tony_doucet

I also have a D-6 and the Rodagon 80mm f/4.0 lens. It has a 39mm thread and it needed the Omega number 421932 mounting plate to mount it onto the enlarger. I do not have the turret, but the mounting plates are the same whether you use the slide-in lens mounting system or the turret.

 

I should emphasize that I'm talking about the Rodagon "model" of lens. Rodenstock made/makes other lenses such as Rogonar, Omegaron, and APO Rodagon(Don't know if any of these others have an 80mm available.). If your 80mm is one of these other Rodenstock lens "models" then a different mounting plate may be required. If you need To find a lens/mounting plate combination for a non-Rodagon lens the info used to be available online at Omega's web site at www.satter.com (I think).

Does the D6 come in a colour version? Yes, mine has the Chromega dichroic head, which is a diffusion head.

 

Are all colour enlargers diffusion? No, I had an old 35mm only enlarger from Russi which had a condenser head. To do colour on this beast you put filters in a drawer between the condensers and the negative.

I have the AE prism on a Mamiya 645 Pro. There's not really much to say. It's easy enough to use, and behaves pretty much like the aperture priority AE finder on any other camera.

 

No complaints about accuracy but remember that, like many other in-camera metering systems (excepting perhaps the multi-segment meters found in those baby-sized negative cameras), there are situations where you have to compensate for the meter reading. When exposures screw up it is almost always my fault for not compensating correctly.

 

If the prism for the Super is similar to the one for the Pro then there will be three selectable meter modes on the prism housing: A for averaging meter which behaves like any reflected-light averaging meter, S for spot which behaves like any spot meter, and then A/S which stands for Average/Spot and in this setting the camera does some comparisons/blending/choosing of the two meter values to come up with an exposure value. The A/S setting may be a bit of a departure, depending what you are used to, so be sure that you get the instruction sheet when you buy the prism. It does a decent job of explaining what the A/S setting will do.

Remember that most big, international airports are now routinely x-raying checked baggage. (The comment about Miami's baggage handlers having x-ray eyes was right on the money). This means that "camouflage" such as diaper bags and cardboard boxes will be absolutley useless. I carry on everything, using a Lowepro "Pro Roller" case, which looks like a normal rolling carry-on case. Lots of room for my gear (35mm or MF) plus essentials like a toothbrush and emergency underwear :-)

I second Ernie's opinion about the pipe insulation. I tried a carrying strap with my monopod, but if the 'pod is extended and "ready for action" then it swings quite a bit at the end of the strap and was quite a nuisance as I tried to move around. I find that the foam insulation gives enough padding so that it's reasonably comfortable to carry monopod and attached camera with the 'pod resting on my shoulder. And you can change shoulders easily whenever you need to.

 

I would add that I also have a camera carrying strap around my neck at all times when working with the monopod, even when carrying the rig on my shoulder, to prevent the camera from hitting the ground if I ever lose control of the monopod.

I have a Mamiya 645, which has the same back and insert configuration as your Contax. I get along just fine with only two backs and a half dozen inserts (plus the two that came with the backs). The two backs let me switch between colour and black and white films in mid-roll, and the inserts keep a reasonable supply of loaded film on hand.

First and foremost, I am NOT a lawyer. I have been called many nasty things in my life, but never lawyer. Anyway, I think that, if you give people permission to use your images, you do not give up your copyright. You retain that unless the agreement between you and your customer specifically gives it away. What the customer pays you for is the use, not the ownership, of an image. When you give permission to use your images you should write out a contract which specifies: 1. the image(s) involved; 2. the purposes for which the image(s) may be used; and, 3. the number of copies the customer is entitled to. As to what to charge, that depends on how many images, how many copies, and what the purpose is. Hopefully, someone else can give you pricing guidelines.

Do I detect a slight snide tone in Wayne's comment about 126 film? As it happens, Wayne, you may be right on the money with your guess as to the introduction date of 126 film. However, the size was discontinued shortly after WWII. In the early sixties Kodak introduced Instamatic cameras with 26.5mm by 26.5mm images and they re-used the designation "126" because that was the size of the images on the original 126 roll film.

The designations of Kodak films were simply consecutive numbers and had no relation to film length or image size. The numbering began near the end of the nineteenth century (1895, I think) with number 101 and continued up till about 1916 when number 130 film was introduced. Size 220 was introduced in 1965.

