mbetea

I've had my Intuos 6x8 for about 3 years now. Man I love it. It does take some getting used to at first and breaking yourself of not going back to the mouse. You couldn't pry it from my cold dead hands 8)

Feroze-

Where is Nathan Camera? I went searching for them a couple weeks ago. From their address, they should be right on Woodward right before that school. But all I see there is a couple vacant buildings and an art supply store. Century, I'll have to go back and look. I was in there a few weeks ago, though not looking for anything MF, so I didn't notice.

 

This last one, he sent it USPS, I don't know how yet as he hasn't gotten back to me about that. Previously when the camera didn't show up after a week and a half I asked him and he gave me some insurance number, which you can't readily find anything out from that number. I have no idea why he wouldn't use $0.50 of the $15.00 he charged for shipping to get tracking info. Not to mention $15.00 for some kind of low rate service from USPS seems a bit pricey to me. I've shipped a few cameras and computer equipment costing a lot more than this camera, so I have an idea of what shipping should cost. He had perfect feedback and sold only camera equipment.

 

Sorry for the little rant, but thank you guys for the help.

 

matt

Well this is the third time I tried buying a TLR online and get the

shaft. "Apparently" this one seems to have gotten lost in the mail.

Whatever, I'm just about done doing anything online. Does anyone know

of any shops around the Detroit area that has a decent used stock of

medium format, perferably tlr's? So frustrating sometimes. Thanks.

 

matt

I just put an order in at Dell.com for a 3200. $325.76 with no tax and free shipping. $225.76 after rebate. They're offering 10% off peripherals and software until 12/11. I'm not worried about the 4800 around the corner. I need a scanner now, not 3-4 months from now.

Actually no matter how much ram you have PS will want a scratch disk. PS code knows to use available ram, but to run smoothly it needs a scratch disk as well. Whatever the file size you're working on is, PS will hold 2-3 times that file size in memory/scratch disk.

I brought something like this up on a digital b&w yahoo printing forum a couple weeks ago and no one seemed to think anything of it. But here's my experience:

 

I used to shoot with a D100, any, and I do mean any print I tried to make from that camera gave me faint lines (banding) in the direction the printhead travels throughout the entire image. Now I can understand, maybe you think it's the printer. Well I replaced it 3 times! Every printer showed these same lines. This is printing a D100 image at full size (no cropping, no interpolation) so about a 7x10. Cropping an image or interpolating it did show the lines as well. I traded some prints with a guy on the yahoo group. I don't know if it was because I've been searching for these lines on just about every print. But every print he sent me taken with his D100 and printed on his 1280 had the same lines!

 

Now he also sent me a print from a scanned 35mm neg, NO LINES. I scanned some of my own negatives and printed, NO LINES. I went through months trying out different paper settings, dpi settings, ppi settings, etc. Nothing would work consistently. I could sometimes get 1 good print that didn't have these lines out of a dozen or so. Do the same exact steps and get the lines in the next print of the same image. I tried printing through Photoshop and Qimage, same thing.

 

I also tried printing images from my old Olympus C4000 and got, you guessed it, the lines! No I do not know what causes images from these digital cameras to do this, but I have 1 or 2 hunches. But really I'm not interested, I'm not an engineer or someone that likes to sit here endlessly and just test equipment. I like to create images (so far bad ones). So for me I found out what works, film. The digital camera went bye bye. I know this really doesn't help, but just letting you know you're not alone.

 

matt

Thanks again everyone for the help. I was looking some more and found a Rolleicord V that's been recently overhauled and from the pics looks to be in great shape. I figure it'll be a nice camera as long as everything that is said to have been done actually was. I still will keep looking for a nice 'flex. Just a couple other things would be, from what I've read, the Planar in the 2.8F would be the only Planar lens to consider (I've read that starting with the F the Planar was the 6 element)? Metering doesn't bother me much as I really like my SpotF, but the F again would be the only one to consider with a decent meter? Whew, a lot of info to keep reading. Thanks again.

 

matt

Thank you very much for the help guys. What I was looking for. I had another question about different versions. Upon doing a couple searches through photo.net, it seems the ones most talked about or praised (when it comes to vintage 2.8 at least) are the 2.8C and 2.8F. My question is are there significant build differences between D and E and these two or lens designs? Just wondering because I've even read some posts here and there saying the 2.8E isn't that great compared to C or F versions. Thanks again guys.

