michael_madio

<p>One more thought, don't forget to consider flash duration. Most hot-shoe flashes (~50Ws) are at 1/1000 so a more powerful flash will be even longer which may limit you regardless of using radio, cable, optical, etc. I recall the docs for the Metz 60 warning against going over 1/250s because of this.</p>

<p>Practically, I use a PocketWizard at 1/4000 without issue so it does work.</p>

<p>My understanding (could be wrong) is that temperature increases developer activity in general and does not affect grain or contrast. You do get more apparent grain with over-exposed negatives to maybe try something like Xtol and over-exposing by a stop or two. Don't know, just guessing here.</p>

<p>PocketWizard is THE gold standard for flash remotes so I would start there. Most good quality triggers will sync way beyond what your camera can do so I wouldn't be too concerned there unless looking at budget units. Connections are via the correct cords and a vendor like <a href="http://flashzebra.com/">http://flashzebra.com/</a> has pretty much everything you need. There are less expensive remotes that also work well.</p>

<p>For the camera, put it on a tripod (basic inexpensive one from Wal-Mart, etc.) that feels rigid (fewer leg sections are better ... get 3 sections vs 4 or 5). Put the camera in Av (aperture priority) mode, set the aperture to f/4, set the ISO to 80, use the highest quality and largest JPEG format (if there's RAW use that), disable the flash, and use the self-timer. Adjust the exposure compensation and white balance to taste.</p>

<p>As for lighting, get a white translucent shower curtain or low quality bed sheet (the thinner the better). I know you mentioned no natural light but if you can find a large window, tape the curtain/sheet to the window, setup your manequin beside the window + sheet and shoot. If there's too much shadow use white poster board or another sheet on the opposite side for fill. If you can't find a suitable window, find a way to suspend the curtain/sheet (clips/tape on ceiling, door frame, etc.) and use incandescent/halogen (fluorescent may cause colour issues) shop lights to shine through the panel in place of the sun.</p>

<p>For shooting still products like clothes (not on people) you don't "need" flash but it is convenient. You can probably cobble together this simple lighting arrangement with things you already have and if you need to buy it's cheap and readily available. Using flash is a completely different ball game (much more complex) and you really want to use a DSLR with a hot-shoe. If your desire is to learn about photography then this pursuit will be worth it but if all you want is good photos for your catalog it will probably be less frustrating and less time consuming to just hire a photographer.</p>

<p>Processing is the same. The paper/film doesn't know/care if it's been exposed with a pin-hole. A simple pin-hole body cap on an inexpensive 35mm SLR (digital is okay too) will work.</p>

<p>The 5D has a hard time making calls but the 'take picture' app works well ;-)</p>

<p>How about Sun vs Moon?</p>

<p>Jeff,</p>

<p>You mention both "a high volume portrait studio" and "they shoot everything outside natural lgiht with a fill flash" ... these two rarely mix. Most high volume studios shoot indoors with strobes and everything is locked down (full manual ... no auto/program exposure). The camera settings are tweaked to produce JPEGs that are ready to use with little to no post-processing.</p>

<p>About shooting outdoors in program mode, sounds like you're dealing with too much contrast. Shooting under a white silk is a simple way of dealing with this and can eliminate the need for fill-flash. Program mode is probably the worst choice as it automatically changes all the variables. At least consider aperture priority mode where aperture stays constant (this will help overall quality as you can keep the aperture in the "sweet spot" and also ensure sufficient depth-of-field).</p>

 

<p>You might want to look at using the Sigma 8-16/4.5-5.6 on your 20D. The angle of view is about as wide as you can get (rectilinear) on a 35mm full frame camera.</p>

<p>Budget? Indoors or out? Without knowing more about your requirements, get some mono-lights (Paul Buff, Elinchrom, etc.), CTO gels, 60"+ translucent umbrellas (large wash of light), remotes, tripods, and drag the shutter to balance ambient with flash.</p>

<p>You need a 3.5mm TS male-male cord. Connect a CyberSync receiver to a PocketWizard Plus II (transceiver) that's connected to one of the lights. Use the 'camera/flash' port and transmit mode 'both' on the PW unit. The PW will be triggered both by the CyberSync receiver and other PW transmitters while also triggering other PW units.</p>

<p>I've done this when sharing my PW controlled lights with my partner that's using non-PW remotes.</p>

<p>I get my boric acid from the hardware store ... it's sold as ant and roach killer. It's not advertised as boric acid but the fine print says it's 99.5% pure.</p>

<p>It comes down to power and size. The LP-160 is a ~50Ws hot-shoe flash while the Flashpoint 320M is a 150Ws AC/DC mono-light. Which is "better" depends on your priorities. For example, if you want to over-power the sun then the FP 320M is a better choice but if you're looking for the most portable package then the LP-160 is better.</p>

