Film Pictures

[aircooled4]

All this talk of film...nice! I used to shoot 35mm with Contax bodies and mostly Zeiss glass...I never did get the Leica rangefinder that I had always wanted... Did alot of 6x6 b&w...mostly with a Yashica 124G...Never did get the 'Blad...Im still looking and considering a 500C if one comes along for the right price... Something about a negative or chrome that cant be duplicated by a digital file...

[PeeWee]

Originally Posted by 85MH325

On a serious note, I've shot Leica and Hasselblad for years. I sold my last Leicas and Hassys a few years ago, and have gone completely digital. OK, maybe not completely. I still have two Kiev88 CMs and a passel of Russian and East German glass, but that's another story altogether. I love them, BTW.

Jonathan and several others here have a lot more experience than I with digital, but I'll throw in my $.02. I also have an Epson 4490 hybrid flatbed/negative scanner. While it's not the quality of the "real" film scanners, it does a decent job. The biggest problem with scans as shown in this 100% crop (IMHO) is that there tends to be more artifacts than in native digital exposures, and even when the negative (or transparency) is meticulously cleaned, you still have to spend a significant amount of time spotting dust and other imperfections. It is also possible to scan at such a high rate as to emphasize the color layers and film grain.

Of course, scanning is a must for digitizing old exposures, but I've finally become a native digital convert.

Roger

The crop was taken from this pic. It was take in 1981 with ASA 25 Kodachrome, with a Nikon F2 and probably a 105mm lense.

Pee Wee

[Aage]

Originally Posted by dwightdi

I have been taking pictures for 60 years. I have mostly 35MM reflex stuff. I am looking to convert some of my old work to digital.

Dwight,

I'm sorry, I have no experience with any of those machines, however, I would comment that 1800PPI is too low to give satisfactory results from a 35mm slide. My scanner is 4800 and only gives output suitable for a 4"x6" print, just.

When I last bought a scanner about a year or so ago, I noted that there wasn't really a good machine at a reasonable price that would do slides or 35mm negs with great results. Plus, unless it is a dedicated machine, it is just to awkward to do a lot of them.

It would seem to make the most sense to scan a neg or a slide, but the manufacturers either can't or won't produce a well-priced solution that gives good output.

A good scanner will have a holder and back light accessories that will give you "acceptable" results for the occasional scan, but you may wind up paying for the service if you want to do a lot of them.

Cheers,
Aage

[jacarape]

Peewee, great shot! K25 is missed!

I'm using a Nikon CS9000 for the MFstuff. Digital is pretty nice, a great advancement getting better, but it doesn't have the same soul. I really love Kodak 100VS.

Loving rangefinders, a Leica is a joy to shoot. The attached was shot in the Negev, Israel at Shivta. Camera was Mamiya 645 and I think the 55mm PC because learning, I ended up with some vignetting.

It's amazing how easy E6 is to scan compared to some C41.

[vswingfield]

Originally Posted by aircooled4

All this talk of film...nice! I used to shoot 35mm with Contax bodies and mostly Zeiss glass...I never did get the Leica rangefinder that I had always wanted... Did alot of 6x6 b&w...mostly with a Yashica 124G...Never did get the 'Blad...Im still looking and considering a 500C if one comes along for the right price... Something about a negative or chrome that cant be duplicated by a digital file...

My 124G is a 1¼”x1¼”. It’s older than the metric system, at least in the US. It still looks brand new. Great camera.

I recently bought a Sony Alpha 100 because I had 2 Minolta Maxxum 7000s and a bunch of Minolta glass. It is a great digital camera and has a stabilized CCD. Makes any lens you put on stabilized.

I really miss Agfa Ultra 50, though! Used it in 35mm in the Minoltas and 120 in the Yashica.

[overlander64]

I am not certain how well it is going to work, but decided to try one of the Bower/Opteka (different brand names, same device) High Definition Slide Converters for my Cannon Digital Rebel XT camera. Reading the reviews makes me think in may be acceptable for what I want to do -- covert the slides that my parents have from my childhood -- they rarely ordered prints, amost always slides. I am hoping to receive the device by this time next week as I ordered it on Monday of this week. The photo below is the device:



Kevin

[Pat Conway]

Just thought I'd mention it in case some of you photography enthusiasts missed it, but Page 53 of December "Blue Beret" talks about the first photographic Workshop-Caravan "Picture this: Down East Maine" 6/1 to 6-17 is a 2009 WBCCI Nat'l Caravan, and looks interesting . "The area was selected because of its uniqueness and its photographic opportunities. The target audience is a new SLR user that is familiar with their equipment operation, serious amateurs and the semi-pro. In addition, anyone with an advanced Digital Camera or contemplating the purchase of a new SLR should find these workshops helpful. Workshops will be conducted at each of 5 major stops along with photo assignments and group critiques. Other planned items include editing, archiving and printing techniques." "This caravan presents a new format and concept to caravanning, that of learning new skills". There is a limit of 15 units.

