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bill a.

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    Current State of BO Printing

    in The Digital Darkroom: Process, Technique & Printing

    Posted

    Finishing up a a house move and found my Epson 1160, 1280 and C96 BO printers. They have been inactive for, dare I say it, almost eight years. Can find the same links on the web I referenced back then, but not much else. Did BO printing fall out of favor? What's the current state? With ample cleaning, can I pick up where I left off in the new house, or did everyone move on to something else for B&W?

     

    Bill

    Nikon CoolPix P510 -- any first looks?

    in Mirrorless Digital Cameras

    Posted

    <p>Anyone have any direct experience with one of these yet? The only other thread I found here was pointed at the use of 35mm equivalent focal length numbers, and not on the numbers themselves... a 24 to 1000mm (35mm equiv) optical zoom!<br>

    <br />No RAW, no hot shoe, possibly some battery life issues, and no filter threads.... any others? How is it on the "extremes"?</p>

    Comparing Nikon FF pricewise to others over time..

    in Nikon

    Posted

    <p>Ray,<br>

    I've been asking myself the same questions... I tend to use my wides primes a lot, I like to use minimum DOF, and I love my little D40, but I want the high ISO performance and the FX format. The D700 would fit the bill, but the price point is just too high for me.<br>

    I even looked at a used Canon 5D with an adapter for all my old AIS glass (lots of primes) --- I am very comfortable running in Ap-priority mode, and stop-down metering, but I also like to use balanced fill for flash and macro, and the lack of aperture automation with that configuration kills that.<br>

    Bill</p>

    Manual Balanced Fill Flash Procedure

    in Nikon

    Posted

    <p>Anyone have a "manual" balanced fill flash procedure? (not overall flash exposure adjustment, but shooting at correct exposure, and filling in shadows at a -1.7 or -0.7 stops)<br>

    Galen called it his magic setting (-1.7), John Shaw preferred -0.7 (hmmm might have to dig out my old Rowell books)<br>

    http://www.photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00VsRW?start=0<br>

    Yes, I know, I can do do this pretty easy with a setting on a D40 and a iTTL flash, or a Nikon AF film body and a SB-24/25/26.<br>

    But how about this:<br>

    I give you an old Ap-priority, TTL film body (e.g. FE2, FG) and an older TTL flash (SB-20)... how do you set it up?<br>

    I know I have to "separate" the exposures -- base and fill. I know I have to set base exposure manually (manual mode), and that the shutter speed can't exceed the max sync of the camera). Ok, set. Now, how do I set up the flash? Since it's TTL, do I just increase the ISO setting on the flash by the desired number of stops I want to dial down the fill? Is it that simple, or do I have to be more creative -- matching apertures and messing with the 1/4 and 1.8 power settings? How did people do this on a Nikon before the SB-24?<br>

    Bill</p>

    Sunpak PF30XN

    in Nikon

    Posted

    <p>The other PF30XN thread is very old. Buy.com and a few other places had these for $45 (supposedly, i-TTL compatable) -- a nice cheap, compatible flash for less than half of a SB400. Guide Number: 100 ft at ISO 100 (35 mm Zoom-head Setting), 2 battery, tilt head.<br>

    The back has EV offset (+/-) buttons... (I'd give you a reference image link, but can't find one)...anyone know if that is for overall exposure, or for balanced fill? Could I dial in my balanced fill -1.7 here, rather than in a sub-menu of the D40?<br>

    Anyone have direct experience with one of these?<br>

    Bill</p>

    Hexar RF film advance error

    in Leica and Rangefinders

    Posted

    <p>Hi Steve.<br>

    <br /> I just fixed this on my Hexar RF, and posted it over on rangefinderforum.com. The fault appears to be dirty contacts on the switch that senses the film door is shut.<br>

    <br /> Try the following. I'd like to see it work in one other camera before I conceed "it's the fix":<br>

