gwendolyn_white

<p>I currently use an AlienBee B800 and I really like it but I'd like to do a shoot on location, which means I need a battery pack to power it. I've gone back and forth and searched all over but nobody ever says if the battery packs from other brands are interchangable...</p>

<p>For instance I'm looking at this Quantum Battery Module (QPAQ-X Power Pack) because I heard good things about it... But I can't figure out if I could use it with my AlienBee. I would assume batteries would be batteries and some brand out there must make a universal one, but at the same time I know a lot of camera brands make things non-interchangeable on purpose, so I need to know if battery packs for strobe are the same way; once you buy one system you're stuck with only those accessories (in this case the battery pack) or is there ANY pack out there, or system, you can buy parts separately?</p>

<p>I plan on buying another type of strobe at some point but I don't want my AlienBee to become obsolete, so that's another reason why I would like more information on strobe lighting systems. I don't want to purpose one thing from one only to find now I can only use that brand (so to speak).</p>

<p>I've googled so much and found nothing that answered my question so any help or information is greatly, greatly appreciated!</p>

Thank you all for replying.

 

I ended up cleaning my rollers---soaking them in some cleaner that I heard was recommended---and I just did that repeatedly and tried again and it worked. There was a lot of gunk around the corners that I slowly cleaned out so I'm assuming that was the cause of the problem. It was really hard to get to without being able to take the rollers out completely, but I didn't see the reply here at the time; I had no idea all you had to do was remove the spring. No instructions I could find showed me how to do that and I didn't want to risk breaking it.

 

So thank you all very much!

I wasn't sure which I should post it in since this is about Polaroid backs.

 

I'll post it there as well.

I bought a Hasselblad 100 back. It worked fine for two rolls of film, but the

third immediately got jammed. I wasn't sure what was going on, so I opened it,

cleaned it, and continued to use it. It would work for a couple shots then get

jammed again to the point where I have to rip the Polaroid out and the chemicals

get all over. It's done this repeatedly and I've wasted almost an entire roll of

film. I've searched all over and I don't know what this could be. The bottom

roller feels really, really tight---almost to the point where it's not turning.

The top rolls freely. I have cleaned it repeatedly with hot water, some cleaning

detergent (both recommended) but the bottom roller still feels really tight and

I don't remember it being this tight so I'm assuming that's the problem. I have

no idea what else to do. It looks as if I could actually take the <i>rollers</i>

out but I don't want to do this for fear of breaking the plastic. That's the

only thing I can think of to do now though, since cleaning it the way I am

doesn't seem to be doing squat.

<br /><br />

Any advice, opinions, suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I bought a Hasselblad 100 back. It worked fine for two rolls of film, but the

third immediately got jammed. I wasn't sure what was going on, so I opened it,

cleaned it, and continued to use it. It would work for a couple shots then get

jammed again to the point where I have to rip the Polaroid out and the chemicals

get all over. It's done this repeatedly and I've wasted almost an entire roll of

film. I've searched all over and I don't know what this could be. The bottom

roller feels really, really tight---almost to the point where it's not turning.

The top rolls freely. I have cleaned it repeatedly with hot water, some cleaning

detergent (both recommended) but the bottom roller still feels really tight and

I don't remember it being this tight so I'm assuming that's the problem. I have

no idea what else to do. It looks as if I could actually take the rollers

<i>out</i> but I don't want to do this for fear of breaking the plastic. That's

the only thing I can think of to do now though, since cleaning it the way I am

doesn't seem to be doing squat.

<br /><br />

Any advice, opinions, suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I have heard that 690 is harder to lift than 669, but then I hear that some people exclusively use 690!

<br><br>

That's what I'm looking for! I cannot find any specific characteristics to look for to tell if I am doing it right.

<br><br>

I guess I was doing it right but I didn't realize it -- actually, there are still some things I'm confused about.

<br><br>

I have gotten my water close to 200 degrees, assuming that maybe my water was not hot enough being at 160. I put the Polaroid in and let it sit for a good 5 minutes but the only difference I notice is that all my blacks have become bleached out (which I heard is common). After leaving it for a <b>very</b> long time (long enough for the water to cool down to 140) I notice that there are little blisters all over the film. After that I just assume the blisters are bad and I pretty much throw it away.

