OT: Alternative Light Pic
Folks, I have another pic up on the Photo Forum gallery. It's the shot that I prepared for the August PUG, only to check my notes and see that I'd taken it with my Contax. So off it went to my second favorite place to display. Alternative light for sure. Shot was made in an orchestra pit during a run of the musical Carousel. The only illumination is a 25 watt music stand light just out of the frame. http://www.rit.edu/~andpph/gallery.html Best, John = John Edwin Mason Charlottesville, Virginia email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] alt email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Do You Yahoo!? Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger http://phonecard.yahoo.com/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: First Camera
I'm one of those people who's very dogmatic about proper first cameras. Has to be all manual and adjustable. Have always thought that the K1000 is perfect choice, plus it's indestructable, plus its design is almost elegant in its simplicity, plus it's a true classic. But then I remember that I didn't follow that path. My first camera was a Kodak 126 (or 127?), completely unadjustable. My second camera was a Kodak Instamatic, completely unadjustable. Didn't have a truly manual camera--focus, shutter speed, aperture--until high school, when I started using my father's Ricohflex TLR. Even then didn't have a meter. Guessed exposure using the pictograms on the film box (remember those?). Set up my first darkroom soon after. I suppose the point is that if you're simply trying to get a kid hooked on photography, the camera really doesn't matter much. On the other hand, if she's already hooked and you want her to learn exposure, selective focus, etc. take the meter battery out of a K1000 and send her on her way. --John = John Edwin Mason Charlottesville, Virginia email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] alt email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Do You Yahoo!? Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger http://phonecard.yahoo.com/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Foto Follies, Pro Division
The timing is perfect, boys and girls. In this week's column, Frank van Riper has a very funny, slightly sardonic take on the many of the issues we, myself included, have been endlessly rehashing this week. http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/essays/vanRiper/index.htm If the link doesn't work, go to the washingtonpost.com, click on Camera Works, click on Frank van Riper. Worth the trouble. BTW, has anybody got a battered Domke bag they want to sell? The more beat up the better. --John = John Edwin Mason Charlottesville, Virginia email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] alt email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Do You Yahoo!? Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger http://phonecard.yahoo.com/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
OT: Eudora Welty
The Americans on this list will know that Eudora Welty died this week. I'm not sure how well known she was outside of the States. Suffice it to say that she was one of the most significant novelists and short story writers of the last century. She had won all of this country's important literary awards--the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the American Book Award. What I didn't know until I heard a lengthy obituary on the radio is that she was a published photographer. Yesterday I went off to the library to see what she had done. Virtually all of her published photos date from the 1930s, and most of it was shot in the towns and countryside of Mississippi. Anyone familiar with the work of the Farm Security Administration photographers--Gordon Parks, Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Marion Post Wolcott, Arthur Rothstein, Ben Shahn, et. al.--will recognize her subject, the life of ordinary people, black and white, during the depression. What's different is her style. There's an relaxed intimacy about her photos that few of the FSA photographers, for all their undoubted brilliance, ever achieved. Wherever they went, the FSA photographers were outsiders (Parks, arguably, was an exception); Welty was at home. The FSA photographers, under the direction of Roy Stryker, were also out to make a point about the dignity, resilience, and suffering of the American working class at a time of terrible hardship. (There was often tension between Stryker and his photographers over the demands of politics, on the one hand, and art, on the other.) Welty wasn't making a point. She was doing what writers do, observing the world around her with great care and empathy. In an interview in _Eudora Welty: Photographs_ (University Press of Mississippi, 1989), she calls her photos "snapshots." She's not putting herself down. She's alluding to her desire to observe life, but not to comment on it or, at least, not to comment very much (she saved that for her fiction). For me, the beauty of Welty's photos lies in their simplicity, their honesty, and, because of clarity of her vision, their evocation of a particular time and place. Best, John = John Edwin Mason Charlottesville, Virginia email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] alt email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Do You Yahoo!? Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger http://phonecard.yahoo.com/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: Professional
