Gary Naka

IMHO, the problem is the MANY WHITE windows. Like the Photo.net web site. WORD and EXCEL and other programs. The white screen is like looking at a light bulb. I turn down the brightness of my monitor to a level that I can deal with. But, that then is too low for editing photos, where white is a small percentage of the colors on the screen. I have only seen ONE monitor, an old Sony CRT, that had a switch to go between a "normal" brightness and a brighter video brightness. For my setup, night mode just changes the color to more red. Which does not help, because it messes up any screen with color. And when I use colored cells in EXCEL, overlaying the red screen on the cell colors makes some of the colors change and become confusing. I would just like to have an EASY way to lower the brightness level. I have thought of wearing my sunglasses.

My approach is to use whatever STANDARD capacity NiMH cell you can find. CAUTION, the rated capacity of some brands is terribly overrated. I have well over 24 TENERGY High Capacity NiMH batteries (AA and sub-C), and NOT ONE has tested at more than 75% of the rated capacity. This is even at the LOWEST discharge rate my tester can do. Not buying any more of that brand. Then get a NiMH charger with a max charge current of about C/2. I dug my charger out. I made it because my Lumedyne charger had died. One difference in my charger is, I do not use the coax connector to charge. I charge through the 6-pin connector that connects the battery pack to the main part of the pack. I do not remember why I made that decision, but it must have made sense to me. The charger is several years old, and has no model number on it. Typical of some 3rd party products, unbranded and put into a branded box. It is labeled at 600ma constant current. Since I use it for NiCd packs, I can't charge at the highter NiMH rate. I "think" the NiCd cells in the Lumedyne pack are rapid charge batteries. For the 1800mAH NiCd, C/10 = 180mA charge rate. That is much less than the 600mA charger that I am using. So, when I made my charger, I must have determined that the Lumedyne NiCd cells are rapid charge cells. Or I simply used a similar charge current to the stock Lumedyne charger. Once I recell all my packs with NiMH, I will switch to a charger with a higher charge rate. KISS. I prefer having ONE setup, to eliminate the possibility of a charging mistake, charging NiCd at the highter NiMH rate. If a mistake can be made, I will make it. I had intended to recell all the packs with NiMH, to get a greater capacity (number of flashes). But I have yet to drain one old "mini" NiCd pack at a shoot, so my need to recell the packs has dropped in priority. Although I do have a dead pack that I bought intending to recell.

Post a picture of the grating. That would make evaluation a LOT easier than guessing what it looks like.

The Lumedyne NiCd battery packs that I have, are made in two different ways. There may be others. #1, a thermal sensor/switch is attached to one of the NiCd cells. When the cell is fully charged, it heats up, and heats the sensor. The sensor has a switch in it that opens the battery circuit, stopping the charge. PROBLEM. You cannot use the battery immediately. The thermal switch MUST cool down before you can use the pack. When the switch opens to stop the charge, it also prevents you from drawing power from the pack. #2, does NOT have a thermal sensor/switch. #2a. The standard charger for my Lumedyne pack was a dumb charger. For this, you have to charge the old fashioned way. Full charge of a drained NiCd battery is about 16 hours. You have to estimate/guess how much of the capacity you used, then charge for that percent. Example, if you think you used 50% of the capacity, you charge for 8 hours. This has been the weakness of dumb charging NiCd batteries. If the NiCd cell is rated for RAPID charging, you can charge at a higher current for a shorter amount of time. But you still have to estimate/guess how long that time is. NiMH cells do NOT like to be charged this way. You could easily overcharge the cells and damage them. Use a "smart" charger. #2b. Use a "smart" charger. You use a NiCd/NiMH charger that will electrically determine when the pack is fully charged. That is what I use. I use a Tenergy NiCd/NiMH RC charger. I replaced the RC battery connector with the proper plug for the Lunedyne pack. This charges more reliably than the dumb charger. I plug it in and walk away, and the charger will turn off when it determines that the battery pack is fully charged. I don't have to guess at how long to charge the battery. Note, you have to get a charger that is rated for the voltage or number of cells that is in YOUR pack. A 4-cell charger won't fully charge a 6-cell pack. IMPORTANT. You have to get a charger that is matched to the cells in the pack. I do NOT know what kind of NiCd cells are in the Lumedyne pack. It has been a LONG time since I had mine open. NiCd cells, unless they are rated for RAPID charge, are charged at C/10. A 4000mAh cell would be charged at 400mA. If you put more than 400mA into the cell, you could damage the cell. NiMH cell can be charged at C/2, so a 4000mAh cell can be charged at 2000mA. So the higher current charger that I use on a pack that has been recelled with NiMH cells, CANNOT be used on a NiCd pack, or you could/will damage the NiCd cells. To prevent this MIX UP, I label the packs that have been recelled with NiMH cells, and the rated capacity of the NiMH cells. As for the cells. That depends on YOUR battery pack. I have not opened up any other pack than mine. Mine uses sub-C cells with tabs. From memory, I think it is arranged in three sticks of three or four cells.

