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Kent Shafer

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Posts posted by Kent Shafer

    A return to film..

    in Medium Format

    Posted

    The Nikon 9000 may be better in some ways, but I'm very, very happy with V700 scans from 6x6 transparencies for up to 16x20 inch prints. If you go that route, I highly recommend the betterscanning.com adjustable holder - it makes a big difference.

    D40x vs D300

    in Nikon

    Posted

    G,<p>

     

    I was in much the same boat as you except didn't do research first as you are doing. I had stopped doing serious photography for about 20 years (after moving out of a house with a beautiful darkroom and not having the energy to build another one). I had nice film cameras but quit using them because I had no darkroom.<p>

     

    Then went to Costco one day to buy a new point-and-shoot digital to replace our old dead one and on a whim bought a D40x outfit instead. Then got a couple of books about Photoshop and was astounded. No regrets about the missing darkroom now!<p>

     

    And very soon after that - just a few weeks after buying it - I realized the D40x had been a mistake. It can make very high quality images but for serious work suffers from the following:<p>

     

    <MENU>

    <LI type="disc">no mirror lockup<p>

    <LI type="disc">tiny viewfinder<p>

    <LI type="disc">no top display so settings visible only through the tiny viewfinder<p>

    <LI type="disc">necessity for using menus to change commonly changed settings such as ISO and white balance<p>

    </MENU>

     

    So within a month or two after getting the D40x I bit the bullet and ordered a D300.<p>

     

    You are planning to use fine lenses and can afford a D300. If you go with the D40x instead, you may be in danger of suffering the same buyer's remorse I did.<p>

     

    Have fun, whichever you choose.<p>

     

    Kent

    Nikon dSLR - traditional photo like prints.

    in Nikon

    Posted

    I have a Kodak EasyShare printer dock that makes very nice 4 x 6 inch glossy dye sublimation prints. The prints look about the same as the good old fashioned ones from a traditional photofinisher. Very handy for snapshots for friends and family. B&H has two models - one for $75 and one for $90. A pack of paper and dye to make 200 prints goes for $50.

    Starting photography

    in Nikon

    Posted

    Elliot,<p>

     

    I have extremely mixed feelings after looking at Wilson Tsoi's beautiful P&S pictures. So his P&S's are far better than anything I have ever done or may hope to do with more elaborate equipment - now what? This has the potential to be quite depressing.<p>

     

    Long ago, in the 1970's, I was very into B&W scenery with a 4x5, Zone System, etc. Then the gallery where I worked had an Edward Weston exhibit. I opened the packing box and started leafing through the prints, and the hair stood up on the back of my neck. They were astonishing! They glowed like there was a light inside! You almost couldn't bear to look at more than three or four without taking a break. I gave up photography for a decade after that.<p>

     

    I will now do my best to forget about Wilson Tsoi and not give up again.<p>

     

    Kent

    Epson Enhanced Matt

    in The Digital Darkroom: Process, Technique & Printing

    Posted

    Andrew,<p>

     

    I have the same problem. I'm a beginner at this, but here's the best I've come up with. I add a Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer and adjust it to make the screen look as much as possible like the unsatisfactory dark and dull first print. The adjustment seems to be around -40 brightness and +65 contrast. I then add a second Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer and adjust it to make the picture look good on the screen (positive brightness and negative contrast). When I've finished doing that, I delete the first Brightness/Contrast layer, which leaves an overly bright and washed out image on the screen that prints fairly close to what I want on Epson Enhanced Matte.<p>

     

    Kent

    Is a Prime Lens Brighter than a Zoom?

    in Casual Photo Conversations

    Posted

    This question and Don's answer make we wonder why all zoom lenses aren't variable aperture.<p>

     

    Take the 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom, for example. Since an f/stop is the ratio of the focal length to the diameter of the aperture, the maximum diameter of this lens's aperture at 200mm must be 200mm/2.8 or about 71mm. A 71mm aperture diameter at the 70mm zoom setting would amount to f/1.0, which of course this lens does not offer.<p>

     

    Could the answer be that while the physical characteristics of the 70-200 zoom could theoretically provide f/1.0 at the 70mm setting, the designers chose not permit it because the image quality wouldn't be acceptable?<p>

     

    Thanks,<p>

    Kent

    24-70 f2.8 not sharp in corners until 35mm (on DX)

    in Nikon

    Posted

    Not to beat a dead horse, but following Dan's lead I repeated my test shifting the viewpoint so that corner and center crops would have similar subject matter.<p>

    The corner is obviously softer than the center, which doesn't seem consistent with Bjorn's and Photonet's results. I must have a bad one. What a drag.<p>

    Both shot with D300 in large fine jpg, factory defaults, with strobe at f/8, no PP, 100% crops.

    24-70 f2.8 not sharp in corners until 35mm (on DX)

    in Nikon

    Posted

    Here are some tests I just did at 24mm about 12 feet away from a bookshelf using a strobe. Can't say I'm thrilled with the 24-70's corner sharpness either, though I don't have another pro quality lens with that focal length to compare it to. It obviously compares very favorably to the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens.
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