bill.akstens
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Posts posted by bill.akstens
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I recommend an older Canon EOS ElanII (may have a different name overseas). In the US these used bodies go for around $130US. Very capable advanced amatuer/semipro camera in my opinion. Put the rest of the money into good lenses and they will all work with Canon's latest DSLRs when you do get one.
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Even if I am very diligent about backing up my digital photos, I wonder if my heirs will be so computer-savy and disciplined? I fear my digital archives will only last a generation one way or another... If any generation fails to maintain the archives it may be too late for the following generation to salvage. Some of my film negatives, stored in multiple sites, will probably survive a few generations, even if one generation fails to "maintain" them.
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With a closeup lens attached your depth of field is very shallow. At 2.8 plus a closeup it is very very shallow. Were you focussing accurately during your test? Whenever I use a closeup filter I shoot at f8, f11, f16,...
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Two ideas: Put the more reflective folks toward the back so flash light falloff helps cut their reflection. Proper makeup can probably help dramatically in more controlled situations.
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Buy a used ElanII from KEH in Atlanta. A great one will run about $150 or so. Excellent camera. I'm not familiar with the 7n but they can't be that different from the II.
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My only concern to doing this baking in the sun would be having the aperture blade lubricants get hot and "melt" to someplace they shouldn't go.
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I believe the prepaid Scala mailers from B&H get sent to Color Reflections in Miami, Florida.
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I haven't used that setup but I'm guessing if it does work the 420ex will only fire at full power.
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Since nobody else answered I'll take a stab (but I'm new to flash myself). Doesn't your meter have a mode with a lightning bolt? You need to set it to that mode for flash metering. Sounds like you have yours set to "F" instead which is just for abmient light mode and won't respond to flash. The "11.4" means the light reading is between f11 and f16. You also need to set you film's ISO number in the meter when in ISO mode. I have a Gossen LunaPro Digital F meter, and the "F" in the name means it can be used for flash metering. This "F" is different from the "F" mode setting as explained above.
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Use a slower shutter speed to capture bright arcs of welding debris flying all over. If the shutter is too fast you'll freeze the sparks and it won't look as dramatic. Experiment, maybe 1/4 second shutter speed on a tripod. I don't think a welding helmet will be necessary for the camera, just don't get too close.
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Visit Venice Beach boardwalk, the canals of Venice, the Santa Monica pier, and walk along the cliffs north of the pier. All close by. Also the 3rd Street Promenade a few blocks in from the SM pier. The Getty Center museum isn't too far away and has great architecture and garden areas.
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FYI - Today their website shows it in stock. I just ordered some.
It's a great general purpose developer.
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At the last wedding I was a guest at, the videographer's camera had some obnoxious red focus-assist target that it projected. Never seen anything like that before. During the cake cutting this target sprayed across the bride's chest area with a large red box pattern with other corner hash marks. What would a still photographer do in that situation? If the photographer can't pursuade the video guy to turn off the pattern, the only option may be to stop the lens way down to cut ambient out and rely on a powerful blast of flash. Is this kind of viseo assist pattern common? Is it laser-based?
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By all means try LAX Photo in El Segundo. They have a Frontier setup and do commercial work too. Looks like a hole-in-the-wall one hour photo lab, but they do competent and quick work. 630 N Sepulveda Blvd Suite 6B, El Segundo, located in the Sizzler restaurant minimall. Or try The Development in downtown Hermosa Beach by the pier. A bit more expensive but also good work.
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Off the beaten path - a very small ghost town called Grafton, Utah, a few miles outside the southwest entrance of either Bryce or Zion (forget which one, it was 15 years ago I was there). It is mentioned in some library books on ghost towns - do a search. Very isolated, rural, yet fairly easy passenger car access (assuming dry conditions) maybe 15-20 minutes off the main road on a dirt "road". Has two or three standing 2-story houses and a complete one-room red clay brick schoolhouse, maybe a small cemetery. Rather isolated. We had the place to ourselves and all 3 or 4 structures were easily accessible inside and out. This was 15 years ago...
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The quality of the lab definitely matters. Just because a lab does in-house E6 processing does not guarantee good results. Slides can be scratched, mis-cut, left with little black flecks embedded in them, dust, etc.
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I use Canon 85mm 1.8 with screw-on close-up filters (Nikon 5T and 6T) and a tripod. A question for all the above posters: are you taking your detail shots on tripod or handheld usually?
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I'm not aware of any changes. The 420ex probably came out around the year 2000. A new one at B&H should run around $170, and an excellent used one around $150. Nice flash.
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Silvio's in Torrance, also on Hawthorne Blvd. Not too far from Paul's Photo. You could easily visit both.
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I would buy a used ElanIIe again, from KEH. Very nice camera and very affordable.
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A dark filter can eat 2 stops of light. If your camera has TTL metering it should automatically account for this. If it doesn't have TTL, then you need to manually add more exposure. Somehow you really underexposed your XP2.
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Get in the habit of re-checking all camera/flash settings throughout the day, especially the settings you are most likely to need to change at different times throughout the day. For example, indoors: camera in Manual mode, flash switch set to Manual mode, flash compensation at +1; outdoors: camera in Av mode, flash switch set to high speed sync, flash compensation at -2. On my camera the metering mode button can switch if bumped, so I always recheck it through the day. I also recheck camera battery status indicator as the day goes on.
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If you give them a digital file to produce quality 4x6 prints, there is nothing that can prevent them from making a 5x7 or 8x10 from it. The quality may suffer, but it may very well be good enough to satisfy them.
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I've photographed engaged couples at the beach with only an 85mm on a film body. Works fine. There's plenty of room to back up if needed for full-length shots. But it depends on what kind of images you like to create. 100mm on a film body should work fine. If you have a digital camera with 1.6 crop factor 100mm may be a bit long.
Hoya on Canon
in Canon EOS Mount
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