That is the marketing gimick to sell stuff.

That is probably why most of people that I knew, did not use the various loaders. One thing you lose with the loader is the "feel" of the film as it is loading. With my fingers on the film, I can feel when the film is not loading properly. Before the film gets all kinked.

Don't buy for today. You have to buy for tomorrow, even if you don't know what tomorrow will need. When I made my current desktop, photo editors did not make use of a GPU, so I did not get one. And that was fine for MANY years. But today, many editors and add-ons use a GPU. In fact a GPU is a REQUIREMENT for some sw, like the AI noise reduction SW. And the GPU requirements have been going up with each new generation of SW. The GPU that I looked at a couple years ago, is below the min spec for some software today. ☹️ The computer has to have enough power to run a GPU board. My computer only has enough power to run the LOW power GPU boards. But many of those boards do not meet the min specs for some of the SW. ☹️ Programs expand to use the available memory. You should size your memory to be LARGER than you think you need, cuz the next version of the SW may want more memory than the current version. And even if you meet the min, the SW may perform better when you have more than "minimum." And what other programs will be running at the same time, that will be using memory: the OS, anti virus, browser, mail, music, etc. etc. I started with 16GB, I then maxed out the computer at 32GB.

If you have the reel and tanks, why don't you just see if the reels will fit into the tank? The problem that I think you will have it the bent wire that sticks up. That may prevent a Nikkor tank from closing properly. What you can try is to put the bottom reel with the wire UP, and the top reel with the wire DOWN. About loading SS reels. I was taught to load by hand, no loading device. It was like learning to drive a stick shift car. Difficult to learn, but easy once you know how. When I started, I don't know anyone who used any of the loading devices. For reels with a clip in the center, I NEVER use the clips. The reason is, you HAVE TO put the film in PERFECTLY centered. If the film is a little to the side, the clip will hold the film off-centered, and the film WILL kink as you load it. And once you kink the film, it is VERY HARD to load onto the reel. After MANY failures with the clip, I use the reels with clip, just like the older reels WITHOUT clip. I do NOT use the clip. Just stick the end of the film into the center and start winding. The Hewes reel grab the 35mm film by the sprockets, so the film won't be off-centered. I think it is probably the easiest of the SS reels for a beginner to use. BTW, if a SS reel has been dropped onto the floor, it may be bent/distorted. Once bent, those reels can be very difficult to unbend and a PITA to load afterwards. BTW2, the finish of the reels makes a difference. The old Nikkor reels have a nice smooth finish. Loading the film is easy. Some of the "cheap" reels had/have a satin finish, and the film does not load as smoothly and easily.

Go to another page. Same with printing contact prints. 36x on one 8x10 sheet and a strip of paper for the 7th strip, which was taped to the edge of the sheet, then folded over so that it did not stick out. Looked klugey, but it worked.

I have to experiment to see if the touch screen on my phone will work through a ziplok bag. I think it will, because the various screen protectors work.

I used a Gralab. Simple and easy to use. A phone app would be too clumsy for ME to use. And I would NOT want to get chemicals on my phone.

35mm film is advanced by the sprocket, not the take up spool. So one often recommended procedure of the past was, to advance the film so that the sprocket holes on BOTH sides of the film engage the sprocket teeth on the advance mechanism, before closing the back of the camera. The idea being that you have more reliable film advance than with just one side engaged. Although I OFTEN loaded short, so that only one side was engaged. That was to try to get another frame or two out of the roll. I don't recall ever having trouble.

Is the lens CLEAN? Like glasses, if the lens surface is not clean, your vision will be cloudy.

I don't know if it is the dual IS or the pro AF that is the battery drain. Cuz the battery run time of the 12-40/2.8, 40-150/2.8, and the 12-100/4 on an EM1-mk2 are close. And the run time with the pro lenses are consistently shorter than with my non-pro lenses.

hmm got to try this. I only use AF-C for shooting sports.

