monsoonphoto.net

The black edition isn't out yet, but I had a chance to play with the schoolgirl-colored ones at Yodobashi yesterday. Turns out (unless I got the settings wrong) there's no prefocus on it. The lens doesn't focus when you hold down the button. Focusing is engaged only AFTER you push the button. So yes, there's a lag.

I was just looking through this last night. Herbie Yamaguchi's work is stunning.

<img src="http://www.hi-ho.ne.jp/mamo-f/Resources/MH5012.jpg">

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Image from: <A HREF="http://www.hi-ho.ne.jp/mamo-f/HM50F12.htm">http://www.hi-

ho.ne.jp/

mamo-f/HM50F12.htm</a>

Wonderful work. I love the colors and the presentation. One of my favorites is that of the

young monk getting his head shaved.

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The AIDS in Thailand project was touching; brought tears to my eyes. Thank you.

There are two versions of the RF: 1) standard kit comprising a velvet box, flash, 50/2.0

and the body; 2) a special edition titanium-colored RF marked "limited," a 50/1.2 and a

blue velvet box.

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The limited edition costs almost twice the price of the regular.

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The 1.2 is an amazing lens from what I've heard. No surprise, given how wonderful

Hexanon lenses are. Typically very sharp with lots of "personality."

Luxecase has some awesome products. Do they ship overseas?

There are photo ops all over Istanbul. Make sure you take the time to go off the beaten tracks. There are beautiful people living in some very cool neighborhoods. Have a look at my gallery:

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<A HREF="http://monsoonphoto.net">http://monsoonphoto.net</a>

I've found a simple-to-use site for image hosting. It works well and

is easy to set up. The best part -- the site automatically generates

HTML codes which you can just copy and paste into your W/NW posts. No

more worrying about 511 pixels! Have a look:

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<A HREF="http://photobucket.com">http://photobucket.com</a>

Shibuya, Tokyo (Leica IIIf, CV 28/3.5, XP2)

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<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v674/alansoon/2005-02

-18ShibuyaII17.jpg">

Woops, forgot the specs: Leica IIIf, CV 28/3.5, Ilford XP2

<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v674/alansoon/2005-02

-18ShibuyaII29.jpg"><P>

Shibuya, Tokyo.

I broke the focusing lever of my newly acquired Autocord after two

days of use. From what I've read, that happens all the time. What

options are there, apart from sending it off for repair?

I had one, and I sold it. It wasn't long enough to cover the base, making it unstable. I figured that over time, with picking it up and setting it down, the left end of the bottom plate would dent. A bit crazy? I'm now considering the M-Grip.

Ah, interesting. That's about 2.2 megapixels. Quite useful. Are these TIFF or JPEG?

Peter, I've often wondered: what is the quality of the images scanned at the labs? Do they do them in TIFFs, and how big are the files generally?

This is impressive stuff Iain. Your picture are somber, fitting for the location. My favorite:

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<A HREF="http://www.photo.net/photo/3104991">http://www.photo.net/photo/3104991</a>

Gotta work on Sunday. I guess I'll have to catch up with you guys another time then.

Yakitori restaurant, Yurakucho, Tokyo. Apologies -- not a Leica shot, but a Yashica Mat

-124G TLR, Ilford XP2.<div></div>

Well said, Mike.

I usually expose for 320, but others have reported it looks better at 200. I find that the negs look slightly muddy at 400.

I bought a Canon 9950F a couple of months ago to replace my Nikon Coolscan IVED. I basically wanted an all-in-one scanner that could do both 35mm and medium format negs. The MF scans are fine, but I find I keep going back to my Coolscan for 35mm scans. There is a difference there. The flatbed just isn't at the point where it poses a challenge to a good dedicated film scanner.

10 invites sent in 90 minutes. 30 more to go. Any other takers?

I've got 50 Gmail accounts to give out. For those who haven't yet

heard, this new service from Google has a great Spam filter, POP

service and 1GB of space.

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Email me at: alansoon at monsoonphoto dot net.

What's the grip you've got there Kevin?

Stange... no one's yet mentioned the Konica Auto S3. It's my first choice for a small rangefinder. 38mm 1.8 lens!