 

matt

Thanks Kelly. It's actually a camera I found online at Adorama's. They list it as an E-. I see that B&H have the same Rollei rated with their 9 for $799. I guess part of my initial question too should have been, how accurate or fair maybe are Adorama's ratings. But failed to put that in. I'm familiar with B&H's ratings and Keh's. Not sure how Adorama's falls in there.

 

But yes, I got a few rolls of film sitting here for whichever camera I get to run through it and see how it is. Thanks again.

 

matt

Hello,

I recently found a Rolleiflex 2.8E (80mm Xenotar and meter) at a

camera shop. It's condition is listed as "Average wear, may have

small marks but no brassing". I know it's hard to tell without

actually seeing it, but would I be wrong in thinking that for $500,

with a return policy and warranty this would be a really good deal? I

appreciate the help. Thank you!

 

matt

Just incase someone gets the wrong idea, no matter what interpolation software you use, it is not going to add any detail(s) to the image that wasn't already there. For me, 35mm or dslr I won't go over 8x10. 6mp dslr still don't give you a "true" 8x10.

I agree with Ellis and Shun, for some reason I have a strange feeling we'll see a successor to the D100. Should be a nice camera.

If it turns out you particularly don't use the 50mm that much, then having a $100 lens sitting in your bag isn't as bad as have a $200-$300 dollar lens sitting in your bag 8)

 

I used the 1.4D and the 1.8D for a short period on the D100. Personally I thought the 1.8 gave better saturation and contrast at the same settings compared to the 1.4. It also looked a wee bit sharper from f4-f5.6 and down. I would say you couldn't ever regret spending $100 on a 1.8.

Hey guys,

I wanted to thank you all for helping me out. I developed a roll of HP5+ today and altered a couple things. This roll came out great, aside from the couple water spots I have left on it. I've been taking notes on how I do the developing and I noticed for some reason I didn't dilute the fixer at all the other day. I went over everything right before I started, but for some reason I didn't dilute, so I ended up with 500ml of fixer. This time I also rotated the tank while inverting and did inversions for the first 30sec instead of 10sec. I did the stop bath in distilled water for 30sec. The fixer was the same as before, but made sure to dilute it. For the rinse I extended Ilford's suggestion of 5x,10x,20x to 5,10,20,40. Then for final bath let it sit in distilled water for 5min.

 

One question though, will a wetting agent help get rid or at least reduce water spots? I used a rubber squeegee these two times, but I don't care at all for it. It doesn't get any water off, just moves it around. So I'm going to look at something else to dry with. Thanks again guys.

 

matt

Thank you for the response and help so far.

My times and supplies were:

-Delta 100

-JOBO 1520 tank

-Plastic adjustable reels

-Developer Ilfotec DD-X (1+4) with distilled water, 71F, 10 1/2 min. I did 10sec of inversion at the very start. Then the first 10sec of each minute (4 inversions) as per Ilford's sheet.

-Stopped with distilled water at 70F, they said do 2 inversions in 10sec for their Ilfostop, so I did 4 inversions for 20sec, then dumped it.

-Fixer, Ilford Rapid Fixer at 71F for 3min and did inversions same as developer.

-Rinse, I should've used the distilled water and will from now on. But for this I used cool running tap water, where it said to fill the tank, invert 5x, dump, fill, invert 10x, dump, fill, invert 20x.

-For the final bath I used distilled water at 70F (give or take a couple degrees), I let it sit for 2 1/2 min. Took the reel out and clipped the end with a film clip, clipped the other end and squeegeed twice. I then hung it in my closet for about 4 hours (was doing some other things).

 

So what do you do to agitate then? All Ilford's instructions say is to do inversions for 10sec every minute. I hope this doesn't sound stupid, but is there something else I should be doing between these times? The Jobo tank chart shows that for two reels and using inversion to use 485ml of solution. So I was measuring 500ml, filled the hollow center post, leaving the top funnel part empty. Should it be completely filled?

 

I use a large changing bag (27x something I believe) in a darkened room. Looking at the negatives again I do notice that at the bottom there seems to be some blurring. This was taken with an F3, mirror locked up and on a tripod. Though I don't have a cable release yet :( still in the mail. I also noticed that the negatives which would have been on the outside most rings of the reel seem not to have these streaks and the ones that do are not as visible. Around the sprocket hole it looks muddy and streaks are coming from there across the film. I'm going to do some more today and try and change some things to see. Here is another image of the streaks. Thanks again for everyone's help.

 

matt

Sorry a little more info, I'm using the JOBO 1520 tank with the adjustable plastic reels. I had both reels in there and filled the tank as I would for 2 rolls as in the future I'll normally do 2 rolls at a time. So I wanted to try and keep it consistant. Thanks again.

