tree

Oliver,

 

I cannot edit the posts once they have been made. However, I didn't feel a need to correct anything anyway.

 

And Michael, yes, I obviously know that the DDR no longer exists. My question was oriented at the fact that I encounted severe restrictions on photography in the East when I was there, and I was wondering if similar restrictions were put in place post Unification for similar structures.

It would be useful if email sent from photo.net included a header,

like "X-PhotoNet: " containing the forum the message is coming from.

This would in setting up filters on my email client.

Some product photography lends itself well to square formats: CD covers come immediately to mind. I think it is really situational, though I have little experience in product/advertisement/fashion photography.

Yes, the N2000 is a great camera for beginners (who don't want an auto-everything camera.) As the previous responder mentioned, the primary problem I have with it is the lack of depth-of-field preview. I can't remember if it has a spot-meter or not, I don't think it does. Some may say that is an advantage for the beginner. The N2000 with a Nikor 80/1.8 is a great way to get started.

 

I used an N2000 as my backup body for several years: I got some great shots with it. And as far as its noise goes, compared to my N90s it was wonderfully quiet.

<p>Oliver,</p>

 

<p>Danke für Ihren Aufsatz!</p>

 

<p>This is an excellent piece to launch the new Travel Photography forum. Thank you for posting it.</p>

 

<p>One question: when I travelled in the DDR in the mid-80s it was illegal to photograph bridges and military/police installations. Is this still the case? Since 9/11 some bridges are offlimits for photography in the USA, so such restrictions still occur.</p>

I would definitely try Konika Impressa 50. Reviews I read indicated that it was the print analogue of Velvia, though in my experience it is too blue when shooting in very cool light (though a polarizer would take care of that, I didn't have one with me when I used this.)

 

On the few occasions where I have used print film while travelling I have had great success with Kodak's Portra 160VC: great grain, great color, and nicely warm.

<p><i>The Luminous Landscape</i> has a comparison of the new Velvia

100F with Velvia Classic and Provia 100F: it's an interesting read,

and includes scans. They've promised another review of the reciprocity

characteristics soon. I can't wait.</p>

 

<p><a

href="http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/film/velvia100f.shtml">http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/film/velvia100f.shtml</a></p>

<p>My Rolleicord came with a very nice hard-leather never-ready case which looks great but is impractical in real world use. Like Lex says, the leather isn't getting any younger and I dislike the stress put on it taking the camera in and out of the case.</p>

 

<p>When I take the 'cord out in the field it travels nicely cradled in one side of my F.64 gear bag. The body itself doesn't have a strap, though I'm contemplating putting small rings on existing strap slots. Anyway, this setup works well for me.</p>

 

<p>So in short, it's a Royal PITA to use.</p>

I don't mind my pictures being given a low rating. I do mind when my pictures are given a low rating without any comment. If the purpose of the forums is to provide feedback to people on their photography, then perhaps no ratings will be accepted without some amount of feedback. The current restriction on 1/2/7 requiring a comment goes some way in this direction.

 

I post my pictures so that I can get constructive critiques of the subject and the technique. Unfotunately rarely do I get either... to the point where it doesn't seem worth going to the effort to scan the negatives or prints or chromes and uploading them. If I wanted to look at pretty pictures I'd just surf over to Getty or Corbis and browse away.

 

I must admit that there have been cases where I received a low rating on a picture from someone, sans comment, that prompted me to go look at their portfolio to see if they can "do any better." In virtually every case not only can they do better, but they consistently do. That stings all the more because I would like to know what it is about my work they didn't like, since they are obviously accomplished photographers.

 

Like Stefano, I'm not complaining, just observing.

 

To me this sight is worth the $25/yr I spent, and then some, just for the forums: the galleries could pretty much disappear and I would still be a regular participant.

