jonstock

Hi Bill

Thanks for the answer.

Thanks Bill

Does the GV2 have a good "sweet spot"?

The sweet spot is where the tension is enough to stop the camera/lens from moving unintentionally but will allow them to be repositioned deliberately.

Just curious. The Markins video makes this look like a useful feature to have.

http://www.markinsamerica.com/downloads/nikon_800mm_high.wmv

I still have some thinking to do.

Ken:

I went with Induro instead of Gitzo because I was not sure about the flexi-multi adjustable head thing.

I am still not sure. It seems good for Macros but I will need to see how stable it is with a heavier head on it.

If I get the Sigma 150mm macro and a heavy weight head I will see how far it can be extended horizontally. Hopefully

I will not find out the hard way.

I have only had the Induro a week, but I like the build quality.

Thank you for the offer to buy your GV2. I will need to think about it some more before I can buy it.

Thanks to everyone who has responded back. Please keep adding any comments.

Have a good week.

Jon

I have just got a Induro cx-213 (the "CARBONFLEX" model with "a quick switch center column that's easily

positionable from vertical to horizontal and just about anywhere in-between." It seems OK.

I don't have a heavy weight set up. I shoot an Olympus E-3. My largest current lens is a 50-200mm. The Sigma

150mm macro is tempting me. The Olympus 90-250mm/300mm f2.8 are over $5000 so I probably will not get

either. The Sigma 50-500mm at $1000 is more in line with what I am willing to spend. I don't use long telephoto a

lot.

I am looking for a good quality ball-head. I have included a shortlist of the heads i have been looking at. I also

included a bunch of links someone may find useful.

Unfortunately the camera stores near me don't carry these heads so I can't compare them personally.

I have a few questions I hope someone can answer:

Acratech GV2 with Gimbal feature.

How good the sweet-spot is on a GV2? The early Acratech heads tended to sag after tightening. Does the GV2 sag?

http://www.lightcafe.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=8311&p=75867

http://www.f-8andbethere.com/notes/gv2-gimbal.htm

Markins m-10 or M20

People say that the Markins panning base does not lock. Is this true? I have a tripod with a center column that can

tilt and extend horizontally. I need the panning to lock. The markins Sweet-spot demo video is cool to watch.

http://www.markinsamerica.com/downloads/nikon_800mm_high.wmv

Really Right Stuff 40 or 55.

How smooth do you find the movement on these heads? Build quality is supposed to be good. Sweet spot is

sometimes criticized for slipping and or sticking. Is this true?

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/accessories/rrs-bh55.shtml

http://mgphotographyworkshops.blogspot.com/... ...-stuff-bh-55-ball-head.html

http://www.butzi.net/reviews/rrsbh55.htm

http://www.nathangriffin.com/technical/other/rrs_bh-40.htm

Arca-Swiss Z-1

Is currently has questions being raised about it's construction. See this link

http://www.tripodhead.com/faqs-ballhead-recommendation.cfm

The stem between the ball and the clamp is made of two parts glued together. This worries me. It should be fixed

soon. I could wait I guess. Is the knob on the quick release captive or not?(can it unscrew and fall off?)

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/... ...ss-Monoball-Z1-Ballhead-Review.aspx

Kirk BH-1 or -3

If you have/had these did you like them?

http://www.naturephotographers.net/je0901-1.html

Some more links on ball-heads:

http://www.websiteoptimization.com/speed/tweak/ballhead/

http://www.wilsonism.com/Blog/tabid/53/EntryID/19/Default.aspx

Thank you for any comments you can provide.

Hi

I want to upgrade my tripod.

I have read the Thom Hogan article recommending buying the best first. But I

read it too late as this will be my third full sized tripod.

The Gitzo, Benro/ Induro and Giottos the all offer tripods with a tilting

center column that "converts into a lateral arm".

How stable is this? Is this a gimmick?

As none of them have the option of replacing the center column with a different

non-tilting or leveling column, will I be shopping for a fourth tripod soon?

I shoot a variety of things, including macro, but macro is not my primary

subject. I just liked the idea of a tilting center column. Does it add that

much extra flexibility?

The Benro and Induro seem to be the same item, only the Induro has a North

American distributor (and a 30% price increase).

The Benro/Induro tripod heads have mixed comments online, but the most recent

Benro n6 tripods seem to get good reviews. Unfortunately the 297 and 298 Benro

tripods are not n6.

The camera shops locally don't have any of these tripods in stock. I was

hoping for some suggestions from someone who has used one.

There is not a big price difference. This maybe because a different post

criticized the Gitzo 2220 as lower quality compared to other Gitzo tripods. Is

this true? Are all the explorer series more of a bargain line?

