carsten_wolff

If you have the space you could look into a Durst 5x7 (138S, or 3S); a bit of an overkill for 4x5...but with a 220V bulb, you're in "big" business. B/w versions can often be had quite cheap. Nothing better out there. DeVeres are great as well.

Bill, I think the Hartenbergers' perceived low output might stem from their big angle of coverage? the 250TTL used to be 120 degrees without diffuser, 140 degrees with diffuser....

Glenn at Glennview dot com is the Durst guru! He got/made me all the hardware I needed... Thanks again, Glenn!

I just looked up their current line-up: 625ws standard.... (you'll have to look in the "flashlight" section)

A couple of years ago hartenberger.de started making 500ws TTL underwater strobes; all of their gear is sensational and they do custom jobs...

A good comparable database with fish in-situ is www.fishbase.org.

Naturally, you can use it with most cameras if you're prepared to modify them; I'm using mine on my old Arca-Swiss B 5x7 and am very happy with the combination. I made up a rear 5x7 standard-plate from 2mm aluminium sheet and a matching lightweight removable 6x17 groundglass holder from Balsa ply and cut a 5x7 groundglass in half. 4 hours work and hey presto. Have used this for a last 2 years without need for further modifications.

Just have a look what other scientists are doing! Check e.g. the homepage of the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). They have a Great Barrier Reef Long Term Monitoring group, which used to use e.g. video transects and I think is about to or may have already switched to digital stills.

Yep, I've come up with a good system: I'm just rotating the film back in relation to the lens to avoid more issues with the lens to domeport design. I've finished the lens/port and I now have a mock-up ready for tests in the pool for scaling of the focal plane, as the camera won't have a focussing screen. If it all gets too complicated in the end(i.e. too much guesswork u/w) I might still use it for close-ups with a frame....

I should be able to post scanned pics in the next few months.

Hi,

I more or less started with an old 4x5 Arca-Swiss. Later I bought a used 13x18 A-S (that had the wonderful leather w/a bellows) for about 350$ and got 5x7 holders for it.

-I've since combined the two when using long lenses (3 Standards!)..and love it! Also now works well for 6x17, although I made a special lightweight 6x17 adapter board for it, as the Canham didn't otherwise fit.

I can not say enough good things about the Arca, which travels with me in a smallish backpack. I've used Sinars, GraphicViews, Cambos and some other brand I can't think of right now. Nothing wrong with them either. Just see what your budget can handle.

You could always go for a 5x7 Shen-Hao if you were hiking, but for the studio I guess you want monorail anyway.

Had good results with Velvia for many years including skin-tones; might warm-filter further a bit now and then. Velvia 50 and 100 are similar and quite warm for starters; 100F is colder (too cold for me, so I'd use a warming filter) I'm not fond of Provia at all, it's pretty flat, but do like the very neutral Astia which doesn't saturate so much, but renders skin-tones exquisitely; I use it a lot, esp. in 4x5". Anyway, you'll just have to try it for yourself....

You're of course right for 6x6 and most applications. Have since made up my mind and am gonna bite the bullet and try a 75 or 90mm lens in 6x17cm instead; Previously I had rented an SWC in a Gates housing and was very pleased with the pics I got, hence my initial inquiry. Anyway, my intended 6x17 will be set up for Scheimflug and Hinge rule due to the otherwise somewhat sad DOF situation in that format. If I then did anything digital with the transparencies I'd have ~ 100 MP equivalent @ 2500dpi, right? Anyway, some friends and colleagues want largish murals of underwater scenes and I'm not into pan-stitching, as I have other plans/needs for image manipulation during the actual exposure. I'm not planning on scanning them anyway either. I'm in the somewhat lucky position that I don't have to spend a lot on it (got all the bits lying about and access to a CAD-run marine workshop) so if it doesn't work out, no drama. I've been using that format a lot on land and think I can make it work underwater(insert nervous twitch...;)) So I'm currently mocking up a rough prototype for tests in da pool to see whether that domeport will work.

Got one, love it. Image circle is only fine to 4x5" though if you want movements, i.e. in architecture. I use it to 6x17cm and 5x7" occasionally, but like most other 90mm in that class, the 221mm image circle limits movements here. If you want to save money, look for the Caltar branded version, it's the same lens. If you don't mind a "dark" w/a, go for the Nikkor-SW 90mm f8 perhaps; it's quite cheap new and has a 235mm image circle I think. If cost is not important go for the 110mm super-symmar XL.

Have a look st Kerry Thalmann's site for more info.

IMHO, forget the Nikonos/35mm lens combination if you're starting out. The main problem with ANY basic underwater camera kit is (and the dealers usu. don't tell you that (actually many wouldn't actually know)): The min. 35-38mm (35mm film equivalent) focal length of the standard lenses is pretty useless. Most housings/lenses are behind a flatport which reduces the UW angle and turns the lens into a 50mm.