    <br /> I took my "user" HEXAR RF off the shelf yesterday with the intent of "exercising" it. Popped in a fresh roll, counter up to "1", walked around a bit, looked down and notice it back to "0" -- the dreaded film transport issue. Power-cycled it, and it advanced three frames, back to "1". With some shaking and fiddling I was able to repeat this enough times to expend the entire roll, unexposed (still have one of those leader-puller-thingys in the bag --- end of roll, 0 on the counter, and hit manual rewind and you don't get the rewind leader pause). This camera had this issue years ago, and it was fixed by K-M repair in Japan, just before the Sony sale.<br>

    <br /> Video of the fault: <a href="

    target="_blank">
    <br /> <br /> I took a quick look through the service manual and camera schematic and found that the rear door switch is noted as "normally open", which implies that closing the camera back closes the switch, which I am guessing, if there is any corrosion on the contacts, will open contact sporadically and tell the camera the back was opened.<br /> <br /> Before I sent it out again, I decided to try some heavy duty electronics switch and corrosion cleaner.<br /> The switch location is visible... with the back of the camera open, look along the light baffle channel on the bottom, about 1/3 of the width of the camera in from the left. You will see a small opening in the channel, with a switch post about 1mm in diameter protruding... this is the switch that senses if the back is closed. It is wired directly to a pin on the camera microprocessor (as an aside, it looks like it cannot be removed/chnaged out by simply removing the bottom -- based on the service manual, it takes almost full dis assembly to remove it or swap it out. You can see it, though, if you take off the bottom).<br /> I opened the film back, and I applied some DeoxIt to the switch. RadioShack sells a 5% spritzer kit; I purchased a needle-spout bottle of 100% stuff directly from the manufacturer -- about US$30 (part number D100L-25C)<br>

    <br /> With the back open I used a toothpick to push down the button (opening up the cavity around it) and held it down; with the other hand I applied 4 or 5 drops of the 100% stuff via the "needle" dispenser I purchased it in. I left the camera lens/face-down overnight on the table to let gravity take it into the interior of the switch. The DeoxIt specs says that it is plastic-safe.<br /> <br /> So far, two passes the next morning with a "dummy" roll, shaking, pressing the back and power cycling the camera as I did on the video, no "zeroes". I have now put three rolls through it and it hasn't done it.<br /> Give it a try. If you try something other that Deoxit (www.caig.com) you are on your own; make sure it won't destroy the plastic case of the switch.<br>

    <br /> Let me how you make out.<br /> Bill</p>

    D40 Auto-rotation

    in Nikon

    Posted

    <p>Just a sanity check -- is there any difference in JPEG post-compression quality if I let a D40 do auto-rotation, versus turning it off? The rotation is just a "flag" set, correct? the image is a first generation JPEG with rotation applied, not one that has been saved and then rotated and saved from the original "internal RAW", effectively compressed twice?</p>

     

    Things I want to know: R lenses as good as M lenses?

    in Leica and Rangefinders

    Posted

    <p>Mark,<br>

    It seems it would be a nice compromise for folks like me who want the sharpness and low light capabilities, but have a damn time composing and "seeing" in a RF style viewfinder -- I work much better in a SLR VF. (and yes, I currently have Leica M and Contax G)<br>

    One more: Have you compared primes, say Nikon to Leica R -- 50 to 50, or 35 to 35?<br>

    I had a Contax ZF 50 for a while, and like Sean Reid's assessment, could only see subtle differences wide open--- not enough to justify the cost difference.<br>

    b</p>

     

    Panasonic firmware update locks out 3rd party batteries

    in Mirrorless Digital Cameras

    Where will we buy film?

    in The Wet Darkroom: Film, Paper & Chemistry

    Posted

    <p>Seriously, this is not intended as a troll, or to spark yet another "film vs digital" or "film is dead" thread... but you must admit, film sales are contracting, and shelf space in a retailer is scarce.<br>

    In the past two months here in New England, I have been able to pick up Fuji 5/6 packs for cheap (50% off) because a store has discontinued its sale -- a Costco in Nashua, NH, and now my local Target this past week, and there is another recent thread here of yet a third location.<br>

