c_watson1

<p><em>"If you're unsure, the giveaway signal of a crap film is that it's always ISO 200."</em></p> <p>For a "crap" film, current Superia 200 performs amazingly well for me--always.</p>

<p>It's Superia 200 if it's edge-coded CA. Question is: what generation? Superia films were, until a few years ago, tweaked and updated regularly. Often, previous generations were sold as store brands or current versions renamed for other markets.</p>

<p>Too bad you couldn't tell us what type of shooting you'll be doing. Agree that the Sekonic 308 is a great all-rounder:flash, incident, reflected metering in a conveniently small package. I also use a Sekonic 558 which has spot metering, various flash/ambient measuring modes, dual ISO settings. The 508/558/608/758 are essentially the same meter with updated features and served as Sekonic's Swiss Army knife meter. Can't see why anyone would avoid any of them ,especialy the early 508 if the price is right. There's also the Sekonic 358 which is the basically the same meter minus spot metering. These sold strongly and are usually available used at very reasonable prices.</p> <p>Personally, I'd skip a metered head for the 645Pro in favor of a handheld meter. I'd also pass on old meters, whatever their reputation, if favor of the newest you can afford that fits your needs.</p>

<p>I'd be surprised if it wasn't plain vanilla Superia 200(CA-135 edge code). That's my go-to for consistent consumer film with acceptable saturation and contrast. Reala was finer-grained and a touch less-saturated and vastly better than the gawdawful Superia 100.</p>

<p><em>I think it's pretty much universally understood to be limited to that generation of the Allies and, more precisely, Americans, because it also includes the fact that the same generation had already experienced, in their youth, the Great Depression.</em></p> <p>That's taking American exceptionalism a bit too far, especially since Canadian and UK/Empire forces not only experienced the Depression but also fought a longer war. Might be best to take the discussion back to the image itself.</p>

<p>It's unquestionably one of the masterworks of wartime propaganda. It's a manipulated image in the truest sense of the term. The photo's story and its effect on the lives of those involved is where the real interest resides. Guess I've never looked at it quite the same way after reading Errol Morris' "Believing is Seeing."</p>

<p>Could you do it?</p> <p>Maybe. Some clues on how it might work on a far broader scale are given in Lewis Dartnell's recent book, "The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Our World from Scratch"(Penguin, 2014).</p>

<p>Cool. Saw that one. No idea why Bronica opted for the 4 battery solution over the single 6v.</p> <p>If you've missed it, this site has some useful stuff on the SQ system:</p> <p><a href="http://www.ayton.id.au/gary/photo/photo_BronicaSQ.htm">http://www.ayton.id.au/gary/photo/photo_BronicaSQ.htm</a></p>

<p>"<em>Care to share your resources on hacks? I might know about them, but here's to the chance you've found something different</em>."</p> <p>Google simply turned up some solutions under "Bronica SQ-Ai battery holder." The single 6v battery might be easier than Mickey Mousing something to hold 4 1.5v cells. Don't have an Ai so I've no clue how the +/- contacts are set up.</p>

<p>Looks like the DIY hacks are about it and there seem to be q few around. Soldering wires to the batteries isn't a plan. One of the many reasons I like my SQ-B: the single 6v SR-44 which might be worth playing around with on your SQ-Ai.</p>

<p><em>Bottom line. If I were you I would probably go with the Rollei with the EC a close second.</em></p> <p>Old Bronica focal plane shutter cameras like the S series and the EC strike me as a remarkably poor choice. They're very difficult to get repaired in N. America, much less NZ. The EC had a quirky split reflex mirror that's not known for its durability. Sure the old Nikkor lenses are good but it's part of a system from the early '60s that dead-ended with the EC a decade later.</p>

<p>I really like the 150/3.5KL for portraits on the RB67 platform. Somewhat hard to find but improved optics and coatings over the venerable 180 and 180C.</p>

<p>Oops...Any chance of a refund? The disc sets occasionally show up on eBay. I see SF lenses sold often with one or none of the discs. Had one briefly a few years ago and traded it off. I found the look got old fast, especially since digital blur can be better controlled.</p>

<p>A sampling from his book "The Way We Were."</p> <p>http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/02/julian-wasser-the-way-we-were-photographs-of-the-california-dream-and-its-underbelly/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0</p> <p> </p>

<p>No clue what the OP's local repair resources are but buying the newest MF gear you can afford doesn't seem far wrong. Whatever their virtues, relics do require large and small fixes that simply may not be available, which seems to rule out folders, TLRs and ancient quirky SLRs like the Bronica EC. Late model Bronica SQ series kits based on the SQ-Ai and the SQ-B or even 645 Bronica ETRSi or Mamiya Pro/ProTL kits might be better value and far less frustrating.</p>

<p>That's the opposite of my experience with the 488 but then I've used them with the bigger RC4 and older hex QR plates. The 498 just isn't as robust as the earlier 488 and 490 heads. The RC2 plates will give out and slip before the head will. The contact surface area of the RC2 is just too small for the weight of your set-up.</p>

<p>I never shot this stuff fresh at box speed, choosing instead to rate it 1/3--2/3 over. While I got good results from Superia 800 at box speed, Superia 1600 was iffy at 1600 and murky underexposed.</p>

<p>KEH buyers at shows tend to go for EXC+ or better quality but will pay a reasonable price for gear above beater condition. Mint- F3s with DE-2 or DE-3 finders are getting scarce, so demand seeems split between collectors and shooters. The cameras effectively went out of production in the late '90s with some residual stock still in channels beyond the official discontinuation date. I see more F5s but, again, many are high-rollage. The F100 still seems to me to hit the sweet spot for a late model prosumer Nikon film camera in terms of features/price.</p>

<p>I'm guessing you might be discounting the role that post-exposure processing plays in delivering a stunning final image. You probably should try some color negative film like Kodak Portra along with some serious research on Photoshop and Lightroom. Are you shooting 35mm or roll film?<br> Scanning is close to black art with many people squeezing quite good files from so-so flatbeds via numerous tweaks. Though some will differ, I'm not sure Nikon scanners are such a great idea now, especially since Nikon no longer supports them with parts and service.</p>

<p>I've recently shot various Fuji pro and consumer materials of around the same vintage and stored the same way, even simply 'fridged, with no problems.</p> <p>Guess it's fair to ask how much processing your warehouse does--or do they send it out? Costcos around Toronto dropped all film service 4-5 years ago when traffic had slowed to a trickle.</p>

<p><em>No, the key flaw is not understanding that this is a mirrorless camera comparison not a "mirrorless is better than dslr" comparison.</em></p> <p>Such a comparison is plainly obvious. Why trot the D4s out if that wasn't the point? It's probably the key plot element in the MILC-vs-DSLR story which viewers want to see. Sorry but this is marketing not Consumer Reports...</p>

<p>Another take:</p> <p><a href="http://soundimageplus.blogspot.ca/2014/05/fuji-x-t1-and-mirrorless-inferiority.html">http://soundimageplus.blogspot.ca/2014/05/fuji-x-t1-and-mirrorless-inferiority.html</a></p>

<p>Recently, "The Immigrant." Desert island/watched often: anything by Wong Kar-wai that Chris Doyle shot, esp. "In the Mood for Love" and "2046."</p>

<p>You've got three formats to consider:645, 6x6 and 6x7. Might help by sharing what type of shooting you plan to do, too. Otherwise you'll just get a long list of unfocused testimonials.</p>

<p>Gone at 85. Great model, even greater photographer.</p> <p><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/pin-photographer-bunny-yeager-dies-85-23863268">http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/pin-photographer-bunny-yeager-dies-85-23863268</a></p>