[Paul Mayeux]

Originally Posted by craftsman

Love the pictures. I also use Leica. Had an M6 and bought a MP last year. No desire to go digital and will probably shoot film until you can't buy it any more. You can still buy Kodachrome 64, just look on the B&H website.

I've shot the Leica M for many years, I too currently have an MP. I bought a digital M8 when it was introduced and while it can produce some very nice images, it doesn't quite get the feeling of Kodachrome shot on Leica glass.

Give me a projected Kodachrome and I'm a happy camper.

[Aage]

Back to scanning for a moment: I forgot to add that one thing that's important to have if you plan on going through, sorting and scanning a number of negs or slides is a decent way to look at them. There are backlit tables that don't cost much (here is one I saw) or I suppose you could make one, I see sites that offer the information on doing this.

The other thing that would be handy is a good loup. Unless you are Superman, it's hard to see enough detail to make a judgement as to picture quality without one. Again, they don't appear to be too expensive. Here's a page with them.

Last thing, here is a site that gives lots of good tips on scanning, and explains the dos and don'ts in a very understandable way.

cheers,
Aage

[dwightdi]

That scan tips website is just what I was after. The site is very exhaustive on most questions of resolution and proper computer file formating. It also identifies the differences between Internet monitor display, printing photos, and Slide shows using Computer projection TV. It does take a bit of time to wade through but there is a lot to learn. Thank you for the link.

[Aage]

You're very welcome. Can't wait to see what goodies you eventually scan and put up for us to see.

One more tip: to show pictures on here in a decent size, join a free service like Photobucket. No limit as to image size on here with that, and it doesn't stress out Airforum's servers.

[jacarape]

I bought an el cheapo light table, small enough for a 25 footer . Adobe Lightroom seems to do all the editing I need, plus the organizing capabilities are awesome.

[aturner4u]

Originally Posted by jacarape

The AT6 (Luanda, Angola) was shot with a Contax G2 and a 16mm Zeiss Hologon, and teh others were taken with a Contax 645 and teh Zeiss 80mm Planar (Lagos, Nigeria).

I just inherited a Contax camera with multiple lenses from my grandfather's estate. I am new to the SLR world so it should be interesting to learn how to use it. I have wanted a digital SLR but money has been keeping me from that...or should I say lack of money. I have been using an olympus 10X zoom and a kodak 10X zoom, primarily on auto settings.

Any pointers or things I should know in regard to a contax?

As for a photo scanner I use an epson perfection 3170 photo scanner. It has the capability to do negatives and slides but I have never used that. I have only used it for scanning existing photos and it does a good job with that.

[scorpiontimo]

I have been a pro 35 shooter for news rags for a while but most enjoy shooting for me and my travels as a full timer on the road you are right 35 is the way for me and a good scan will save it all you shooters keep it up I will die with my F3 wrapped in my hand

[jacarape]

Thank you for the scan tip link, it's pretty helpful, it clears a lot of basic questions such as histograms.

Aturner, what model Contax did you inherit? I have the G2, an "electronic" rangefinder, the medium format 6x4.5cm and an old 1952 model Contax IIIa rangefinder. I always wanted a folder.

Anyway, Classic Cameras forum from Photo.net is a classic camera forum where you can get advice from some of the nicest and knowledgeable folks on the Internet.

Also here is a link where you can get manuals from "cameras past their sell date".

CONTAX Camera Manuals Right to the Contax page.

One thing I really love about shooting film is the work flow. There basically isn't one. Well exposed slides and your work is finished (sometimes). I'm scanning some Kodak 100VS and the slides that were exposed correctly (bracket!) are just gorgeous.

[aturner4u]

Originally Posted by jacarape

Aturner, what model Contax did you inherit? I have the G2, an "electronic" rangefinder, the medium format 6x4.5cm and an old 1952 model Contax IIIa rangefinder. I always wanted a folder.

Contax 139 Quartz. Luckily the original manual is in the camera bag along with the warranty information and documentation on the lenses. I guess I know where I get my paper packrattedness.