jarrod_connerty

Bought one & it seems more than adequate for my heaviest setup, a Wista VX, Fuji 400mm f/8 "T", folding monocular viewer & Quantum radio slave. That's a sprawling eight pounds+ with no problem, and I'd expect it is fine for all but say a gigantic copal 3 telephoto with tons of bellows draw. Much as I like this clamp, it won't stop me from buying a Novoflex Q-Base when that's available, which could be months. I played with a prototype, and not only is it stronger but you can do the affair with one hand. They both have an intermediate phase where you can move the clamp around a bit, but it seems to me that I could accidentally get the plate out of the RRS design whereas that didn't seem possible with the Q-Base. I also like that it makes a sound like the Bogen hex-type clamp when affixed. I'll relocate this B2 LR from atop my Linhof levelling head & put it on a flash bracket.

The Linhof head I speak of (3663) is the same one Arne speaks of.

The best 3-way head I've seen or used for LF is Linhof's Levelling Head, about $400 grey market. Of course the Acratech works wel, too, but I find a 3-way so much easier than a ballhead. Using an excess Arca-type clamp I've got with the Linhof, but as soon as Novoflex's Q-Base is available I'll be ordering one. Finally a much better mousetrap.

If all that's holding you back is the narrower field of view, & you don't mind an obnoxiously large lens with an 82mm thread, <a href=http://www.kievcamera.com/Hartblei.pdf>these</a> lenses give you shift, tilt & still no automatic aperture diaphragm. I could've bought either this or the Mamiya 50, chose the gamble, and would never part with it as long as I continue to shoot the M645. It is a bit sharper than the Mamiya 50 I tested it against the middle apertures, but has less shift.

Do it all the time-even wrote a <a href=http://www01.bhphotovideo.com/default.sph/FrameWork.class?FNC=GetPage__Aindex_html___page=Product_Resources/panoramic_photo.html___SID=F054FF11E80>mini-tutorial</a> on the topic. <a href=http://www.photo.net/photo/372080>Here's</a> an example. It is just as Ellis says; if you want things to line up, you really need your nodal point to be centered, a level camera, and no subject matter on on edge that isn't on the next edge(<I>example; a passing car on the edge of frame A but not on frame B will give the stitching software fits</i>). And even if you do everything correctly, you're still taking pictures about the nodal point with a flat piece of film. So ultimately <i>some</i> distortion is inevitable for all but the Noblex/Widelux/Horizon variant of cameras.<p>I use Panavue Image Assembler, but there's a plethora of good stitching softwares out there. I like the Panavue because it is one of the rarer ones that allows the 'sandwiching' of multiple panoramics. That way you can shift up, make some shots, shift down & do it again, and then put 'em together in the program. Works great. <p>Another issue you'll encounter if you do this via the computer is monster file sizes. I started off doing this with 35mm & a TS-E 45mm Canon lens. With each 35mm slide scanned at 1300dpi, a 14-shot panoramic would exceed 100Mb after the Panavue program was done with it. Then I wanted bigger, sharper prints, so I graduated to a shift lens for the Mamiya 645. These files get so big that you cannot take full advantage of the film's resolution-or at least I cannot with my current computer equipment. Files approach 350-400Mb, and that's a hell of an alligator for a PC with 512Mb to wrestle with. I endure plenty of crashes, and my computer is pretty much stripped down to run on as little Mb as possible in the name of making images. I need more, & wish I wasn't so financially vested in PC as opposed to Mac, which I've heard doesn't crash all the time with big image files. So if I'm having these issues with 645, I can't imagine how bad it would be with a few 4x5 files.<p>Though I respect his opinions, I don't agree with Ellis that the right way to go about it is to only move the rear standard. That's just the same as cropping out a panoramic from a larger piece of film. So if your lens covered 8x10 and used lateral shift to show all of this area with your 4x5, would that really be a panoramic? Not to me. You've gotta rotate the lens to achieve both a wide angle of view and a normal spatial relationship between near & far objects.

