wmervine

<p>I was recently given a MZ-7 by a fellow photographer who no longer uses it, complete with battery pack. I picked up a Tokina 19-35mm F/3.5-4.5 lens to go with it. Only had the chance to develop a test spool of Velvia 50 from it, but have a roll of the Illford XP2 400 waiting to be handed in.<br>

As a child of the digital era, it's been quite a change of pace to shoot film, and inspite of it's size, I do find it quite comfortable to shoot with.Now just to get out more . . .<br>

As an aside, I found this article on how to make a cable release for this camera: http://www.photosig.com/articles/1088/article<br>

And glad to know the Tamron performs well on this body. Will have to keep an eye out for one.</p>

 

<p>Russ, just to quantify, what would switching to Canon gain you aside from the 35 1.4 ? To go to a smaller body, the D3100 is a pretty good option, or even consider the D5100 when it hits the shelves. I know from experience that either trading in or selling your gear second hand you lose alot in the process, especially here in SA. Your 35 1.8 AF-S is a very highly regarded lens in it's own right. Is the L that much better?<br>

I must say though, it's quite ironic I sold my 500D earlier this year as I found it too small and not comfortable. Now I'm shopping for a 2nd hand D300.</p>

<p>Having had the 18-55, 55-250 and 50 f1.8 on my Xti, I can say they are a good combination. Add a good flash like the 430 and learn how to use it, and you have most bases covered. Sites like the strobist or Niel V Niekerk are invaluable for teaching you how to use a flash effectively. A good foundation to grow from.<br>

As an aside, there is a trick where you can use the 50 and the 18-55 together as a rough macro lens. Very fiddly but can be very effective. Found the trick in a flickr group.</p>

<p>Greetings all. Again the pics this week are exceptional.<br>

From my side another pic from a recent shoot. This one is straight out the camera, and I can't see any thing that seriously needs tweaking. Nice when that happens.<br>

Enjoy your wed folks and keep the awesome pics rolling.</p><div></div>

<p>Greetings all.<br /> Been a while for me, but got to do a really fun shoot with a special lady last sunday.<br /> Again truly wonderful photos this week, and glad to see you back Jana. Your work is truly inspiring .</p><div></div>

<p>Where to start. Having shot with both the SB-600 in iTTL and a Yongnuo in manual on camera, I will say you can get good results from manual flash, but it takes time to tweak. iTTL just worls much faster with on camera shooting, once you have dialed in the right flash exposure offset. I do have a photographer friend who swears by his Nissin 622 on his D90. They are not bad at all.<br>

For off camera unless you plan to use CLS, one of the cheaper manual flashes like the Yongnuos works quite well and is a cheap solution. The Yongnuos have a built in optical trigger and can work with preflash. BUT, the one question you would need to answer is service backup. Here in South Africa we have a very good dealer who provides backup for the Yongnuos, but if you buy of ebay it can be another storey.<br>

In your shoes I would probably look at the Nissin due to cost and the fact that it does iTTL. Metz are another option, but I have no experience with them. Maybe for your 2nd and 3rd flash buys don't worry about iTTL, but I believe it is worth having at least 1 flash that does it.</p>

<p>The main issue with the 622 mark 1 is that the older versions cannot work with radio triggers. The mark 2 is a far better beast. As for the 600, I use it on a D5000 and the iTTL works quite nicely. As for the lack of optical trigger, you can get external optical triggers for very little money.<br>

If you want a flash for off camera work only, then save a bit and look at a Yongnuo 460 or the newer 560, which is even better.<br>

Have a look at speedlights.net for reviews on these and the Nissin and SB-600.</p>

<p>Martin there are some differences in using a mac, as the operating system is quite different to windows. However I've seen quite a few people at work make the transition fairly easily. I use a custom built pc at home with Windows 7, and have built multiple computers for friends and clients. But when it came to buying a laptop, I bought a MBP. After nearly 5 years of service, I'm awaiting my next one. Why mac? Reliability. While Win 7 is a big improvement over XP, I find that that OSX simply is more stable. <br>

I used to run windows on the MBP as well for windows specific software, and it runs natively these days very well. I no longer need to do so as all the software I need to use is now available for mac.<br>

However, if you feel you want to stay with windows, the better brands of laptop seem to be Dell, Samsung, Toshiba, Lenovo, Gigabyte. Just make sure you use the 64 bit version of win 7 to use 4 or more Gb of ram.</p>