<br><br>

So maybe that's my problem? I'm just not waiting long enough and my water cools down too quickly? I had no idea I was suppose to wait until after it blisters.

I keep my Polaroids in the fridge before use, but I don't think I checked the date on the film. If I did it must have been long enough for me to not worry about. I'll check the date on my film next time and see if that is the problem.

Nice book, but I didn't see the answer that I'm looking for.

 

I also wait a little over 24 hours because I heard that you have to wait at least 18-24 hours to do them. I'm not really sure what you mean by "fresh."

I've been around the internet aimlessly trying to find an answer to my problem.

 

I'm using 690 Polaroid film. All of the instructions I have read say to simply

soak the Polaroid in heated water (160 degrees Fahrenheit) and wait until the

emulsion lifts and then you do some other things (move it to another bowl of

heated water etc.) but my problem is that my emulsion doesn't do anything. It's

still connected to the Polaroid after leaving it soaking for a good 5 minutes. I

have actually waited a long time just to see if I wasn't waiting long enough and

all that happened was my film started to look bubbly, but it was still connected

to the Polaroid.

 

All of the descriptions I have read (or instructions, I should say) say that you

put it in the hot water and wait until the emulsion "floats" in the water. I'm

assuming they mean the emulsion literally lifts off of the film and is free

flowing... mine has never, ever done that. I'm wondering if maybe I'm reading

that incorrectly, or maybe I'm doing something wrong altogether?

 

Any help or advice would be much appreciated!

Yes, I just realized this, but I was confused because, like I said, I thought I heard some people were using Hasselblad's to make Polaroids that filled the picture -- whether the Polaroid was smaller so the picture filled the Polaroid, or something else, I didn't know, so I thought I'd ask.

 

Thanks for the info.

I know what these are for, I was just curious as to why I could have sworn I had seen full frame Polaroids taken with a Hasselblad. I actually am playing around with image transfers so a full frame Polaroid would be useful, but it's nothing major. I simply wanted to know what I didn't know.

 

Thank you all for replies.

Are you saying that Mamiya cameras are the only ones that can do this? Maybe that is what she saw. I'm surprised this can't be done with a Hasselblad though.

I thought that but at the same time I could have sworn that there was a way of filling up the entire Polaroid. My sister is a model and on photo shoots the photographers who shoot film always shoot Polaroid first, and my mother would take the thrown away Polaroid's home. I never remember the Polaroids looking like this though, and the photographers, I'm fairly certain, used a Hasselblad. My sister even saw my back and recognized it from sets she has been on. So... this is confusing me. Is there another type of back that fills the entire Polaroid?

I'm new to Polaroid and I just purchase a Hasselblad Polaroid 100 film back.

I've been tinkering around on it and it's all fine and dandy, but I'm wondering

about the exact area that gets shot on the film. It's a very small percentage of

the entire Polaroid, on my back/film, and I'm wondering how I can fill up the

<i>entire</i> Polaroid with the picture. I know Polaroid cameras do this, but I

could have sworn some people were doing this with a Hasselblad as well.

Thank you all for the info! I purchased another one that was in better condition. A bit more expensive but a good deal nonetheless. I told the first man I was questioning about what was said on here and he simply said "oops, I meant the glass is so clean there are no scratches to be worried about"... Needless to say I still found this fishy so I didn't purchase it. I don't think the guy was lying or anything but it was odd.

 

Thanks again for the help. :)

I want a Hasselblad Polaroid 100 back, but I've come across so many different

"versions" I'm confused about which one I should get.

<br><br>

I've been looking at this one because it seems like a great deal, but I wanted

to know if everything on the inside was functional and free of

scratches/defects, so I went ahead and asked the seller...

<br><br>

<a

href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=005&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=150113274450&rd=1&rd=1">link</a>

<br><br>

The seller replied back to me saying that this is "just a holder" so therefore

it does not have any glass; the 80 back had a protruding glass plate but

apparently this model does not? I want to ask here because out of all my

searches I've read repeatedly that there is a glass plate in the Hasselblad

backs, so I'm confused as to why this one does not have one. Does this sound

normal or is it missing something?

Thank you all very much for the replies. Color printing is pretty much as I guessed, but it's very helpful to have someone explain it. The processing part always puzzled me because I figured it would have to be in complete darkness, but I was not sure.

