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DEATH wrote:I like the left shot, though it could be better (crop or stand on a park becnh).

I was going more for the colors - the afternoon sun hit that building and it was really a nice contrast to the sea of beige or gray skyscrapers.

Second shot has..nice bokeh?

It's more the woman sticking her tongue out. Bokeh is not so great since I had my 1.4X teleconverter on.

Phongn, want to meet up in Chicago? I'll be there around the 23d-25th

See PM.

phongn wrote:

DEATH wrote:I like the left shot, though it could be better (crop or stand on a park becnh).

I was going more for the colors - the afternoon sun hit that building and it was really a nice contrast to the sea of beige or gray skyscrapers.

Yeah, I see what you wanted, but the black newsstand really clutters the frame up, which is a pity.

Second shot has..nice bokeh?

It's more the woman sticking her tongue out. Bokeh is not so great since I had my 1.4X teleconverter on.

Not enough zoom.

Phongn, want to meet up in Chicago? I'll be there around the 23d-25th

See PM.

Your pm has a different date mentioned

The tongue shot is nice, but what was she sticking her tongue out at? right now you have something happening on the right side of the photo with no real sense of what it is that is happening, if that makes any sense.

Bounty wrote:The tongue shot is nice, but what was she sticking her tongue out at? right now you have something happening on the right side of the photo with no real sense of what it is that is happening, if that makes any sense.

There is a bit of mystery to that - and frankly, I have no clue. I didn't even know she was sticking her tongue out at the time I took the picture. People's expressions are such transient things ...

DEATH wrote:Yeah, I see what you wanted, but the black newsstand really clutters the frame up, which is a pity.

Oh - wait, that black stuff at the bottom? That happens to be the L, not a newsstand!

Creative use of makeshift filters. Meaning I maxed out the contrast & saturation settings and shot the picture through my polarized sunglasses. I'm surprised it actually worked. I've been waiting for over a week to get the right lighting for this photo.

You've been reading Ken Rockwell too much. Making something Orange on Blue doesn't necessarily improve it

Does anyone have tips for a small, compact, good FILM camera? A modern one, meaning it can be obtained from a common, normal store (And not ebay or bargain hunting for a Canonnet). Not expensive, reasonably durable, LIGHT, compact, Film. For landscapes while hiking. (Long battery life essential)

3 Random pics (2 from parties, of people, gasp ) before I leave for the USA:

Nice abstract portrait and light from the external flash's bounce.




Underwater Boooooze!

But the eBay hunting is the fun part!

I don't think you'll find much in brick-and-mortar stores that isn't a disposable. If battery life is a concern, consider a camera that predates batteries

Bounty wrote: I don't think you'll find much in brick-and-mortar stores that isn't a disposable. If battery life is a concern, consider a camera that predates batteries

What can someone find in a average store that isn't utter crap? Film type? Kodak colour?

I don't understand the question.

Bounty wrote:I don't understand the question.

Recommend me a decent film camera, and a good film type for landscape (colour) shots.

Dunno, I just use Fujicolor Superia because I get two rolls with one free, and BW400CN for B&W. Simplicius should be able to help you better with film.

As for the camera, the only better-than-P&S film cameras in production I know off of the top of my head are the Leica and the EOS 1V. There's bound to be more, but it doesn't seem as if there's much of a wide market for them left; the ones in production are either disposables or high-end products with four-figure price tags.

Just out of curiosity though... why film?

For landscape shots, nothing really beats slide film (e.g. Velvia 50, Ektachrome 100VS, etc.) Slide film is unforgiving of exposure error, however. As for anything else? Just experiment and play around with different films and find a decent developer to process (and possibly print) your film.

For film - lots of old cameras on eBay you can play with (e.g. Cannon AE-1/AE-1 Program SLR, Nikon F-series, Pentax K1000, lots of rangefinders like the Canonet, Olympus 35 series, Yashica G series, etc.)

Nikon still sells the FM10 if you want a new manual camera to learn on. Cosina sells the Voigtländer Bessa R-series of rangefinders new and Zeiss has the Ikon rangefinder. A Bessa R3A and a 40mm/1.4 will run you somewhere south of $1K US, though.

Bubble Chamber


Capacitor Tree

I didn't think a stained glass window in a church would have this much dynamic range.
I guess this is where HDR comes in handy.

phongn wrote:Capacitor Tree

Where is that thing? There's a picture of it in my physics textbook but it doesn't say where it is.

aerius wrote:

phongn wrote:Capacitor Tree

Where is that thing? There's a picture of it in my physics textbook but it doesn't say where it is.

Right Here (Fermilab)

DEATH wrote:What can someone find in a average store that isn't utter crap? Film type? Kodak colour?

In an average store? Nothing, from what I've seen.* Digital is the hot new thing, so digital cameras are on the forefront of camera marketing. Film is "old hat" unless one is interested in photography as a craft, so film and film camera equipment are marketed to a smaller crowd that doesn't buy their equipment at Wal-Mart or Staples or Radio Shack in the first place.

* Fujicolor, Kodak Gold, and BW400CN are perfectly serviceable if not exceptional films. They have an advantage in that they are cheap and available. But they are of little use if he has fuck-all to choose from except disposable cameras, which are really terrible.

You're going to NYC though, yes? Visit B&H Photo at 34th Street & Ninth Ave. in West Manhattan. They are a serious-business camera store and you will have plenty to choose from if you are looking to buy something.

