david_gillich

<p>Mona Kuhn</p>

<p>http://monakuhn.com/</p>

I have an Epson 4870 flatbed that I've used for a few years for scanning 6x6 negatives. Recently I bought an Epson 3800 printer and decided that the quality of the scans from the 4870 were not good enough for my new printer. So, I bought a Nikon 9000 last month. I have not used it much yet, but I did just scan a couple negatives yesterday with the glass film holder, and the scans are fantastic. They are sharp and the color is perfect. It is a lot of money, but depending on what you want to do with the images once you scan them, it may be worth it.

I started using medium format with a Seagull 109. It took great pictures, but it became unreliable very quickly. Within six weeks it stopped spacing the frames properly and then by the end of three months it froze completely. I sent it to the service center, and they kept it for about three months. When it returned, it looked worse then when I sent it, and I have not bothered to try it again to see if it works. While it was gone, I bought a Hasselblad, and I have no reason to ever use the Seagull again. I have a friend who wanted to buy it from me cheap, but I have so little confidence in it that I could not allow him to pay me money for it. When it worked, it did take nice pictures.

I do not know if she qualifies as a "master" since I believe she is under 50, but she is by far my most favorite still life photographer. She uses a 4x5 and color film. Check her out at the link below. -David

 

http://www.monacoreps.com/gallery/lletinsky.html

I like my Markins Q-Ball. I bought it to handle my Shen Hoa 4x5. I bought a Quick release shoe for the Shen Hoa, and they made a nice custom one for my Hasselblad, too. I got a metal gray one that looks very nice on my Gitzo Explorer. I like that the Markins ballhead has a "detent pin" to stop your camera from sliding out. You also buy them from Canada, so they are cheaper. Overall, I am very happy with the look and performance of the ballhead I bought.

I own a Gitzo Explorer with a Gitzo head. When I bought a 4x5, I bought a Giotto MT-9180 to have something taller that I could use without extending a center column and because I did not need to buy a head to use it. At the time, I did not want to spend a lot of money on a new head, so I bought the Giotto. At first it seemed like a nice tripod, but I have grown to dislike it. Everything the Explorer is, fast, light and simple to use, the Giotto is not. After a couple of months, the twist lock legs stopped working correctly so that the legs would get locked in place, and it would take me several mintues to unlock them. The tripod is not very sturdy or easy to use outside on hills. I got frustrated and decided to buy a new head for my Gitzo and use it for my Hassy and 4x5. Now I don't use the Giotto at all. Basically, my Giotto has taught me how great my Gitzo is. If you can afford a better tripod, I would buy it over the Giotto. Personally, I love my Gitzo with a Markins head.

Hi Simon. I just bought a Hassy last February. I considered a Bronica, but I did not want to spend money on one camera to then wish it were another. Digital is the future, but digital is not there for me yet. I like a waist level viewfinder, so a digital camera was out. I figure I can turn my Hassy into a digital camera by buying a digital back in the future. I bought a Cobalt Blue 501CM kit with the 80 CFE lens. There is one on the auction site no one seems to want to name right now. I paid $3,000, and the same thing is just $2,250 now. I thought, if I was going to buy a fancy expensive camera, I might as well get something cool like a blue one. My Hassy is fantastic! I cannot imagine ever getting rid of it. I haven't even touched my digital camera since I bought it. I am glad I got what I wanted and not something more affordable or practical. Good luck choosing! David

I bought this camera last Fall (OCT04)to try medium format. I thought it took nice pictures and was small and light, but by JAN05, the entire camera seized up and stopped working altogether. I sent it for repair, since it was under warranty (less than 3 months of use), and it took over four months for the camera to be returned. Once I got it back, the camera looked worse than when I sent it for repair, and I do not trust that it actually works now. Last February(05), I bought a Blue 501CM, and I have never looked back. The Seagull took nice pictures, but it was completely unreliable. It was a wasted $200 on my part since I do not feel I could sell it given how unreliable it was.

I just started scanning color images last spring and printing them on my R800/R1800. I am extremely happy with the results, and am now also looking for a B&W alternative.

 

I considered buying a 2400, but with an R800 and an R1800, I just don't want to buy another printer. Inkjetmall just introduced their new K7 inks. I am excited to try them because they are formulated to work well in the new Epson printer heads. They are also formulated to be the same ph as epson inks, so you do not have to flush the old ink before you can use these inks. This means that you can interchange the inks whenever you want. I want to buy some and try them on my R800. I bought sample prints from inkjetmall, and they are better than any of my darkroom prints. (I am not the best darkroom printer.) For me this is the only way to go for printing B&W images.

 

The 2400 is supposed to be good for B&W, but I am sure that it cannot compete with the 7 neutral gray inks from inkjetmall's new k7 inks. They should be out for the R800/R1800 this week, and I intend to buy them immediately. You could possibly buy a used/refurbished 2200 and buy this inkset as well.

Hi Randall,

Checkout the website below. I haven't been to NY in a couple months (I need to go!), but a quick look at the exhibitions calendar shows a Lee Friedlander show downtown that sounds interesting. I like to walk around Chelsea and check stuff out, but if you are only interested in photography, the MOMA has a small but nice collection on permanent display. It is impressive to see so many great works together in one room - that is, if you can see around the mobs of people. Have fun! David

 

www.photography-guide.com