jennifer_waak

Don't rule out Badger, either. Jeff can generally match or beat the B&H price. And, just because it isn't on the web site doesn't mean he doesn't have it (that drives me up a wall -- but I've learned to just call). I generally buy from Badger because I'm originally from Wisconsin so have this kind of allegiance thing going on. Plus, their prices are right in line or better than anyone elses, and you can't beat that!

-Jen

Bruce, I have a professional liability policy for my job and got a rider on it for my photography equipment through Zurich Insurance. I need to update my policy for new equipt., but my policy covers $7,000 of equipment (replacement value). My entire policy is around $350/year and I would guess then photo part is less than $100/year.

-Jen

Is the Microtek showing up on the Device tab? Be sure the scanner is on before starting Vuescan. I honestly don't know if this makes a difference, but it may (some software and devices care about those sorts of things). Also, if you do a preview rather than a scan, does that work?

There is a Vuescan group on Usenet that is a great source of help. Ed frequents that board as well.

-Jen

Matt, take a gander at <A HREF="http://www.largeformatphotography.info/">Tuan's LF info pages</A>. There is tons and tons of information about different varieties of cameras, folding vs. monorail, which can be handheld (very few), ideas of price. Also some good lens reviews. LF, unlike 35mm or MF, can take anything for a lens, it's just a matter of getting the right lensboard with the correct size opening for the shutter (and many here DIY).

<P>

Also, if you go down to the bottom of the question list here, check under Techniques and there are some old posts about handholding. The Graphics seem to be the camera of choice for that, although some do it with Linhofs (at a much higher price).

<P>

-Jen

Pete, it just occurred to me that I haven't run this test yet for you. I got swamped at work and then completely forgot. Let me know if my test will still help and I'll go downstairs and do it.

-Jen

I use an Arca-Swiss, which I find easy to use. I really think it's a matter of preference. For me, it's a matter of weight.

<P>

There is an interesting thread <A HREF="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=003Dsd">HERE</a> where this is discussed.

<P>

Kerry Thalmann, a regular contributor when it was at LUSENET, uses a Toho monorail. It weighs something like 3lb, making it EXTREMELY lightweight. I think weight is definitely something to be considered.

<P>

-Jen

Pete, I'm not sure I'm going to be much help past what I gave you already, but I'll give it a go. I always used the flash at max power because a single pop was never sufficient for me (much less dialing it down). But, I think you are right when you want to just dial in the level you want and just use the sync cables to tell it when to fire.

It's almost 1am here, but if you can wait until tomorrow I can test it out for you since I have pretty close to the exact setup you are looking for. I'll just try dialing in a a few different numbers and see what my flash meter gives me for results. Since I'll be indoors (and hence with consistent light) the results should be accurate.

-Jen

Peter, I have done it using the 550EX. Not pretty. <A HREF="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0035M2">Here is a link to the problems I was having</A>. I ended up buying real strobes because the power output was just too low and I needed a ton of pops and had a REALLY tough time getting it exposed properly.

<P>

Note, I was trying to do this for studio lighting, not as a bit of fill flash. Read my thread. But, I still think you will find it underpowered.<P>

-Jen

Brian, we would enter the search phrase we were looking for, ie. 540EZ into the "with all words" field and then in the Domain field enter "greenspun.com". Or at least that is how I always did it. It worked so well, I think, because there were relatively few photo terms to sort through so odds of success were high. There just wasn't enough common terminology b/n the LF board and the other photo boards to really provide bad results.

<P>

Peter, FWIW, I've done what you are trying to do with the 550EX. It didn't work well for me. I mean, I got the cables I needed to make it work (I called Jeff at Badger, told him what I was trying to do, and he sent them to me), but the output was so low I needed multiple, multiple pops and I never did get things working well. <A HREF="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=0035M2">Here</a> is a link to my thread about it.

<P>

-Jen

I think part of the objection was that we were only told that LUSENET was going to go away, not when. It does little good to say that some day something is going to happen. Some day we are all going to die, but I'm certainly going to choose my activities differently if it's tomorrow versus 50 years from now (there's no guarantees, but you get my point). Then, a day before it moved we were told when. Even a week's notice on the drop-dead date could have given us (I use the word "us" loosely, I'm just testing) enough time to finish up the code.

Brian -- you clearly know IT. You should also know that a coding project is never done. Every developer will always take right up until the very last second, fixing and tweaking things, adding features. Josh had made great progress on a LUSENET substitute, and with a little warning we could have migrated.

Erik -- you are completely right that to a certain extent the ball was dropped. But, I also think it was dropped on BOTH sides. I think that better communication from photo.net would have helped.

At this point I feel we've lost a very valuable resource. Some key contributors have disappeared and a tremendous amount of bickering and noise has filled that void.

Anyway, I just felt the need to share my two cents. There's two sides to every story and the truth is generally somewhere in the middle. (My late-night attempts at words of wisdom.)