<p>While I can't speak from personal experience, I 've read some good things about the Tamron 200-500. It's not stabilised, but the weight difference is noticable. On my shortlist for hiking, with a monopod probably.<br>

http://www.lensrentals.com/rent/nikon/lenses/supertelephoto/tamron-200-500mm-f5-6.3-sp-di-ld-for-nikon</p>

<p>Love the colours Alan. Did you have to do any adjustments post scanning regarding the skin tones? I read quite a few saying Velvia 50 is not great on skin tones.</p>

<p>There's something very appealing about that 645. But for now the lack of budget dictates I learn using the MZ-7 and that Tokina. Got a polariser, and just picked up 10 rolls of Velvia 50 for about 15$. So now to get out there.</p>

<p>Oh, Justin, the *IST does not have MLU, and the shutter delay is rather frustrating. Pity such a great little camera is flawed like that.</p>

<p>Greetings all.<br>

I find myself in the world of film of late, and managed to get 10 rolls of Velvia 50 for a very low price. The expiry date on the film is nov 2009, but articles I've read suggest it should still be usable.<br>

I have read guys talking about shooting at a lower ISO, so curious as to what that entails and any other useful insight into shooting with this film. I will be sending it to a lab for processing and plan to eventually scan the resultant film. Any insight and advice would be welcome.<br>

And for the record, will be shooting landscape, arcitecture, etc. No portraiture.</p>

<p>To give some background I kinda fell into film. The ist belonged to my sister in law and she asked me to sell it for her. But after looking at how bad the market is locally for film bodies, I decided to buy it off her. The MZ-7 was given to me by another photog. As for going medium format I do like the idea, but will have to wait on finances and see what I can find locally. To consider the photography market in general is tiny here in SA compared to the states and europe.</p>

<p>Helps balance the body with the Tokina on it. Thing looks huge on the *ist. And the 77mm filters ain't cheap. Went looking for a battery pack for the *ist on ebay. $70 dollars without shipping, so can wait. Someone listed one for $318!<br>

But fortunately will only use the MLU on a tripod, so less of an issue.</p>

<p>I sit enlightened. Thx for the feedback guys. Was also thinking about the multi point focussing of the *ist, but that shouldn't be a biggie. So really the only main thing is the mirror lockup ability, and the fact that I have a cable remote for it.<br>

Andrew, the MZ-7 came with the battery pack. Really glad about that. Now to find one for the *ist.</p>

<p>During the last week I have inherited a MZ-7 and *ist. Now while the MZ-7 seems alot better balanced with the weight and size if the Tokina 19-35 lens, I suspect the *ist would be the body of choice for landscapes as it has the better metering system and mirror lockup.<br>

Is my assumption correct here?</p>

<p>Thx Michael. Good to know.</p>

<p>If it's plastic, it's really solid plastic. Weighs more than the body does.<br>

Ultrawide is something I was looking for to compliment the 35-80 that came with the body. But honestly cheap 2nd hand full frame lenses are very scarce here, soI grabbed what I could find. Seems it has a good rep from what I've read though.</p>

<p>Thx Dan. Well, the result works.</p>

<p>Well, managed to find a Tokina 19-35mm f/3.5-4.5. Slim pickings for 2nd hand wide angle full frame lenses it seems. Now I know what they mean about the build quality of Tokinas.</p>

<p>Lionel, I love that!</p>

<p>Morning all. Awesome pics once again. Dan ,did you use a ringlight for that shot? Truly awesome.<br>

This is from a portrait session I did a few weeks ago. Sad thing is until I've saved up for a new camera, I'm only shooting Nikon on loan. But I'm shooting Nikon.</p><div></div>

<p>Thx for all the feedback gents. I did notice the meter selection. After shooting a Nikon D5000 and Canon 550D I was quite surprised how advanved the camera is. Finally have a chance to grab some new batteries tomorrow so will see how it goes.<br>

And out of the blue, I've been offered another body for free. An MZ-7 I think. Will see tomorrow.<br>

Then it's just to find a decent lab locally, and some lenses.</p>

<p>R.T. I am planning to shoot both. The camera came with 10 rolls of Kodak 200 colour print film, so I will start with those. Thereafter will have to see what's available locally. I do see alot of guys using colour slide film, so will have to see what the advantage is.</p>

<p>I was meaning wider as in wide angle. I knida see myself doing more landscape and buildings with film. The Pentax FA-J 18-35 looks interesting. But as budget is tight I'll see what can be found. The ideal would be some decent primes, but will see.<br>

Also need to get up to date with what films are available and what works best.<br>

Thx for all the fedback.</p>