sharon

I was under the impression that they released the "D" lens to coincide with the release of the 5600HS and 3600HS which also coincided with the release of the 7.

Hi-

 

I shoot for myself now and have been booked solid for the last two years. So far, so good. The thing that really gave my business a boost was when I got a website. Even in the beginning when the site wasn't that great I was able to book jobs. All I had up was a couple of photos and my prices. Eventually, I was able to book nicer events. The nicer events went up and the old events came off. And it just got better from there. My prices went up as well to reflect the nicer events and my photography.

 

I began to advertise just on the internet. I didn't have $2500 to sink into six months of a magazine. I signed up for a year of Wed Alert for $250 and WEDJ.com for $19.99 a month. I was already doing well but I decided, let me throw in The Knot, too. That's all I do and I seem to have a steady stream of inquiries.

 

My prices are also reasonable compared to many other places and I think that definitely helps attract people my way. I offer A La Carte albums and prints, so if they place orders after the wedding, I make a little more.

 

Word of mouth is great when you have a big reputation, but it is a very slow, unsteady, unpredictible way to depend on work when you are new. Well, good luck.

Hi- thanks everyone!

 

I am still waiting on the roll that I put through it. I took it over to Mack camera- just a town away for me- and someone checked the film plane (?? Hey, I'm not a technician, just a photographer) and he said it appeared to be fine. So, I'm waiting on the film to confirm. I took plenty of close-ups and also some farther shots just to see how they turn out. Thanks again!

Hi-

 

I picked up a third Bronica body recently, an SQB, and I notice when

looking through the prism, my 65mm lens appears a lot more distorted

than it does when looking through the prisms on my 2 Sqai's. It is

not the same focusing screen as the Sqai's, it's different. The

Sqai's have the split screen and came with the cameras brand new.

This SQB is a body I picked up used, and I was expecting a split

focusing screen like in the sqai's but there isn't one.

 

Also, it seems like the distance is off. When I stand with the sqai

and measure 10 feet from my lens, and have 10 feet set on the lens,

the subject (a lamp that had stripes and was good for critical

focusing) was sharp and in focus. When I stood with the SQB with

the same lens, instead of 10 feet, it was more like 13/14. 10 feet

looked a little fuzzy although I had the distance on the lens set to

10 feet. I have to run a roll through the camera still, but what

other tests can I do or is it obvious something is wrong with the

prism, or the focusing screen, or maybe the mirror? Thanks in

advance to anyone who is willing to take time to answer. Thanks!

Hi-

 

I looked around and couldn't find any posts that had this same

problem.

 

Anyway, I use two Bronicas Sqai's while I shoot weddings. One is

with a speedgrip, the other with a winder. The one with the winder

seemed to feel a little funny- it would begin winding around and

then seemed to "give" and the rest of the wind would seem to not

have the same tension. I put many MANY rolls through the camera and

never had a skipping or overlapping problem, everything was ok.

Because the other camera is with a speedgrip, I really have nothing

to compare it to so I figured maybe that's just how it is.

 

The other morning I was loading and sync checking my cameras before

going out to do some work and the camera seemed fine. I sync

checked it a few times, loaded a back, and right before putting the

back on I went to sync check one more time, and nothing happened.

The shutter would not fire. I flipped the muliple exposure switch

back up then back down, and still, nothing. I looked through the

viewfinder and saw black- the mirror was up. I tried to play with

the mirror lock-up switch but it didn't move. I could not turn the

winder forward, only backward. The battery had been working ok, I

checked it- the light had gone on during sync checking. I put the

camera down for a few minutes and grabbed the manual to look for

trouble shooting. I could find nothing that described this. I

picked the camera back up, tried it again, was about to give up when

suddenly I felt the winder give and it spun around. I did it again

and I could feel something stick, but it spun around. I took off

the lens because I needed that lens and before, it was stuck on the

camera when it was jammed. I noticed that the flash was no longer

going off, and I didn't know if it was because the lens was not

attached or if something was wrong. I put the camera away.

 

I went out, did my session, and came home. I immediately went to the

camera when I got home. I attached a lens, removed the back, and

sync checked like I always do. The camera functioned perfectly as

if nothing was wrong. I am now very nervous about using the camera

for a wedding I have Saturday. I plan on taking it to Mack Camera

tomorrow for a check-up, but in the meantime, has anyone ever

experienced a "jam-up" like that that just "went away"? I've been

using the cameras close to 2 years and have never had this happen

before.

