bjscharp

<p>I solved the Blackrapid/Tripod catch22 by putting the Blackrapid fastener on a small Arca-Swiss compatible clamp from Kirk, and attaching that to the L-bracket on my cameras. Makes switching cameras a lot faster, and allows me to use the AS system for my tripod needs.</p>

 

<p><img src="http://static.photo.net/attachments/bboard/00W/00WL93-239755584.JPG" /></p>

 

<p><img src="http://static.photo.net/attachments/bboard/00W/00WL99-239755684.JPG" /></p>

<p>For a full treatise on all Pentax 50mm 1.4s : See <a href="http://www.luminous-landscape.com/columns/sm-02-11-24.shtml">here</a>.</p>

 

<p>I myself have the SMC-M 50/1.7, and it's good enough for me.</p>

I have one in M-mount. Bought it in 2009 for $375. I modified a 12585 hood so it will fit reversed when the lens is collapsed, and that combination on my M3 makes for a very compact package, easily slipped into a jacket pocket, or, as I've done often, hung from a belt clip.

 

I find that performance peaks around f4 - f5.6, but its quite usable wide open. It tends to have a veiling flare effect with light just out of the picture at wide apertures, so I recommend using the hood.

 

All in all, it's maybe not the best lens there is, but it's my only 50 for my Leica, and I've never felt limited by it.

Any office supply store should have a wide selection available. Just look around for what suits your demands and budget.

Sounds like the LowePro Rover series

It think that a large part of the M8/M9 choice depends on the lenses you want to use. If you like extreme wideangles, the M8 will limit your choices, while the M9 is more limited in long lens choice.

 

Decide the lenses you'd like to end up with, and pick your camara based on that.

 

Example: my most used lens is a 50mm, followed by a 21mm, while I don't much care about the focal lengths in between. So I chose the M3, since no Leica has a build-in 21 frameline anyway, and the M3 has the best 50mm finder of them all.

Remember that with the Life-size converter, the 50 CM becomes a 70mm (the LSC is a teleconverter and an extension ring combined), which gets you a bit closer to that 100mm macro.

 

I bought the 50mm CM for the same reason you described, as a combined macro and 50mm standard on a FF body (though in my case it was an EOS 30 film body). It works great for that, though manual focus isn't its strong point, since it's an old-style arc-form drive, meaning you have to flip the switch to go from AF to MF.

The Pen F and FT differ only internally (FT has a light meter, F doesn't), so yes, the different cases should be compatible, unless Olympus made different models over the years.

I would very seriously consider an X100 variant with a 50mm equivalent lens. But I'm not looking forward to anything, quite well set with my current cameras.

There are still people shooting on glass plates, large format, daguerrotypes, you name it, and those technologies are much, much older than the standard 35mm film canister, and the cameras much less common. I think the `end of film' will be well beyond our lifetime. They still sell paints and brushes, don't they?

@Dan, no, I haven't changed anything recently. I didn't have a problem under Windows 2000 or XP, but since I upgraded to Windows 7, it gives me problems.

 

@Bernard Lazareff: That looks interesting, and more in my price-range. Thanks!

Actually, I would be surprised if the Classic has a trigger voltage limit. In the TTL, the gate contact is controlled by electronics, which limits the voltage, but in the Classic (and older Ms) it's just a mechanical switch attached to the shutter.

 

That's why high-trigger-voltage strobes exist: Older mechanical cameras didn't care, they just shorted the contacts.

 

(Of course, I don't know this for certain, usual disclaimers apply, etc)

@Dan: I am using Vuescan (there are no `original' Minolta drivers for 64-bit Windows 7). It's connected through Firewire. I might give USB a try sometime, see if that helps, never thought of that.

 

To Howard & Richard: That looks like what I'm looking for, but a Coolscan 4000 or 5000 is a bit over my budget unfortunately. Thank you for the suggestions!

I've only used the Blackrapid, but I like it very much (it's one of the two only straps I use. The other is a Blackrapid dual strap). The thing I like about the Blackrapid over the Sunsniper is the easily detachable hook. If you want to remove the Sunsniper from the camera, you have to unscrew it from the tripod socket. With the Blackrapid, you just snap off the carabiner and you're done. This also allows you to use other attachment points than the tripod socket. For instance: on my Leicas I hook the strap to a small loop of jumpcord tied to one of the strap lugs.

