mike_dodd

I had exactly the same problems with an eos 420 flash (subject of an earlier thread). although in that case after extensive tests it turned out to be canon not making their system backwards compatable. the 420 was fine with eos 100 bodies but not the newer eos30 (under exposure by 2/3-1 stop but not predictable as to how much each time) even though the manual claims it is. The same eos30 works fine with the 550 and mt24 flashguns. I now just use the mt24 for macro work although it does not have the nice soft lighting of the 420 with softbox. Of the two urls below the bush cricket was taken with the 420+softbox on eos100 and the grasshopper taken with eos30 and mt24 flash.

 

http://www.amanita-photolibrary.co.uk/photo_library/BI_Invertebrates/pages/Bush_cricket.htm

http://www.amanita-photolibrary.co.uk/photo_library/BI_Invertebrates/pages/grasshopper_gb03.htm

Does anyone know the range of durations of the flash output on the mt

24 flash? Manufacturers used to give the duration e.g. 1/1000 to

1/50,000 depending on distance from subject and f-stop. However these

days this vital information seems always to be left off.

The information is particularly useful when deciding what kind of

subject is likely to be frozen by the flash and which will just be a

blur AND how still you have to be when taking the shot. For example

with a 420EZ flash at full output a hummingbird (ruby throated) wings

are still a complete blur so I guess the duration is around 1/1000 or

possibly even longer. Also using this flash for macro work with a

softbox and maximum output it turns out that with a fast moving

subject or a reasonable amount of camera shake then the whole subject

is blurred(not out of focus) which is perhaps a little surprising

given that you might think flash is enough to freeze anything.

However the mt24 is quite powerful for a macro flash, held close to

the subject and even with the lens well stopped down and high

magnification it may still give at least 1/10,000 sec which should be

enough to cancel camera shake (unless its extreme) and stop insect

movement except for very fast wingbeats.

One of the most critical situations is on a breezy day in the field

using a 180mm macro to photograph insects, if the flash is only giving

1/1000th then trying to use the lens/flash combination under these

conditions is likely to be pointless even if you do catch the subject

within the dept of field.

Depends if you want 'native' red squirrels or not, the ones mentioned by Steven Street are indeed very easy to see but they are not native to UK and have a darker colour - I seem to recall they were introduced from mainland Europe.

As others have said, normally you just get a fleeting glance of red squirrels in the English Lake District. you may want to check out the visitor centre at Grizedale forest, they may have more info on good places to look

Have you thought about the new tamron 180mm macro, should be lighter and possibly better build quality than the sigma (if other lenses are anything to go by). Unfortunately the tamron is one of those lenses announced a very long time before its actual appearance date.

I don't want to sound negative but... I have spent several summers recently working in the mountains in the lake placid area and its not easy to get good pictures. The problem is that everythign is covered in trees and/or tourists so you have to get to just the right places for photos and be lucky with the lighting. Below is a link to a page with a few shots taken there, its actually about my research but there are one or two photos towards the end that show what the mountain area is like.

http://www.open.ac.uk/science/biosci/research/ecology/silvertown/J_Silver/abies.htm

 

To put it in perspective, I have many fewer good shots per week there than in virtually any other part of the world I've visited so it is very wise to do homework beforehand so you can get to the good bits rather than spending all day trying to find a view out of the forest. I am not trying to put you off, just saying its difficult.

On the up side most of the biting blackflies will have gone by then although there will still be some mosquitos.

Has anyone experience of using the mt-24 macro flash with other lenses

besides the canon 50mm, 100mm and 180mm (and 65mm)? I just asked the

shop where i was about to purchase the unit how to attach it to a

tamron 90mm but they said it was only for canon lenses. However I

have seen it in use with a sigma 180mm macro and the results are fine.

I have a tamron 90mm so don't want to get the canon100 in addition as

they are so similar and I can't afford the canon 180mm.

Is it a matter of getting an adapter (which one?) then simply step up

or step down rings or are there other difficulties?

i'm afaid i think the eos30 is definitely not a best buy camera. i've had a couple of eos100 bodies (the camera the 30 is based on) more or less since they first came out perhaps 10 years ago and the eos for about a year and the 100's are still better. there are so many niggling things about the 30 that just make it annoying to use. for example it is not compatable with the eos420 flash despite what it says in the manual - canon't reply is 'just use exposure compensation' [as most of the shots are about 1 stop under exposed]. if the eos 100 can get it right every time then why can't the 30? then there is the IR remote release on the 100 it allows a 2 second delay while the mirror flips up so avoiding camera shake. as far as i can see this is not possible on the 30 or rather there are all sorts of wierd programs that make every shot black out for 10 seconds or delay 2 secs but not with the mirror lockup. there are about 7 other similar annoying things where they have taken a very good camera (eos100) and fiddled about with it and ended up with a worse one.

i take a large numbers of films each year so my 100's are more or less warn out - they both broke down for the first time last year. i can't see the 30 lasting more than a couple of years, if nothing else i've lost so many shots because of the fiddly little things they've done to it that i will probably eventually just dump it. if the eos 3 had been quieter then i would never have even considered the 30.