...<i>the cost of the camera body is very much what it is about if the camera body is quite liable to become obsolete within a matter of months</i><p>Roy, based on the current cost comparison of MF digital backs vs. film backs, I'd say you'll have more than a few fistfuls of months before the onset of obsolescence.

<a href=http://www02.bhphotovideo.com/default.sph/FrameWork.class?FNC=ProductActivator__Aproductlist_html___257033___GODS___REG___CatID=0___SID=F00DE13DED0>Gossen DigiSix</a> is great.

I'd go with the Metz 34-CS2.

noticed this too. A Schneider lens at what seemed a very reasonable first bid received nothing ending yesterday, and I think it was classified in the new ...optics...lenses... route. Perhaps the conspiracy has merit. Doesn't Ebay realize that it negatively affects bidders searches as well, or r they being shortsighted?

sorry-thought u needed 2 trip the shutter

Get <a href=http://www02.bhphotovideo.com/default.sph/FrameWork.class?FNC=ProductActivator__Aproductlist_html___233735___GECREWA___REG___CatID=0___SID=EF027BB8880>this</a> & your troubles are over.

Save yourself headaches and buy the wideangle ring first. Better

yet, and a more cost effective option, would be to buy the Lee hood

with two filter slots & a 67mm wide angle ring, then put HiTech

filters into the Lee's slots. The standard Lee hood will not

vignette when properly sized for this lens, & I use the HiTech

filters occassionally with my Lee setup and they don't fall thru-

despite being 0.5mm thinner.

$ not the object & lens not being longer than the 80mm...<p>1127 tripod<br>Acratech Ultimate Ballhead with just the 3/8" screw<br>Ideesign Q-Top quick release system.

Scott, this Q-Top doesn't rotate at all when in the vertical orientation. I don't know how it accomplishes this with just O-rings to prevent friction loss, but try one and be amazed. It never loses friction. I desperately tried with an F5 & 85mm f/1.4 to no avail.

Very, very common problem with the non-670 model. Get ready to fork over about $300 to fix it, but it is worth it to have such an ideal travel medium format camera. Nippon camera in NYC does a great job with these cameras. Please stop with the all caps crap, nobody likes that.

Here's specs for both <a href=http://www03.bhphotovideo.com/default.sph/FrameWork.class?FNC=ProductActivator__Aproductlist_html___1908___ARB1QR___REG___CatID=0___SID=ECC97958520>Arca-Swiss B1</a> & <a href=http://www03.bhphotovideo.com/default.sph/FrameWork.class?FNC=ProductActivator__Aproductlist_html___170904___GIG1276M___REG___CatID=0___SID=ECC97958520___call=specs#goto_specifications>Gitzo</a>. <p>Though a devout believer in the B1, I think that it is too heavy and overkill for the 1128 with a Hasselblad 501 & 80mm f/2.8 lens. If your Hassy is current and includes the quick release mechanism built-in on the bottom, why not put the <a href=http://www03.bhphotovideo.com/default.sph/FrameWork.class?FNC=ProductActivator__Aproductlist_html___123311___HATQCS___REG___CatID=0___SID=ECC97958520> Hasselblad release clamp</a> on either a <a href=http://www03.bhphotovideo.com/default.sph/FrameWork.class?FNC=ProductActivator__Aproductlist_html___119671___GIG1275M___REG___CatID=0___SID=ECC97958520___call=specs#goto_specifications> G1275M</a>, <a href=http://www03.bhphotovideo.com/default.sph/FrameWork.class?FNC=ProductActivator__Aproductlist_html___153280___NOMMB___REG___CatID=0___SID=ECC97958520> Mini MagicBall</a> or <a href=http://www03.bhphotovideo.com/default.sph/FrameWork.class?FNC=ProductActivator__Aproductlist_html___31501___LIPBH1___REG___CatID=0___SID=ECC97958520>Linhof's Pro Ballhead 1</a>?<p>If your Hassy lacks the quick release bottom, stick with something light and small for the quick release system like MiniConnect or QTop. <p>By the way, the <a href=http://www03.bhphotovideo.com/default.sph/FrameWork.class?FNC=RequiredAccessoriesActivator__Aproduct_html___206507___GIGE10P___REG___CatID=0___SID=ECC97958520>Series 0 Gitzo tripod case</a> will fit many of these combinations like an adorable little purse.

