duane_gabel

<p>Yep, no one to blame but myself!</p>

<p>As I said, I'll give it a try; perhaps in a month or so I'll be back posting about the merits of Caffenol and Fuji Acros 100 ...</p>

<p>I'm about to jump in and try XP2 Super myself, and I just ordered a couple of rolls of 35mm and 120 from Freestyle. I decided to give this a shot since my exposed B&W film is piling up, and I can't seem to motivate myself to develop it, knowing that I'm going to have to ultimately scan it (I don't have a wet darkroom yet). I really love taking photos, and I don't mind developing the negatives, but I personally just don't enjoy fiddling with the scanning process at all.</p>

<p>I know it's going to be pricey, compared to doing it myself, but I'm going to send it to Precision Camera in Austin for both development and scanning, to see how it turns out.</p>

Hey London - another idea would be on the Millenium pedestrian bridge which is just west of the 16th Street Mall, Lodo and Union Station. I would think the west-facing city backdrop at sunset would be nice. For indoors, you might scout out the Leprino Atrium in the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. It's west-facing, with a 3-story view of downtown.

Have fun!

Duane

Hi Frederic,

You might also check out http://strobist.blogspot.com. There is a lot of info on that site and in their lighting tutorials about using small strobes off-camera. I've just started working with this, but I've been able to put together an equipment setup consisting of an old manual Sunpak flash, wireless triggers, an umbrella and an umbrella mount - all for less than $100. Working with your flash set in manual mode "can" offer more precise control than Canon's eTTL, but I'll also admit that eTTL is sure nice when you need something quick and on-camera!

Duane

I'm just getting back into photography after a 25-year absence, and

am fortunate to have been given two different systems with which to

work. The first is a Maxxum 7000 from my Dad, with 35-70/f4 and 70-

210/f4 lenses. The second is a Canon AE-1 body from my brother-in-

law with a couple of FD prime lenses. For now, I am using manual

focus and exposure settings when I use the Minolta.

Eventually I'm going to want to expand/upgrade one of these systems.

If I stick with the Canon, I know there are plenty of used FD lenses

and bodies available, if needed. On the other hand, there are

features I'm really enjoying with the Maxxum, and while I'd like to

get some faster prime lenses, I believe I'll also be able to use the

older zooms if I decide or need to upgrade the body.

I don't have any general concerns about staying with Minolta (despite

the Canon/Nikon debate), but I do have a specific question -

regarding the aperture shutter magnet problem. Thankfully, mine is

OK now. Does anyone know if this is something that is evident early

on in the camera's life, or does it occur after time/use? I spoke

with a local dealer about this, and he said that it can still be a

problem even with new Minolta cameras - can this be true?

Thanks very much,

Duane