phototransformations

Blurb did a great job on a 12"x12", 228 page photo book I did for about

that price. BookBaby is decent for up to 8.5x11. If you are wii g to

order 1000 at a time, you can get magnificent books done in China and

Iceland for 1/10th that cost. But 1000 is a lot of books.

I can't imagine a way to predict success of a Kickstarter project in advance. The key, beyond having a good idea, is

marketing it to everyone in your extended network who might want to see you succeed. 600 Facebook fans are unlikely to

get you very far. I had 2500, and their contribution to the project was miniscule. More helpful were the 1000 people on my

mailing list, but the bulk of my Backers were friends, family members, and referrals they made to their friends and family

members. Something like 50% of Kickstarter projects are funded. The ones that are, are good ideas that are aggressively

marketed or that attract the attention of the Kickstarter staff and are promoted to the Kickstarter community.

For my project, the key was

persistence. I felt like I had to devote a

couple of hours each day to putting the

word out to potential backers. After a

while, I started to understand how and

why NPR fund drives work.

 

As a way to earn money, I didn't find

my campaign that useful. I've probably

spent 1,000 hours creating my book,

and I raised less than $8,000. But my

purpose was to force myself finish the

project, and Kickstarter worked very

well for me because I have continually

kept in mind the people who backed

me and are waiting (patiently) for the

book to arrive.

<p>I used Kickstarter to fund this project, which I'm now completing (delayed about a year due to illness):<br>

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/phototransformations/the-flower-mandalas-project<br>

If you'd like to talk with me or email me for your project, I'm happy to help. <br>

<br />- David<br>

david (at) davidbookbinder (dot) com</p>

I've been pretty happy with ProDPI.com.

<p>I'm not an expert in this, but since you are wanting to use their photos to promote yourself, I would think you would need a model release specifically allowing that, in order to do so. Legality aside, I'm kind of surprised that you are considering arguing with them about their desire for privacy. </p>

<p>My most recent book cover images were for $800, $600, $400, and $400, in that order, and I couldn't negotiate higher in any case. Rates seem to be dropping -- but £100 seems really low. I'd try to negotiate higher. If I couldn't, however, I'd probably take the £400.</p>

<p>SD cards use the same ancient file system, the FAT, that early versions of Windows and MS-DOS used. When I used to get files filled with garbage back in my Windows 95-98 days, it was usually because the files had become cross-linked in the FAT or there was some other kind of file system corruption. Since you have apparently formatted the card, there's no way to run CHKDSK on it to see if that was the issue, but it sounds like the same problem, that the FAT is pointing to random data on your card as if it belonged to your files. You may still be able to recover some of the JPEGs if you run a utility on them that specifically repairs damaged JPEGs. I don't know of such a utility offhand, but I have run across them in the past. If you are lucky, only some of the image data is garbage and the utility will be able to reassemble the file from your copies.<br>

In the future, if this happens again, don't erase the card before you've diagnosed the problem, using CHKDSK in read-only mode.</p>

<p>Thanks for your advice. I came back from vacation prepared to call, then figure out if it was worth turning collection over to an agency, and then discovered (though my bank statement, not through any communication from then) that they had wired the money to my account the day before I returned. Strange that I got no replies at all to my queries, but at least they finally paid.</p>

<p>I've sold two images to be used as book covers to an Italian publisher, Feltrinelli. The first transaction went smoothly except for a two-month delay because the Italians require proof of U.S. residence via a tax form from the U.S. government that takes a couple of months to receive. The second shot I sold in March, delivered the tax form about a month ago (the form took three months, this time), have emailed all the relevant parties twice asking about payment, have given them both my address and my wire transfer information, but so far have gotten no replies at all since our initial exchange in March. I have a signed contgract and I'd like to be paid, but it's not like I can take them to small claims court, since they are in Italy, and the amount they agreed to pay would quickly be eaten up by attorney fees.<br>

<br />Any suggestions?</p>

<p>Agreed. OM-D is significantly better at highest ISO than G3 or GH2. Seems to be the best m4/3 camera out there, in any way I can see except possibly video (about which I haven't heard much). Of course, it's likely that the GH3 will leapfrog it, so if you're not in a hurry you might want to wait until it's announced.</p>