If you go to any office supply store you can find special "Lumocolor AV" felt tipped pens from a company called Staedtler. The pens are made for drawing on the acetate film used in overhead projection, and will work fine on the smooth side of the viewfinder groundglass. You can put in your frame lines without removing the glass - just get the finder hood out of the way and measure and mark the frame outlines you want.

 

BTW: The pens come in two varieties: water soluble and permanent. Both will work, but you will have to use alcohol to remove the permanent pen while a damp kleenex will take off the water soluble.

If you want to use colour print film then you can use something rated at ISO100 and still get acceptable negatives. The film will be overexposed one stop (approx) but the latitude of most colour print films will tolerate this much overexposure

Just a further comment to the previous reply from Michael. When he says a film that has been fixed without development is "completely blank" he means exactly that. There will be no frame numbers or other writing on the edges of the film. If the frame numbers are there then the problem was not fixing an undeveloped film.

I don't think that you will be able to use 120 film, or even respool it onto 130 spools. The 130 film was 2 7/8 inches wide.

Be aware that the churches may not all be lit with true tungsten lights. There are a variety of light sources (mercury vapour, low pressure sodium to name two) that are being used indoors because they give more light per buck of electricity. Tungsten film may not colour correct for these sources.

Does anybody know of a good "lens designs for idiots" web site. I am

curious to know the attributes of and differences between lens designs

such as biogons, planars, etc.

I have to disagree with the notion that a 645 camera is not suitable for portrait work because of its "small" negative. I use a Mamiya 645 regularly in portrait work and have absolutely no complaints at all about sharpness, contrast, or whatever in portraits of any size. Perhaps this is because of tremendous improvements in film and print products or perhaps it is because, as others have suggested, the technical demands of portrait photography are less than other disciplines. Whatever the reason, you can take commercially successful portraits with a 645 system and, as you suggest, get more "stuff" for a given amount of money.

I really enjoy using this camera. I bought it primarily as a "field" camera because of its small size. Like you, I was concerned about lugging a ton of stuff around with me. Since then the camera has become pretty much a mainstay and gets used for damn near everything, in the studio or in the field.

Having said that, I do have to admit that I have some niggling complaints about the M645 system. It is awkward to use this camera for a vertically framed portrait. Not impossible, just awkward compared to using it for horizontally framed shots. The shutter is focal plane, so to be able to use flash at any shutter speed (in certain situations to balance flash and ambient light) I had to buy much more expensive leaf shutter lenses.

When I was shopping for an enlarger I had elected to buy a used one and had only four criteria:

- 35mm, 645, 6x7 negatives

- basboard magnification to at least 16x20 from 35mm

- enlarger or descendant still in production

- condenser, dichroic, cold light heads available.

I visited some web sites and collected some brochures to gather enough information to identify a few enlargers for my "hit list", including ones up to 4x5. The plan was to buy whichever one popped up first. As it turns out, this was a Chromega D6XL with dicroic head. I have been extremely happy with it for both B&W and colour but I think I would have been no less satisfied with any of the others. I had originally planned to acquire a cold light head, but I have found that the dichro produces excellent B&W and am not strongly motivated to change.

 

As for lenses, I refer you to a book called "Post Exposure" by a fellow named Ctein. He devotes a chapter to enlarging lenses and has a table of brand name comparisons.

It also depends on the condition of the lenses. I had three in my Hassy outfit - the two you mention plus a 50mm, all of which were bought used. The 80 and the 150 performed flawlessly at -20 degrees Celsius but the shutter on the 50 would stick at these, and even slightly warmer temps. I had the 50 cleaned and relubed and the low temperature problems disappeared.

You can measure each individual flash head (more or less) with all of the lights active but you have to try and screen the effects of the other lights out of the measurement. For example, if you want to measure the fill light with your flash meter use your hand or some other gobo to keep the main light from falling onto the meter's diffuser dome. Measuring with "all lights flashing" may be the best method of all in a small studio because it lets you measure the combined effect of the output of your set lights plus all the light that bounces from the studio walls. The advice about Polaroids is very good advice. Always proof out a lighting set up.

Be very careful when plugging or unplugging the flash heads. Some systems must be discharged before the heads can be unplugged (or damage may result) and if your owner's manual doesn't tell you if this is true of your system then assume the worst and discharge the system before removing or attaching any cables. I don't have any magic for you when it comes to positioning lights. I do it with all of the modelling lights turned on. I set the background light first (no reason) and then I set the key light. Hair and fill come next. This is only setting for position NOT for balance. I guess it took a little getting used to, but if I can do it so can you.