I shoot an OM1. The EVF freeze is better than the EM1-mk2, and MUCH better than the mk1. But the freeze is still bothersome when tracking a fast moving athlete. The battery capacity and size has increased from the EM1-mk1, to the mk2/mk3 to the OM1. So as much as Olympus wanted to keep the camera small, more battery capacity comes with a bigger size. My experience with my Olympus is that battery life is more related to power ON time and the lens used, than the number of shots taken. It is what it is, and I just do my best with it.

Can it track ONE subject out of many, such as the quarterback with the ball; with many other players around and between you and the QB, and half of them in the SAME uniform? Same with other sports, like basketball, where the players "mix it up." That is why I rarely used tracking when shooting sports. I've only used tracking or zone AF for tennis, when there is only ONE subject to track, and no competing subjects.

If it ONLY happens on your D850, and not on your other cameras. Simple solution is to NOT use it on the D850. Since you say you rarely use it, the lube may have dried or pooled. One alternative is to try to manually cycle the lens, by working the aperture lever. This "may" spread the lube and let the aperture mechanism move easier. Back in the film days, it was recommended to cycle the shutter at ALL shutter speeds once a month. This was to keep the lube moving and from drying solid. And at the same time you would be cycling the aperture mechanism. Although once the lube has really dried, it has to be cleaned and relubed by a tech.

Like it or not, mirrorless is the future. Nikon has discontinued their D3xxx and D5xxx entry level dSLR cameras. I think the other dSLRs are not far behind. My mirrorless experience is limited to Olympus, which may be different than Sony, Nikon or Canon. For mirrorless and against dSLR WYSIWYG. Especially valuable in difficult lighting where the meter is almost useless. For me, this is one of the BIG advantages of mirrorless. Truly SILENT. I can shoot at a concert and the camera literally make no noise. The theater people who did not want photographers with noisy cameras were surprised. I can also use in on a golf course without disturbing the golfers. Against mirrorless, and for dSLR Unless the EVF is "truly continuous," it is difficult to use for FAST sports. On my Olympus, after I shoot a burst, the EVF freezes for a fraction of a second. Not much, but just long enough to break my ability to follow fast moving action. I cannot track a subject and hold the AF point on the subject, when the EVF is frozen. For non-FAST moving sports the EVF works just fine. mirrorless cameras use much more power than a dSLR. My Olympus EM1-mk2 with a 12-40/2.8 will run about 2-3/4 hour continuous, whereas my Nikon D7200 will shoot all weekend on a single charge. With my mirrorless, I ALWAYS carry spare batteries. When I was running my Olympus EM1-mk1, at one point I had FIVE batteries, to get me through a full day of shooting. Larger cameras with a larger capacity battery will make a difference. Power consumption also depends on what lens you have on the camera. Some of my lenses draw more power than others. Worst case, with one specific camera/lens combo, was 2-1/2 hours per battery.

Don't know what lens you are taking but I would look at the following: 18-140 (this is what I have) 18-200 18-300 18-400 (this one is kinda long and heavy, so may not work for a GP lens) 35/1.8 (for indoor LOW light situations. I would prefer a 24/1.8, but that is only available in the more expensive FX lens.) As for the 10-20, that depends on if you think you have a need for an ultra wide. Remember that you can stitch multiple images together to get the coverage of an ultra wide.

I was the weird guy in class who used the stainless steel reel and tank. To me, loading the SS reel was easier than the plastic reel. Even my first time loading a "test" 120 roll went fine. But, as I tell others, "use what works for YOU."

I have yet to complete my darkroom. I really miss working in a wet darkroom. It is so much more relaxing than sitting in front of the computer. Well a B22 is a "student" enlarger, compared to the 4x5 D series. But a B22 is much easier to deal with in a small home darkroom. My own enlarger is a similar Durst M600, 6x6 enlarger. If you don't shoot larger than 6x6, why hassle with the BIGGER enlarger. And used top line enlarging lenses are very affordable. So no excuse to not get a GOOD lens. I replaced my old "economy" lenses with a set of El-Nikkors, for a price that I could not match 25 years ago. 😁

How about a TLR. A "folder" would be light, but you have to check the light tight integrity of the bellows. And for an OLD camera, I would expect to have light leaks in the bellows. If not, you are LUCKY. And focus is by eyeball estimation.

Impossible to tell you what exposure to use, cuz we don't know the light level where you are going to shoot at.

I still have my M600. As you said, EASY to assemble and disassemble, when you don't have room for a permanent darkroom. Today, as you mentioned, it is easy to find relatively inexpensive GOOD enlarging lenses. I replaced all my old "brand X" lenses with El-Nikkor or Componon. I would look for a 39mm lens board. That would give you the freedom to choose more lenses. N-Joy your new toy. 😁