tree

July 1, 2003

Provia 400 is a good film: very fine grain, great color, and it can be pushed to 1600.

Provia 100F is even better: you can push to 400 if necessary; it is very sharp; and it has excellent reciprocity characteristics: 2 minutes without filtration or exposure compensation.

However, if you are not used to shooting slide film, I would caution against starting out on such a trip without trying them out first.

In DC there is no shortage of picture-taking opportunities. The spring time is the best place (IMHO) to be there because the cherry blossoms are out on the Mall and the weather isn't oppressively hot. Washington DC in August is not a pleasant place to be unless you like high-heat and high-humidity. Getting around Washington is pretty easy: the Metro runs out to National Airport and can have you downtown in about twenty minutes (if that.)

You must be a glutton for humidity, because New Orleans is pretty damp at that time of year as well.

Finally, putting on my moderator's hat, it would be better if you not cross-post essentially the same question in multiple forums.

Enjoy your trip.

June 30, 2003

I put my tripod, ballhead, monopod, and tilt-head for the monopod in a Hakuba "Extra-Large" tripod case (PSTC 300, for those who care) and check it with my checked baggage. Since I'm using a Bogen 3221 tripod and the 3038 ballhead (which together push almost 10lbs) putting the beast in my suitcase usually pushes me close to the weight limit for the single bag.

Anyway, when I'm feeling extra paranoid I'll wrap the head in bubble-wrap, but the Hakuba is pretty cushony.

June 30, 2003

Disclaimer: I last visited Berlin in 1987, so things have obviously changed, but here are some scenes I remember well.

Schloss Charlottenburg is a nice place for landscape and architectural shots. I was there in early March before the spring thaw, but the potential was obvious.

If you like doing street photography (or even if you don't), strolling the Kurfürstendamm is a must, especially at night.

If any parts of The Wall are still standing, especially those with crosses commemorating those who were killed attempting to get into the West, you can get some powerful (IMHO) shots.

June 29, 2003

According to the <a href="http://www.fujifilm.co.jp/ppg/rfilm-01.html">Japanese data sheets</a> for the Velvia line, the films have the following codes:

<tr><td>Velvia 50</td><td><tt>RVP</tt></td>

<tr><td>Velvia 100</td><td><tt>RVP 100</tt></td>

<tr><td>Velvia 100F</td><td><tt>RVP F</tt></td>

</table>

The B&H page is slightly inaccurate.

June 27, 2003

I don't think they have mailers, but <a href="http://www.mylab.com/index.htm">Images Photo</a> has a good reputation for mail-order B&W processing.

June 26, 2003

No finishing, but equipment galore.

Leo's Camera Supply Ltd.

1055 Granville Street

Vancouver, BC V6Z 1L4

Tel: (604) 685-5331

<a

href="http://www.leoscamera.com/index.html">http://www.leoscamera.com</a>

June 26, 2003

This has been answer, reanswered, and then answered again, in at least two other forums. Search functions can be Your Friend.

I was told by one of the sales people at my local proshop that Velvia 50 was being discontinued (he was told by Fuji).

Others have posted here on photo.net that they contacted Fuji and were told that Velvia 50 was not being discontinued.

At this point I honestly don't know who to believe. In Japan Velvia 100 and Velvia 100F are both cheaper than Velvia 50, though this may be an incentive to get people buying the new emulsions. Stocks of Velvia 50 are getting smaller too, from what I've been told.

I don't want to see Velvia 50 go away: from the reviews I have read the new 100 speed emulsions are good, but good in a different way.

Head over to the Film & Processing forum for a couple of threads on this very topic, including a translation of the table on Fujifilm's Japanese site describing Velvia 100, 100F, and 50.

June 26, 2003

You have enumerated most of techniques that I'm familiar with. Mirror lockup is only useful, IMHO, when you are on a tripod for the reason you give.

Perhaps the only thing I would offer is to use a monopod, which can sometimes get you into museums and the like, especially if you have a QR head on it.

June 25, 2003

Why risk it? The PrintFile sleeves are relatively inexpensive and are known to be archival. It also makes storage easier, since you can use a light tight binder.

