jim r

Henrik,

The Hexar AF Silver typically has a date back. You can usually find used Hexar's for sale on &bay. Besides the date back, the Hexar is a fantastic camera and you can learn more about it by searching Pnet.

Happy Trails...

Sheldon,

Although it probably won't get you out 5-10 ft., a teleconverter with extension (configured as a multiplier, i.e., body, tele, ext, then lens)can increase close focussing distance to give you more room to work. John Shaw's Close-up in Nature describes this well.

Nuno,

I use the Stylus Epic and love the fixed, 35mm f2.8 lens and spot meter. If you want the best lens quality forget zooms of any kind. The Stylus turns on and focusses very quickly. It is a true P&S compact camera offering excellent image quality.

Happy Trails...

Mark,

The balancing issues aside, the lure of this lens is shallow depth of focus. I'd go for an EOS body with a large and bright viewfinder like the EOS 3. The viewfinder step-up from the Elan to the EOS 3 is significant.

Happy Trails...

Quirk 1 - So sorry, Canon didn't get the memo that only you 50mm/2.5 user who like MF use their cameras.

Quirk 2 - Just to piss you off? Or maybe they think you have a memory?

I have the Canon 85/1.8 and Tamron 9/2.8 and yes, I find the color is more punchy in the Tamron, especially under low contrast light, i.e., cloudy day. In bright sunlight the two lenses are very similar.

I've noticed this with both slide (Velvia 50 and Kodak E100GX) and print (Reala and 160 NC). The Fuji films have always been devloped by A&I. The Kodak print is processed at a local shop using Agfa paper, and the slide is processed by Kodak, Beltsville, MD.

Your mileage may vary.

Happy Trails...

I went to this exhibition in NYC (twice in fact) and it is outstanding. The Sea Land container "gallery" was also worth the visit. I believe it is currently at the Santa Monica pier, and I've read elsewhere that additional images will be added as the show travels around the world.

Happy Trails...

Federica,

I assume by functions you mean the user settable custom functions. A few that I have set, and why, ar as follows:

CF-2, I set to 1 so that the leader stays out. This is useful for changing a roll of film before its finished. Great for using say ISO100 film during the day, and slipping a roll of ISO800 in for night shots. Don't forget to remember the exposure number when switching back to a partially exposed roll!

CF-4, this gives many options for how to trigger autofocus, e.g., shutter button or AE lock button.

CF-6, exposure increments. When using slide film you probably want this set to 0 or 1, as they allow 1/3 stop exposure increments.

CF-8,film frame counter, you can have it count how many shots you've taken or how many you have left.

CF-11, focus point selection. User preference like the autofocus.

CF-12, mirror lock-up. Set it to 1 when you are shooting close-up or macro shots.

CF-13, linking focusing point to spot metering. This is an important setting for proper metering based on how you want to expose the scene. Very useful for slide film where you wanted to meter your highlights.

CF-15, shutter curtain sync. Mines set to 1 - second curtain, so if I want a blurred effect, the flash fires last and the blur goes behind the image.

There are other threads on this topic, try a search on Custom Functions.

Happy Trails....

I just received 5 rolls of 35mm slide film processed Kodak which

could not be mounted since my old Nikonos II didn't line up the

frames correctly(?). I think they're just lazy, and if anyone has any

advice on how best to cleanly handle this film I'd appreciate it. I

typically project & scan mounted slides, and Kodak did provide unused

mounts. I use a Nikon IV scanner and think I can cut the film into

strips for scanning, unfortunately they tightly rolled the film and

placed it in the film cannisters. How do you get the curl out? I do

not own a dark room or have any film processing tools.

Thanks for any advice.

Jim

Raid,

The first photo is first rate and, ignore Bob. Facism has been squealished before and should be again.

Happy Trails...

Nick,

Get the summicrom and sell me the Hex! Seriously, if you do decide to part with the Hex send me an email I'm very interested.

Thanks - Jim

Trevor,

Thanks for the link with the subscription option. The bookstores where I live do not always stock this great magazine.

Thanks again. Jim