<p>Stitch several images together and you can get amazing sharpness and detail out of any lens. I typically shoot with any random 50-ish focal length and stitch both horizontally and vertically to get increased resolution.</p>

<p>I have this combo as my backup system now that I'm using a G3 most of the time. Yes, on the first page of the Record menu there is an OIS entry, and among the selections is "OFF."</p>

You should post a crop of the streaks, preferably an out of focus shot of the blue sky or a blank wall at base ISO, f/22. If

there are sensor streaks you'll probably need to do a wet clean, though you may be able to remove them with a

SensorKlear pen, which is a simple job and worth a try as a second cleaning attempt, assuming a blower fails to remove

whatever is causing the problem.

I don't have an EPL1 but ran across a very detailed article documenting this problem, which is similar to a problem in the

Panasonic 45-175 lens (which I do have). As I recall the shutter vibration affects the stabilization system at shutter

speeds you mention but not above or below. Sorry, don't recall which review site tested it.

Sorry, iPhone made gibberish out of the first sentence. It should read that the firmware update amazingly improved the

OIS.

That update made amazing improve

DNGs to the OIS. Make sure you are in Mode 1. Although in theory Mode 2 is better, in practice Mode 1 makes using this

lens at the long end much easier, with no down side I can see for sharpness with the new update.

I find the 45-200 to be reasonably sharp at 200 and significantly sharper at 150. There appears to be some sample

variation, but I'd be surprised if it was softer than the 40-150 at 150. It's only drawbacks are weight and eventual zoom

creep. It's obvious advantage is OIS, which with updated firmware is quite amazing.

<p>Thanks, I did finally receive a refurbished camera to replace the original, and except for one piece of apparently stuck dust (the thing came loaded with dust on the sensor, but only this small piece wouldn't budge), it seems fine.<br>

So I'm not looking to get satisfaction from Panasonic, at this point. Instead I'm looking to avoid them for any future repairs. When I was shooting Nikons, it was fairly easy to find reliable repair people who were not Nikon Service, and I'm looking for the equivalent for Panasonic cameras.</p>

<p>Thanks, I'll resort to that if I have to, but meanwhile I'm interested in finding a non-manufacturer repair center that can handle Panasonic m4/3 cameras and lenses.</p>

<p>Anyone here have experience with getting Panasonic cameras and/or lenses repaired by an Authorized Repair Center rather than Panasonic Service in Texas? After a far from smooth or satisfactory experience with Panasonic Service I'm looking for alternatives. I've had work done by Precision Camera some years ago on a Nikon lens and they also work on Panasonics but declined to do so on my G3 as they were uncertain Panasonic would honor the repair as a warranty repair. Anyone have experience with anyone else? I'm mainly interested in in-warranty work and whether getting things done has been a smooth and error-free process. I'm loathe to ever deal with Panasonic Service again.<br>

Also, I'm interested in the best way to escalate a problem with Panasonic Service. I know there is a Consumer Affairs office, but apparently the person in charge there only answers calls from attorneys. When I had a similar problem with Nikon, someone on this board was able to PM me the name of a higher-up at Nikon who ultimately got my thrice-misrepaired Nikon replaced with a new camera (which, five years later, still works fine).<br>

Thanks,<br>

David</p>

<p>I've found framingsupplies.com to be a good, inexpensive source for frames, plexi, framing hardware, and pre-cut mats. Most of my work is square, too. The hardest part of framing is making sure there's no dust on the plexi (if you use plexi). Cleaning the plexi with a static-repelling plastic cleaner helps. Depending on the image, you can also experiment with avoiding mats altogether and instead use plastic spacers to make sure your prints don't touch the plexi or glass.</p>

It's possible but not optimal. With a G-type adapter your lenses will lose autofocus, auto aperture, and storing of lens info

in the EXIF. Probably best to sell your G lenses (as I am finally getting around to doing) and replace with native m4/3

glass.

<p>How? Your solution might be enlightening.</p>

I chose the G1 and would do so again. The articulating LCD and excellent EVF and better 14-45 kit lens were more

important than prettier JPEGs, IBIS, and physical size. If I were a JPEG shooter coming up from P&S, however, I might

have come to the opposite decision.