    So, will film purchase become mail order only? Photo store only? 1 hour place only?</p>

    <p> </p>

    Photographer selling prints from our portrait session?

    in Business of Photography

    Posted

    <p>OP here, for an update.<br /> <br /> First off, thank you all for your comments. The response has been more than expected (this is one of the most active threads as of this afternoon). A couple of things...<br /> <br /> - I, myself, have been an amateur photographer for 30 years, but mostly landscape and event-type photography, so I have never really dealt with the professional business end or model releases. I've been a parent for only four. I have shot a dozen or so weddings, and almost always handed the bride and groom (usually friends) the prints and the negatives as a wedding gift. I did a stint in a photography store in my 20's and remember having to tell customers that no, Kodalux will not make copies of the Olin Mills print, even if you do cut off the corner with the logo.<br /> <br /> - The shoot in question was a birthday gift to me from my wife; the professional photographer did an awesome job, to the point of reminding me why it is that I am an engineer, why I do shoot rocks and leaves and planes and trains, and why my own shots of my daughters are merely snaps. That's why I haven't, and will not, disclose his identity... but I will recommend him to my friends, without pause (read on).<br /> <br /> -No contract was signed... the shoot was scheduled, and shot, and the prints and packages offered back to us through the web. This photographer shoots weddings and portraits as his primary photography business. No idea what he does from a contract point of view for his wedding clients, but the images from the weddings he has done are also posted, and anyone (re: anyone) viewing the site can go in an order a print. Likewise, the use of the images for promotional use, or for fine art sales, was also not discussed. I was not present, because it was a surprise gift; I probably would have asked if I had been.<br /> <br /> -Matt Laur hit the nail on the head... for my wife and I, it is getting past that they are our daughters, and that it was not discussed, even if their faces are not shown. For promotional use, my wife and I are both ok with it... he did do a fantastic job. But as a piece of artwork in someone elses house, that was weird (Matt's earlier response)... The fact that it wasn't discussed (our fault as much as his) made it worse; the fact that someone had commented in the "comments" section of the image, "adorable, who are they?" only made our emotional response that much worse. If you have daughters, you understand -- you may not agree, but you understand.<br /> <br /> -My wife clued me in on the gift when she was having trouble deciding what images to give me. It was in the process of selecting that we noticed that one of the images (as well as an image from one of his weddings, with faces) was offered as a fine art print elsewhere on the site.<br>

    -As someone asked early on, I did eventually call him -- not as a confrontational, irate customer, but to discuss it. So, it turns out, it was a technical glitch. The way his web pages are organized, an image dropped into that area automatically gets the links for "add to cart" and "purchase". He apologized for the oversight, and promptly removed the sale links. He did likewise for the wedding image. The images are still there, but you can't buy them. Did I mention that he has two daughters himself?<br /> <br /> So, I'm a bit embarrassed, especially considering the fervor of some of the arguments in this thread. This experience, though, and subsequent discussion, highlight that from a client and the photographers perspective, this is something that should be discussed upfront. I also agree that this is not the place to get legal advice, and I am glad the situation was resolved to both our satisfactions without having to get it. I think it also highlights for this photographer that he should discuss it as part of his process, and I hope he has done his research on what he can and cannot do with the images if challenged. As someone who has always had a camera at hand, long before cameras came in everything, images got posted everywhere, and what and where you took a picture really mattered, it's not like it used to be.</p>

    scanned film vs digital

    in The Wet Darkroom: Film, Paper & Chemistry

    Posted

    <p>Lannie,<br>

    For perspective consistency, you need to mount the digital camera at it's nodal point. There are pretty easy ways to find this (if not already doc'd on the web somewhere for your model). There are all sorts of jigs that facilitate mounting the camera on this point.<br>

    Some quick Google's on "panoramic" and "nodal point" will get you info.<br>

    Bill</p>

     

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