The 2227 is Benbo-versatile but not well suited to long exposures

with 6.00 lb of gear. It supports weight that is off axis

substantially, never a good idea when long exposures are involved.

Definitely serves a purpose just as the Benbo does, and if you're

into the shots that look incredibly precarious in composition then

you've found a winner. But I'd stay away from it for long

exposures. Get the 1227 instead, and as far as heads go you'll have

to decide if a ballhead or 3-way head is more important. <p>Most

will recommend an Arca-type quick release system, and I'd

wholeheartedly agree. If you'll be deciding on a ballhead, either

the Arca-Swiss B1 or the Acratech Ultimate Ballhead would be my

recommendations. If you'll want a three-way pan & tilt head I'd go

with Gitzo's 1570M. A levelling base is a nice luxury but adds much

weight and price. If these aren't important, step up to the 13xx

series Mountaineers and throw in the appropriate levelling base.

The only suitable candidate for TTL operation is Sunpak's DX-12R with the Pentax TTL module. The DX-8R will not accomodate 67mm. It comes with both 62mm & 67mm modules.

<i>If you want medium format results, shoot TechPan and use a tripod

with your Leica.</i><p>So would that make TechPan & a tripod with a

medium format yield large format results?

Kevin<p>Once again, prisoner's dilemma isn't <i>my</i> theory, but

rather a tried and true explanation to the actions of man done in the

singular which profoundly affect the collective. I don't know which

historical mind was the first to document this, but it wasn't

me.<P> As a geographer I look to the spatial aspect of nearly

everything, but I'm curious as to why it matters to you where the

theory originated. Do you wish to discredit it due to its origin?

<p><i>if anywhere your theory could have evolved it would have

evolved in the United States already, and while it may evolve to a

degree, it will never be mainstream</I>.<br> I completely disagree.

The way we buy a greeting card, for example, will not be changed by

more cost-efficient methods. Same goes for fresh fish, flowers,

gasoline or the other myriad of purchases that have great spatial

advantages or requirements. But in the world of urban development,

prisoner's dilemma is absolutely, positively the <b>mainstream</b>

model for the unchecked evolution of a metropolitan statistical

area. Instead of asking an economist, ask a geographer or urban

planner. I just picked Atlanta to make the point, as this is perhaps

the worst example of its impact.<p> In the last few years there has

been a cyclical change in housing values in the USA, with a decades-

long trend being reversed: People with high incomes are choosing to

once again locate within the primary city's limits, generally tearing

down an old small house and putting the largest possible house upon

this piece of land that the law allows. In geography it has been

termed "masionization," and it has occurred because the time

sacrifice of living in the bedroom communities has finally outweighed

the monetary savings.

I didn't go to law school, Kevin. My degree was in geography, the

major in the United States that is the least declared by incoming

freshmen. This is due to the abundance of space here in the USA; in

other less space-endowed countries such as England(where it is the

fourth highest declared incoming major) geography has plenty of

respect.

 

<p>

 

My wife is a practicing attorney and a graduate of Emory University's

School of Law in Atlanta, Georgia. She works as a large firm's pro

bono specialist, and also will be attending a two-year fellowship for

the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund's charter office in Atlanta

come October.

 

<p>

 

I didn't dream up prisoner's dilemma, it was taught to me by a

respected geographer from the University of Florida named Grant

Thrall. Prisoner's dilemma is taught in many fields ranging from

geography to economics to sociology to law-including some classes at

Emory's School of Law. Plug the words "prisoner's dilemma theory"

into any search engine and be enlightened. It is a primary tenet of

cooperation theory worldwide, and frankly I'm suprised you've never

heard of it given your educational background.