<p>Try adjusting the Triethanolamine ... you can use less and arrive at the same pH but you will need a pH meter to determine how much is required. Adding sufficient borax in place of TEA will also work.</p>

<p>Another alternative is an excellent sulfite free developer called PCB as follows:</p>

<p>Water - 800mL<br>

Borax - 19g<br>

Ascorbic Acid - 6g<br>

Phenidone - 0.15g<br>

Water to 1L</p>

 

<p>Adding to Leigh's point, you should also consider where that "wasted" light is going. In a typical domestic setting that means you have little control over the light (lots of spill) which can work for or against you depending on the result's you're after. Generally, shoot-through umbrellas are good if you want a low contrast soft light but not so good if you want high contrast deep shadows.</p>

<p>Although they're more expensive, take a look at the Photek Softlighter II umbrellas. They can be used as shoot-through, reflective, and soft-box making them very versatile. The 46" size is a good all-around model. If all you want is a basic shoot-through umbrella, something around 40"-50" is good and you can use pretty much any inexpensive one ($15 models from Adorama work well).</p>

<p>For shooting in full manual mode see this: <a href="http://www.kodak.com/cluster/global/en/consumer/products/techInfo/ac61/">http://www.kodak.com/cluster/global/en/consumer/products/techInfo/ac61/</a></p>

<p> </p>

<p>One enlarger will be fine (4x5), just make sure you get the appropriate negative carriers and lenses. If you plan on using variable-contrast/multi-grade paper you should consider a colour (dichro) head as the filters are built in. Brand really doesn't matter as long as you can find carriers and bulbs. Just make sure it's in good physical condition and you should be good.</p>

<p>A good friend of mine has the Adorama Flashpoint units with the DC power pack and they work very well, especially considering the price. You generally don't want to mix hot lights and flash as there is a significant colour difference (~3K for tungsten vs ~5K for flash) unless you shoot black-and-white or colour-correct the flash units with gels (CTO). Alienbees are also popular and competitively priced.</p>

<p>The EOS-1v is THE top-of-the-line Canon AF film camera so maybe consider that. Image rendering depends on the lens and film, the body is just a light-tight box. The AE-1 is manual focus using Canon's FD mount (different that EOS). Try browsing Canon's on-line museum (<a href="http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/camera/film/chrono_1933-1955.html">http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/camera/film/chrono_1933-1955.html</a>) to give you an idea of what's available and to find what model has the features that are important to you.</p>

<p>As Evan mentioned, adjusting the film holders can make a huge difference (I use a V750) but I'm not sure if the V500 has this option. Also, you should scan at the native resolution (6400ppi I think) and down-sample by 50% to get the best results. Disable any auto-enhancement, grain reduction, etc. type features, save as TIFF, and make fixes in post.</p>

<p>Maybe a little tape?</p>

<p>It works. Check out <a href="http://caffenol.blogspot.com/">http://caffenol.blogspot.com/</a> for some good info.</p>

<p>Jay,</p>

<p>Thanks again for the info. About the hydroxide, it's funny you mention metaborate because the hydroxide + borax is essentially metaborate. I've used carbonate but find it doesn't play nice with my hard water (precipitate) and it doesn't buffer as well as borax or metaborate. I'll check out the thread you mention.</p>

<p>Thanks again for the feedback.</p>

<p>Jay, Good points. About the solution keeping, that would be my initial reaction as well but I've been using phenidone-c developers for some time now and realized that it does in fact keep well. For example, I make a re-usable developer with 6g/L ascorbic acid, 0.15g/L phenidone, 20g/L borax, and water. One would think that it would not last long but 1L of this will process 15+ rolls of film without losing activity and I have a half-used bottle that's over 9 months old that is still as active as when I first mixed it. It appears that ascorbate is it's own preservative.</p>

<p>Incidentally, I did try something similar with just phenidone a while back and the results were poor ... it clearly needs "something" else (ascorbate, hydroquinone) to make it active.</p>

<p>About the bicarbonate, the reason for that is to convert the ascorbic acid to ascorbate. My understanding is that ascorbate will reduce silver while ascorbic acid will not. If I was using ascorbate directly I would not need the bicarbonate. In your proposed formula the pH would be quite acidic and I'm not sure how well that will work. Also, the ascorbic acid would convert to ascorbate once part B is added and I don't know how well the conversion works once absorbed in the film. This would also change the pH of part B. Other divided developers use a part A that is near neutral or slightly alkaline.</p>

<p>What is the purpose of the salicylic acid? I've seen it used as a chelating agent in other ascorbate developers.</p>

<p>Good info. I have not tested it yet but will be testing both my initial intended version with both part A and part B and also testing just part A.</p>