I'm afraid I have a very different reply. With my eos30 the ttl flash is useless, always at least 0.5 stop under and frequently 1 stop under exposed with fuji slide film. Canon repairers have examined the camera and simply suggest I set flash exposure compensation which seems a very poor response since the same flash kit gives perfectly good results with my two eos100 bodies.

The only sensible suggestion seems to be that the eos 420 flash and canon off camera shoe are not compatible with the eos30 (even though the brochure says it is). So I would suggest that you do plenty of tests before buying any kit and not put down any dodgy exposures to the film.

I too use the 1640SU for 5x4 (and sometimes 6x7). It often works fine

for b/w at 16bit as others have suggested.

One problem I have with the machine though is that it sometimes gives

a very dark preview and even with the maximum adjustment on the

controls it still is much too dark - this is normally with slightly

thin negs.

Another problem with the scanner when doing slides is that it often

gives a magenta cast which is a real pain to remove.

I suspect both of these are software issues, I am using it via

photoshop6.

Summary of solution to fuzzy edges with Linhof 6x17

The problem was that pictures taken with the Linhof showed a

substantial amount of softening of image sharpness as you moved away

from the centre of the image. It was so bad that it was visible to the

naked eye on the 6x17 slide, images were taken at f22 or f45 and in

focus.

 

<p>

 

Solution: after trying a whole range of possibilities I eventually

found that the rear lens elements (rear cell) were very loose, in fact

almost hanging off the end of the thread. After tightening up the lens

the resulting slides were fine � edge to edge sharp under 8x lupe. No

idea how this problem arose as the person I was borrowing the camera

from had purchased it from new and it had not been used much

 

<p>

 

A couple of other points that came out of the correspondence were:

a. that there are spacer shims that position the rear and front element

groups the correct distance from each other, these may be lost if you

are not careful when e.g. the shutter has to be maintained. Without

the shims the lens may not perform properly.

b. The lens itself is attached to the body by screws which themselves

have spacers in and if these spacers are not correct then the lens may

not be parallel to the film plane (this was suggested by another person

and I am not sure if it is the same as the point above).

Both of these may apply equally well to a range of other large format

cameras and lenses.

I've been taking some 6x17 shots on a linhof. The pictures are sharp in the centre but very unsharp even to the unaided eye at the edges. I can't really believe its the schneider 90mm lens or schneider centre spot graduated filter so could it be the back plate or other film non-flatness issue. The pressure plate has a different setting for 120 and 220 and it appears to be correctly set for 120 but the instructions are in german and I don't speak any so could have got it wrong.

Any ideas?

I have just got back a series of 5 slides taken using two different

lenses but under the same lighting conditions and same settings on the

camera. Two of the shots were correctly exposed, the rest were about

one stop over exposed. Any ideas why identical settings might give

different exposures?

 

Exact setup: lenses 135mm macro, first shot over exposed, second shot

OK. Then 45mm lens first shot OK, the next two both one stop over

exposed (then the rest of the film of another subject and exposure

OK). Both lenses stopped down to about f16. AE prism set to multi

segment auto exposure. Mirror lockup used. Lenses used with

extention tubes and stopped down for metering and exposure. No

exposure compensation set.

Generally the camera has given the correct exposure but there have

been a few other occasions (with or without extention tubes) where it

has given one stop over exposure. The fact that it is so consistent

either exactly correct exposure or exactly one stop over (as far as I

can see) suggests that there is something odd happening, any

suggestions?

After taking half a dozen films using the eyepiece blind on the new

AE prism for many of the pictures it stuck open. Eventually after

several more films I pursuaded it to work again but its still rather

stiff. Has anyone else had a similar problem and if so how have they

overcome it. By the way the blind, when it works, seems a very good

way of keeping out stray light from the meter when the camera is on a

tripod and the lens is well stopped down.

Thanks for the replies. The reason I want TTL flash is for natural history type close ups and doing the calculations by hand for a whole variety of flash distances (with or without soft box) and magnification ratios is a real pain. Ideally the flash would also not be restricted to one point, the wooden grip, and instead for example could be plugged into the 5 pin socket and positioned directly above the end of the lens with softbox looking down on the close up subject.

What is the best way to achieve auto TTL flash exposure metering using

the new 6x7 II. The instruction manual is very limited just saying

buy the pentax flashes but does not say which ones will plug into

which socket or whether you need the bracket with hot shoe to achieve

full TTL exposure, it also has dark warnings about 'other

manufacuturers units' possibly damaging the camera's electronics.

For example are there any (cheaper or better) other manufactures units

that will plug into the five pin socket without causing damage and

give full TTL?

It is possible (without great difficulty) to use a large format enlarger lens on a large format camera. Is there a way of mounting the lens and a suitable shutter assembly? The reason for asking is that I am looking for a 300mm lens for a 5x4 camera but they seem rather difficult to come by, especially second hand, however I have found a few 300mm enlarging lenses.