Setting umbrellas is not an exact science, but FWIW I try to set them so that most of the light ends up in the umbrella. The flash heads have 60 degree reflectors so I set the umbrellas so that there is more or less a 60 degree cone with the circumference of the umbrella as its base.

I have a modest collection of "old folders" (Kodak and Zeiss mostly) that goes back to the beginning of this century, and:

1) None of them has interchangeable lenses;

2) None of them will make more than one size of neg.

These cameras all seem to fall into a sort of "serious amateur" class and it's possible (probable, even) that there are more advanced levels of old folders out there. I personally am not aware of any in MF, but that certainly doesn't meant that they don't exist. I have seen some LF examples of old folders with interchangeable lenses and the ability to make at least a couple of different sized negs.

I think that your problem may be that you don't have enough "white stuff" reflecting in the chalice. Try surrounding the chalice in a "tent" of translucent white nylon (except for the background and a hole to put the lens through ). Flash through the nylon on one side of the chalice, and enough light should bounce around inside the "tent" to fill in the shadows. The reflection of all of that "white stuff" will brighten up the silver considerably. If shadows are not filled in sufficiently by the bounced light you can always add a second flash on the other side of the "tent".

Also, I agree 100% with the recommendation about the book "Light: Science & Magic" (by Hunter and Fuqua, BTW). It contains excellent techniques for photographing difficult surfaces like metal and glass.

Good luck!

I have done a bit of portrait work outside, and have found it to be somewhat harder than studio work (less direct control) but it is fun and challenging. I don't use a lot of props, mostly things like patio furniture, picnic tables, hay bales etc. The real key to making this stuff work is, as others have suggested, to make sure that the stuff is portable. When you work outdoors you put the elements of your photo, props and subject, where they can make the best use of the sunlight. Period. Fixed props may not be where you want them at certain times of the day.

 

FWIW: Keep your eye on the shadow cast by your camera and tripod. The sun will creep along as you shoot, and if it's a long session then it may be necessary to reposition your set part way through.

 

Also, you should try and provide a cool spot for your subject to sit when there's a break in the action. Shade is good, air conditioned is better. If you leave 'em baking out in the noon day sun they will quickly lose their enthusiasm for being photographed, plus if they start to sweat they quickly become less photogenic.

Two large Toronto Photo shops which have decent prices (relative to other Canadian suppliers, anyway) and web sites are: Henry's www.henrys.com and

Vistek www.vistek.net

Give them a try.

You should also be aware that, for most Canadian mail order houses, the term "mail order" is pretty much a misnomer. They ship by courier which can easily add 10 bucks to your bill (depending on shipping speed).

You will find a fairly comprehensive list of Canadian suppliers on the Ace Index: www.acecam.com/canada1.html

There is quite a list of Ontario shops, many of which have e-mail and/or web sites, so you may be able to find one at your destination and save the shipping costs.

Hope it all works out for you, and enjoy Canada.

Hi Moses. I have used the Agfa Optima films almost excusively for the last couple of years. I personally like the level of colour saturation and contrast, both for portraits and for "general purpose" work. Performance is consistent across the ISO range of this film. I print on Kodak paper, usually Supra, and get excellent results.

I marked out the viewfinder of my Mamiya 645 with frame lines that show where the edges of an 8x10 print would be. To do this I took off the viewfinder to give me access to the focusing screen, and then I measured the narrow direction of the frame using a plastic ruler (to avoid scratches) marked in mm. I don't remember what value I got, but say it was 42mm. I divided this value by 8 and got 5.25 mm which I then multiplied by 10 to get 52.5 mm. This means that an 8x10 compatible image will be 42mm by 52.5mm on the viewing screen. Then I measured the long direction of the viewfinder and subtracted 52.5 from the value I got. For example, if the long direction of the screen was 60mm then 60mm minus 52.5 gives 7.5mm. Divide the 7.5 by two and and get 3.75. Then draw two lines on the viewfinder glass. One line 3.75mm from the right edge and the other 3.75mm from the left. The lines should be parallel to the short sides of the viewfinder glass (i.e. they should make the long direction of the image shorter). To make these marks I used water-soluble Staedtler Lumocolor felt pens. They are used for writing on those plastic sheets you use in overhead projectors, and are available just about anywhere. They will write on anything and can be easily cleaned off the glass if the need should arise.