Add to that the lower contrast of the medium and landscapes are basically off the menue. Macro then becomes your next option. For this then you need to be able to focus close and NEED a flash. (You'd also want foreground fill-in flash for most landscapes anyway, shallow work and some wreck diving being occasional exceptions.)

So whether you're digital or film, not spending the $$$ can leave you disappointed.. However, one of the single-use waterproof cameras actually comes with a w/a lens, but you're depth limited with that one....

I use mostly 35mm film and mainly dive with a 20mm or 15mm lens behind a domeport. I also sometimes use a digital compact-camera for happy snappies, which has a little, (yet still expensive) w/a adapter....

You're wanting push-development to increase contrast? Contrast is mainly tweaked by filtering and development time. Changing (just pushing) film speed and then changing aperture/shutter accordingly will almost get you back to Square One. So my suggestion is: push by all means, give it extra development time on top of that and perhaps try a yellow, orange, or special UW filter, but be prepared to end up with somewhat grainier pics (unless you want to give MF a try :)). 800 to 1600 and even 3200+ ASA is commonly used for (deeper) wrecks.

The colour is actually less of an issue esp. since b/w film is sensitive to blue light. If you really want to get stuck in working the actual contrast properly, look into the Zone system and develop your film at e.g. n+2 for starters. Need an (on-camera) spotmeter or use your histograms.

Hi and apologies for the cryptic question. I'm merely contemplating

using the glass from a 15mm domeport for, say, a 38mm Biogon, or a

Grandagon in that focal length ballpark in MF. Does anyone know if the

curvature of the port would be totally wrong?

I second Donald's Arca Swiss recommendation. Very sturdy , but quite light and easy to use (geared monorail) camera; by all means go for an older model (A,B or C) line. Perhaps find yourself one with a Linhof lensboard adapter, as Arca lensboards are a bit large; and you could also swap lenses with your Linhof if wanted. If you like wood, good ones include: Deardorff and Agfa Anscos. The mentioned Phillips Explorer is a rare (and expensive) beast.

Yo, guys.

Plenty of misinformation and confusion out there.

Just to confirm: The 150mm convertible Sironar is indeed a 450mm at its long end and in contrast to Schneider lenses you do remove the rear element.

RE: Wink light. Never seen one, so please excuse my somewhat unqualified answer: If you can fit 5x 9V batteries inside It should work: you obviously just have to connect them in-line, i.e. +-+-+-+-+- to get to 45V. The other problem might be however that the "silver cylinder" i.e. the capacitor may be "deformed" i.e won't charge up anymore if the flash hasn't been used for a while. But that, too is replaceable, just make sure you get the same type, with the same capacity. Alternatively you can install a slightly smaller one but rated to the same voltage(!), if you need space. The guide number would decrase accordingly though. Do not try to install bigger capacitors as they might overload the trigger switches. Please be careful as you're dealing with an about 350V circuit; or better, perhaps get a qualified tech do it for you (Noah?):).

Graphic-Kowa are extremely well regarded lenses and seem almost a bit of a magic bullet chaser's secret. Nothing to do with Congo, you're right. A great buy, perhaps more so due to the "thrown in" Kowas, rather than the Congo 180.....

Carl,

you're right of course. I had to get all those things done and in most countries that would cost me an arm and a leg.

However, I ended up paying only US$15 per lens surface (plus shipping), after taking the gamble of sending my four 19" Apo-Artar elements uninsured (!) to a coating-lab in the Ukraine. Turnaround by the way was 6 weeks to Australia.

I've just finished my first shoot (on Astia) and I'm ecstatic about the results.

I recently bought a good s/h Durst 3S 5x7" enlarger. During shipping

however the basebaord went missing. Does anyone know where to get a

new baseboard? I could of course make one from laminated chipboard,

but I was hoping someone has a better solution out there. The 3S is v.

similar to the Durst 138S. I'd love to hear from anyone with any

bright DIY ideas too. The original baseboard was of the tilting

type....Thanks.

Thank you all. I might just follow up on Tommy's link and will keep you posted if there were dramas.

I've got a number of old uncoated lens elements which I'd love to get

multicoated. Does anyone know of any companies offering those services

anywhere(or has actually done it)? thanks.

I've been using a quite a few lenses in the 210mm range and found the Komura you mentioned as good as any. They come in a Copal #1 shutter and are similarly sized and weigh about as much as a Nikkor M 300/9, which isn't bad. I think they have a 49mm thread; I put a 52mm adapter ring on one of them (for some reason I've ended up with two of these, they're not dear s/h) and put it behind a B+W MC UV filter. Optically, I can't see much difference to the Nikkor M or other modern lenses, although the Komuras are only single coated. I can wholeheartedly recommend them, for me they score high in both the backpacking and brightness stakes (and are often half the cost of a used Nikkor M 200/f8 to boot) and can handle 5x7" and 6x17cm formats with ease.