robert_reis2

Just bought a new in box model here in Saudi Arabia. Salesman said it had been on shelf for three years. Put it on my 50mm F1.7 A lens and immediately got an 85mm F2.8 Autofocus lens. Thanks for starting this thread, otherwise I would not have noticed the box.

Cheers,

Bob

Jeddah, K.S.A.

Very sharp and great selective in focus area. Nice work.

Cheers,

Bob

Below is a notice emailed to me about selling a filer I had purchased

on Ebay. I will never buy another product from this firm:

Heliopan Trademark Information Please read the following before

listing an item with the name "Heliopan" This message provides

awareness of the USA Trademark Laws applying to Heliopan's trademark

registered in the United States. Trademark and Gray Market Warning

Notice HP Marketing Corporation, an American-owned company not

related to the Heliopan factory in Germany, has registered the

Heliopan Trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO),

and has recorded these marks with the United States Customs Service

for legal import restrictions in accordance with 19 C.F.R. Part 133.

Under Section 526 (a) of the US Tariff Act of 1930, the importation

of any foreign-origin merchandise bearing the Heliopan trademark,

without the written consent of HP Marketing Corporation, is unlawful

and prohibited. Unauthorized importations are subject to possible

seizure and forfeiture by the United States Customs Service. HP

Marketing Corporation is actively working with Customs to enforce

these trademarks aggressively. HP Marketing Corporation will also

pursue all of its available remedies for injunctive relief and

damages against any companies or persons who import, distribute, sell

or otherwise deal in gray market merchandise bearing these

trademarks. ----------------------------------------------------------

-- ------------ Seller's Information If you live outside the United

States: If you advertise or use online auctions, and offer Heliopan

products, NEW or USED, you must state "We are unable to ship Heliopan

products to the United States, due to United States Trade Mark

restrictions which can cause such shipments to be seized by U.S.

Customs." If shipped to a U.S.A. address, U.S. Customs has the

authority to seize the product(s).

BTW, if you want a quiet rangefinder, I have have a Zorki 6 ( and a Bessa L and R)with extremely wide rangefinder base that is extremely quiet. Lowest shutter speed is 1/30th; highest 1/500th. I do not know if other Zorkis are as quiet. Be careful with rear viewfinder, it is metal and can scratch glasses. I am having a protector made. But for a very quiet camera, this one is a peach.

Bob

I recommend either the Russian Jupiter 50mm F2.0 or Industrar 61L 55mm F2.8 (or both)on a Bessa R body. Lovely lenses.http://home.att.net/~wayne.cornell/camera/lenslist.html

Cheers,

Bob

Sigma 50mm F2.8 Macro EX is so sharp that pictures will burn your eyes.

With multiplier effect you will have a perfect portrait lens.

Cheers,

Bob

You will be happy with the SD10. ISO performance much enhanced, battery arrangement better; and despite remark above, the Sigma Software is excellent and you can download it for free and check it out. Sigma EX lenses are as good as one needs and cost a wee bit less than the glass you are using.

Cheers,

Bob Reis

http://focusmagic.com/

This a free download to try. Seems to work as promised so I have decided to buy.

Cheers,

RER

Ultra-Sharpen Lite is free. I use it all of the time. I uprezed a 15meg file to 48 meg with Genuine Fractal 2.0 pressed the ultra sharpen button and had it printed at 13 by 19 inches. I liked it.

Life can be simple.

Cheers,

Bob

I would hesitate to get rid of a superior system like yours.

At the moment the Microtek 120 scanner would be a less costly alternative. (Or the Minolta).

I do not know what color film is your current choice. Where I reside the choices are limited. I have found, however, that the Konica Centuria Super 100 negative film gives grainless results when professionally scanned.(My MF camera is a Bronica RF645.)

Once the file is in your computer the workflow is the same whether or not you use a scanner or a digital camera.

The PowerRetouche Black and White program allows you to shoot color film (or digital) and then transform the results to match your favoritie B&W films, filters, and even papers. A lot of fun.

Cheers,

Bob.

Jeddah

The Sony DSC-707 and 717 5 megapixel cameras can generate 32 cm by 47 cm prints of high photo quality using Genune Fractals to upsize the digital file to 260 dpi. resolution. Buyers might not want to pay you since they will think you are using a toy.

They will never think your RB67 is a toy.

Medium format prints will be more beautiful. A scanned 120 film size negative ( I like color print film. ) will be grainless and have better color tones.

