michael_p6

I'm fairly new to this medium format scanning thing; I use an Epson 4990 to scan mostly transparencies. I use the rocket blower generously ince the film is mounted to remove the dust. Using a strong-ish light to check the reflections on the surface is a good idea too.

Also, on that flatbed scanner, I also clean the two glass panes, and then use the blower on them before I put the film mount on them.

All in all, I get *very little* dust, on a 3200dpi scan (7000x7000 roughly) it takes about 5 to 10 minutes to clean in up afterward using a small cheap Wacom "Graphire" tablet and the spot healing tool in photoshop.

To comb the picture at 100%, I use a combination of the tablet and the mouse-wheel to scroll down "columns" of pixels, then switch one "page" horizontaly and start moving verticaly in the other direction using the wheel, healing dust bits as I go.

I noticed that scanning negatives is a lot more work to clean than transparencies. I don't know why, maybe the negative film is more prone to "catch" dust/fibers. I also found that "fixing" black specks (as with transparencies) is a lot easier than white speks (as with negatives)

Normaly you can cock & shoot without the back, so first try to make sure the camera, without the back, works properly. If so, you'll know you have a problem with the back only.

Might be a good idea to look at the place where the "sensor" is; the one that detects the slide is in or out, maybe it's stuck, or the pin from the camera can't go in far enough in the back... When the back is removed and you look at the back of the camera, the "sensor" is at the bottom left. Try to oush it in/out several tines to see if it moves freely. And check that the corresponding "hole" in the back is not damaged/bent...

Good luck !

Check the threads in the past couple weeks, we discussed the problem and there seems to be an issue with the mirror getting "stuck" due to ageing of the rubber joint.

In my case the shutter in some case can "lag"; I experienced that only in very cold weather; and I just got the films back from the day I discovered the issue and they are perfect, so it's just a minor annoyance, I'll ignore it ! :D

They are not just great looking, they make excellent photographs, I'm completely blown away with the results one can get out of this antiquity!

For the changing of the foam, it's very simple, and nothing can go wrong as far as alignement is concerned; the foam pressed the screen in a fixed position anyway so there is no calibration issue.

If you know your way around a screwdriver and have some replacement foam (anything that is about 2mm deep will do) you just have to remove two screws after you remove the focusing tent and the focus screen holder will come out easily.

Also make sure you put back the screen and the glass in the same orientation as they were, otherwise it might seem to fit back in, but focus will be wrong!

After that it's just a question of cleaning the old gunky stuff, make sure not to break the ground glass or touch the plastic surface too much...

As for changing the screen itself, the "why" is because when using the 78mm f2.8 lens it's OK, but when using my 50mm f3.5 it's indeed quite dark... So when you have removed these two screws it's easy to manipulate the screen and try a replacement.

I tried a really cheap "made in china" screen, and had to cut it to size to fit the S2A. It worked just fine (the microprisms in the center etc) and it was somehow brighter but I tought it wasn't as precise on the rest of the screen. Thats why I changed back to the original one after all, that gound glass may be old, but it's nice and precise..

I'm certain I could find something better. Someone on this list mentioned using a Hassy screen and cut it to size, it'd probably be better too... I'll give it a go in the near future...

Regarding focusing screen alone, it's a very very easy operation to do yourself. I changed the foam on mine, and also switched focusing screen to a prism one (originaly sold for Pentacon 6 cameras) before switching back.

For CLA yes I might try to contact Bronica UK, maidenhead is very near were I live !

Thanks for the list !

I'm in the UK, it would cost more then the price of the whole system to have it shipped oversea, CLAed and shipped back.

Despite that small lag, just that day, it works fine! I just wondered if it was a known thing, I'm very new to mecanical cameras :-)

I was shooting outside on saturday morning, and actualy missed the

first shot (I shoot handheld) because the camera took about 1/2s to 1s

between the time I pressed the shurtter and the time the shutter

actualy fired.

After that I held steady until the shutter fired, and I had small

delays varying from 1/2 to the normal "instant" without any particular

reason..

Is it a known symptom in cold weather ? I had the camera around the

neck, not in a bag...

