Reiska
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Posts: 558
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Post by Reiska on May 31, 2007 14:05:24 GMT -5
Congrats minoltaman and start shooting. Now you need a decent post processing software (Photoshop). Paint Shop Pro shareware is cheaper or is it cheaper, than Adobe PS Elements?
Wayne wrote:
"As I have stated previously, I would probably be more inclined to shoot color with film if I had a good dedicated film scanner rather than a flatbed. But the price of something like a Coolscan V is up there near the price of a D200 camera."
Scanner is a copier, not a creator. Something like a Coolscan would be cosidered as a joint venture beacause as I think the main purpose is to save old diapositives and negatives. When the job is done Willie will go. I have many photo albums full of pictures and no negatives. Saving those is a job for a good flatbed.
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Post by lulalake on May 31, 2007 14:14:05 GMT -5
I agree with expired color film. It simply cannot be trusted. I also will never buy expired color film after shooting (not as the photographer of record thank heaven) an event with an emergency purchase of one year old expired 120 film, guaranteed to have been refrigerated. Ha!
I want to ask you why a P&S? Are you using a film P&S? You know for just a bit more bucks, $300-500 you can get a very nice new Interchangeable-lens digital to get your feet wet with that has P&S capability and manual also.
It would depend on what kind of glass you already have If you have Minolta glass there are a bunch of Minolta digitals out there that are really good and used topish of the line Minoltas in that range.
Along with all my film cameras I have a Canon 30D, a Sony F828 and a old HP 3mp P&S. I use them all, all the time.
Printing is an issue however. My daughter has a Kodak digital that requires a Kodak printer (add 200 bucks to the cost). The prints are truly excellent, dye sub inks that really are outstanding, but all proprietary equipment. So take that into account.
My thought is don't just kind of dabble because you stand a chance of being really disappointed as some of the cheap digicams are exactly that. Do the research then get the biggest, baddest digital you can afford.
Cheers
Jules
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Post by minoltaman on May 31, 2007 14:36:36 GMT -5
Reiska and Lulalake, thank you for your input.
Lula, yes Kodak Easy Share cameras can print only to the Kodak printer but the way around that is to take out the flash card and insert directly into your computer's PC slots. My computer can accept all variations of flash cards, so I'll just have to do that. I know Kodak's Easy Share printer is the height of convenience and quality but I already have a pretty decent printer. I have a Photoshop program that I can use to touch up and print photos. If I need to do bigger prints I can take the flash card to a local lab.
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galenk
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Posts: 206
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Post by galenk on May 31, 2007 15:49:41 GMT -5
the Z650 comes with a usb cable that lets you download directly to your computer,and you can print from there, But it is easier to just plug in the memory card, I'm not impressed with the easyshare software at all! and using an external memory card eliminates the need to download the recognition software and all the BS that goes with it.
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Post by John Parry on May 31, 2007 16:08:10 GMT -5
My dear lady wife and her friend Heather both have gone digital. Heather's has got a problem whereby each shot has angular lines crossing each picture. The wife's camera took dozens of pictures at my daughter's gig and at Madame Tussaud's in London without the 'automatic' flash kicking in at all. At the last evening bash we went to, the Mrs said to Heather - we'll let John take the pictures - his always come out OK!! I took the Canon Eos 1000FN and used the Sigma 35-80 lens.
If they don't come out, my *ss will be grass!!
Regards - John
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Post by minoltaman on Jun 1, 2007 7:57:09 GMT -5
the Z650 comes with a usb cable that lets you download directly to your computer,and you can print from there, But it is easier to just plug in the memory card, I'm not impressed with the easyshare software at all! and using an external memory card eliminates the need to download the recognition software and all the BS that goes with it. Thanks for the info galenk. My plan is definitely to avoid the Easy Share software. Mr Parry, good luck with the shoot!