You will have to learn the same digital software touse a digital camera or a scanned file.

Write me if you want some software recommendation. Puedo leer espanol si sera mas facil.

Bob Reis

Saudi Arabia

What does 50 on the shutter counter of a GW 690 model one mean?

Thanks,

Bob

I just downloaded and used the program available here http://focusmagic.com/ . It seems to do what is promised, snd may be quite useful with the 3200 - which I am considering.I used it on a 48 meg (expanded)unsharpened jpeg file in its automatic mode. Results were quite good. I could not fin any artifacts or halos at 100%.

It's only a 3.1 meg download and allows you to use it on five jpeg files. It stands alone unless you buy, and then it installs as a plugin works that works with tiffs as well and adds options.

I hope others try it and report back. It may be a replacement for a lot of tedious work with unsharp mask.

Cheers,

Bob

My Bronica will arrive in a few days without batteries. Does it use 2

cr2 lithium 3 volt batteries or two cr2 lithium 6 volt battteries? I

cannot find the latter here.

Thanks,

Bob

Saudi Arabia

I suggest that most photographers would like to be admired for enormous prints that hang on walls. To make a large digital print to hang the wall takes a large digital file. The question is how big of a file do you need and how can you get it. I based calculations on scanning a film negative or slide at 3200dpi for a 300 dpi output.

If you start out with a digital camera you will have to resup the orignal file to get the targetted print size more than you would have to resup a scan of film negative or slide - especially if you start out with a scan of a 120 negative. It may be that you can use a smaller dpi goal for your larger prints, but the bigger the file one starts out with the better that large print will be.

Perhaps others can suggest the proper output dpi for top quality at the various large print sizes?

To get a 530 meg file from a 4 by 5in negative at 3200 dpi requires no rezing up at all.

My guess is that people are buying equipment that will not fulfill their ambitions.

If one starts out with a 15 to 20 meg file from DSLR, you are not going to impress too many people with a gallery print - especially if it is competing with a print made from a scan that started out with 500 plus megapixels.

Cheers,

Bob

BTW

The standard 80mm F2.8 has a light leak when you focus at close distances at the aluminum DOF preview lever. Cover it with black tape and problem is gone.

Mike at KievCamera is great. Stands behind his cameras and lenses. Don't wait 6 months before trying out a lens, though! I think 2 Kiev 60s are cheaper than getting film backs for the 88s. Mine work well.

Cheers,

Bob

To make a 300 dpi photo quality print requires enough megs in your

file.

10 by 15 inch 38.6 meg

18 by 24 inch 114 meg

24 by 24 inch 148.9 meg

24 by 29 inch 186 meg

24 by 36 inch 222 meg

40 by 50 inch 530 meg

People considering digital camera should consider the drawbacks as

well as the advantages.

Contax RTS II

Sony DSC 707

Bronica RF645

Any experience reports would be helpful.

Thanks,

Bob

Any advice would be helptful.

Thanks.

Bob

Discussion at below link with sample resolution tests on a color

resolution target rather than black and white resolution chart seem

to indicate this.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1027&message=5942288

Cheers, Bob

-- Robert Reis , August 26, 2003; 06:06 P.M. Eastern

Discussion at below link with sample resolution tests on a color resolution target rather than black and white resolution chart seem to indicate this.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1027&message=5942288

Cheers,

Bob

Dear Jacques,

You might put off your decision until the latest Sony is released.The F828. I have the DSC-707 and the quality of its output continually surprises me. Detail to 8 by 10 is indistinguishable from my Contax cameras. With 28mm to 200mm Zeiss Tstar Zoom, the new model should be even better. It is suggested that shooting atn 5 megapixels may be better than at its maximum 8 megapixels. The 707 and 717 do magnificent job at 5 megapixels.

Cheers,

Bob

There are Sigma threads already posted here. One of them mine. dpreview.com has a Sigma Forum that is very active. Most of the posters to this site have large inventories of Canon or Nikon lenses. It does not make sense for them to move to the SD9. Although some Nikon and Canon owners have switched to the SD9 because they find that the prints they can make with the Sigma are much sharper. Some Sigma lenses are outstanding. Some are not. This is exactly the same situation as with Canon and Nikon lenses. If you use the Sigma Sd9 with the Sigma 50mm Ex macro the prints will be so sharp they burn your eyes.

Cheers,

Bob