Sacrifice one film. I have one film I use to test my backs now and then, I re-roll it on a spoll and pass it back into the camera to check the spacing and advance. That allows you to be dure your next film will be fine... Or to know your back needs servicing.

I have one back that can get "stuck" in the first exposure of the film; afterward it's cool but the very first exposure is risky. Not sure what causes it, but that "sacrificed" film picked the problem early on!

(Bronica S2A here)

Thanks Marc-Antoine. I looked on eeBay for possible alternative, and found one here :

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7561376575&ssPageName=MERC_VIC_RSCC_Pr4_PcN_BIN_Stores_IT

It's *very* cheap, and arrived soon enough. I liked te fact it had rangefinder-like prism and tought it ought to be better than the 35 years old original.

So I cut to to size and it worked in the S2A easily enough, however it wasn't any "brighter" and yes, the prisms at the center helped but the fresnel were a lot worse than the original, and the overall sharpness on the rest of the screen was affected a lot... So it was in the end less precise on the whole frame than the original.

I went back to the original glass+plastic fresnel :-/

Now back to the lookout for the model you mentioned !

Indeed it is a bad idea; the link you usualy click to "answer" the phishing has a key that is unique to your email. So all you are doing by answering *at all* or even clicking the link is to tell them the email was read, and possibly your IP address (thus more or less precise localisation)

*never* click on spam links, *never* download their images if you can configure your email program for that.

Don't click!

<p>I bought a 4990. The scans

I do at 3200dpi are very satisfactory. I use 3200 because I can still process

these fast, while 4800 drives my computer (with 2GB of RAM) totaly ashmatic.</p>

<p>I don't use ICE. The process is stupidly long (about 1/2h) I'd rather use

the graphic tablet and clone the odd dust out of the sky that watching grass

grow.</p>

<p>I

still

have

to

work

(a

lot)

on

the

workflow

but with minimal sharpening I get very good results, I think. Here is a sample

photograph. The "full frame" is reduced from

a bit more than 6600x6600 (45 megapixels) to 800x800 here :<br>

<img src="http://oomz.net/scaled/66/img-3200-018.jpg"> </p>

<p>And here are two crops.

Obviously I could get better apparent result by sharpening more, but I worked on

reducing the grain/noise, not really on the maximum sharpening just as yet. </p>

<p><img src="http://oomz.net/scaled/66/img-3200-018-1.jpg">

<img src="http://oomz.net/scaled/66/img-3200-018-2.jpg">

</p>

</p>

<p>I asked several time for real samples of scanned output at various resolution.

but it seems people prefer to argue about issues than

to actualy get on with it and post the best they can get out of their kits.

I mean 100% crops are not hard to get. So if you people have scanner brand

"A" and have a strong opinion about it, well post sample pictures, with crops

so

we can

see for

outselves.

Otherwise

I

feel the discussion is totaly pointless.</p>

<p>Also, that shot was handheld, at probably 1/250 f8 or so with Provia 100F;

on a Bronica S2A with a Nikkor 75mm f2.8 lens. And yes I know the shadows

are blown.This is my second roll of slide film, ever, I improved a bit since

! </p>

I do suspect the MF can deliver, on the film; my problem is how to get it from the film into the computer really. Seems the prints I get from these films are prints-from-scan anyway, so I'd rather make sure the scan is done properly with a process I can control.

So should I just trigger the credit card and get a 4990 ? I mean, considering the cost of the lowres scans I get, the scanner price will be covered in about 20 films or so... (?284 at amazon, with free delivery)

Or is there an alternate scanner that is worth looking into, in the same price range ? (or less, of course :->)

It's sad to have to blow that amount of money still, it's a lot more than the price I paid for the camera, and I'd rather buy a 50mm but ....

I'm also very interested in that subject. I get my transparencies scanned at my local Fuji lab, but the files are about 9MP (3000x3000), a bit noisy, and the dynamic range is nowhere near what is on the plastic on the lightable.

Oh, and my Canon 350D gives me better results (range, clarity) on the same scene.

So I'm really curious as how you guys get your 120 films scanned, to get enough to print "poster size".