Gitzo

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/410286-

REG/Gitzo_G2258_G2258_Explorer_6X_Carbon.html

Benro

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=019&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%

3APIC&viewitem=&item=290129811306&rd=1&rd=1#ebayphotohosting

Induro

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/486878-

REG/Induro_463214_CX214_Carbonflex_8X_CX_Series.html

Giottos

http://www.giottos.com/MT-3.htm

Capture one has profiles built in. You can add your own if you want.

Digital photopro magazine march/April 2007 issue has an article on creating a camera profile using adobe Photoshop and a photograph you take of a store bought color target. I have not tried this yet so I cannot comment on it, maybe someone else has given this a shot.

Hi

I got the Monaco OPTIXxr working using version 2.03 of the software (most

recent version).

The software does not offer a before and after picture after creating a

profile, it just applies the profile. I wanted to see the difference between

the earlier Adobe gamma profile and the two new profiles I created (one for

lower light and one for bright light - with the monitor set at different

brightness settings).

The profile curves show what looks like a noticeable change in the blue

settings. Green and Red are very close to the line. (When I adjusted my white

point I had to make noticeable changes, mostly to Red and Green, not Blue, the

profile then changed blue. I thought I made a mistake with my white point so I

deleted the first profile and reset my monitors color settings and did it

again, with the same result).

I opened a picture with lots of blue sky in Photoshop, then I opened my monitor

properties and changed profiles in the color management tab. I cannot see any

difference in the 3 profiles.

Having hardware based feedback during the white point adjustment was good, but

I was hoping to see some change from the profile as well.

I downloaded and used the LUT Tester - Utility SW to make sure my video card

can adjust to match a profile. It can.

http://www.xrite.com/support_doc.aspx?

ID=654&SoftwareID=598&Type=d&Industry=1&Segment=12

The newest profile was selected as the default profile by the program. To

change things I selected a different profile made it the default and then OK?ed

my way out the display properties box. Am I making a mistake? I looked in

Photoshop?s help files for anything I have missed but I could not find anything

to indicate why I don?t see a change.

Thanks

Jon

I emailed X-Rite and asked to activate the OPTIXpro 2.03 software, and they emailed me back. Kevin was very helpfull and once I had sent him the serial number he sent me the activation information.

Good company to deal with. Shame their new software does not recognize the Monaco DTP 94 Colorimeter.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to help me out with this.

Jon

Hi thanks for your help.

I downloaded X-Rite Eye-One match but it does not recognize the DTP-94.

I got 2 different DTP-94s from the eBay seller; one with EZ-Color, and one with Monaco Optix 2.0.

I have tried both DTP-94s and installed all three software packages. The eye-one match software does not need activation, if there is a way to make it recognize the DTP-94 the problem would be over.

EZ-Color and Monaco Optix 2.0 are both running inside the 14 day demo mode.

I wish companies that prevent the resale of their products would indicate this somewhere in their product information. Mentioning it 25 paragraphs deep in the license agreement and claiming that that is enough is not very ethical.

Jon

Monaco Optix 2.0 web site and support information:

http://www.xrite.com/product_overview.aspx?ID=653&Industry=1&Segment=5&Action=Support

Q: I purchased MonacoOPTIX today. When I opened the package I noticed that the circular product seal had been broken. I tried to register it and received this email in response:

A Problem was Encountered with Your Registration Information

A: A check of Monaco's software registration database indicates that this copy of MonacoOPTIX has already been registered to another user. It appears that you received an open box. Return the product to your retailer and ask that they provide you with an unopened copy.

I got a Monaco Optix XR Pro that was on EBay, but the software will not

activate.

I went online to enter the serial number from the cd case (on what was supposed

to be an unused product). I filled out my name and address and asked for an

activation.

It refused.

The product has already been activated and if I want to activate it I must

enter the name and address absolutely exactly the same as before, or enter the

original activation number.

I emailed the person I bought it from on EBay to ask for his help. He said

that he bought it from someone who said it was unused, and he didn't try to use

it, so he can't help me.

Has anyone else bought a pre-owned copy of EZ Color, and been able to

successfully install it?

The person I bought it from has offered a refund (he seems like a good guy with

100% positive ratings) but I waited a month to get it and now I would really

like to be able to use it.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

Jon

Hi

The Monaco has a five seat licence. I was looking at one on Ebay. Has anyone

bought a used Monaco and how did the licence work? Were you able to reuse a

seat used by a previous owner? I have 2 desktops, and a laptop that I want to

calibrate. I presume I will need 3 active seats. If I upgrade or replace the

oldest computer will I need a 4th seat available to do it? How restrictive is

the seat licence and dongle on a Monaco? Thank you in advance for your time.

