On Jan 23, 2011, at 10:31 AM, John Sessoms wrote: > And ... if you shop around, you can probably find a 4x5 view camera *with* a > "normal" lens/shutter & a couple of film holders that will give as much or > more control than a shift lens for just about the same price you'd pay for > that shift lens alone.
That would be large format -- a la Ansel Adams? The hoopla about Vivian Maiers got me intrigued about TLR cameras. Found out that that Yashika made some pretty good close approximations of Rollieflexes, and learned something about which of the many were best and the best deal and started tracking the "D" and the "12" and the "124G" on eBay. Fortunately before I actually bought one I realized that it was not going to be cheap to get film processed, that scanning was not gonna be easy, etc., etc. So now that fascination is something I may come back to later but that I can't afford -- financially or otherwise -- right now. I have no need. My "kit" -- as y'all say -- is not state-of-the-art -- but it's exactly what I want: *ist DS, A28/2.8, M50/1.7, A/50/2.0, M/100/4 Macro, [2] M135/3.5s, and a 70-210/4. I have decent tripod and ballhead. With the store credit from my rebate escapade with Adorama I got myself a got myself a nifty simple little Sekonic light meter that I think is gonna help me learn about exposure a little more quickly. I might trade in the A20, M50, and one of the M135s on an A 50/1.7 or 1.4, but I don't really need one. The one thing I may need -- I don't know for sure yet -- is a split image focusing screen. If I decide I do I'll probably get one from Haoda Fu. His are cheaper than KatzEye's but also well-regarded. My need at this point is not for gear. I really have everything I need. It's become vividly clear to me that this takes commitment. I marvel at Frank, e.g., turning out at least one good interesting image practically every day. When I'm traveling I have the camera with me all the time and do a lot of shooting. I've learned a lot from those experiences -- even if it's only a matter of getting better at handling the camera, using the controls, etc. [I *have* learned that I'm *lousy* at focusing.] I know that if did anywhere near as much shooting at home and around town I'd learn a lot more, that without a lot more experience than I'm getting I'm not be very good even by my own standards. I have ideas -- areas around town that I could make into projects, including places where I could get some nature photography experience, taking camera with me up to North Georgia and Western North Carolina, exploring rural Middle and South Georgia, etc., etc. -- but my need is to act on them. To take time out of other things and devote it to this. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Eric Weir Decatur, GA USA eew...@bellsouth.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