Pal, I hesitate to continue this conversation because it really is silly and because I've been wanting to write a post about Eudora Welty, a brilliant writer who died this week and who was also an gifted amateur photographer. You're wrong to accuse either Mike or me of having written or implied that pro=good and non-pro=bad. What we said was pro=lots of pros use 'em (for the reasons Mike detailed), non-pro=very few do (ditto). Quality, in and of itself, was not at issue. We can all think of good non-pro cameras, for instance, the many K1000s soon to enter their third decade of problem-free service. We all agree that the MZ-S is a good camera, that Pentax makes good lenses, and that any pro can take pretty pictures with them. On to Welty. --John Pal wrote: >>John wrote: >>Why do you care? >I care because the myth that Pentax doesn't offer pro >gear or pro service is just that; a myth. = John Edwin Mason Charlottesville, Virginia email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] alt email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
RE: Is the New LX Going to Be a Digital Camera
John F. wrote: >>An updated LX would appeal to the nostalgia buffs... Nostalgia buffs and those of us with big hands. Seriously, I would love to see an AF LX. I shot two rolls last weekend with a friend's F2A, with a motor drive and battery pack. Spent half the day carrying it around. It's the aesthetics of the camera that got me. The heft. The precision of its tolerances. The snick/whir of the shutter and motor drive. Not AF, of course, but still five pounds of exquisitely engineered and machined heaven. (Almost heaven, actually--couldn't mount my lenses.) Just what I would expect of an AF LX. Substantial, robust, impeccable. As I've mentioned, my eyes aren't getting any better. My next camera will have to be AF. An AF Pentax with the genes of an LX rather than MX would be just about perfect. --John M. = John Edwin Mason Charlottesville, Virginia email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] alt email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Do You Yahoo!? Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger http://phonecard.yahoo.com/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
RE: Amateur Photographer MZ-S review
I'm a bit surprised that the consensus is to praise the MZ-S for its size and weight. I was able to hold one last week for the first time (though hold it was all I was able to do--it had given up the ghost mid-way through its first roll of film and was headed back to Pentax). Certainly an impressive machine, but too small for my hands and too light for my taste. Reminded me of the time I was considering buying a Miata. Didn't take more than a few minutes behind the wheel for me to see that, despite its many virtues, it wasn't the car for me. Headroom, legroom, hiproom--it was just too damn small. In the same way, the MZ-S is a 7/10ths version of a camera I'd like to buy. (I've already made the mistake of buying a ZX-5N, which I almost never use because even with the battery pack it's uncomfortably small and awkward for me to use.) I realize, of course, that YMM, and probably does, V. Which brings me to Pal's autofocus LX. My eyes have never been particularly good, and it's getting to the point where I'm going to have to think about going AF or shooting only with my Contax IIIa, a '50s rangefinder that's still wonderfully easy to focus. An AF camera with the feel and heft (and metal construction) of an LX would be awfully nice. Assuming that I could afford it. A camera with AF built to LX standards would cost how many thousands of dollars? = John Edwin Mason Charlottesville, Virginia email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] alt email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: Superbike race photos from Mid-Ohio
Very cool pics, Mark. The colors seem subdued. The Sensia 400? My monitor? The light? Your scans? --John = John Edwin Mason Charlottesville, Virginia email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] alt email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Do You Yahoo!? Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger http://phonecard.yahoo.com/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re[2]: Your "No Fat" Pentax Outfit
Bob done wrote (re: Bill Allard of beautiful Charlottesville, VA, and National Geographic): [much snipped about Allard's travel kit] >>Not to mention...a fifth of George Dickel bourbon >>whiskey. ...for three weeks in Mississippi. For three weeks!? Barely enough for three days. --John = John Edwin Mason Charlottesville, Virginia email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] alt email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: Frank van Riper
Mike wrote: > This is a nice article. Check it out before it > disappears > http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/galleries/ > essays/102000.htm Yes, very nice. Van Riper's column changes every Friday and is always worth a look. This week's is terrific, too (you may have to cut and paste): http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/essays/ vanRiper/index.htm In fact you you like photography, the Camera Works section of the Washington Post's site is one of the best things on the web: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ wp-dyn/photo/index.html?inside Check out Jan Faul's haunting Battlefield Parks landscapes http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/photo/ index.html?inside and be amazed. --John = John Edwin Mason Charlottesville, Virginia Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Alt Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: OT: Quotes without comment
Stan writes: > it almost seems as though the author is purposefully > doing a spoof on the golly-gee dumbed-down typical > reviews. He/she is making fun of the editors, the > readers, and the magazine. You're an optimist, Stan. Hope you're right, but the cynic in me doesn't think so. --John = John Edwin Mason Charlottesville, Virginia Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Alt Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: OT: Graphics Pad?
