Guys and gals, I am going to reply to all of your responses thus far, in
this one message, so please bare with me...
Paul Stenquist wrote:
"Everything sounds great -- except those squeegee tongs."
Thanks Paul, I have had this comment from a few people and am happy to
dispense with this item from my list! After all, if I wanted scratched
negs, I'd just take them to the lab...:-)
Colin Brendemuehl wrote:
" Check out the pricing on a Microtek ScanMaker 5.
With Tranny adapter built in, and a price close
to the flatbed/film scanner pair you have,
it's at least worth the look. Less real estate
on your desk as well.
Also, how about the manual focus A100/2.8 for 1/2 the price!"
Thanks Colin, I just looked up this scanner on the Microtek website, it is
listed as $1149! That is waaaaaaay out of my league, don't forget that the
prices I quoted are in Australian Dollars! US$1149 is like AUD$2300! I
have, however looked into a number of different flatbeds and have generally
decided against them, room on my desktop is not an issue, so I am going to
stick with the small flatbed that I have chosen and put most of my $$$ into
a dedicated film/negative scanner.
In regards to the FA 100mm/3.5 lens, there are a couple of reasons that I
have chosen this lens in particular. Most importantly, it is for the macro
capabilities, second most-importantly is the Autofocus, I also like this
particular focal length and at this price, this is the fastest lens that
combines all of these things in the one lens, and at an affordable price.
While I am preferring to shoot manual focus at present, there are times
(such as when the little girls are dancing around in their tutus on stage),
that Auto Focus would be preferred. It is also a good length for the kids
portraits that I've been shooting and the AF will also help when I am trying
to get them to sit still enough to take the shot. I also want another macro
lens, but with the type of work that is coming up for me, I probably won't
have much chance to use it. I do favour closeup macro shots of kids hands
and feet though, and it is plenty fast enough for macro, it would be rare
that I would shoot wider than 3.5 (you tend to lose sharpness after that and
besides, most of the shot would be out of focus)...
Colin, thanks again for your advice...
Kevin Thornsberry wrote:
"Have you considered shooting all color film and doing a conversion to B&W
in the computer on those images which look best that way?"
I have Kevin, but sort of considered this to be "cheating" to an extent.
What does everybody else think about this?
Robert Harris wrote:
"The AF500FTZ flash may not be ideal at this time. It is designed for
TTL auto use with the latest Pentax bodies. It works only in manual mode
with older cameras (such as MEs). ..."
Robert, the AF500FTZ is for use with my two AF bodies (PZ-20 and MZ-50). I
already have a little flash for the ME Super (an AF160) which, is TTL,
btw). I have looked into many of the models you have suggested but have
found the 500FTZ to be the best value for money and to have the most
features (I can't wait to try out some different effects with the
stroboscopic flash etc).
Robert also wrote:
"2) I assume that Australia has the equivalent of our "Murphy's Law" --
>snip<
...I urge you to get a second camera body and a second
flash. (Also, have extra cables if you use flash off camera, etc., not
to mention carrying lots of spare batteries for camera and flash.)"
Robert, I have three bodies, always carry at least one spare set of
batteries for each, and
also have an Achiever 630AF flash which will act as a "backup" to the
AF500FTZ, if need be.
I am also going to buy a little Sigma 430FT next week (which is only
US$100), and which I had
been planning to buy before any of this stuff came up. I think that I will
then be suitably "enabled" and
prepared for any failures as they arrive. Later on, I intend to replace the
PZ-1P that I recently lost,
so if anyone will be selling theirs to finance the purchase of an MZ-S,
please let me know! ;-)
"3) Since little Susie may be moving across the stage, it may be
difficult to frame every shot well with prime lenses, which means you
may have to do some serious cropping for prints. You may want to at
least consider having a zoom with you on the job -- although fast ones
are very expensive while slow ones make shooting by available light more
difficult."
I have two zoom lenses, both pretty slow, but will be useful for a situation
just as you described above. They are
Pentax SMC-A 70-210/f4, and an Autofocus Sigma 35-80/f4-5.6 which came on my
PZ-20 body. I am also
hoping that the Pentax SMC-FA 100mm/3.5 (or 2.8 if I can afford it) macro,
that I am intending to purchase, will
also help me here. I know that it is not a zoom, but it is a good focal
length and the Autofocus will be a big plus here.
"4) This probably does not need to be said, but I will say it anyway.
Since you will be getting new equipment for these jobs, make sure you
use it in situations like you will face on the job, and master it before
the first shoot."
This is a good suggestion, and of course, one that I will take special
consideration of. Please remember that I am mostly
shooting kids here, and believe me, the last thing that I want is to be
trying to fiddle with and work out my equipment when
that magic look/smile arrives for that split second and then fades into a
beetroot red screaming scrunched up little face!
And lastly, you, and many others have said:
"And have fun. :)"
Thankyou everybody, I will do my best!
fairy.
Paul Stregevsky wrote:
"The only suggestion is to reconsider your choice of the Pentax FA 100/3.5
macro. Optically, it's said to be extremely sharp. But you have made it
clear that you like manual focusing, which you would probably want to do
for macro work anyway. "
Paul, thanks for offering all of those alternatives and I am sorry to
surprise you in this instance, however, as I mentioned above, it actually IS
the
Auto Focus that I am after with this lens. (Well, that and the macro
capabilities/focal length/speed etc)...
John Francis wrote:
"I've yet to see a transparency adapter on a flatbed that can
come close to the performance of a purpose-built film scanner
for scanning 35mm."
"Don't forget another 20Gb or more of disk space for holding the
scanned images until you get around to burning them onto CD."
John, it appears that this is the general consensus in regards to these, and
this is one of the primary reasons that I have chosen to go with a dedicated
film scanner at this time, albeit, an "entry level" one. I am having my
DRAM upgraded today in preparation for the stuff I will be doing, a larger
hard drive
is probably going to be the next thing on my list, oh, and a handheld light
meter....Geez, it never ends! The more I spend, the more I "need"....;-)
Hopefully though, I will manage to get most stuff burned onto CD quickly,
providing of course, that my kids give me 10 minutes peace and quiet
occasionally...
Terence Mac Goff wrote:
"Hi - Another fine macro in that focal range is the Tamron SP 90/2.8 macro
(later models).
This gets you to 1:1 without tubes, and is as sharp as a razor. It comes in
Manual or AF?Manual versions, and is quite resonable at about IR£400 new
(about $450)"
Terence, I am assuming that you are talking in American dollars here.
Unfortunately, this is still out of my price range for this type of lens.
At the moment, I can't really spend more than $400 or $500 Australian
dollars, which is about US$250. The FA 100mm/3.5 is listed on B&H for
US$199, and so is perfectly in my range. I would definitely be looking at
the Tamron though, if it were cheaper. It looks to be a really nice lens.
David P. Chernicoff wrote:
"FWIW, the last batch of FA 100 2.8 Macro lenses that KEH had they sold for
$250 USD (~ 497 AUD). If the shipping isn't too ridiculous I would say it's
definitely worth the 20% premium over the 100 3.5 Macro."
Really?!? I am definitely going to look into this David, thanks for the
info. The shipping is really not a factor here, to purchase any Pentax FA
lens in the vicinity of 100mm, I would be paying at least $700-800 from
anywhere in Australia, so I will be buying from overseas regardless. I will
go to the KEH website and check it out shortly.... Thanks again.
Daphne wrote:
"another private email sent off to list!!!"
lol! Daphne, I will reply to you OFF list. ;-)
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