robert_hurd

<p>You're right that the Large Format Forum is the place to ask...but it's best to go to the REAL Large Format Forum.<br>

Just kidding... :)<br>

Anyway...here's a post on the other forum, where i asked a similar question..<br>

<a href="http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=47778">http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=47778</a><br>

Robt.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Thanks, Michael,<br>

Those video demos of the Sony DSC-HX1 are cool. Pretty amazing camera...at a reasonable price, considering that's just a little more than the price of the Horizon Swing-Lens 35 mm camera...which requires either a tripod or careful handholding to produce a dependable image. Indeed, this Sony digital may even correct a person's handshakes to some extent. i wonder....<br>

Sigh...so many cameras, so little money.<br>

:)<br>

R</p>

<p>Thank you, Walt!<br>

Those diagrams help a lot. <br>

I was indeed checking out the Panasonic LX-2 and LX-3 options (the LX-3 is out of stock everywhere).<br>

But, from those diagrams, it looks like the LX-2 would provide a better pano image than the LX-2 anyway.<br>

Or am I misinterpreting the 16:9 aspect ratio and Megapixels described on that diagram.<br>

Thanks again!<br>

Robt.</p>

<p>Hi, Photo.Net Folks,<br>

Can folks suggest a good pocket digital that will shoot panoramic images....especially for action shots of my doggies where stitching won't work (like at the race track...if i ever went anyplace fun).<br>

<strong>PRIOR SEARCHES:</strong> I did search on Photo.Net...and i hate to go over to listen to the squabbling chidred on DPReview.com. But this is 2009, so perhaps there are some newer solutions (e.g., the Fujifilm FinePix F810 Zoom may be out of production, i must check.)<br>

<a href="../digital-camera-forum/00BT3V">http://www.photo.net/digital-camera-forum/00BT3V</a><br>

<strong>REASON:</strong> I just want a good camera for no fuss shoooting of action shots.<br>

<strong>SOFTWARE STITCHING:</strong> Yes, I know about stitching images, and I use PanaView ImageAssembler. But, that won't work so well for shots with lots of movementl<br>

<strong>SCANING HUGE FILM:</strong> I use Gaorsi, Shen-Hao, WidePan, and Horizon cameras for film image scanning to plop on the wall...but, I'm just looking for a handy product.<br>

Thanks for your help!<br>

Robt.<br>

<a href="../digital-camera-forum/00BT3V"></a></p>

<p>Hi, Jamie,<br>

May I ask...do you notice the light banding appearing anywhere other than just close to the edges of the ground glass and the image? Also....I had read that the Shen Hao 617 ground glass is larger than 6x17 anyway...so does this light banding appear anywhere in the processed 617 film, other than just near the outer edges? Or is the banding so bright as to affect the entire image?<br>

I just purchased and received the Shen Hao 617, so I'm wanting to plan ahead...if possible.<br>

Thank you!<br>

Robt.</p>

That's a great idea, Drime.

...until you actually read the instructions posted on LifePixel.com, that do not list the steps required

to shift the Red out of a RAW file when the White Balance setting no longer functions in the DSLR:

http://www.lifepixel.com/digital-infrared/digital-infrared-photography-instructions.html

LifePixel's posted instructions DO describe how to adjust IR images in PS when the White Balance setting can be

SUCCESSFULLY adjusted to Green Grass. However, when the PRE White Balance no longer works after the IR

Conversion (on the cameras listed below), then it is necessary to shoot in RAW, and follow the instructions that I

posted, taken from David Busch's "Digital Infrared Pro Secrets". Such PS instructions are NOT found on the

LifePixel site (as of today, June 27).

The LifePixel website tutorials do not describe how to perform the Adobe Camera Raw correction when the White

Balance can no longer be preset after the IR Conversion. Nor does the LifePixel DVD.

Likewise, unless potential Customers drill down into the LifePixel FAQ (which I failed to do), Nikon owners won't

know in advance that certain Nikon cameras will no longer have a functioning PRE White balance setting after IR

Conversion (a bad thing). Here are the two sentences that I missed:

LIFEPIXEL FAQ: "Most cameras will set a custom white balance just fine after conversion with the exception of

Nikon D40, D40x, D80, D200 and FujiFilm S3. With these cameras you will need to shoot RAW images and adjust

the white balance to your liking in post production."

Here's the comment that LifePixel provided, when I emailed them after I received the converted D40...

LIFEPIXEL: "Unfortunately, the D40 is the only Nikon that will not let you set a custom white balance after it has

been converted to IR. The other ones listed will do so if you are persistant in the right conditions, but never the D40.

It is just like the S3Pro, as it will never let you set one either. With this being said, this camera is much better for

BW Infrared, and Color images become much harder. If you shoot in RAW, you can sometimes remove the red

caste from the foliage but in many situations, it isn't possible."

