rick_falck

The Darkroom in Belmont is good for pro (ie non-standard) stuff.

Looking at Nikon's latest digital offerings (like the SQ), one gets the impression that they are shooting for the low end portion of the consumer market.

Actually, it is with Photoshop that actual Mhz speed matters (Intel's 2.8 beats AMD's 2800+) and where hyperthreading makes a difference. PC mag tested the 3.06 chip with HT enabled and disabled and found it is quite faster with many PS filters when enabled. However, it all comes down to fractions of a second to full seconds even with a large file. To cite them (with ruthless disregard to copyright rules):

 

"We also used Adobe Photoshop 7, which is a good measurement because some of its filters, like Despeckle, CMYK Color, RGB Color, and Gaussian Blur, are multithreaded. These filters showed performance gains from about 11 to 36 percent. Other filters that are not multithreaded, like Image Size and Unsharp Mask, showed little or no gain."

 

So, you can add the 11-36% to the 10% gain just from the Mhz difference between a 2.8 and 3.06 CPU. Then when you realize that what you are really saving is about .3 seconds (for a 30M file) to maybe 2 seconds (for a 120M filed), you can decide if the extra price is really worth it to you. If you drink way too much caffein, those extra seconds may add up ;)

I have been running XP home for just over a year now and have scanned thousands of slides and negs on my Nikon LS-4000, 60 645 slides on my Epson 2450, manipulated them all in Photoshop 6 and then 7.01, and have printed hundreds on my Epson 1280 printer. I burned many CD-Rs of my images. NONE of these operations ever caused XP home to crash or any of the applications to crash. I have 1G RAM, but have still caused PS to need to swap data to the hard drive when manipulating the 120 meg files from either scanner.

 

The ONLY difference between Home and Pro is the networking things and multiple CPU support. However, you can still setup a VPN network with the home version using wired or wireless routers.

 

The only thing that has crashed my XP home (blue screen of death) is when it gets a weird command or something from my cable modem driver, but this has only happened twice.

 

Just be sure to get the XP SR-1 from Microsoft (either by ordering the CD or through download) after you initially install XP.

I have that scanner too for my 645 slides. I have the Nikon LS-4000 for my 35mm. I have found that with both of them how you get the pic to be sharp in Photoshop is a lot easier for ones I am manipulating for looking at on my computer screen. This is because what you see is what you get when you set PS to "actual pixels" view and use unsharp mask. When looking at one that I intend to print it is very different. They never look sharp in "actual pixels" view (where you may actually see a tiny part of the whole pic anyway. It does look sharp when I do the "fit to screen" or "print size" view. When doing the unsharp mask, it is tricky, because there is no way to get it to look sharp in "actual pixels" view, and if you try to do so, you will actually ruin it. I do the unsharp mask in "actual pixels" view and switch to "screen view" to see the result. My prints have come out extremely sharp doing this. The problem is that in "actual pixels" view, you are seeing a level of detail you would never see in the print, unless you looked at under a microscope.

Makes sense. They probably figure that if passes the scrutiny of those pesky Germans, that the wacky warranty obsessed Americans will accept it ;)

I am good at math. So here it goes:

 

The cost of Lithiums is $10 per set. You can get 40-60 rolls per set (I personally get 50 with nothing but 36 pic rolls). Assuming each roll is 36 pics, you can get 1440-2160 pics. The cost thus comes to $.0069-.0046 per pic (about 1/2 of one penny).

 

The cost of Alkalyns per set is $2.00. You can 0 rolls with them which is 0 pics. The cost thus comes to $2.00 for 0 pics.

 

So, you are wrong about Lithiums being more expensive. You paid $2.00 for no pics at all, which is a lot more than 1/2 cent per pic.

If you get the Kenko 1.4 PRO AF TC, you will AF, metering, and VR!!

I found it is best to analyze one camera at a time and figure out all the components you would need to operate that specific camera body. The problem is that each of the MF camera makers have implemented their own system for loading the film, and some have fixed SLR-like prisms with built in light meters and for others there can be different prisms with and without meters. Some MF cameras are very modular in that they have all kinds of things you can add on.

 

If you want to go with one that is most like the 35mm cameras, the Pentax and Mamiya 645s are the closest things, because they have a built-in prism with meter. They have implemented different ways of loading film though. The Mamiya has a back that can take either a 120 or 220 insert, whereas the Pentax has either a 120 or 220 back. The Mamiya backs can be changed mid-roll (thus they have a dark slide to keep the film from being exposed when the back is removed) and the Pentax's cannot. Both have built in motor drives that automatically advance the film.

 

Go to B&H's web site and read through the specs of different MF cameras. See what is built-in or an optional accessory. I know that Hasselblads and Bronicas are much more modular than the other two.

 

I think that if you want a MF camera larger than 645, that they are all modular with the possible exception of the Pentax 67.

