ed farmer - mount laurel,

I never had light fall off problems with my Zi. I sold it for completely different reasons.

The purple sounds like the sensitizing dye used in TMX and TMY. I now shoot mostly Tri-X, but used to see this all the time in the pre-wash and developer with TMY. I am more surprised that it is the first time that you have seen it.

I also suspect that this was a fixed focus lens. My guess is that the "softness" was an alignment issue or something similar.

Are you sure the the loaded reel was in the bottom of the tank? It sounds like you did not have the film fully immersed in the developer or (water) stop.

Either camera will work for you. But, the rangefinder will not work well for close ups and the F5 can be pretty heavy to carry around. However, all of your current Nikon lenses will work with the F5 and this is a decided atvantage.

What are you going to do with the camera?

For me that answer is that the aperture chosen will have a substantial affect on the image produced, while the shutter speed (within reason) will not. Because of this, I would prefer to select the aperture, to get the image I want, and allow the camera to select the shutter speed.

Vishal,

 

How many boards did you post this on?

I knew that film was dead when Nikon discontinued the F2

This is exactly what happens when the FE's batteries are dead. Make sure that they are installed correctly and even try another freash set. If this does not work, you may be having an electrical problem.

It sounds to me like the combination is not opening the aperture when installed on the camera. You should be able verify this by looking through the front of the lens when you install it on the camera. Try it with and without the TC in place. Seven stops would be just about right if the lens were stopped down completely.

I have not shot HIE in years. But, I was at a seminar with a very good IR wedding photographer last year. His advice, EI 640, No. 29 filter, aperture priority@f1(eliminates IF focus problems), process in straight TMAX developer for the recommended D-76 time and print. He says that he does not bracket any more as this gives him correctly and evenly exposed shots.

 

I an not sure how helpful this will be, but there you are.

I'll also suggest a pair of N90s, although you could start with one N90 and use your N65 as backup. As for as focusing in dark reception halls, you have to look at the lens in use as well. An f2.8 lens, like the 28-35 Nikkor or 28-105 Tamron, will let in a lot more light than the comsumer lens you probably got with your N65. Start with the better lens and see if you still have a focus problem with the N65 before getting rid of it.

Does it actally say "flood" or does it say "fld"? It could be for balancing flouresents.

Replace the batteries.

I also doubt that your fixer is bleaching the film. There are few things that you should check:

 

1) Is your camera or meter set correctly when you are shooting this film. If you are bulk loading, if doubt that your film canisters are DX coded. Make wure that your meter is set at ISO 400 (or better yet 250 or 320).

 

2) Dump all of your premixed chemistry and mix up new stuff. Be very careful to mix everything acording to the package instructions. Make sure that you get all of the dilutions correct. Also, make sure that everything goes into properly marked containers.

 

3) Look at the edges of your processed film. Kodak exposes film identification marks on the film edges. Your processed film should clearly say "Kodak Tri-X" or some such thing on the edges. If not, you have something clearly wrong with your processing sequence, such as fixing the film before developing (you may have mixed the developer and fixer and placed them into the wrong containers. This is the reason for number 2 above.)

 

4) Please keep us informed and let everyone here helping you know how you are making out.

The 8mm is not going to be a great travel lens. This lens produces a circular image in the center of the frame. The remainder of the frame will be black. This is really a special effects lens.

 

A semi-fisheye is not really a "travel lens" either. There is a large amount of distortion anywhere other than at the center of the image.

 

If you are looking for a super-wide lens for travel shots, you will want a "rectilinear" lens. This will represent squares as squares (within reason.) There are some lenses as wide as 14mm (I use a 14f3.5 Sigma) but most are in the 17-20 range.

I have never been sure that I buy into this whole subject, but I will throw my 2 cents in. As I have read bokeh is related to the shape of the aperture. The closer to round the aperture, the better the out of focus highlights are. This would seem to mean that almost any lens would have good bokeh when used wide open. It is only when stopped down that the number of aperture blades would begin to affect the shape.

The 150 is not <i>sharp</i> at any aperture. I still have one, but never really got used to it. The 180 is an excellent allaround lens. Get yourself a few Tiffen Soft/Fx filters (a #2 and #3 work for me.)

Tri-X (@250) or TMZ (@1000) in PMK. Or, TMX in TMax.

Go for the Quantum. I use mine on manual with my RBs all the time. One big advantage is the the TTL is there if you want it later.

The problem could also be with the lens. There have been problems with old Sigma lenses getting stuck on some Nikon bodies. I think that the EM was one of them.

 

I was once looking at a 500mm mirror Sigma lens at a swap meet. The vendor mounted it to an FM or FM2 and when I decided to buy it, could not get it off of the body. He asked if I wanted the body as well.

It's hard to give you advice, if you don't even tell us what it is you have to sell.

Frankly, I have found that the F4 doesn't focus fast enough, or well enough for much wedding work. But, an F5 is overkill. Take a look at the F100 and N90S.

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