CONCLUSION: If I had known all this before I spent over a thousand on Camera, Lens, and Conversion, I would have

added a couple hundred dollars more to the kit, and gotten a Nikon model higher than the D40, to ensure PRE White

Balance capability after the Conversion.

I failed to find and read LifePixel's fine print. For a thousand dollars spent, I'm disappointed. So, I'm posting all this

to hopefully help the increasing number of folks considering the IR Conversion.

Robt.

Hi, All,

Thanks to each of you for your help. I looked in the book: David Busch's "Digital Infrared Pro Secrets", pp. 205-206. It turned out my Photoshop CS2 ACR utility recognized and successfully opened the .NEF format files.

In the ACR White Balance Control, Busch explains to use a Custom setting, by sliding the Temperature slider to 2000, and then sliding the Tint slider to a greenish -79. Or to use the eyedriopper to sample a grey space in the image. These two slider steps do indeed convert that image to at the the basic image tone needed prior to comtinuing with the other suggested IR Photoshop steps.

Thank you again for your help!

Robt,

Well...

here's the deal with White Balance and IR Converted digital cameras. Since IR cameras capture reflected IR waves,

you need to decide what subject you want to register as light grey/ white in the IR image. The standard approach is

to use sunlit grass, so that the IR reflectance of the grass will register the same for leaves in the tree. Just go to

lifepixel.com, and it talks about all this.

Fortunately, I ordered LifePixel's DVD, so I better go home and watch it.

I had hoped paying for the IR Conversion would have made my life simpler. Silly me.

R

Thanks, Walt!

I must go back and parse your reply..to understand it...being a film dood.

However, since I have the D40, then my Custom "PRE" setting no longer works, after LifePixel's conversion, as LifePixel states (and I discovered today): "Most cameras will set a custom white balance just fine after conversion with the exception of Nikon D40, D40x, D80, D200 and FujiFilm S3."

So....should I just pick a white balance from the drop down list and go with it. In various searches, it seems that some .NEF to RAW converters are not retaining the camera settings upon conversion....but I'm unsure how that impacts all of this.

My head still hurts!

:P

Robt.

Thanks, Y'all!

Since I'm new to digital stuff, then I need a glossary....

However, it looks like Adobe Photoshop CS2 (which I do own) does not work with the newer Adobe Camera Raw plug-

in for converting Nikon .NEF files to RAW files...whereas CS3 (which I don't own) does work with the ACR plug-in.

But...is Adobe Camera Raw a standalone application that I don't have to actually plug in to CS2? ...that I could use

to convert the .NEF files to something I could work with in CS2?

I need to go Google "Bridge" to find out what THAT is.

Sigh...my head hurts...

:)

Robt.

Trying again to post a small Snag-It .JPG from the larger file....

Robt<div></div>

Thanks, Oskar!

My understanding is that..since it's a LifePixel converted D40, then the whole IR filter scenario no longer applies. (to

to checkout www.LifePixel.Com)

Below is an example image following the Nikon D40 IR conversion. Since I can't PREset white balance to green

grass, then the resulting IR image does not come out in the classic IR look.

Also...I'm discovering that Nikon has their own .NEF Raw format, which is not so good to work with Photoshop CS2!!!

Harumph....i should have stayed with film...

:)

R

Hi, Photo.Net Folks,

Could y'all in the Nikon crowd help a Medium/ 4x5 Format film guy with a Nikon D40 Digital Infrared conversion

performed by LifePixel?

BACKGROUND: Wanting to try Infrared, I spent over a thousand on a Nikon D40, a Nikon DX AF-S Nikkor 18-70

mm lens (since that lens seemed to be LifePixel's preferred calibration standard), and the Standard Color IR

conversion by LifePixel.

DISCOVERY: I received the converted D40 only to discover it no longer supports the Custom White Balance PRE

setting. Specifically, aiming the camera at sunlit grass does NOT allow me to preset the D40 White Balance to

use bright green as it's light grey. Behold, here is the fine print I failed to find in LifePixel.com's FAQ page, before I

chose to purchase the D40, lens, and conversion:

LifePixel FAQ: "Can I use the camera custom white balance function after conversion? Most cameras will set a

custom white balance just fine after conversion with the exception of Nikon D40, D40x, D80, D200 and FujiFilm S3.

With these cameras you will need to shoot RAW images and adjust the white balance to your liking in post

production."

QUESTION 1: Since I now know that I must shoot in RAW format, will I pay any penalty in having to then use

PhotoShop to make the images look decent. (Having a Photoshop worksession to adjust every image is not what I

planned, but the bigger question is whether I will pay an image price by not being able to adjust the White

Balance when I take each shot.)

QUESTION 2: Do any of you have ideas on what White Balance Setting I should use on the converted D40? (Since

I must use Menu Selections.)

QUESTION 3: Although IR images in the converted camera are Deep Red with Black, Grey, and White (as if I was

using an SLR with a Deep Red Filter), will I still be able to compose and take a good photo, prior to heading indoors

for an evening of Photoshop labor? (..my eyes are not what they once were).

