keith_b1

<p>L.A independent repair prices for CLA run more toward $100-150. Haven't used Nikon but may try in the future for my 180/2.8. </p>

<p>Fuji XE2 and kit lens(18-55). Cheap, really good picture quality. Upgrade to XT-1 for faster action but same picture quality.</p>

<p>Capture One, and the old Nikon Capture NX2 had a lot of folks convinced that they performed "better" raw conversions than say the other brands...Adobe or Corel or whatever. What, it seems to me, both companies did was --- using a bit of scientific market research --- tune the <em>look </em>of the default conversion so it would be extremely pleasing to their target audience.<br> I have personally seen color hues generated in a raw conversion (from a Nikon file) done in Photo Ninja that I could not get from my usual Adobe conversion, even after a lot of effort in the Adobe. So, there are differences between the raw converters.<br> In the end the raw converter should be chosen for it's useful(to you, not some other guy) features.</p> <p> </p>

<p>Two different lenses render the background differently. No news here. Especially with wide angle lenses, and extra especially with wide angle zoom lenses.<br> You stated that the 14-24 backgrounds look "ugly" to you. I think you'll need to undertake a search for another wide lens that has background rendition more pleasing to your eye.</p>

<p>Since 2008, I have occasionally shaken the cartridges from my 3800 and 3880 as hard and rapidly as I physically can---basically, as close to a 'human paint shaker' as possible--- for at least a minute straight and never had an issue. Just saying...</p>

<p>Lightroom is good, but somewhat demanding of computing power. Get the highest spec'd Mac you can afford: quad core, i7, max RAM(16GB is good, 8 will still work.)<br> Watch Lightroom video tutorials if it's hard to figure out from scratch.</p> <p> </p>

<p>There are FP shutters, but they stay open as the default position.<br> My Fujifilm XE1 has not needed to be wet cleaned in 2.5 years. I did wet clean it once, but the spot I was trying to get rid of turned out to be beneath the sensor cover glass!</p>

<p>My D800E was fixed under warranty...but I tested it, and discovered the left-side AF accuracy issue, within days of acquiring the camera.<br> It is sleazy of Nikon not to fix the issue now, if in fact the issue was there as a factory defect.<br> Did you buy with a credit card that can extend the warranty an additional year, or is it too late?<br> Return it to them, with example photos on CD/USB drive, or actual prints that demonstrate the problem. It really helps prevent them from retuning it unfixed. I used the L.A. office, and walked it in.</p>

<p>I've got an idea: rehouse the Fuji 56/35/23/16/and 14mm lenses in manual focus housings that retain the electronic aperture control. </p>

<p>A surprising number of horizontal scratches across negatives are created at the time of shooting, coming from within the film transport system of the camera. As for brushes, I use camel hair only when I have to brush slides or negs prior to scanning. And, no, they don't get all the dust...but I am unwilling to grind away at the film with anything harder.</p>

<p>If the Zeiss rep(s) brought up the short flange to focus distance as a challenge to wide lens design, I think that they may have falsely cast it as a problem. I have seen what the short F to F distance allows Fujifilm to accomplish, like a 14mm/2.8(21mm-e on 24x36) that has almost no distortion.<br> The short F to F is an advantage from all I can see.</p>

<p>An XPro-2 is of great interest to me IF:<br> 1. It doesn't sacrifice High-ISO noise performance compared to the 16MP sensor, and<br> 2. Fuji fixes the "bug" where the shutter triggering/lag is longer with Fuji lenses than any other lens on an adapter.</p>

<p>I had a very small darker spot on my new NEC. Under high magnification, it turned out to be one, lonely, misshapen pixel. I sent a photo of it to NEC warranty service and they laughed at me.</p>

<p>I rolled back to LR6.1.1 after briefly seeing and using the new Import panel.<br> It's like Adobe finally went senile.</p>

<p>Lightroom 6.2 has the new simplified--though to me it's more like 'stupified'-- import interface as well. <br> I'm going back to 6.1.</p>

<p>Eric, Yes...Zeiss repair costs are reasonable...that is nice. To be fair to Zeiss, both lenses I sent them had unusual issues: one appeared to be slightly de-centered and the other had a loose rear element bezel. That one was fixed after I provided them with a video of my fingers shifting the rear element side to side.</p>

<p>I have seen a few anecdotal reports of CPU failures on some other Zeiss ZF2 lenses.<br> Hopefully it's under warranty<br> Too bad you can't go with the lens on a nice vacation to Oberkochen! <br> Word to the wise: Both times I have sent out-of-warranty ZF/ZF2 lenses to Zeiss USA (who ferry them to Oberkochen) for repair, they came back from Germany unfixed, and had to be re-sent. Sounds like your lens' issue is more clear-cut than mine were, so they should get it right the first time.</p>

<p>I noticed that it hasn't specified whether or not the "compressed" 14-bit files are losslessly compressed.</p>

<p>I am thankful that some decent company is still making manual focus lenses of nice quality.<br> There is no shortage of AF lenses in the world. </p>

<p>Just for fun, I made this comparison:<br> Flat white object(a door) illuminated by direct, clear, 34 degree sunlight at 2 in the afternoon.<br> Measured via Minolta Spotmeter F, ISO 100:<br> Direct view of Door-------------------------------------------...........16EV<br> Through finder of Nikon D800 w/50/1.8m lens wide open: .........13EV<br> Through Leica M9 finder:........................................................11.3EV<br> Through a maxed out, blown out, cranking as high-white<br> as it could possibly go Fuji XE-1 EVF(w/ 23/1.4 lens wide open): 7.4EV</p>

<p>The slide film's density range, when diffusely illuminated(the ES-1 has a diffuser), does not challenge the D810. The slides are not "too contrasty". <br> Flash does not add contrast; when used with an auto exposure flash sync cord(Nikon SC-29 or equivalent), flash is an excellent and easy-to-use light source. <br> Most other light sources have a poorer color spectrum(I'm looking at you, LEDs), and therefore will demand more tinkering in post production to get the color where you want it.<br> Are you on auto WB? Lose that.</p> <p>Expose via the histogram. The rear LCD is, as is usually the case, of limited value.<br> Shooting JPEG? Don't bother. JPEGs, in this application, are a way of asking for disappointment. Each different slide film, and sometimes different batches of the same film, and sometimes different labs or different runs at the same lab.... looks different.<br> <strong>What processing/viewing app are you using to view the raw files? </strong>This probably is the most important issue here.<br> What display screen? Cheapo laptop, or cheapo LCD display might not be a good choice...depends on how bad they are.<br> I have shot slides with the D2X, D3, and D800/E and the finished files look pretty good, with a moderate amount of color and contrast adjustment, which I do in Lightroom.<br> You should be able to get good results also.</p> <p> </p>

<p>The only issue I have with the DR-5(which I've had since about 2009 with the D3's I had at the time) is that it is fiddly and time consuming to both attach and de-attach it. So much so, I almost never use it. It doesn't just quickly snap on.</p>

<p>The NEC PA-series monitor plus the Spectraview option is the easiest path to a calibrated good monitor, but it may be out of your cost range. </p>

<p>I'm happy I got the small Fuji XE-1---now, a primitive unit in Fuji-world--- but I'm also happy I still have the 2 Nikon DSLRs also. <br> They gotta fix the dimness and the freezing/blackout issue with the EVFs before they become completely viable.</p>

<p>EVF dark in bright light. <br> You noticed!<br> Seriously, It's good to hear that progress is being made on this, because I find the EVF in my Fuji cam extremely feeble in sunlight.</p>