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SidW
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Posts: 1,107
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Post by SidW on Jun 1, 2007 15:52:37 GMT -5
Hi Minoltaman You've got so much advice already I don't know if you've room for any more. That experience with the lost film is symptomatic. Film processing is disappearing fast from the High Street scene. Apart from that, put each film in a new packet and get an individual receipt for each. As to the other mishaps, that's all part of learning. We've all been there. I used to buy military surplus film in the 1950s. As TimH said, you take your habits with to your new camera. Remember the only difference between a film camera and a digital camera is the image sensor instead of film, everything else is the same. The photography part doesn't change. A point that hasn't come up is digital noise (image graininess). Some digital cameras have really bad noise so it's worth giving some time to checking that factor. The camera reviews at www.dpreview.com usually include it. Camera sales staff probably won't help you, their job is to sell their stock.
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PeterW
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Post by PeterW on Jun 1, 2007 18:49:16 GMT -5
Like you, Sid, I used a lot of outdated ex-government film in the late 1940s/early 1950s. In the UK at that time you were lucky to get anything else. There used to be a shop called Marston and Heard (at least I think that was the name) which sold it in 200ft lengths in sealed tins. It was usually Ilford black and white, no other name on the edging, but as it was rated at 80 ASA I think it was probably Ilford FP, fore-runner of FP3, FP4 etc. Some of it was 10 years out of date, and with plain development it had quite heavy background fog. But I remembered a few of the pearls of wisdom from my chemistry tutor at college (I wasn't asleep all the time) and added a few drops of Potassium Iodide in strong solution to the developer as a restrainer. This cleared up about 80% of the fog without reducing the speed to any extent, only about half a stop, so after that I rated it at 60 ASA. No idea, though, what Pot Iodide would do to colour print developer. Actually I've lots of outdated film packed away which I used to buy very cheaply at Camera Fairs in packs of 50 rolls. Some are Kodak, some Fuji, some Konica and some Agfa. I don't keep it in the fridge, but I don't seem to have any trouble with it. About a year or so ago I found a roll of 120 Fujicolor that was nine years out of date! Rather than throw it away I ran it through a Lubitel TLR and had it developed by my local one-hour shop. I was surprised at the quality of the colour. Here's one of the shots from it (which I think I posted at the time) Fountain detail. Nine-year outdated Fujicolor in a Lubitel. Straight scan, no Phooling about in Fotoshop. I was recently given two 50 metre sealed tins of Agfapan APX 400S Professional labelled 'process before July 2005'. I haven't yet loaded any into cassettes to try it. The photographer friend who gave it to me bought a box of 40 tins (actually they're plastic) at a local auction. He has tried some and developed it in straight D76, no dilution. He showed me some prints. The tone balance was great, and quite high contrast, but I think it needs slightly longer development than Agfa suggests. The grain seemed marginally more than FP5+, more like the old FP4. Great for shots of old abandoned buildings and machinery - if I can find any. . Has anyone else tried it? PeterW
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Post by Randy on Jun 1, 2007 19:36:04 GMT -5
I don't have any problems using my Easyshare, I have the Dock. I just sit the camera on the Dock and push Share. You guys gotta stop blasphemin here on The Camera Collector, we don't collect digital cameras. This stuff belongs down towards the bottom of the board.
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pancake
Contributing Member
Posts: 41
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Post by pancake on Jun 5, 2007 13:26:12 GMT -5
It is absurd in these days not to take advantage of what digital photography allows us to do. I love shooting film, I came to film *from* digital photography and now I "straddle the fence" comfortably (hehehe)... I have a good recommendation for you. Find a used Olympus C5050. It's around $200-250 on the 'Bay. Almost every time I see the result from that camera I marvel at the colors and the resolution from the lens. Mind you, I tone down the in-camera post processing options, so I won't get that over-saturated look most digital camera cranks up. This camera is capable of shooting RAW format, decent megapixel (5.0), and a superbly fast lens (1.8 max aperture). You can see samples and the camera itself here: www.flickr.com/photos/mastaka/sets/72157600184669429/Here's a "juicy" teaser ;D
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