 

matt

Would I be wrong in thinking the fogging has to do with agitation? Which was the first 10sec. and then the first 10sec of every minute after that (roughly 4-5 inversions per 10sec). And the streaks I would assume are from insufficient drying (I squeeged, I thought good enough). Scanned as a color neg though these things don't show up. I'm not discouraged at all, and was pleased that I developed them somewhat correctly. But would like some advice as to what I should change next time. Thanks a lot!

 

matt

Earlier this evening I developed my first roll, Delta 100 in DDX for

10 1/2 minutes. I do like the results, but I don't like the streaks

and fog I've gotten on the negatives. I know it's something I'm doing

but not exactly sure if it's the agitation or I didn't dry them off

enough before hanging. Here is a negative scanned as a b/w negative

in Dimage Scan.

It means the word "digital" has been used 91,101 times. Well 91,102 times now ;-)

Fat16 file system can only support upto 2gb. Beyond that is fat32 and I don't believe the D100 supports fat32 file system. So 2gb would seem logically like it's the largest you could go with the D100. But 2gb is a lot of images to lose if the card decides to quit on you for whatever reason. So personally I wouldn't buy a 2gb.

Here's a sort of different perspective Doug.

 

I did own a D100 with a couple AF-D lenses for about 6 months. I shot 90% in manual mode, manual focus and everything I shot I converted to b&w on the computer. Quirk after quirk came along and I was frustrated to say the least. I decided that the big thing digital had over film, the immediacy of it, didn't mean much to me. So I recently sold the setup, got a MF Nikon and a couple AIS lenses so far. I processed one roll of film (didn't turn out great) in the few days I've had it. But I love it, in the very short time I've had the camera so far. I'm more excited to get out and shoot to see how the negatives turned out than I ever was with digital.

 

I guess the grass is always greener on the other side.

 

matt

I got my F3HP a couple days ago along with a 50mm 1.8 ai and 28mm 2.8 ais. I've shot 2 rolls with it so far and I absolutely love it. The LCD readout is a bit quirky as others have mentioned, but if that's the biggest compromise I have to make with the camera I'll have no problems with that. Especially since I've been eyeing a Minolta meter. I don't have the Fm3a though, but from what other's have said they like it just as much.

 

matt

I don't know if the manual for 7.0 changed since 6.0 (what I'm using) or earlier. But, in my opinion I don't think the manual was ment to be followed from start to finish. I would suggest picking up a copy of Adobe Classroom in a Book to get yourself started. The Classroom line is a very good starting point for someone new to the program. Follow that and keep the manual close by so you can look things up as you go through the tutorials.

 

matt

Yes thank you for your insight on the F3 Todd. I read Paul Wilson's review on that and I believe there was a few comments about the meter illumination. I think the shop I usually go to did have a used one last time I was there. My next step will be to go around to the shops and see if any have an F3 on hand or what else they have. I would like to be able to handle it before I make a final choice. I like shooting landscapes, forms, shapes and even now everything is converted to b&w. I looked at the F100 and F5 briefly, nice cameras they are but would be a bit too much for what I want.

 

matt

The slow synch speed and flash adapter doesn't bother me as just about everything I shoot or intend to for a while at least is available light. I was looking at the Fm3a too, but doesn't the meter have a 60/40 bias (or whatever the term is)? With the D100 now, I use the spot meter for everything, matrix metering is for girls :p (jk). I'm usually shooting in manual and focusing manually, it's too bad you can't get center-weighted metering in the D100 with AIS at least. I've been looking at the LS4000 and the Dimage 5400, I have been reading great things about both, though I heard the Minolta produces a little more noise in the shadows, but people still seem quite pleased with it.

 

I went with digital because I had half the process covered (a good computer and pretty good understanding of the software). I don't think I have any complaints about the D100 as a camera,it seems more of the technology. With the small amount of knowledge I have accumulated I think digital is 90% there. But that 10% sure can be a pain in the butt(this is just my lowly opinion). I must have stumped the Nikon tech I was dealing with. He has been prompt about returning my emails. But since I sent him a few links to big threads regarding this spot problem he has yet to get back to me and that was 2 days ago I believe. I think I'm going to look around for a clean F3HP and keep the D100 for now, I wouldn't mind keeping it, but for me and how/what I shoot I think I'll really enjoy the F3 and won't use the D100 that much. Thanks a lot guys, you all have been a big help. 8)

 

matt