The 28-70 f2.8 AFS D lens is awesome. I have and love the 80-400 VR lens too, which is plenty sharp for me. I may play with the 70-200 f2.8 AFS VR lens when it comes out, to see if I can really tell the difference.

 

BTW, I did test the 28-70 AFS against the 28-105 (the best of the sub $500 mid-range zooms) and could definitely see the difference.

The problem with the N65 is that it only has matrix metering. It does not have spot or center weighted (like what you got used to). Your wife would like it though. The N80 (or F80 outside the US) is a better choice for you, since it has the manual features you are used to using.

I have the 1280 and have gone through 6 color cartridges. I print mostly landscape photos, and the inks all go down at the same rate for me. In one run I printed 40 10x7.5 photos at 1440 dpi on the Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper. I figure the ink cost around 75 cents a print for this size. I chose the Epson because of the ratings it gets. I also like the broad paper selection for it. However, I have only gotten good colors on Epson papers (Kodak and HP don't work well).

I am going on my 6th color cartridge for my Epson 1280. So far, the colors have all been used at the same rate for me. I print photos though. I would imagine that this would be different if you print a lot of artwork or something that has a lot of one color.

SCSI is fine if you already have a SCSI card. Why bother buying a card though just for the scanner? SCSI also is different than USB in that the unit must be attached and turned on before you boot your computer. USB allows you to plug it in and/or turn it on/off whenever you want to. The USB will be plenty fast as long as it is the new USB 2.0. Also, USB cables can be a lot longer than SCSI cables, are a lot cheaper and thinner.

After ogling many ballheads that I could use for my Pentax 645N and Nikon 35mm stuff, I opted for the Linhof Profi-II with Really Right Stuff plates and QR plate. Their's was the only QR plate that has a female thread that (with their stem) allows it to be mounted in the Profi-II. The ballhead has a rating of 17 lbs, is lightweight, and is small enough so my tripod and head can fit in my tripod bag atop my Bogen carbon fiber tripod. A great setup for hiking!

"Maybe a photojournalist version of the new Kodak?"

 

What do you mean? One that will harass celebrities?

I used the 3V lithiums when traveling Europe because they don't sell AA lithiums anywhere I ever saw. At home (California) I use 4 AA lithiums. I prefer lithiums in general because they do not have a problem with cold temps, whereas alkylines lose power. 4 AA lithiums last MUCH longer than anything else.

 

I shot an average of 20 rolls with the 3V ones, and have yet to change the AA lithiums, with my F100. If you use the VR lens, the extra power is necessary.

The SB-26 is very much like the new SB-28 which replaced it. So, as far as flashes go you have a really good one that will do all the things a flash can do on the N90. Maybe getting a Stroboframe flash bracket and the SC-17 flash cord would be good for what you do. I have the quick-flip bracket that allows me to keep the flash above the camera when shooting verticles (eliminating shadows). It also puts the flash further from the lens to further reduce red-eye. You can also add a soft box to the flash to soften its effect.

 

After that, there is the use of multiple off-camera flashes or even studio lights.

 

If just depends on how far you want to go with it.

It sounds like a USB problem. What operating system are you using? Did you download and install the latest drivers for the scanner? I have a 2450 on Win XP and it works great on an adaptec USB 2.0 card. I can turn the scanner ON and OFF between uses even. If you are running Windows 98, there may be updates for USB that you can get by going to microsoft and running windows update.

Yea. They know that with the Kodak 14mp camera coming out at $4,000 that the D1x ain't gonna be worth $4,600 any more!

I get gads of spam in my 2.5 year old hotmail account (which I can limit to 12-20 a day with their filters), a few (maybe 5 a day) in my 1.5 year old AOL account, and none yet in my 7 month old attbi account. I use have used all accounts at E*BAY, so I don't think it is E*bay itself that is selling email IDs. I use my AOL account for this site still, and for net purchases other than E*bay.

 

If it gets out of hand, have your ID changed with your ISP and start over. Or you can use email filters. Outlook and AOL do not provide any filtering.

 

I haven't looked into getting a filter program yet, but would start here:

 

http://download.com.com

Here is the answer from a good site for PC related things:

 

http://www.tomshardware.com/display/02q3/020805/crt-01.html

Get UV or Haze filters for both lenses, which are the default filters to use to protect the front elements.

 

Other things, like a bag or tripod would probably be best bought locally, where you can check them out.

So, you close the back with the camera ON, it advances the film to the first frame, but still shows "E"; you open the back again, see that it is loaded properly, close it again, and it then advances again but this time displays the "1"???

 

This makes no sense.

 

At default settings, the F100 will not advance the film until you close the back, turn it ON, AND hit the shutter button. You need to set a custom function to get it to advance automatically upon closing the back. Be sure to press the buttons that reset all functions to their defaults.

 

It may also show ERR if it cannot read the DX coding on the film canister. Try setting the ISO setting manually to see if this fixes it.

The only people forcasting the demise of film are those that have a vested interest in seeing it die: Digital camera makers and their pundits.