Robb rote: >rolls around on the pad in random >circles This leads to great confusion. Sounds like one of my college roommates. But seriously, thanks for the advice. --John = John Edwin Mason Charlottesville, Virginia Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Alt Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Do You Yahoo!? Spot the hottest trends in music, movies, and more. http://buzz.yahoo.com/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
OT: Graphics Pad?
Hi, all. I've decided to get a graphics pad for my PC for use with Photoshop, etc. I wonder if anyone has any strong feelings regarding make and/or model? Thanks, John = John Edwin Mason Charlottesville, Virginia Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Alt Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Do You Yahoo!? Spot the hottest trends in music, movies, and more. http://buzz.yahoo.com/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: PUG Commentary - John Mason's "Night Train"
I really thought that I wasn't going to have to say anything about the photo itself, but I do. I wasn't, as Shel would have it, sneaking. The photo is one of a series that I took at the station that evening. Several show the two men standing in various places on the platform, gazing in various directions, including directly at me. Earlier the three of us had talked. They were surprised that I was able to take pictures under such conditions without a flash. I told them about Delta 3200 and fast lenses. That, I hope and pray, is my last word on the subject. Best, John = John Edwin Mason Charlottesville, Virginia Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Alt Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - buy the things you want at great prices http://auctions.yahoo.com/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
pdml@pdml.net
I was singing the praises of Kodak's T400CN. Great portrait film. Luminous skin tones. Incredible latitude. Etc. I've just scanned an 8x10 print that I hope illustrates the point about skin tones. (Printed on Ilford multigrade IV RC glossy Portfolio, using 3 1/2 filter.) It's a 40k .jpg file. I'll send it out to anyone who's interested. The scan probably isn't the best. I'm new to anything having to do with photos and computers. I've only recently gotten my hands on an oldish HP scanner. My submission to May's PUG gallery was one of my first attempts. This portrait is about my tenth. Cheers, John (who still prefers Tri-X, most of the time) = John Edwin Mason Charlottesville, Virginia Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Alt Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - buy the things you want at great prices http://auctions.yahoo.com/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
pdml@pdml.net
>Also, the grain of chromogenic looks like color >film...it reminds me of >looking at a color scan that's been desaturated, >rather than a b+w print. I agree. It's odd to see a B&W print that doesn't have the kind of grain structure that we've come to expect. I like grain. When I shoot with, say, Tri-X, grain is a vital part of the image that I have in mind when I press the shutter. T400CN, the only chromogenic that I've used extensively, is nearly grainless at the same time that it lacks sharpness. Not the film to use if you're going for the HC-B or Salgado look, but wonderful for portraits. On the other hand, it's a fine portrait film. Lack of sharpness generally doesn't hurt here. And, as somebody mentioned, it produces luminous skin tones (including African-American). It's also damned versatile. Rate it at 200 or 400 or 800, have it processed normally, and get back negative with all the shadow and highlight detail you can ask for. As for archivability... Is it any different from color print film? Best, John = John Edwin Mason Charlottesville, Virginia Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Alt Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - buy the things you want at great prices http://auctions.yahoo.com/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
pdml@pdml.net
Interesting article by Frank van Riper on Ilford and Kodak chromogenic B&W films. If the link below doesn't work, go washingtonpost.com, click on Camera Works, click on Frank van Riper. http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/essays/vanRiper/index.htm My experience with Kodak's T400CN is pretty much the same as his as far as shadow and highlight detail (superb), exposure latitude (immense), and printing (start with a 3 1/2 contrast filter and go up from there) is concerned. He likes it. So do I. But I still prefer Tri-X's tonalities and grain. BTW, van Riper's Friday column is generally well worth reading. Best, John = John Edwin Mason Charlottesville, Virginia Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Alt Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - buy the things you want at great prices http://auctions.yahoo.com/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: OT: Camera Shops, Thanks
Many thanks for the tips about camera shops in St. Louis. I believe that I've privately thanked everyone who answered. If I missed someone, very sorry. This one's for you. I'm signing off until I get back. If I find something interesting, I'll let you all know. Best, John ===== John Edwin Mason Charlottesville, Virginia Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Alt Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Do You Yahoo!? Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: MZ-S First look