Your help will be appreciated,

Thank you!

Robt.

Thanks, Ed and Paul,

I'm checking rubber pads (versus cork). Meanwhile, I'm finding some round-head metal screws that are working okay in the pre-drilled Bogen holes. (Turns out my 617 and 4x5 also have dual holes that can accept pins...and it looks like the screws will work for those.)

Actually, I had researched the RRS products, and my impression was that RRS offers extremely high quality products...but at an even greater price...to then be locked into an Arca system on top of a Bogen tripod. Bogen has a far broader grip line, and since my strobe and hot light components are Bogen, I kinda figured I'd stick with being locked into those products.

Onward through the Fog!

Robt.

Thanks, Edward!

Tapping the existing plates holes is an option, indeed..since the tripod plates almost all have pre-drilled holes, but just no taps to accomodate flat-top metal screws.

From my own large, medium, pano, and 35 format cameras systems, the RB67s have anti-rotation pin holes beneath..but only can be lined up with the tripod plates offering sliding pins.

I imagine Bogen has already built a solution for this, but I just don't know what they "named" it for my Googling pleasure.

Either way....I am aligning more than just cameras, so my question still applies!

Robt.

Hi, Photo.Net!

QUESTION: Do folks have suggestions for "Anti-Rotation Pins" that I could

insert into the open holes available in various tripod Quick Release Plates?

EXAMPLE: While I considered simple metal screws and nuts, these would

interfere with proper seating of cameras, tripod plates/ heads, or other

equipment.

REASON: I upgraded all my tripods and heads to Bogen/ Manfrotto, and most

Bogen quick-release plates have open holes near the main screw. However, while

some of the Bogen tripod release plates have built-in anti-rotation features,

some do not.

CAVEAT: My goal is to not only prevent camera rotation, but also to prevent

rotation between dissimilar tripod plates. (I am enjoying the whole "Tinker

Toy" game of configuring this plate with that plate to that equipment.)

Thank you!

Robt.

Hi, Joseph,

FYI...I second the Badger option. I purchased my Shen-Hao from Badger, and found a quite serious defect in the construction.

I contacted Badger, and Jeff fedexed a replacement part the next day at no charge!

Communication and response would probably have been more of a challenge going through China.

Robt.

Hi, Frank!

Many thanks, and my apologies for not responding sooner. (My mom went in the hospital, I just changed jobs, blah, blah...).

Anyway...I wonder if there is a way to post your diagram here, for the PHoto.Net record?

I will also reply to your email!

Robt.

Hi, Warren,

Not a 4x5, but the 617 Yahoo Group has some very recent discussions about the Panoramic Gaoersi. Here is the link from the new purchaser posting...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/6x17/message/318

Robt.

Hi, Frank,

Hey, I'm a computer guy, so I don't have friends! Uhhhh...i mean, I don't have friends that do MACHINE SHOP work, anyway...

So, for now, I think I will pursue an off-the-shelf solution, perhaps the Lens support solution described in the KGC photo link that I posted.

Thanks for your offered help, though!

Robt.

Thanks, Frank!

Unfortunately, I will be unable to provide photos of my own setup, but here is a link to photos and a review of the Shen-Hao 617 & 4x5 configuration.

Note: I do NOT have the "viewer" shown, but I DO have the Ground Glass device and the 120 film back.

http://www.kgcphoto.com/Reviews_&_Tutorials/shen-hao_6x17_back.htm

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/shen-hao-6x17.html

Thanks!

Robt.

Hi, All,

Do folks have ideas about good devices to provide maneuverable

support to hold the weight of a 617 120 Panoramic Back, once attached

to the rear of a Shen-Hao 4x5 Camera? (The 617 back weighs almost as

much as the camera itself.)

I looked at Telephoto lens supports on B&H, such as

the "Bogen/Manfrotto 3252 Long Lens Support". ...but is there a

better way? (I also read to move the 4x5 as far forward as

possible, to balance the 617 back.)

Thank you in advance!

Robt.

Hi, Nicholas,

I've recently purchased a Shen-Hao 6x17, but I am glad you posted your question, so folks can check the product line. I had not heard of Guo-Hua before.

I checked their website, and the products look good. (At work, we are blocked from auction sites, so I will have to check eBay at home to see prices.)

http://www.guo-hua.com.cn/fj1.htm

http://www.guo-hua.com.cn/zhuji1.htm

Robt.

Hi, Mr./ Ms. Hejeeli,

Although your plans are to use this kit with Med/LF, have you asked this same question in the "Lighting Equipment and Techniques" forum? (I see you had previously posted in LF.)

Also...FYI...a lot of photo.net discussion centers around "White Lightning" and "Alien Bees" as good brands for economical and low priced Strobes. I have Novatrons, since i got good prices on those.

Robt.

Thanks, Lee!

I ordered a Plamp and extension from B&H...since I am leaving in a few days. But I will be interested in trying this device for some macro work come springtime.

Robt.