The various reviews of scanners always show bits and pieces of shots, but I have never seen a 10000x10000 complete scan (for example) of a slide available for download; in JPEG2000 is would'nt be THAT large in our days of broadband.

So I still have no idea of the amount of details/range I can expect with MF. So far, my suposedly crummy digital camera wins...

I'm trying to get my transparencies processed and scanned to a very

high resolution (4800 dpi?). So far I found places to process, but the

scans are laughables : my most recent experience gave me 2.4

megapixels (1600x1600) 'high resolution' JPEG files. Right.

Does anyone know a mail order place that could make me proper scans in

the UK ? Possibly at the same time as the processing ?

I'm new to MF, so I'd rather buy a wide angle lens than have to buy my

own scanner ! And if I can't get high resolution scans, there is

little reason to actualy bother with MF kit at all!

Is there a replacement ground glass/focusing screen for Bronica S2A ?

I read somewhere that someone hacked a Kiev 88 screen and adapted it,

but I just can't find that information again.

Are there other people who have done that ? What about a split-prism

screen ?

I gave up on that one finaly, it must have been in a car crash or something (jk) some parts are slightly bended and I just can't get a reliable shutter; and somehow it only works with the back off.

Anyway, I learned a lot about the inside of the S2A now, whatever good it does me, I'm going to find another, properly working one. I really like the feel of them ! And I like the no-battery deal too somehow.

So nobody ever serviced a Bronica around here ? No information? Is it "lore" that is kept under guard so people can attempt to charge an arm and a leg for service ?

Even the "mega site" for bronica has vanished somehow. 404 and no alternate link :-/

I managed to make some progress, I can sort of cycle the camera by applying a bit of "help" one a couple places with a screwdriver tip. It seems to me the camera was stored when winded, and it out some pressure on the brass, bending it a little.

As anyone got the servicing manual in electronic form for me ? I'd like to take it appart, but appart frim the obvious back plate, it looks like some janese puzzle !

Thanks in advance !

I received my Bronica this morning (first MF!), and the "mecanicaly

perfect" camera turns out to be nighmarish. The shutter is jammed

somehow. The mirror is down, the cloth is covering the viewfinder, and

the top (second?) cloth is over the back, while the bottom (first?)

cloth is spolled in the underneath.

I tried to crank the lever, and it clicks gently but doesn't lock nor

blocks...

Also, by peering inside, it seems it is lacking a metalic cache to the

left, where there is one in the right; this is the cache that has the

indentation for the lens. I an not sure if it has other function.

If I manualy push the mirror up, and pull the viewfinder cloth under

the ground glass (thst I took off), it comes up about 2/3 then blocks.

I have no idea how to reset it into it's "original" state...

Anyone has an idea if this is an easy fix ? I'm fairly good with

tools, and I have quite a lot of mecanical experience, as well as

camera (a little) and lens (a lot) servicing.

Also, the back came with no metal plate, any idea if this is easy to

manufacture one, even a temporary one to test the camera, if I can fic

the shutter ?

I *could* return it potentialy, to my cost, and otherwise that camera

looks in great shape, the lens is pristine.

Alternatively, where and how much would be a full service, in the UK?

Thanks !

I am an all-digital person; never cared that much for 35mm; I have 2 Spotmatics collecting dust because I wanted the lens that were attached to them to use on my Canon EOS.

But a few days ago I bought a Bronica S2A, a pocket lightmeter, and 5 rolls of Provia 100F.

And yeah I can't wait to play with that, I'm really interested in seeing something different. I plan to prototype with my Canon, do the metering with it (and get the EXIF !) then duplicate with the 6x6 camera to get "that" depth, resolution and looks.

Why ? Well I did lots of landscapes lately, and I just don't get enough details with my 8MP sensor. So I can either try to improve that with a massively expensive 16MP body (soon to be obsolete anyway, as digital goes) and a $4k Zeiss 21mm Distagon, or I can do the other way around and increase my "sensor" using chemicals !

So yes, I will get the film processed and scanned in one scoop, and maybe I'll even eventualy get a scanner.

Oh, and that gorgeous Bronica was... ?101

I wouldn't be surprised that idea is crossing a lot of minds, too.