Pal wrote: >My guess is that the MZ-S will sell very well the >first year. Then I think it will settle as a steady >long term seller but in relatively small >volumes. Part of me hopes that you're right, Pal. A larger part of me hopes that you're wrong and that Pentax is forced to drop the price into my range. Don't get me wrong, I like most of what I've heard about the camera. Just don't want to part with that much money. I still worry about Pentax's marketing. Retailers I've spoken to about the MZ-S (in Charlottesville and and Abby and Penn in DC) think of Pentax as a maker of P&S and cheap SLRs (and high quality lenses that are too often difficult to find). To them the LX and MX are ancient history. They're going to steer anyone with nearly a grand to spend towards Nikon and Canon. How is Pentax going to overcome this prejudice? More on marketing... Wouldn't producing a silver version would be a mistake? (Yes, I know, matches the limited lenses.) But Nikon and Canon have trained consumers to see silver SLRs as low end. Pro cameras, the thinking goes, are black, unless they're high end rangefinders. A silver MZ-S, if it is actually manufactured, would reinforce people's impression that the camera not in the same class as, say, the F100. And overpriced as well. I'm not saying that black=pro, silver=entry level amateur makes sense. But is does seem to be the way the market operates. Or is all of this going in the wrong direction? Does Pentax simply accept that the MZ-S will sell in very small numbers and largely to Pentax fanatics? Is their model for the MZ-S the LX--a superb camera that failed in the marketplace, but has achieved cult status? = John Edwin Mason Charlottesville, Virginia Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Alt Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Do You Yahoo!? Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: First look at MZ-S
I talked to my favorite camera dealer today for the first time since he got back from the PMA. His reaction was the same as Dick's brother's. My guy also doesn't feel he can sell it for at the price Pentax will be asking (dealer cost about USD 800). He's frankly perplexed at Pentax's marketing strategy. The only people he sees buying the camera are serious Pentax fanatics, an exceedingly small market. This guy is no fool. Years of experience in photojournalism and commercial photography. A darkroom wizard, both fine art and commercial. For the last 15-20 years has run the best full service camera store in town. How is Pentax going to move product if they can't win over people like him and Dick's brother? Dick's brother wrote: >Our Pentax rep brought an MZ-S in last week. The one thing that overshadows >all else about the camera is it's price. With a street price of $850 to >$900, it will not sell very well. We figure, based on fell and features, it >should be priced at about $600. = John Edwin Mason Charlottesville, Virginia Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Alt Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Do You Yahoo!? Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: What are your shootin' this weekend?
What have I shot this weekend? This morning, indoor and outdoor portraits of a very beautiful older woman friend. Using Tri-X/K1000/50mm Pentax A; Sensia 400/ZX-5N/28-105mm Tokina; Delta 100 and Tri-X/Rolleiflex TLR/75mm Zeiss. Available light indoors in the kitchen and den, bright overcast outdoors in her garden. What more will I shoot? Tomorrow, if we get the storm that's been promised, wintry cityscapes (actually townscapes). Probably using Tri-X/KX/28mm and 50mm Pentax A. Best, John = John Edwin Mason Charlottesville, Virginia Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Alt Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Do You Yahoo!? Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: Delta 3200@11x14, was Shel's Survey
Tom opines: >Oh yeah. Delta 3200 at 11x14. Gotta love it. I bet DOF >is like an inch too. I think you meant Gotta try it for myself. You'll find that... DOF is unaffected by the choice of Delta 3200. Apparent grain can be well controlled by right lighting--typical concert set-up in this case, spotlit subjects, background going to black. Developing in Microphen or similar lessens actual grain. As I mentioned, they'll be hanging over the chopped liver and curried tuna salad in my favorite sandwich shop, 115 Elliewood Ave, C-ville, VA. Cheers, John = John Edwin Mason Charlottesville, Virginia Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Alt Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail - only $35 a year! http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: Shel's Survey
Shel queries: >SURVEY: How many list members make 11x14 or larger >B&W prints,and how often? Printed a series of 11x14s just the other weekend, Shel. Concert shots. Acoustic, of course. Delta 3200@3200, developed in Microphen. Look pretty good, IIDSSMS. Musicians in spotlights against a jet black background. Perfect set-up for surprisingly unobtrusive grain. A couple will be going up on the wall of a sandwich shop near my office at the U of Virginia, once they're matted and framed. (Take-It-Away on Elliewood--get the curried tuna salad.) Let me know when you're in the neighborhood. ;-) Cheers, John Member (of the very prestigious), Acoustic Photographers' Guild = John Edwin Mason Charlottesville, Virginia Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Alt Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail - only $35 a year! http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