 

Also- I had some extremely humid jobs recently and I was wondering

if it's possible that the contacts had slightly corroded (not

visible to the human eye) but enough to have caused a problem? I

also removed and replaced the prism and I am now wondering if by

doing that I inadvertantly did something beneficial to the contacts.

 

Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hi-

 

My lab has been processing Tri-X for me. They usually do a good job

but occasionally I notice my pictures turn out "spotty". When I

show them the spots, they tell me it's from the film. I showed them

to a friend who does his own and he verified what I was thinking,

that it comes from the bubbles during processing and that can only

be prevented by continually agitating the film as it's developed. I

had once gone to a lab that sends the film out directly to Kodak.

The processing was done well with no bubble marks that I could see.

Do you recommend sending the Tri-X to Kodak to be processed, then

having it proofed out at my lab? Will they leave it uncut if I ask

them or will they cut it? I admit I don't have much practice in the

developing area but I like to shoot this film. Is anyone else using

Kodak for processing? Thanks.

I don't own any (yet), but read that the 135mm is a nice lense for close-focusing and portrait work.

Go to the Tamron website- they list all the cameras and differences there.

Well, an 80mm is equivalent to a 50mm in 35mm form- it will give you the most normal perspective to the human eye. If you are more interested in lanscapes, then maybe the 250 is better for your needs. If you are not shooting weddings, then you probably do not have a need for the extra cameras and backs. How much does that lens go for? Is it a fair trade? I would check first if you decide to go ahead with it. Compare prices at KEH.com.

I've been assisting a wedding photographer for 3 years that uses the Hasselblad CM exclusively. I can't tell you how many times we've been in the middle of a frantic wedding shoot and wasted time stressing out on why the flash wasn't firing. "Is it me? Is it you?" 99% of the time it was because of the PC cord not being plugged back in. I like the Hasselblad a lot...but believe it or not, while I'm on the edge of buying my own equiptment and thinking about doing this myself, I am contemplating a Bronica because I don't like the sloppiness of loose sync cords. With all the in/out, in/out, in/out with the sync cord, I think it weakens the lense jack. On one job I did recently, the 150 portrait lense decided it just wasn't going to fire with the flash. It's still being repaired, and probably quite expensively. I say you really need to give it some thought and decide what you want. Rent one if you can and see how you like it. I don't like that the Bronica uses batteries, but I may very well put up with that so I don't need to put up with the sync cord/ Hassie scene. I know I would come to resent lenses that cost me thousands$$$, yet could be so aggrivating. I'd probably like the brand new lenses, but they are painfully unaffordable.

Jackson- you get 12 exposures shooting 120 film 6x6. 24 for 220 film.

Since I am about to start trying to gather together my own photographic equiptment, inevitably the big question of "Do I invest in the typical medium format as it's been, or do I invest in what seems like it's coming upon us quite rapidly, and may even become the new way of life- digital?"

 

Digital seems quite promising...imagine not having to change a roll of film during a wedding gig...ever again? No more frantic grasping for loaded backs. Or knowing right off the bat that your over or under exposed? Shoot with convenient confidence like never before, without wasting precious time switching to and from a polaback. Ever do a shoot and discover your back's not loaded? I've been assisting for 3 years and I've seen some pretty tense situations arise.

 

Although I love film...I cannot deny that digital is evolving very fast and they are really on a roll with it now. I am reading articles all the time now about photographers "discovering" how truly great and convenient digital is. The quality is now surpassing old unnacceptable quality. One company is mailing me a free 8 x 10 to check out and another a 16 x 20. Yet another company is mailing me a free digital wedding album CD to look at. Imagine being able to email your client's wedding pics and have them be able to view and order extras through their computer. This is going to change a lot of things. No chemicals polluting the land to develop all that film...quickly and easily retouch whatever you have to.

 

Another advantage is in low-light conditions. You can take excellent pictures in low-light and have nice colors showing up in the pictures and you don't have to worry about movement blurring a lowlight digital photo. Think of the advantages there'd be during a ceremony with low-light conditions. Digital cameras are excelling there.

 

I can seriously see the photo world becoming divided over this...the hardcore film users against those embracing the whole digital scene. So many will jump on the digital bandwagon that die-hard film users may become sought after and more expensive and will have a specific clientele. Digital will probably cost less and become more common than film. Just my opinion. Also- I don't think the pro digital cameras are going to resemble the consumer's deck of cards...I saw the Nikon 990 and it was pretty weird looking. The Kodak one is at least in a Canon 1N body so it looks halfway decent. I prefer "the look" of the traditional medium format camera and hope the digital cameras retain some of the beauty of their ancestors.