ni_gentry

Basic question, I know but... was wondering what people use to clean

their lenses. There are different types of micro-fiber cloths. Is

any one better than the others? Do you use a cleaning solution or

not? Thank You

I recently got a good deal on a used Epson 2200 and starting to try

different papers. I'm finding that I like the smooth tones on matte

paper better than the look/feel of glossy or semi-gloss paper so

far. I come from a traditional darkroom background and it just seems

like the glossy type papers look too "digital" while the matte is

closer to traditional photo matte paper. I would really like to

find somehting that comes close to the look and feel of traditional

glossy fiber based paper, if that's possible.<br><br>

Anyway, the problem right now is the contrast I'm getting with matte

paper seems to be flatter than with the glossy/semi-gloss papers.

The max black just isn't black enough with matte. I've only tried

the epson and ilford papers so far (and yes, I'm using the correct

black ink for the paper). Any recommendations... tips for gettting

better max black and contrast for matte papers, brands of matte and/

or glossy/semi-glossy papers to try.<br><br>

Thanks in advance for your comments.

Thanks to those responses so far. Maybe I could add that I love film grain, and a lot of my questioning centers around the grain structure of these films... Which has "crisper" grain? Which would provide the finest grain when processed normal or slightly pulled? Which has the largest grain (and most pleasing grain structure) when pushed? and how much shadow detail is retained when pushed? I know it's all about tradeoffs, and what's best under one category almost certainly won't be best under another, but you have to know the parameters to be able to make the right tradeoffs, right? And yes, I will eventually get around to doing my own testing.

Would like to hear some opinions and comments about a good all-

around ISO 400 b&w film in 120 medium format. Not interested in T-

grain or C41 black and white (not that they're bad, just not what I

want for this project). My priorities (in no particular order) are

tonality, fine grain, sharpness, lattitude, pushability up to 3200.

I shoot mostly APX100 and FP4+ in 120 now. Have tried HP5+ a bit,

but thinking about trying either it or Tri-X (the 400TX version I

think?) or Neopan 400 for an upcoming trip where I'll need more

speed than the ISO 100 films, so I'd like to get some comparisons.

In addition to HP5, I've dabbled in Tri-X but only in 35mm. I have

no personal experience with Neopan, but have heard about and seen

great printed results from this film.<br><br> Don't really have time

to do proper testing right now on all these films, so I'd appreciate

some opinions, comparisons, and hopefully examples of your favorite

400 film rated/processed at different speeds to help me pick just

one to suss out. I'll be shooting with a Mamiya 6. My first choice

of developer is XTOL, second is Rodinal.

Anybody have experience pushing slow films like APX100 and FP4? I

am going on a trip and would like to carry just one type of film

with me. I want a slow/fine grain film for sure, but will probably

run into cases wehre I need to something in the 400 to 800 ISO

range. Can I push either of these films that high with acceptable

results? What developer would you recommend?

It's that time of year and I've made a bit of money last year with

my photography (some portrait and event work). NOt much, and when

you consider the equipment costs, I've got a loss. I've got other

people advising, but I wanted to get some thoughts and

recommendations from working photographers about how to file as a

Sole Proprietor. I've tried to keep receipts and draw up contracts

for most gigs. What else should I be doing?

<br><br>

I file in California and I don't have anyone working for me. This is

the first year I'm adding Photography as a business to my return. I

also have a regular day job.<br><br>

thanks

Are there any good laptops that let you plug in a second monitor and

use it along with the built-in lcd for a dual head display setup? I

want to use the laptop's display for photoshop palettes, etc. while

using a bigger/better external monitor for image editing... would

prefer a DVI connection to the external.....also would prefer a

windows machine since that's what I've been using.