DEATH wrote:Recommend me a decent film camera, and a good film type for landscape (colour) shots.

Track down a Shanghai Shenhao or a Calumet XM, get a box of basically any 4x5 Fujichrome ISO-100 from B&H, and rock out on large format - there's nothing better. At the very least go medium format; get a heavy tripod and something in 6x6, 6x7, or 6x9. Landscape photography doesn't need the particular advantages of 35mm (speed, ease of use, lots for frames on a roll for rapid shooting), but it does need image quality and the capability for making large prints, and that's much easier to come by in a bigger format.

Simplicius wrote:You're going to NYC though, yes? Visit B&H Photo at 34th Street & Ninth Ave. in West Manhattan. They are a serious-business camera store and you will have plenty to choose from if you are looking to buy something.

There's also Adorama and Calumet in NYC. For when he goes to Chicago, there's Calumet and Helix --- and a charming little shop called Central Camera.

Track down a Shanghai Shenhao or a Calumet XM, get a box of basically any 4x5 Fujichrome ISO-100 from B&H, and rock out on large format - there's nothing better. At the very least go medium format; get a heavy tripod and something in 6x6, 6x7, or 6x9. Landscape photography doesn't need the particular advantages of 35mm (speed, ease of use, lots for frames on a roll for rapid shooting), but it does need image quality and the capability for making large prints, and that's much easier to come by in a bigger format.

It might be a bit overkill sending him from a DSLR to a view camera. It might be a bit much even sending him to Medium Format right now (as lovely as that is). I'm actually considering a 645N at some point, myself (mostly because my arms ache at the very thought of lugging around a 6x7 SLR)

phongn wrote:It might be a bit overkill sending him from a DSLR to a view camera. It might be a bit much even sending him to Medium Format right now (as lovely as that is).

Certainly if he went to large format he'd have to overcome his prejudice against exposing manually. Probably for medium too, if he were to get an older TLR or press camera to save money. But I figure there's no better way to learn how to use a camera than having no choice in the matter. I've also been dissatisfied enough with my 35mm landscapes that I can't recommend it for that purpose in good faith, though I've seen it done well by people who have a more sophisticated background in photography than I do.

I'm actually considering a 645N at some point, myself (mostly because my arms ache at the very thought of lugging around a 6x7 SLR)

Yeah, for what I've read the 67 is a good camera but a real bear, and shutter vibration can be a problem to say nothing of mirror slap if you don't use the lock-up. But I found 6x7 to be manageable in rangefinder form, entirely hand-held - I've got to write up a review of my Konica, but first I have to rescue the photos from my scanner's interpretation of their exposure and color balance.

Actually, as far as film goes, that new Ektar 100 came out in 120 last month. Sample photos look pretty good and there's a small rebate through July for some promotion Kodak's running, so I'm particularly itching to get my hands on some. It'll have to be in the next round of purchases, I suppose.

Temp housing when I moved up to Chicago


Fun with a circular polarizer

Simplicius wrote:Actually, as far as film goes, that new Ektar 100 came out in 120 last month. Sample photos look pretty good and there's a small rebate through July for some promotion Kodak's running, so I'm particularly itching to get my hands on some. It'll have to be in the next round of purchases, I suppose.

I've been meaning to play with it - I have some 100UC and Reala 100 on 35mm here to play with when my Canonet comes in.

Simplicius wrote:Yeah, for what I've read the 67 is a good camera but a real bear, and shutter vibration can be a problem to say nothing of mirror slap if you don't use the lock-up. But I found 6x7 to be manageable in rangefinder form, entirely hand-held - I've got to write up a review of my Konica, but first I have to rescue the photos from my scanner's interpretation of their exposure and color balance.

I do like some automation so I was looking at rangefinders and they're still rather expensive-looking

phongn wrote:I've been meaning to play with it - I have some 100UC and Reala 100 on 35mm here to play with when my Canonet comes in.

I like Reala 100 on medium format so far, though I must admit it's the only color 120 film I've used to date. If you want to see what it looks like through a bare-bones camera with a 1/30-1/50 sec. fixed shutter speed, there are the photos in my Hawkeye review thread.

Next up for me will be Portra 160VC and Ektar 100 in 120; I have no idea what I'll do in 35mm because it's hard to find slow film without resorting to mail order, and shipping costs are a bitch.

I do like some automation so I was looking at rangefinders and they're still rather expensive-looking

Too bad about the automation, since the newer cameras tend to be more pricey. The Konica Omegas and the Mamiya Universal are of older design (with production ran up into the early 1980s) but are rock-solid cameras, and the full kit is pretty cheap when they come up on auction sites - as low as $150 or so in some cases, but generally less than $500 from what I've read.

Simplicius wrote:Too bad about the automation, since the newer cameras tend to be more pricey. The Konica Omegas and the Mamiya Universal are of older design (with production ran up into the early 1980s) but are rock-solid cameras, and the full kit is pretty cheap when they come up on auction sites - as low as $150 or so in some cases, but generally less than $500 from what I've read.

I'm sort of considering less automation now (on a MF system SLR, ditching the AE prism) and using my 400D as a meter. Of course, that means dragging more crap around. And then there's still the choice of what format to use ...

Not even Nuclear Energy can compare to the infinite energy of little children: