douglasboyd

The power 110V power supply sends 14 volts to the flash unit circuit. Some of this voltage is used to produce 380V for charging the capacitor, and some of it is used to provide about 5V to charge the 4.8 volt battery pack.

==Doug

I am reading this thread in May 2023.  Nowadays we buy everything through Amazon with 1 day delivery.  Amazon has a full page of different sub C batteries that look like they will work, including NiCd sub C.  I'm going to order some and see if the GN of 180 is real.  180 should work well outdoors in the sun.

==Doug

<p>he already lost me in the first paragraph:</p>

<blockquote>

<p>My Leica M9 had shot more than 4,000 frames the first week</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Tom,<br>

Leica specs say that it can take two frames per second for up to 8 frames. As a kind of sluggish camera by modern standards, it still seems possible that the M9 could average one shot every 2 seconds. Therefore it would take only 2 hours of shooting to accumulate 4000 images. Even if the OP did not shoot a studio session or a wedding during his first week, he could easily have used this number of frames just to test his new camera to check out the rangefinder performance with various lenses and distances, auto-exposure performance, and flash performance in various modes. This seems likely in view of the extensive review he prepared.<br>

==Doug</p>

<p>By far the best light meter available today is free! A free program called Light Meter is available for the iPhone. This is a very sensitive digital meter that uses the iPhone camera. You tap the screen in different areas the image to see the exposure. You see the effect on the entire image when that "spot" is used for the exposure. So the iPhone becomes a combination digitial lightmeter, a zone method lightmeter, and a spot meter. This is way better than any of the meters in my extensive collection ranging from classic vintage meters like Westons, the GE PR!, Gossen, and better than any of my modern digital lightmeters. Thanks to a suggestion by Ken Rockwell, I discovered this. Other people are using their iPhones as digital LiveView viewfinders, and there is also a iPhone view finder app, but it costs $8. There is an Arca accessory for mounting an iPhone on an Arca field camera, but I haven't seen any hot shoe mounts so far.<br>

==Doug</p>

I have the Mamiya 645 Pro, and a lot of other MF film cameras, including TLR, SLR, and RF, many models and

formats of each. But for this application, Sony 850/900 would be my choice. Higher resolution, higher DR, and much

higher ISO than any of the film choices. And of course 5 frames per second with autofocus is a huge advantage. And

the Sony 70-400mm lens is amazing on the street with Sony's built in VR. The slightly higher acquisition cost would be off-set by no film, processing, or scanning costs.

--Doug

<p>I feel I must jump in here too in support of the G2. I've been using rangefinder cameras since the 1950s and always hated the delay caused by manual focus which sometimes is very hard to find. Today the pause required while fumbling around to find focus is unacceptable and actually a bit embarissing since everyone has fast P&S cameras these days or DSLRs. Actually when this happens, typically in low light situations, I find myself wishing I still had the Kalart rangfinder light system that we used to use with Speed Graflex and could focus in complete darkness. In this context, the Contax G1/G2 is a revolutionary camera that stands way in front of any other film rangefinder camera. Not only does it autofocus, but it also provides a viewfinder that zooms to the FOV of each lens as with SLRs. On top of that it also has an excellent zoom lens, the 35-70mm f3.5 which is perfect for walking around. Further, the lens prices are affordable since there is no crazy Mamiya importer, or competition with Leica collectors that drvies up prices. This camera system is without equal and stands head and shouldes ahead of any other 35mm rangefinder system available today.<br>

==Doug</p>

I recently acquired a used Hasselblad H1 with 16mp Kodak back. The pictures are amazing, and in an entirely new category compared with what I was getting with Nikon D2X. The huge signal-to-noise ratio per pixel enables a wide range of post-processing options that weren't available before. Film may be competitive in resolution, but is terribly limited by grain noise. So yes, there should be a separate forum to discuss this new form of photography.

Now I realize that I need a 39mp back!

==Doug

I just stopped by IQ Foto Lab in Las Vegas, and the store is closed. There was no forwarding sign. Through the window, you could see the place was cleaned out, vacant. This is a shame, since it was wonderful E6 place, and a great experience to visit.

==Doug