-Jen

David, photo.net has it's uptime problems, but nothing like LUSENET as of late. It is my understanding, however, that photo.net recently got new staff and migrated to some new boxes. Philip was back and involved with the site this spring and made a lot of positive changes. He's currently off traveling the national park system, but he presence was good to get things back in line.

photo.net SHOULD be better than LUSENET assuming it can handle all of the additional traffic from the LUSENET groups that have been moved. However, a good number of LUSENET participants already were photo.net members.

There is a lot more noise on photo.net than you have experienced on the old LF board, but that is pretty much limited to the unmoderated forum. I'm hoping that since we have our own forum that we will pretty much be left alone.

I'm sure this is not the answer that you want, but Kaukauna is only about 3.5 hours north of Chicago, so it might be worthwhile to have Jeff to get one for you and then drive up to see it yourself. Of course, this assumes that Jeff will order one without a guaranteed sale, but I would think he would.

I only say this because every time this comes up on the boards the reponse is: "you can read a review of the 4x5 at site so-and-so".

-Jen

I'm hoping to be response #100. I never would have guessed there were

100 LF shooters that frequent this board (and I can think offhand of

at least a handful that have not responded).

<p>

Anyway, I'm 32 -- trying to bring the average back down. I started LF

about a year and a half ago when I read a newspaper article about a

local photographer who does Pt/Pd printing and thought those prints

were amazing. I quickly figured out what contact printing was and that

contact printing 35mm really doesn't work. It's been a steep learning

curve since and I still have yet to make a Pt/Pd print but I've found

the rest of LF so rewarding not sure when I'll get there (if at all).

<p>

-Jen

John, I will second the vote for the Discovery. I love mine. Fairly

lightweight, easy to use, well built, more movements than I have ever

needed. It's true there is poor manufacturer support in the U.S., but

the few retailers who sell them are FANTASTIC. As a previous poster

mentioned, the Toho should probably be in the running based on Kerry

Thalmann's reviews as well.

<p>

Are you sure the Speed Graphic doesn't have front forward tilt? I just

got a Super to play with and it does. I will admit I am not a Graphic

expert, but you'd never find the tilt on your own if you didn't know

it was there. Takes some playing with it -- from the CameraQuest web

site "* Front Tilts are ingeniously hidden. Look at the bottom of the

front lens standard, on either side, inside of the knobs which control

the back tilt. You will see what appear to be chrome clips which have

no obvious purpose. After loosening the lower outside knobs, push down

on each of the chrome clips at the same time, and tilt the lens

standard forward. Amazingly, the standard tilts forward, who would

have thought it?"

Welcome to the group!

<p>

-Jen

David (Goldes), the viewer is easy to pop on and off, has a magnifier

in it, and allows you to see the entire frame. I live in Minneapolis

and know you work at MCAD so if you would like to see/borrow my A-S

viewer some time let me know. I hardly shot using the dark cloth

because I always felt suffocated under it -- buying the viewer

completely changed my LF experience.

<p>

-Jen

Another option is the Kodak 2D, I got one for $600 with new bellows.

Midwest had a metal 8x10 (maybe a Calumet C-1) for about $400 -- good

cameras from what I read, but insanely heavy. Holders should be able

to be found for about $10 each used. I assume you have a light meter.

The lens is what is going to kill you, but if you don't mind barrel

lenses (no shutter) you can get some good ones for cheap.

<p>

If you hate it you should be able to sell it for what you paid for it.

Also, be sure to shop around, eBay has not been much of a bargain

haven -- used items can often cost more than what I could buy the

equivalent item for new.

<p>

-Jen

I discovered that a couple of large Domke wraps work pretty well -- I

hook the two together to create a complete wrap around the whole thing

and if I do it right there is sometimes an end with a piece of velcro

left to hook under the rail and up around the other side to hold in

place. I keep toying with the idea of making a semi-fitted "sack" with

a drawstring but I never seem to get that far.

<p>

I'll be curious to see what others do. At one point I was using my

darkcloth, but I have since given that up for a reflex viewer.

<p>

BTW, I don't use a photo backpack -- just a regular top-loading

backpack from REI. With a photo backpack I think I'd be less worried

about it.

I don't have any suggestions with the ghosting, but I just wanted to

tell you to enjoy the trip to Uluru. I was there two years ago, almost

to the day. Absolutely spectacular. I just read that the climb up it

is currently closed out of respect to an Aboriginal elder who recently

died (the Aboriginals ask you not to climb it anyhow -- and I did

not). Not that I see you trekking your 12x20 up there anyhow.

<p>

It is supposed to be quite warm in the Outback this time of year (well

into the 80s if not 90s); however, when we were there it was unusually

cold so we spent quite a bit of time in long sleeves and pants and

froze at night (we were camping).