<p>What gear are you putting on the tripod/ballhead? What are the specific

types of ballhead and tripod you are using? Is it possible that the total

weight of the equipment is beyond the rated specs of the head?</p>

<p>Lens hoods have two purposes:</p>

 

<ol>

<li>Reduce flare

<li>Protect the front element of the lense

</ol>

 

<p>Flare reduction is the most important reason to use a hood, especially

when doing nature photography. If you ever finding yourself shooting

towards the sun (whether directly in front of you or to the side) there is a

possibility of flare.</p>

 

<p>Protecting the front element of the lense is a secondary issue, but one

that is nonetheless worth considering. Rather bump up against a tree or wall

or whatever with the rubber, plastic, or metal hood then the lense itself.</p>

 

<p>I don't know anything about the Bronica Zenzanon. Lens hoods either

bayonet mounted to the lense (usually these are those custom made for the

particular lense) or screwed onto the filter ring. When buying a hood you

need to make sure that the one you get will work with the focal length you're

dealing with: if there is a mismatch it will either do nothing useful or will show

up in the corners of your frame.</p>

<p>Ilford has a nice little 11 page pamphlet that should answer all of your

questions. It also walks you though the steps and the equipment you will

need. You can download it from:</p>

 

<p><a

href="http://www.ilford.com/html/us_english/pdf/Film%20Hobbyist.PDF">http://www.ilford.com/html/us_english/pdf/Film

Hobbyist.PDF</a></p>

<p>This came up a few weeks ago: evidently Fuji is releasing the

chromogenic neopan only in the UK (or perhaps also on the continent, I

cannot remember), but not in the rest of the world (yet, if ever).</p>

 

<p>I don't see the need for this, other than to try and compete against

whatever market XP2 and Portra 400BW have. With that said, I'll be

interested to see how this stock compares to XP2. </p>

Personally I'm a big fan of the 50/1.4 : I use it a lot. There was a thread on here a while back about the merits of the 1.4 vs. the 1.8: it may be worth searching that out. Given the used prices for the 1.8 you cannot go wrong.

 

The choice of lens obviously depends on the type of photography you are going to be doing. I don't know if the 45mm lense will give you enough of a difference over the 50 to warrant the cost. If you want a wide angle lense, look at the 28 or 24mm. I recently sold my 24mm lense and regret it.

Go to John Craig's website: www.craigcamera.com. He has many thousands of manuals for all kinds of camera equipment available for purchase.

Yes, ISO 1222:2003 defines tripod connections.

 

In the United States you have 1/4" diameter, 20 threads per inch, with 1/2" in length. However, I would suggest that you just measure the screw on your cheapo tripod.

 

As far as expensive toys, I have a Bogen 3006 monopod that cost $35 at B&H. I added a Bogen 3229 tilt head for $25 or so. The head has quick-release plate identical to the one on my 3030 3-D head. I use it with my 35mm and Medium Format gear. The only thing I miss is a spiked foot, and you can add that. This is a very functional setup that doesn't cost a lot of money and is versatile.

<p>Shaw's <i>Closeups in Nature</i> is an excellent book: I recommend it. I haven't seen Lefkowitz, but I wouldn't worry that it was written in the 1970s --- large format technology hasn't changed so much in the last thirty (forty, fifty, or eighty for that matter) years that the information in it will be too dated.</p>

I would find it useful to get a summary listing of images in my

portfolio: title, number of ratings, average rating values, whether

there are comments, and perhaps the folder, but that isn't essential.

Essentially a way for me to see what people's respones have been. This

is what I was going to generate for myself by downloading the CSV list

of my portfolio, but since that doesn't work right now I started

thinking that it would be useful to have.

I downloaded the CSV list of photos from my portfolio and it is

missing several images entirely.

The medium format market is so small compared to 35mm that I can't imagine it would make sense for Mamiya to reintroduce the Mamiya 6.

<p>To add to Erik's suggestion about the use of tûle: I mount the

material in a Cokin P-series gelatin filter holder, which provides a convenient

way of using it on various lenses.</p>

<p>G type lenses work fine with the N80, but not the N90 or N90s (which is unfortunate, because I love my N90s dearly). The N80 is a nice camera, though a bit light for my taste.</p>

<p>You might also want to check out <i>Popular Photography & Imaging</i>'s <a href="http://www.popphoto.com/article.asp?section_id=2&article_id=351&page_number=1">Lens Test Archive</a> at popphoto.com.</p>

<p>Try <a href="http://medfmt.8k.com/mf/zeissnettar.html">http://medfmt.8k.com/mf/zeissnettar.html</a>.</p>

 

<p>Google'ing will find many more.</p>

<p>I have a friend that uses a Rollei 6x6 SLR for street photography. I can't imagine using one of these (or a Blad, for that matter) for this though: they are neither inconspicuous nor quiet. An autofocus body might be better, but the H1 isn't exactly tiny either.</p>

 

<p>If you want to do street photography with MF, perhaps a small range finder like the Voigtländer Perkeo or a fixed focus Holga would be better.</p>