reasonably close to there? Agriculturally cultivated Tuscany will indeed yield the classic and cliched shots of rolling hills, olive groves and vineyards and man-made patterns in the land, although in October you will not see sunflowers, or lavender, or other crops which can dominate the landscape with deep colour.

 

The Chianti area, north east of Siena, is beautiful, and if you head slightly away from there (for example, towards an area between Siena and Arezzo where the small village of San Pancrazio is), you will be in a landscape which is frequently uncultivated and still in some ways a wilderness. If you're lucky you might find some wild boar or deer at sunrise or sunset.

I'd like to buy a Hasselblad 903 SWC - is there a good secondhand dealer in Switzerland (or France or

Germany) that would be a good source, and would offer a guarantee / backup?

Forgot to add - my version of Photoshop is 6.0

I have several hundred 'raw' images, saved in the Canon .cr2 format. What is

the best / easiest way to allow these to be read by Photoshop?

 

TIA, David

I have a Tamron 500mm mirror lense, currently with a Nikon AI-S mount - is

there a Tamron EF-S mount which will allow me to fit this onto my EOS 5D?

The northern Coyote Buttes receive most of the attention, and the

treks to the Wave and the Teepees are the obvious things to do - we

did them last year - but this year we have managed to get a permit

for the southern Coyote Buttes (Paw Hole, to be exact).

 

Can anyone with knowledge of this beautiful wilderness offer advice

as to what to do in the south - it's a bit more elusive than the

north, and we want to make best use of our limited time.

 

Thanks, David

Thanks for your replies.

 

Michael - what is your EI for Rodinal 1:100?

After a bit of testing, these are my reference times for Fuji Acros in

Rodinal 1:50 @ 20C (4x5 sheets, combi tank):

 

N+1: EI80: 13 mins

N: EI50: 11 mins

N-1: EI32: 9 mins

 

I'm interested in others' experience with this film in other

developers, e.g D76, or PMK - perhaps they could be shared on this thread?

I've been using an Epson 1160 for a few years now, and have been very

happy with a combination of this and Lyson inks.

 

Unfortunately I think that my printer has reached the end of its

natural life - there is a stubborn ink clog that I can not remove

(I've tried everything) - and I'm thinking about what might replace

it.

 

What are the good options, for printing up to A3? If I decided to

push the boat out, and go for A3+ printing, what then would be the

printers to look at - a secondhand 3000? I'm not wedded to Epson, and

would happily look at anything that can print monochrome on quite

heavy papers (Lyson soft fine art), to a very high standard without

fuss.

I've always wanted one of these beauties, and have come across one at

a good price - about US$1700. Here's the rub - this one has certainly

seen some heavy duty action - it looks like an ex-journalist's

workhorse. The lense barrel and part of the body have been

substantially rubbed (probably by a camera bag), and the cover is

separating from the A12 magazine (could probably be glued back on

without too much hassle). Inside, again there are rubbing marks on the

body / magazine interface, but I think that these are not exposed when

the magazine is connected, and so should not cause flare. The fabled

38mm Biogon lense looks very clean, and the shutter seems to fire OK.

The focussing ring feels OK, with just the merest hint of play in the

movement.

 

 

So, your advice please. Is this a bargain, that just looks a little

ugly but will continue to give years of good service, or is it a dog

that should be avoided at all costs? The seller also has a much

cleaner 500C (almost mint) for slightly less money, complete with 80mm

lense and A12 magazine. Would it be better to get this, and then a

secondhand 40mm lense? (I'm thinking of moving back from LF to MF, but

want manual cameras only).

 

TIA, David

Steve; did anyone at the workshop have experience of PMK with Fuji Acros?

Thanks for your responses; RGB seems to be close to my office so I'll try there.

Could people give recommendations for E6 processing (of Quickloads,

mainly), and for printing from 4x5 transparencies, in Singapore?

 

Many thanks

I was in Yodobashi yesterday :-

 

The Quickload holder is approx. Yen 14,500 (I can't remember exactly), and the Readyload holder was beside it at a similar price.

 

Transparency film is about Yen 7,690 for 20 sheets in Quickload, with Velvia, Astia and Provia F all there.

 

Neopan Acros 100 is Yen 5,670 per box. There is also NPS, but I can't remember the price.

 

5x7 Velvia is available off the shelf - approx Yen 10,000 per box.

 

It's also worth looking at Yodobashi's range of large format lenses - most of the Fuji and Nikon range are there on display.

Well, I just managed to get hold of a 3 dioptre 40.5mm close up filter and this more or less solves the problem - it really does work in enabling the meter to focus closer.

I will be moving to Singapore in the summer, and would appreciate

recommendations for shops which stock LF gear and supplies. Are

Quickloads (or indeed Kodak's Readyloads) readily available?

Good point, Ken, thanks.

Thanks again for all the input.

 

Perhaps the attached image can explain why I want to be able to meter difference in luminance between small areas - the objective being to apply N+ or N- to the negative. The meter does not adequately distinguish the difference in luminance between different areas of the shikate mushrooms ; all I want is a method to be able to measue the difference.

Thanks to those respondents who are trying to understand the issue.

 

At a distance of about 12" or greater, the meter is highly accurate and distinguishes 1/3 stop variations between areas of different luminance without a problem.

 

At closer distances, either because the meter is not focussing properly, or because the angle of view is such that the meter is effectively merging small areas of different luminance together and giving an average reading, the meter does not seem to operate effectively. (I have both the digital and the analogue versions of the meter, and both seem to have this problem). Hence I was wondering whether using a close up lense over the front of the meter would cure this, and whether other LF photographers had found that this had solved the problem, or indeed whether there was another solution.

Ken ; I think I'm calculating both bellows and reciprocity factors correctly - the problem is that the meter doesn't adequately distinguish between areas of different luminance at close distances. Regards