June 25, 2003

A cheat sheet list would be great points to start with (i.e. f/16 @

1/250).

Such a general purporse cheat sheet doesn't exist, nor does it need to. I

would start with

a book on exposure so you can get a feel for the relationship between

aperture size, shutter speed, and film speed.

Often for outdoor photography you want a long depth of field, which

implies a smaller aperture. Put your camera into aperture priority, select the

smallest aperture you can, and let it figure out the shutter speed given the

filtration on your lense.

"f/16 @ 1/250", by itself, is meaningless.

June 24, 2003

What's a good, inexpensive light meter?

Gossen Digisix: US$109 from B&H. It's a marvelous little device.

Exposure chart: so far, I've been using the ones on the back of the cameras[...]

<ol>

<li>The EV values displayed on the Digisix LCD can be used directly on the Rolleicord's diaphragm control lever (in whole stops).

<li>Before I bought the Digisix, I used the tables on Fred Parker's <a href="http://www.fredparker.com/ultexp1.htm">Ultimate Exposure Computer</a> page.

<li>But failing that, EV 15 corresponds to the Sunny F/16 Rule: from there you can calculate the other EV values.

</ol>

Film: I bought 100 ASA, color and bw[...]

I recently shot a roll of Kodak E100SW in my Rolleicord and the colors and sharpness are fabulous. I'll scan some of the chromes sometime if you are interested in seeing them. I have no idea how color film will work in the Rolleiflex: I usually shoot B&W in these for "old-times-sake." :-)

I put the color in the old standard. I have since read that a) 400ASA film in mf doesn't show grain til blown up to 8x11; and b) the '30s flex doesn't have coated color-correcting lenses, and the '50s cord does. Is this true, and if so, what do color prints look like without the coated lenses?

June 24, 2003

[Thank you Kunihiko Kario for this information]

Pro-Lab Create - Sapporo

Minami 1-jo Nishi 9-1-2, Chuo-ku

Sapporo, Hokkaido, JAPAN 060-0061

Telephone: (011) 272-9811

<a href="http://www.prolab-create.co.jp/">www.prolab-create.co.jp</a>

June 24, 2003

[Again, thanks go out to Nicholas Yu for posting this originally]

Ginn Photographic Co.

433 Bank Street

Ottawa, Ontario K2P-1Y7

Telephone: (613) 567-4686

Toll Free: 1-888-428-4466

Fax: (613) 567-4702

<a href="http://www.ginnphoto.com/">www.ginnphoto.com</a>

June 24, 2003

Nicholas Yu posted this information at his suggestion for starting

this category. I'm reposting (with a correction to the URL):

Camtec Photo Inc.

26 Notre-Dame Est

Montrèal, QC H2Y 1B9

Ph: (514) 875-5110

Toll Free: 1-866-875-5110

Fax: (514) 875-5131

<a href="http://www.camtecphoto.com/">www.camtecphoto.com</a>

Metro: Place d'Armes, Champ-de-Mars

June 24, 2003

R Giridhar posted the following information in the blah forum. Since

it is apropos for readers of the Travel Photography forum as well,

I've copied the data here:

Colourlab Photofinishing #01-04 The Adelphi, 1 Coleman Street

Singapore 179803 Contact: 63362345

OPERATING HOURS: Mon-Fri 1000-1930, Sat 1000-1630, Sun Off

Konota Dept Store 111 Peninsula Plaza, #01-40 North Bridge Road,

Singapore 179098 Contact: 63334492 OPERATING HOURS: Mon-Fri

10:00am-8:00pm Sat 10:00am-7:00pm, Sun 3PM to 7PM

Soo Kee Color 24 Raffles Place, #01-02 Clifford Centre, Singapore

048621 Contact: 65357929 OPERATING HOURS: Mon-Fri 8:00am-6:30pm, Sat

8:00am-2:00pm, Sun Off

RGB Color 103 Beach Road, #01-01, Singapore 189704 Contact:

