h.d._shin

With the WL finder, I find the RZ with the 110 mm lens quite handholdable. I can get 1/8s shots with critical sharpness on 8x10 prints fairly consistently - the mass of the camera seems to help keep it steady.

 

If you're doing B&W work, I'd definitely get the RZ. 6x7 seems significantly sharper than 645 in BW, less so in color.

Spidey, where the heck is that bookstore?

I owned the M645 Pro for several years and handled the 645N several times in a store.

 

I originally picked the Mamiya to switch between B&W and positive backs, but in practice never really did this ? finished off a roll and went to the next. Another reason was polaroid backs, but in practice never felt the need for one. I don't shoot in studio settings, so this could be more important for you. Yet another reason was the 80 F/1.9 lens, but I never bought that either ? ended up happy with a 45 mm, 110, and 150.

 

The M645 viewfinder's a bit dark; the Pentax viewfinder is spectacular - large and seemingly losing no light through the lens and prism - one of the best SLR viewfinders I've ever seen.

 

The M465 is bulky with a prism. With either of the power grips, it's both bulky and heavy. The Pentax 645N seems in comparison positively svelte ? the prism housing doesn't seem to occupy any space. General handling seemed better thought out, as with the 35 mm Pentax SLRs, including the two tripod sockets for vertical or horizontal orientation ? that's one feature I often wished for on the M645.

 

The Mamiya with power grip was the noisiest camera I ever owned. I can still hear the clatter set off by the shutter button. I can't remember what the Pentax sounded like.

 

I loved the Mamiya despite its faults, but I'd get the Pentax if I were choosing today.

It's not a quiet sound, and it's one of the less pleasant SLR mirror/shutter sounds I've heard - makes one wonder what exactly's happening to make that particular sound.

That's not normal. Sounds like a bad electrical contact. Try scrubbing the contacts (both on the body and grip sides) with a pencil eraser.

While living in Japan, I pored through the Japanese photo mags. Now that I'm back home (US), I'd rather get my hands on Asahi Camera or Nippon Camera. Natural Glow seemed pretty unremarkable.

I second sterlingtek.com. Bought 2 BP511A equivalents for $12.95 each, no problems encountered in two months of use.

Yes, Mark, I meant focal length, not aperture.

 

To D. Kord, thanks for posting those pictures - very useful - barrel distortion at 12mm looks very modest.

But not, it seems at B&H.

 

I've been waiting for this lens, but it looks like I'll get the Tokina

12-24 f/4.0 instead when it comes back in stock.

 

Compared to the Tokina, the Tamron is (a) no smaller; (b) slower at

every stop; © $70 more expensive. Disappointing. Boo, hiss.

Alternately, use the time saved from manually spotting dust (the Nikon has ICE, the Scan Dual doesn't) to improve your Photoshop skills or take more pictures.

I thought the HCB riposte was playful and affectinate, not a witty putdown. At that point I'm sure he knew Newton wouldn't take it amiss.

 

I wonder what was different from Newton's taking his snaps and David Duncan. I remember some flap concerning some portrait snaps DDD took during a visit.

I own the USM 28 f/1.8, and I'm happy with it. I shoot with it at 1.8-2.8 all the time - would have gotten the 2.8 if I didn't - and have never had cause to complain of softness due to the lens itself. Some pictures are unacceptably soft, but that's due to camera shake, since I'm working at the margins of adequate shutter speeds.

 

The differences in sharpness so apparent when boiled down to one number versus another are in better perspective when you see actual photos - there's a difference sometimes, but you really have to go looking for it, which I generally don't.

 

I considered the Sigma alternative, but it's big, and I wanted something to serve in place of a compact 50 on a film camera. (The USM 28mm is exactly the size of my 50 f/1.4.)

 

If the lens is for a digital body, Sigma's announced a 30mm f/1.4, though it might be a long time before it's actually in stores.

The ZM lenses (M for Leica M mount) aren't Contax/Kyocera, they're products of a new partnership between Zeiss & Cosina.

You can do quite a lot with the EF 28mm F/1.8 lens (or the EF 35 f/2.0), and the 20d's 3200 is completely usable. Even with normally lit home interiors I generally don't need a flash. That extra stop is important - I'm almost always shooting at f/2.0 or f/2.8.

TMax and the Agfa B&W films are cheap, too (I think both around $2 even). I like APX100. I sorta like TMax 100, though it's the next best thing to TechPan as far as grain and resolving power go.

 

TriX used to be cheap, but isn't now.

Thanks. That clears things up.

Quick question: Does the M7 shutter sound significantly different from

the M6 shutter (being metal vs. cloth)? Is it louder?

I don't subscribe to any of them, but do drop into the B&N cafe for lunch and perusal thorugh the latest photomags, including CameraArts and LensWork. I was hoping Aperture would be bit livelier than either.

 

The back catalog of Aperture issues actually appears more interesting (I didn't realize until yesterday that these weren't individual monographs, but simply back issues of Aperture the magazine). It looks like you can look up various issues, then order back issues if something strikes your fancy. Used copies are available as well from various places.

 

A while back, I bought a copy of Photographers on Photographers - not a monograph, it turns out, but Aperture issue # 151 - for a Helen Levitt piece, but ended up delighted with some of the B&W slice-of-life photos. I was hoping Aperture might turn out to have about that tone.

Does anyone subscribe to this? If so, were you pleased/disappointed

with the content? I came across it while surfing the Aperture

foundation site - haven't seen it at the local B&N.

 

Sorry to post this question here; didn't see a less inappropriate forum.

Thanks, Stephen...<div></div>

I give up. What's the trick to posting pictures in line? I thought it was no larger than 500 pixels in any direction and < 100k.

Two sisters whose parents ran a Korean grocery nearby. They were out

playing hopscotch. As I was walking away, I noticed a scooter propped

against the wall with their last name - Shin.

Maybe the good sultain traded one in for a squadron of F22s.

Dooooohhh. OK, it's the window after you click Submit.<div></div>

Sheldon, I'm not seeing that at all. I click Contribute Answer and get the usual Your Response fields for text messages: "Subject:", "Answer", the plain text/HTML option, and the Submit button.