As long as you've gone that far, the Olgas, Kings Canyon, and Rainbow

Valley (this being my favorite) are well with the stop.

<p>

Sorry to digress. Good luck finding your answer and have a great trip!

I've done a fair amount of domestic and international flying since

Sept. 11th with both 35mm and LF film (color & B&W) with no ill

effects. In all cases I carried it on and made no attempts to put it

in a lead-lined bag or anything. It's all turned out just fine. If I

was shooting something critical I would probably follow Ellis' advice

and FedEx it or develop it locally, but of the hundreds upon hundreds

of rolls of film I've traipsed around the world with I have NEVER had

a problem with a single one.

Phil, I'd be happy to help out for about 5-10 hours week. Switching to a non-profit means nothing to me (mostly because I'm not really sure what that means). I just want to keep the site up and productive -- I've found it to be a tremendous resource.

I can help with anything in the 1-5 range (although I'm not crazy about #3). I have about 10 years of IT development and management experience, most recently a few years with the web. I know HTML fairly well and have a decent, but not stupendous, knowledge of Unix and vi. I think that my strong suit is actually the people end of things -- I'm told that I'm really good at explaining technical things to even the most non-technical person so they can understand it.

BTW, I know of a pretty good web-based bug tracking system if you are interested (and I know how to customize it).

It sounds like you didn't expose the film at all. The most likely

culprits are that you either didn't remove the darkslide or forgot to

cock the little shutter lever thingy before taking the photo (one of

my personal favorites). Had you forgotten to close the shutter after

composing and before pulling the dark slide (my OTHER personal

favorite) then you would have massively overexposed, leading to a very

dark or black negative.

Neil, I've been on a similar quest myself, but in my case I'm looking

for something between my 35mm and my A-S monorail that will be easy to

travel with when the tripod just can't go along. Finding something

with the larger neg and shift capability is way more expensive than I

had ever dreamed.

<p>

I've been looking at the Cambo Wide (the new DS is 3.7lb with the 47mm

lens on it), the Silvestri (although reviews say it's not

hand-holdable), the Horseman 6x9 or 6x12, and some of the Fuji

rangefinders. Ebony also just came out with a Finesse, but it's so new

I can't find any real info or pricing on it.

<p>

My ideal setup (were price no object) would be the Cambo --

super-light, lateral and vertical shift, lenses from 38 - 72mm, and

takes anything from rollfilm backs of 6x45 to 4x5 sheet film. From

what I've read it is very hand-holdable, but also has a tripod mount.

It has a viewfinder that attaches to the top. Robert White carries them.

<p>

Interestingly enough, I had recently concluded that I wasn't going to

get what I want for a reasonable price so I'm renting a Mamiya 7(II)

this weekend to see if that comes close enough (I'm desperately after

that larger neg for my travel photos).

<p>

Good luck and please let me know what you decide and why.

<p>

-Jen

Kevin, by locally you mean domestic retailers, not local (as in

Minneapolis), right? I only ask because when I saw some of your posts

in this thread I went back and found an old email from you that states

you buy your film from B&H in bulk and either process locally or ship

it off to Kansas City and you buy most of your equipment off of eBay.

I'm not attempting to take a cheap shot at you, simply trying to

clarify your stance since your posts have read to me as your support

of truly local, not domestic, retailers -- yet in the past you have

failed to practice what you preach. And, if you do mean domestic and

not local, some of your theories about taxes, roads, etc. are negated.

<p>

While I wholeheartedly support the concept of purchasing locally and

attempt to do so when reasonable, the local stores charge 2-4 times

what I can buy film for at B&H, there is no LF equipment to be found

for the most part, and last time I checked out the darkroom section of

the local "pro" shop I heard the woman working there explaining to

someone that there was no difference between RC and Fiber except that

RC dries faster.

My personal stance is that I while I try to support local retailers,

the price discrepancy becomes an issue. I will pay a slight premium to

support the local shops (because when I need a roll of film TODAY B&H

cannot help me out). However, my overwhelming preference is to buy

from someone who actually understands the equipment and needs of the

LF community. These are the people that are going to continue to stock

the items we want and need and have the best connection to the

manufacturers. I also have an advantage that I only live a few hours

from Badger and my family is from near there so I can somewhat justify

supporting a "local" retailer.

<p>

Off my soapbox now. My apologies but I feel much better.

I have always worked in a team environment and have this ability to

take whatever position I'm put in and turn it into something I enjoy.

It is rarely in line with what the managers think I should be doing,

but it ends up bettering the team as a whole b/c I end up distributing

the tasks I don't want to do amongst those that would rather -- in

effect elevating an entire team.

<p>

What I am saying is that perhaps there is a compromise. What if 2 or

more of you co-manage? This elevates all that are involved and in

theory also allows all of you time in the field. I don't know if the

way government positions are set up if this sort of flexibility is

possible, but thought I would throw it out there.