cowan_stark

Rock stable? Not really. Convenient? Definitely. You'll probably be OK with the lenses you're planning to use it with, but if you're looking to get bigger glass ie 70-200/2.8, 300/4 or larger for wildlife, you'll be disappointed. It's only rated for 5.5lbs (whatever that rating means). Another problem is shooting verticals. When the head is levered out to the side, it really becomes susceptible to wind shake unless you have a rotating tripod collar. Also, if you need to do that much 'on the fly', you may have to raise your tripod as well as re-frame since the rig will drop about 6 inches when you flip the head sideways. Personally, I don't think you can beat a good ball head (Arca-Swiss, Kirk etc) for quick action and convenience. My 3265 has found a home sitting atop my monopod.

It may be a little late for Bill's question, as I'm sure he's picked

up a pack already, but I'll add this for posterity. I'm new to LF,

and recently got a Tachihara 4x5. I've done a lot of hiking with

35mm and MF gear (Pentax 67 and all that goes with that!)and have

been reading the threads on the best way to carry by the LF stuff. I

was in EMS recently (www.emsonline.com)and found their computer

backpak which looks like it was almost made for carrying this stuff.

I'm not sure who actually hikes into the woods with their laptops-

probably made for the college crowd. Anyway it has a removable

padded case inside the pack that nicely fits the camera. The base of

the pack is well padded, and it has two other compartments that will

fit several lenes/boards, Polaroid back and lots of quickloads.

Compression straps on the side will hold a tripod, and it has a

sternum and a waist harness. It has little mesh pockets (designed

for zip discs I guess) that will hold your grad ND filters etc. Not

the toughest made pack I've seen, but looks like it'll do the job-for

$69.

OK, I'll take a stab at it. I tried all of these last fall at Zion

NP except for the intensifier. The ones I preferred were the 81 a

and 81b. I found that when surrounded by red rock, you have a

natural reflector which warms up the light anyway. In the middle of

the day was when I used the warming filters and I thought they helped

a bit. The Tiffen enhancing filter was a disaster if you get any sky

or clouds in the picture. Too much magenta tinged sky and pink

clouds for my taste anyway. I tried it on fall foliage here in NH

and didn't care for it much there either. The 812 was somewhere in

between. I found a polarizer was the most useful for improving the

colors and cutting haze as long as you don't overdo it and get those

black skies. I used Velvia, a little Provia F and E100VS. I still

preferred Velvia which I think can do as much for enhancing colors as

any filter, but that's just my two cents worth.

You could try getting the focusing ring which clamps to the lens and

effectivel puts an extension on the lens so you can reach it with the

end of your fingers while still holding on to the wooden grip. I

didn't find it worked that well for me (and I don't have really short

fingers) because the extension arm would usually be rotated out of

reach anyway. So now I just usually find myself cradling the camera

in my left hand and focusing whilst using the right hand to add

support and fire the shutter. I don't shoot without a tripod much

anyway, but I agree, sometimes an extra hand might help.

This problem has 'popped up' several times on various photonet

forums. I'll repeat my experience I have had 2 A2E bodies with

flash head failure, I have a EZ 540 also. One was only several

months old, the other 5 years old when it happened. I was not able

to fix either one by fiddling with the microswitches. The authorized

Canon repair place for my area said that the A2E was not designed to

support the weight of the 540, although the Canon brochures show it

happily sitting atop the A2 body. They recomended using a bracket at

all times.

I'm fairly new to MF, but I've been using this film for a while in 35

mm, and more recently with my P67. I generally do landscape stuff.

A few of observations. I like the 100 speed with a highly saturated

film like this. I've found that when using Velvia, my favorite, I

have to use ridiculously slow shutter speeds to get the DOF I need,

especially in the woods or other low light situations. It's a lot

easier film for me (Velvia that is) in 35 mm. I'm shooting VS at 100

ASA and I think that's accurate enough for me. I don't like it at

all in contrasty light-the shadow details get murky, almost

brownish. It looks best, and probably excels on overcast days. I've

also had two clearly defective rolls-one 35 mm, one 120 from

different (reliable) suppliers. All in all, I like it and will

continue using it for now, but I'm eagerly anticipating RDP III and

if it's as good as early rumors say it is, then I'll have to

reconsider. Anyway, my 2 cents worth.

I had the same problem, but first try this...there are two pressure

activated micro switches on the the hot shoe which tell the camera

that an external flash is attached. If one of these switches is

stuck, it will not allow the flash to pop up. See if this is the

problem, and if so, take a toothbrush or something similar and see if

it frees up the switch. Didn't work for me, but I've heard that it

worked for some people, just thought I'd pass the tip along.

 

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Cowan Stark