OT: WTB, Shutterbug, Feb. '01
Hi, folks. Does someone have a February 2001 Shutterbug that they'd be willing to part with for a few bucks? Thanks, John = John Edwin Mason Charlottesville, Virginia Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Alt Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail - only $35 a year! http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: News from PMA - MZ-S and other stuff
Folks, it seems to me that how the MZ-S looks depends on where you stand. I stand in need of something to replace my ZX-5N, so the MZ-S looks pretty darn good. I bought the 5N about a year ago. After many years with my trusty K1000 and KX, I wanted autofocus, spot metering, auto advance, auto bracketing, TTL flash, and, I'll admit, point and shoot capability for when I get lazy. But it hasn't taken long for the 5N's limitations to get on my nerves, especially the autofocus, which is a generation behind the N80 and two generations behind the new Elan 7 (I say this on the basis of side-by-side -by-side shooting that I did with a couple of friends a few weeks ago). I don't much like the 5N's design (in terms of both looks and utility) and it has a much noisier shutter, advance, and rewind than the Elan 7 (something that matters to me since much of my photography involves accoutic musicians in rehearsal and concert). (No, a rangefinder is not usually an option. When I shoot individual performers, I'm generally using at least a 135 lens, often 80-200, sometimes 100-300.) I mention the N80 and the Elan 7 because the specs which cause so much disappointment for those of us who hoped for a F100 competitor and PZ-1P successor actually make me quite happy. They suggest that the MZ-S is aimed at the middle of the market, at the N80 and Elan 7 (which, BTW, also has a part-metal frame). If that's right, the US street price should be USD 450-500. Beautiful. Affordable. If I'm wrong and Pentax prices the MZ-S above the N80 and Elan 7, I'll be very disappointed. And Pentax will likely have trouble moving it. (Things are moving fast. Adorama is selling USA warranty F100's for USD 985.) Cheers, John PS I made some of these points in a post Sunday which seems not to have gone through. Sorry if I'm repeating myself. I also received double posts Sunday--digests 215 and 217. = John Edwin Mason Charlottesville, Virginia Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Alt Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail - only $35 a year! http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
Re: OT: Going semi-digital
What a great list! Many thanks to William, Joe, Aaron, Mark, Steve, Cy, Dan, Cotty, Collin, and Antti-Pekka for their advice. (Apologies if I've missed anyone.) Nice to have a sense of where I ought to spend money--RAM, monitor--and where I needn't--pure procession speed. Best, John (who hopes some listmembers will be at the PMA) = John Edwin Mason Charlottesville, Virginia Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Alt Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail - only $35 a year! http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
pdml@pdml.net
Flavio, Kodak's T400CN has become one of my favorite films, especially for portraits. The tonality can be beautifully smooth, even creamy. Very flattering. It also has superb latitude. It's rated at 400, but I always shoot at 800 and have it processed normally. The negs are beautiful--nice shadow detail, no increase in contrast--and print easily. At 800 it gives better results than pushing Tri-X, T-Max 400, or Delta 400. But the film has its quirks. Being chromogenic, lacks the grain structure that we're used to seeing in B&W photos. Some people dislike it for that reason. C-41 B&W films also lack contrast, which means that they have less apparent sharpness than conventional B&W films of similar ISOs. When I print T400CN, I begin with a 3 1/2 contrast filter--with a normal negative, 3 1/2 is neutral, like 2 with a Tri-X neg. Most importantly, don't take the film to a one-hour lab, unless all you want are reference prints. One-hour labs will print on color paper, and that will almost always give unpleasant results. (Although I once ended up with nice sepia prints.) I take my C-41 film to a local pro lab that prints on B&W paper. The results are very nice and not much more expensive than a one-hour lab. One last point. T400CN picks up scratches much, much more easily than conventional B&W films. Be careful. It also holds on to dust much more tenaciously. Cheers, John >Flavio writes: >Well, the question: I tried Kodak 400 CN, Ilford XP2 >and Konica VX. All ISO 400 C-41 B&W film with various >results, the most annoying thing >being the fact that 1-hour lab prints always come up >in every shade of tones but neutral. >Flavio also writes: >The question is: if I print B&W from this films how >will the mask >interfere with filtering? I suppose the general >contrast should be lower but if I use a magenta filter >for a high contrast it will blend with >the film mask, won't it? >Will it be the same if I tried real colour film? = John Edwin Mason Charlottesville, Virginia Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Alt Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - Buy the things you want at great prices. http://auctions.yahoo.com/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org.