 

<p>

 

In geography, prisoner's dilemma describes why cities without

political or geographical constraints suffer from vast urban sprawl

and horrible traffic. Consider Atlanta, a city I'm quite familiar

with. Atlanta has many municipalities at the fringe of their city

limits, and these municipalities are all too happy to give a new

housing permit to an individual that works in Atlanta and wishes to

live in their town. A prospective new citizen twenty years ago would

be faced with an easy choice; live in Atlanta and pay higher prices

affected by the value of land that those goods occupy, or buy a new

house in a subdivision just outside of Atlanta that has much lower

prices and more space in exchange for a relatively small sacrifice of

time. If you're the amongst the relative few to make this choice,

you benefit greatly from it. The problem is that many others will

also make the choice, and in the end your exchange of time for money

will become a disadvantage. The same distance takes three times as

long to travel at 4:30pm than it does at 4:30am.

 

<p>

 

This is not beneficial to Atlanta itself either, because it

negatively affects housing values as well as creates a large

population of individuals who earn their income in Atlanta but spend

their property taxes out of it. Invariably the end result is worse

traffic for everyone as the metropolitan statistical area becomes

less and less efficient with its space. Now Atlanta, through no

fault of their own, suffers from the worst traffic in the USA outside

of Southern California.

 

<p>

 

Examples of effective constraints to this end result are

 

a) the Vail valley in Colorado, where the geographical boundaries

on either side of the city are ardorous enough to discourage most

from commuting

b) Disneyworld in Orlando, who wisely purchased a much larger tract

of land than they'd need-knowing that at the fringe of that tract

would be poorly planned urban sprawl

c) European cities in general, who are extremely reluctant to give

new housing permits-which thus guarantees a compact city will stay

just that.

 

<p>

 

You're certainly correct that prisoner's dilemma is currently

changing the landscape of the retail industry forever. Quite

rapidly, people are being accustomed to the less visceral feeling of

online shopping in exchange for great availability and lower prices.

So all retail shops that sell items that don't need local

representation are as doomed as the station wagon was at the arrival

of the minivan in 1984. The end result of this will be that people's

expectations of localized service solutions will vanish. Then

competition will ensue amongst the sellers that can compete on price

to see who can provide the best service. This service costs money,

so in the end there will still be at least two alternatives for the

consumer: a firm based purely on price and a firm based on relatively

low prices and with excellent service. There have always been

customers loyal to both, and there always will be.

 

<p>

 

Germany effectively competes in the world market despite absurdly

high labor costs. They're able to do this by manufacturing goods

that depend more on unique traits rather than competing solely based

on price. This is the model for an effective transistion of American

labor-compete on other elements besides price and you will be

effective in surviving. Compete solely on price and you must face

the most desperate laborers head to head in a battle that will be

lost until your desperation matches theirs.

 

<p>

 

<i>But without the efficiency of such a system we would have

chaos.</i>

You and I have vastly different definitions of "efficiency".

 

<p>

 

 

 

<p>

 

 

Tamrac's 691 BigWheels roller. Ballistic nylon, better build quality than the Lowepro, much more interior room than the Tenba, and HUGE wheels that plow over anything and everything. It is exactly the outside dimensions that are the biggest possible to meet all airlines carry on requirements. I take mine everywhere and beat the crap out of it, and my gear is always safe. Even checked it with $10,000 of stuff inside a couple of times with no ill effects; it certainly is strong enough and designed to be checked, but the airlines pathetic insurance policies are not.

have the maxwell screen & am thoroughly impressed. Get it, you'll not regret the $245.

You've gotta take the metal from the present screen you've got & transfer it to the Beattie; in otherwords they only sell the fresnel glass itself, and not the metal shell that holds it in. <p>While you'll certainly be shocked at the brightness increase of the Beattie, having used both I can tell you that the Maxwell Precision Optics screen is in a league of its own. It is a small outfit out of Atlanta but they're screens are phenomenal. I found with my 45mm tilt/shift lens that the Beattie didn't function well on it, while with the 150mm f/2.8 it was awesome. The Maxwell works well on both focal lengths, but for me I find the increased accuracy of the custom screens most helpful on wideangle lenses.

I do the specifications for non-video tripod gear for B&H's site. It

weighs 2.80 lb; I weighed it myself with a postal scale.