richard_cunningham

I'll chime in with an endorsement for the 2200. After flirting with the Canon S900 (vibrant colors, fading within weeks), and an early HP (model forgotten, circa 1998?), I'm very happy with the 2200. I went with a RIP (Imageprint) so I could get consistent BW without metamerism, a big-bucks solution since obviated by the excellent QTR. (Roy Harrington is the patron saint of BW printers, or so says I). I was also floundering in making custom color profiles for Epson papers, and figured I'd save money in the long run by acquiring the RIP. Fast forward to the present: in the last couple weeks, I've used the new Epson profiles for their Premium Semi Gloss paper along with Qimage with excellent results, so you *can* get consistenly good results on the cheap.

 

I'll offer one piece of hard advice: don't connect your USB to a hub, even a powered one: connect directly to your backplane, preferably a 2.0 interface. You'll likely experience weird, intermittent print failures if you don't. Okay, two pieces of advice: lay in a good supply of ink carts: you'll go through them faster than you'd ever guess!

 

Happy experimenting!

Morgan,

 

Another versatile lens you might consider is the AF 28-105. A little slow at f3.5-f4.5, but good and sharp. I bought it for my F100 a few years back, and it became its constant companion. A good portrait length. It's capable of macro up to 1:2, although I seldom use in that mode.

Jim,

 

Sorry I missed your earlier response and new question. On the 810 you press the "color" key until "visual" shows up in the display. I'm fairly certain the 811 operates in a similar manner.

Jim,

 

I recently bought a used X-Rite 810TR densitometer that does both: color and B&W, reflective and transmissive. With the addition of new calibration plaques from X-Rite, (suprisingly expensive at approx $80 USD), I was soon getting spot-on readings from my B&W negs.

 

HTH,

Dick

Jeffrey,

 

Michael A. Smith has a very informative essay that I believe will answer all your questions. Here's their home page: <a href="http://www.michaelandpaula.com/mp/index_skip.html">www.michaelandpaula.com</a>. Select "Writings" in the bottom frame, then look for the link to "Developing by Inspection."

 

Dick Cunningham

Justin,

 

This was at one point a favourite combination of the master printer Bruce Barnbaum. See this link:

 

<a href=http://largeformatphotography.info/barnbaum.html>Barnbaum Workshop Review</a>

Due to the age of this thread, I doubt my contribution will do any good, however, I must mention the possibility of using a changing bag to load your daylight developing tank. They look like a black sweater with no neck hole and a zippered-up bottom. Absolutely light-fast, and roomy enough to hold everything you need for loading the tank: (unopened) film canisters, scissors, bottle opener, and the tank itself and its components. You simply shove everything in the bag, zip it up, insert your arms in the "sleeves," load the film, open the bag back up, and away you go, never having had to turn out the lights!