I make black and white prints with ease, but color has always puzzled me. I've

heard that there are enlargers that do both B&W and color, but I never

understood how. Apparently you add different colored filters to the B&W enlarger

to get color?

<br><br>

If anyone could explain to me just how these enlargers work (the B&W that can do

color as well), and give me any other information about producing <i>color</i>

prints, I would greatly appreciate it. I'd be more specific but <i>any</i>

information about making color prints is very much appreciated, so I don't want

to limit myself to just one question. Links to some good enlargers that do both

B&W and color would be great too.

<i>"These are good zooms, for both the cameras, though cost more than the 50mm:

<br><br>

http://www.adorama.com/CA28105AFNU.html

<br><br>

http://www.adorama.com/CA2485U.html"</i>

<br><br>

I actually plan on buying a Canon wide angle lens sometime in the future but again, I have to save up for one of those. I pretty much have a $150 limit right now.

<br><br>

I don't know why I didn't know about the other Canon though; the $80 one. That's a great deal. I might go with that for the trip.

<br><br>

Thank you all. You've been a huge help!

Robin,

 

I <I>am</i> limited to what I have, not what I want. I love my Elan more than my Rebel, actually, which is why I want to bring it. I'd really like to get at least a couple rolls of film as well so in the future I could make enlargements myself -- with digital I have to have a good printer and I've never been fond of that method. I do understand the lens will limit me but I love the lens too and its all I have for now so I figure bring it -- you never know. I'm going to be staying there for a month so I figure I'll find something to do with it. I also do not plan on lugging everything with me -- only what I need which will be one cam at a time. My rebel will be my main but like I said I really want a couple rolls of film.

<Br><br>

<I>I understand your budget is tight. A 50mm f/1.8 can be bought online for about

$80. (this will work on both camera bodies, though on the digital it will equal

80mm).</i>

<Br><br>

Who makes that lens? I can't find one by sigma for that much, or tamron. I've been looking on ebay but that's so random its hard to rely on.

Nevermind, I just realized it's for digital only. I looked at it a long time ago and had it bookmarked so I forgot it was for digital cameras only. I really want something that can be used on both of my cameras.

Now that I think of it, I've been looking at this lens but I keep going back and forth about it: <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=5564&A=details&Q=&sku=397592&is=USA&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation">http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=5564&A=details&Q=</a>

<br><br>

What do you guys think of this lens?

Aaron,

<br><br>

I've used the lens for some time now, and yes I am bringing it because it's the only lens I can use on my 7ne. I find it very versatile. It does limit me to certain things (such as landscapes) but I don't have any other option at this time unless I can find another lens -- which I might. I use it for my photography class and it has not let me down on any of the assignments so... I think I'll be ok with it. <br><br>

<i>"Philip is right, you're taking 2 lenses and 2 bodies, I doubt you'll have

problems. <b>(Any particular reason your taking a 100mm prime, instead of a 50mm

or 28mm, or better yet, 12-2xish. Europe is a wide angle kinda place).</b>"</i>

<br><br>

Because it's my only other lens and I love it. I plan on purchasing a wide angle sometime soon but unfortunately I haven't had time to save up for another lens. :(

<br><br>

I might look into buying a cheaper wide angle lens that has gotten good reviews just to use on this trip (any suggestions?), but I'll have to figure that out. I'm going for the month of June. I'm actually studying abroad (art history) but since I'm a photography major I plan on doing a lot of shooting while there. I just think it would be a waste not to in a city like that!

<br><br>

I also have a LowePro backpack that is fantastic but I wasn't sure if I should bring it or not. I've got a few months to figure out the little details. :)

Good point! I'm bringing things I can "afford" to lose because I was advised against bringing my favorite camera equipment (my Hasselblad) but someone still said to me that my camera would be confused as professional equipment. I tried to explain to them that my camera is not on the professional end and only an idiot (or someone who knew nothing about cameras) would confuse it with that, but alas, they would not listen to me; they were convinced that my camera would be mistaken as a professional camera. So that's what <i>really</i> prompted me to ask here what people thought about traveling with equipment. :)

<br><br>

I'm going to check out that link right now. Thank you!