I have a printer scanner combo. It is old. It still plugs into the printer port. It was an expensive combo years ago and is still OK for normal stuff. I don't print photos at home. I was looking at a more complete system but they are expensive. The Xrite Eye-One Photo Color Calibration System is $1399 at B&H http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=Search&A=details&Q=&sku=465163&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

The ColorVision PrintFIX PRO is $680 Canadian (not stocked at B&H)

http://www.vistek.ca/details/details.aspx?WebCode=222512&CategoryID=ComputerAccessories

Too bad the original spyder is not well reviewed, Amazon has the original spider for $44 http://www.amazon.com/COLORVISION-GEU102-Spyder-Windows-Macintosh/dp/B00007IT9B/ref=sr_1_6/002-9994271-4520037?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1174810561&sr=1-6

and the original screen/printer set for $150 http://www.amazon.com/ColorVision-Spyder-Master-Suite-Spectro/dp/B00009YWJM/ref=sr_1_7/002-9994271-4520037?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1174810561&sr=1-7

Currently I just want to sent an accurate picture to the local printer and get back what I expect.

Jon

Thank you, it is good to know that Monaco and Eye-One will be supported in the future I don't need the Vista update yet but it is good to see it and know it is free.

http://www.xrite.com/product_overview.aspx?Industry=1&Segment=12&ID=592&Action=Support&SoftwareID=625

Hi Quickshooter trashed the makers of Coloreyes and Spyder2 as unprofessional. Has anyone delt with customer service from them? Are they that bad?

Thanks

Hi I want to buy calibration hardware but I don't know which one to get. I

have read the previous posts and looked at several web pages mentioned in

them. Thanks for the info so far. I have some questions about the systems.

Gretag Macbeth Eye-One Display2

Is listed as discontinued on Amazon websites (US and Canadian sites) the

manufacturers site did not list it as discontinued.

http://www.xrite.com/discontinued_products.aspx?Industry=1&Segment=12&Action=Support

Is this discontinued?

Monaco Optix XR

This is listed as discontinued on the manufacturer?s website (see above). Have

they announced Vista drivers for discontinued items? I use XP Pro but

eventually my next computer will run Vista. If they are both discontinued and

Vista is not supported this will shorten up the list of options.

ColorEyes Display Pro

Is there a reseller? - Or is it full price only?

Also the drycreek review mentioned quirks with this software specifically:

"ColorEyes can use the instrument to guide setting screen luminance levels,

although this requires starting the calibration with a CRT monitor selected,

even if you use a LCD. You need to abort the process and restart if you have a

LCD after setting the display luminance. In a similar vein, there is no direct

readout of the screen white point. You can calculate it from the displayed xyY

values, but this is not useful for most folks."

Is this dated information or is it still like that?

Are there other quirks that buyers should be wary of?

Spyder2 Pro

There seems to be mixed feelings about this one. Most people recommend another

one instead. Drycreek says it is bad at lighter colors, is that still current

information? I was leaning toward this one, but if it isn't good at highlights

that is a problem.

Huey

This one has worse forum reviews than the Spyder2.

None of the above seems like a slam dunk, or have I just read too much?

My current setup is only OK. I have a HP computer with an older video card (2

years old) and a new 22" widescreen that was on sale. The reviews of the 22"

widescreens are not that good. I didn't do any homework before I bought it.

It was a Boxing Day sale impulse buy.

I also have a HP laptop that I want to calibrate too. Spyder2 pro and Eye-One

Display2 both mention matching the calibration between different systems. Is

this just marketing or does this work?

These are worth reading if you are planning to get a LCD monitor:

<http://www.pchardwarehelp.com/guides/lcd-panel-types.php>

<http://encycl.opentopia.com/term/TFT_LCD>

<http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/other/display/lcd-guide.html>

This page is in Dutch but if you enter the manufactures name in the box it will

list off their LCD models and what type of LCD it is. The one to avoid is TN

(Twisted Nematic). All of the Current 22? widescreens are TN types.

<http://www.flatpanels.dk/skaerme.php>

Calibration links:

<http://www.drycreekphoto.com/Learn/monitor_calibration_tools.htm>

<http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/links.html#color_management>

And this useful little site:

<http://www.flatpanels.dk/monitortest_dk.php>

<http://www.shootsmarter.com/> has links to their recommended systems but I am

not a member there so I can't see them. Someone mentioned they specialize is

high end setups. I am new at this. I don't want to spend $1000+ on this.

Thank you for any help you can provide.

Jon Stock