Hi,

 

I'm currently scanning with a Minolta Scan Elite II, but I have very persistent driver problems on Windows 7, so I've been thinking about

replacing it.

 

Now I was wondering: I do most of my processing at home, and even the rolls I get developed (slides) come back uncut. Since most of the

work with scanning goes into replacing the film in the scanner, I was wondering if there are any desktop-size scanners on the market that

can take an entire roll as input, and scan all 36+ images in one go, without user intervention.

 

Does anyone know of a device like that which is still within the home-scanner budget?

 

Regards,

Bernard

I use the MR-9 adapter in my Leicameter. Works ok, but because the 'cap' of the silver cell ( the minus pole) is smaller than the cap of the real mercury cell would be, how well it works will depend on the design of the battery compartment. In my Leicameter, I had to tape off part of the contact for it to work well.

<blockquote>That lens will work properly on any LTM 24x36 film rangefinder camera be it Leica or copy. It will also work with apropriate adapter(s) on Sony Nex 1.5 crop or m4/3 digicams. Otherwise it will only be a closeup lens on any other camera, NO INFINITY.</blockquote>

 

<p>It can also be adapted to Leica M mount. And of course a whole host of enlargers take 39mm lenses.</p>

Thanks for all the responses. I just souped the roll in D76 1+1 for nine minutes, and looking at the negs as they're hanging, they look perfect. Right at the middle of the curve.

 

I used D76 since I wanted a bit less grain, and didn't need razor sharpness for these shots.

 

Thanks!

Ah yes, I forgot to mention: the roll is 35mm.

 

I could get some AM74, but I'm a bit hesistant to try a new developer on a film with some important shots. I've used both Rodinal and D76 before on Neopan (but at faster EI's), so I know I'll get an image out of it. I'll probably get a bottle to experiment later though, since I shoot a lot of Neopan. What EI would you recommend with it?

A quick question. I just shot a roll of Neopan 400 at EI 200, and was wondering what most people would consider a

better developer for this: Rodinal or D76 (the two normal developers at my disposal), and at what dilutions/times/

temps.

 

Most pictures are outdoor shots (both sunny-16 and in open shade) of people, and the goal is negs suitable for enlarging (probably to

around 20x30 cm or so).

 

If people have examples of either combination, that would be even better.

<blockquote>Everyone is free to use a double bubble however they prefer. Do whatever works best for you!</blockquote>

 

+1 :-)

As Matthew already said, the use as described in the link you posted is wrong. The idea of a double level is that you can level in two planes at the same time. So for horizontal (landscape) shots, you put it in the hotshoe pointing forwards (using the shoe on the long side of the level). That way the rear level can help you get your horizon straight, and the front level helps you preventing up/down tilt (which would make vertical lines in your picture converge).

 

For vertical (portrait) shots, you'd use the shoe on the short side of the level in the hotshoe, with the other shoe pointing downwards (to the ground). This way, the level furthest from the camera helps prevent horizon tilt, and the one closest to the camera prevents up/down tilt.

 

The only advantage of a triple level is that you don't have to change its orientation when switching between horizontal and vertical.

One copy on my workstation, a copy on my fileserver in the attic, and another one on a fileserver in another city, roughly 35km away.

 

All backups are automated, so anything new is usually in all three locations at last 48 hours later.

I think all pictures are pretty uninspired. Composition isn't very strong, many are out of focus, and subject matter is, quite frankly, boring.

 

If these are typical of the kind of pictures you get with these lenses, I'd stay clear of either.

 

Which is strange, cause I've seen very good work done with 50mm Summicrons.

<p>I use a memory card wallet made for CF cards. CF cards (without case) are 43mm wide, and filters are only slightly thicker, so they fit perfectly</p>

 

<img src="http://www.itsacon.net/pictures/misc/fora/rff/filter_wallet.jpg" />

<p>(Sorry for the bad cellphone pic.)</p>

 

<p>You can get it from B&H <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/693536-REG/Case_Logic_DMC_2_DMC_2_Digital_Media_Case.html">here</a>. I've got two, one for B&W filters, one for colour filters.</p>