michael_riggs

<p>I'm looking at cutting down on my photography arsenal (dang government budget cuts) and am not sure what 35mm camera to trade off.<br>

I have a few rolls of Rollie and Efke IR film, and I'm not sure if they are as sensitive to the ir film advancing sensor inside the camera as the Kodak HIE is. Are they? I use a Kodak 10s for IR work, but can I also use my Elan 7E for these or will it fog the film? The 10s is ok, but the Elan is better for metering, has more features, and the batteries are more common.</p>

<p>I'm headed to Dominician Republic for my honeymoon, do I really need to register my gear with customs so they know I had it before I left the country? I have the form on my computer, it's just a matter of getting to the office before I leave.</p>

<p>I have one IS lens but use it rarely.<br>

The problem is when I turn the camera on it does not function at all, screens are blank.<br>

I have firmware version 1.1.1, that's the last one I got notification on.<br>

I bought the camera a little over a year ago and the batteries are that old too.<br>

The longest it goes without being used is about a week.<br>

Camera and batteries are stored indoors in a dresser that only contains camera gear.<br>

I'll start taking the batteries out when I'm not using it and see if that resolves the problem, along with the removing/reinserting battery trick.<br>

This has been very educational, thanks guys!</p>

<p>Lately I noticed a few times when I've gone to power up my camera the battery has no juice. I know the battery wasn't dead when I last used it and I have not use it for more than an hour at a time. Could it be time for (gulp) servicing? One battery is Canon factory and one is generic, and I charge them to full power as soon as I take it out of the camera.</p>

<p>Richard,<br>

Well, I can tell you that straw was the fact that she was still "girlfriend" after <em><strong>5</strong> <strong>years</strong> </em> , not necessarily the camera gear. My wife understands this is my hobby and it makes me happy to go out and create some artwork.<br>

As for a lens recommendation, well, that's what I red the post for also.</p>

<p>You're welcome Charles. Actually, after double-checking my stock I have 4 rolls, perhaps 1 will end up on eBay to help pay for said wedding.</p>

<p>I have 3 rolls of Kodachrome 25 left. One will be for my wedding, one for fall foilage, and one for family pics. It'll be great to have shots that don't fade over time, but will I be able to dig up a slide projector in 50 years?</p>

I bought my 40D last week, slightly prompted by the rebates.

Nadine, I disagree. From the work I've done using infrared can make an mediocre scene/setting much more interesting because it's presented in an unusual way.

 

Bob, I'm doing this as a hobbyist. The bride specifically requested "nothing too fancy", and it's an informal ceremony, so I feel a wedding contract isn't necessary. I'm not going to be that photographer who does a 2 hour long bridal shoot in 90 degree weather before the ceremony.

Also, should I choose to put some of the pics in my portfolio, would I need a model release?

I'm doing my first wedding gig in 2 weeks and I'm searching for ideas on how to make some shots stand out and

make a lasting impression. It's going to be a short, informal ceremony at a park with the reception at a nearby

church. No fancy outfits. No grand production. Just family and a few friends. I'm trying to come up with some ideas

for distinctive shots, and need help. There is a marble statue of Christ outside the church, and I already have a roll of

IR film for the 645 camera slated for those shots. I plan on formal group shots at the park and candid shots and the

reception. I'll check out the park this weekend and see what I have to work with there. Any ideas people?

I use the Sigma 120-300 for wildlife and it is great. It's versitile and produces good images. It's weight without IS/VR requires a monopod/tripod, and the short hood allows for light to hit the front glass element more than it should - ruining the occasional shot. The new version comes with the upgraded tripod collar and has improved lens coating. If you use a camera with a 1.6x sensor factor, slap on a 2x converter and you get a 960mm 5.6 lens for under $3000 with minimal distortion.

Looks like Freestyle has cheaper shipping. Thanks guys

Blarg, MDC cover what I need, and John, HC-110 sound like a good idea because I won't be producing a huge volume of film. Thanks guys.

What I'm trying to find out is if there's a developer that works with all four films. Right now I'm just putting my darkroom together; with the high cost of developing IR film being the catalyst, and want to keep the number of chemicals to a minimum for budget purposes.

OK, so I'm tired of paying $40 or so to get a roll of IR film developed at the

lab and am in the process of getting my own developing system for home. My

question is what developer works for HIE, Maco/Efk, and Rollie?

B&H doesn't have it listed yet. It would be for 35mm and 120 sizes.

Henry, Julian, and puppy, thanks for the advice. I feel confident that I can fix it myself. I'm just waiting for the ebay auction to end and for the Elan to return to the camera store. Although, I'm a 28 year old bachelor, so I don't exactly have crochet hooks lying about.

OK, I found the part on Ebay for $10. Is there any special tweezer I need for the spring? If I can fix it for 1/15th of what the factory wanted that would be fantastic.

Well, it finally happened. I slipped while taking a picture and broke my

camera. Just the tiny little latch on the body that the film door hooks on to

broke off and now my camera is unusable. Simple repair, right? Nope. $150 the

service center says. I can buy another used version of my camera cheaper or

possibly the newer model. But I'm stubborn and want to try and fix it myself.

And I'm a cheapskate. I've tried to find a servie manual online that would

provide instructions but all I've found are diagrams of the parts and advanced

user guides. Does anybody know where one is hiding at? The older questions

posted don't provide info I haven't already found.

 

kthxbia...

I got the film back and what do ya know, NO scratches. Looks like the lab is the culprit. I also found out my Sigma 120-300 needs to be stopped down on sunny days. After my next trip to Yellowstone, I'm saving up for my own darkroom.

A local shop was selling expired SFX for $3 a roll, so I bought a few and used one as a test roll. Played around with different filters and ISO to get an idea of what settings to use, then 2/3 through the roll I switched it to my Elan7E, and started where I left off. Had another lab develop it. If the scratch stops at frame 25, camera's fault. If no scratch it's either the lab's fault or a possible bad roll. I used compressed air to clean both cameras before use. Neither appeared to have any problems.

The scratch was perfectly straight, but shifted position a few mm about half way through the roll. The camera was clean upon inspection after the film was taken out. I loaded the film in a room without light. I'll keep an eye on the light traps from now on. Thanks gents, now off to test another roll.

Thanks guys. I ended up with the DG version, about 2 months after I ordered it. It's sweeeeeeet. Not to find those bears...

Update:

 

I got the full Black Widow head and it's amazing! I put my medium format 500mm f/5.6 (which is about 12 lbs.) on and it can be moved easily by one finger and stays where I put it.