63346146/63346118

167 Penang Road, #01-02 Winsland House II, Singapore 238462 Contact:

67383168 Email: sales@rgb-color.com OPERATING HOURS: 10am -

7pm(Mon-Fri) 10am - 4pm (Sat) Closed on Sundays and Public Holidays

Spectra Color Lab 101 Boon Keng Road, #04-01/05, Singapore 339773

Contact: 62929851

Photo Friend No. 111, North Bridge Road Peninsula Plaza, #01-46A,

Singapore 179098 Contact: 63382030

OPERATING HOURS: Mon-Fri 0930-1930 Sat 0930-1800 Closed on Sun, and

Public Holidays

Fotohub.com Pte Ltd No.1 Raffles Place, #03-01, OUB Centre, Singapore

048616 Contact : 6533 0433

35mm Colour Lab Pte Ltd 733 Bukit Timah Road #01-06 Second Avenue

Junction Singapore 269748 Tel: 64676800

June 24, 2003

It's available in Japan now and will be in the United States in September, according to Fuji.

June 22, 2003

Provia 100F and Astia 100F have different characteristics from Velvia 100F and Velvia 100 (based on the information on the Fujifilm Japan site):

<ul>

<li>Astia 100F has an RMS granularity of 7! It is has to be one of the sharpest transparency films on the market. The others have an RMS granularity of 8.

<li>Provia 100F does not have the intense saturation of Velvia, and has a more even color rendition.

<li>Provia 100F has excellent reciprocity characteristics: exposures of up to 128 seconds can be had without the need for filtration or extra exposure adjustment. The other films don't come close to this (e.g., Velvia 50 requires filtration after 4 seconds, and Velvia 100 after 2 seconds).

<li>Astia 100F is balanced for skin tones and is suggested for portraiture.

<li>Provia and Astia can be pushed +2 stops, while Velvia can only be pushed +1.

</ul>

Each film has its own characteristics and own uses, chose the emulsion that works for the shooting that you do.

June 22, 2003

I'd go with the 24mm --- next to the 50/1.4 it's my favourite lense for travel and street work. I find that the 20 gives too much distortion, and while that can be a useful effect, and when I had one I used it so rarely I eventually sold it off. Of course once in a while I wish I still had it, but that feeling soon goes away. ;-)

The 28mm isn't too bad, but it isn't wide enough, IMHO, to bother getting on a prime lense. I have a Sigma 28-70/2.8 DF aspherical EX which is pretty good, but the impact of an image taken at 28mm isn't enough from the 50mm to make it worth while.

If price is an issue, I'm pretty sure the 20mm lens is considerably more expensive than the 24mm.

June 21, 2003

Expect to pay between $100 to $200 for a complete CLA on these cameras, if they have to actually take the lenses apart to lube it.

I don't think the counter on the Rolleicord will advance unless there is film in the camera. Once you open the back it will reset.

You can try cleaning the lenses with RoR or Kodak cleaning solution, but if they have a case of fungus then you may be out-of-luck. You don't mention the condition of the lenses on the 'cord.

Both cameras take 120 rollfilm, which is readily available. Many labs process this: A&I is a good one. You can buy both the film and mailers for A&I from B&H, <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/">http://www.bhphotovideo.com</a>.

These are great cameras if the condition is good. I've taken some very nice shots with my Rolleicord: it is an excellent way to get into MF. Whether or not you should sell these to help fund a more modern piece of equipment is a discussion I will not get into.

June 21, 2003

This may be old news to some, but it was new to me: I was told this afternoon by one of the sales people at my local pro-shop that Fuji has indeed announced that Velvia 50 is being discontinued. Can anyone confirm?

If it is true, and you like shooting with it, it is time to start hoarding.

June 21, 2003

David,

With regards to flying from Boston to SoCal with MF gear: I've done it with the F.64 MFX bag holding a Mamiya 645E with lenses and a Nikon 90s with vertical grip and lenses, with about 30 rolls of 120 and 35mm film. I had an Domke F4A flattened in my suitcase to use once I got California so I could just carry the equipment I needed for a given excursion.

This worked fine: passed the carry-on size restrictions, and while it weighed a ton, worked fine. This was my official 'carry-on', with my laptop bag as my brief-case.

And I'll just cast my vote for the Route 1 drive, especially between Carmel and San Francisco. Stunning scenery. Another good drive is to get off of Route 1 around Gilroy and drive east towards San Jose/Cupertino, up over the mountains. Spectacular vistas. Sorry, it's been a few years and I cannot remember the road numbers.

Have a fun trip.

June 21, 2003

Are you saying, Tom, that the travel forum should only be about labs & store locations??...or is labs & stores a separate section of the travel forum.

D'oh. The message was posted sent to a particular category within the forum, but of course no one can see that from the summary. I'll change the title.

Sorry all: I'm still getting the hang of this administration thing.

June 21, 2003

The purpose of this category is for photographers around the world

to share address/location information for reputable labs and

suppliers, as an aid for travellers who want to develop their film

while away from home, need to replace or add to their gear, or need to

stock up on film.

Unlike the free-form forums usually found on photo.net, I am going

to moderate posts to this category with extreme prejudice to keep the

signal to noise ratio very small.

I am also going to collect the information posted here into a

database that I will make available from my personal site, until

photo.net is able to integrate it directly.

When adding a lap or store, please try to use the format:

Country - City

For example,

USA - Boston

UK - Boston

Germany - Frankfurt

Japan - Sapporo

Try to include as much relevant information as possible, including

but not limited to:

Street Address

Telephone Number

Web site URL (if applicable)

Description of Services (e.g., 24-hour E-6 processing)

We'll see how this goes: it may grow beyond maintenance, or be

unused. But I think it is worth doing (thanks to Nicholas Yu for the

idea!)

Tom Emerson Your friendly co-moderator

June 21, 2003

Here is a rough translation of the Velvia portion of the comparison table on the Japanese page that Brian posted.

The short summary is that Velvia 100F offers more 'faithful' color rendition (though still saturated) than Velvia 100, which favors reds and greens just as classic Velvia does. Further, both Velvia 100 emulsions have a finer RMS granularity than their predecessor.

<tr>

</th>

Velvia 100F

</th>

Velvia 100

</th>

Velvia 50

</th>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>

Speed

</td>

100

</td>

100

</td>

50

</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>

RMS Granularity (lower number indicates higher picture quality)

</td>

8

</td>

8

</td>

9

</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>

Coloration

</td>

Faithful, vivid colors.

</td>

Vivid colors with emphasis on reds and greens.

</td>

Vivid colors with emphasis on reds and greens.

</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>

Color Graduation

</td>

Contrasty

</td>

Contrasty

</td>

Contrasty

</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>

Saturation

</td>

Very High

</td>

Extremely High

</td>

Very High

</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>

Push Processing

</td>

+1 Stop

</td>

+1 Stop

</td>

+1 Stop

</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>

Comments

</td>

<td>

Implements faithful colors while having Velvia's unique high saturation.

</td>

<td>

Extremely high-saturation film which evolves the vividness of Velvia. Optimum for nature photography with emphasis on reds and greens.

</td>

<td>

The standard high-saturation film with vivid volors. Optimal for photographing scenery and flowers.

</td>

</tr>

<tr>

Prices (subset, JPY and USD (approx. 118:1))

</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>

135/36

</td>

1,120 $9

</td>

1,020 $9

</td>

1,190 $10

</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>

135/36 5x Propack

</td>

5,320 $45

</td>

4,850 $41

</td>

5,780 $49

</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>

135/36 20x Propack

</td>

19,490 $164

</td>

17,750 $150

</td>

22,610 $191

</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>

120

</td>

595 $5

</td>

580 $5

</td>

630 $5

</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>

120 5x Propack

</td>

2,820 $24

</td>

2,760 $23

</td>

3,060 $26

</td>

</tr>

<tr>

<td>

120 20x Propack

</td>

10,710 $91

</td>

10,440 $88

</td>

11,970 $101

</td>

</tr>

</table>

I'm going to Japan in a week and a half and I'm going to stock up. I can't wait to try this new film.

June 20, 2003

For the typical landscape shot, all you need is tilt - there are several tilt lenesses for 35mm, but I do not know of any for MF.

Hartblei makes a number of tilt/shift lenses in Mamiya, Pentax 645, Contax 645, and Pentacon 6 mounts for under US$1000. Mamiya makes shift lenses for their 645 and 67 systems as well, but they are expensive. I don't know about other manufacturers.

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