|
|
Nick Karagiaouroglou
{K:127263} 1/18/2007
|
Wow, thanks a lot for the URL Andre! I know what I will dream of this night!
Also thanks for all the information about the Bronica. I think this Saturday will be the day for me!
Those old treasures are perhaps trickier and too much film goes wasted at the start, but after that... they don't simply make "nice images", they almost write history.
Have a nice day,
Nickj
|
|
|
|
Andre Denis
{K:66407} 1/18/2007
|
Hi Nick,
In this hi tech world of digital everything, there is always a place in my heart for all things mechanical :)
BTW Someone just posted an image of what looks very much like my Dad's old 1956 Yashicamat. check this one out.
http://www.usefilm.com/image/1247887.html
The Bronica slr is a wise choice I think. The old Tlr's like the Yashica were a bit tricky to use with that fold out viewer on the top and reverse image. Still fun to use though.
Andre
|
|
|
|
|
Nick Karagiaouroglou
{K:127263} 1/17/2007
|
Wow, a camera bought in 1969 that still works! What timeless pieces of invention of human mind! Will any of the new ones last so long? The dictate of consumation turned industries to production of hightech gear that is either dead or outdated already some months after the purchase.
I think I'll buy the Bronica system and collect all pieces of informatiuon I can find in the web or elsewhere. It is a Bronica SQ-Ai, as you said an SLR middle format for 120/60mm film. And it sits so perfectly in my hands!
Have a nice day,
Nick
|
|
|
|
|
Andre Denis
{K:66407} 1/17/2007
|
Hi Nick,
It was actually more than a year that I used it. It's just that I bought myself a nice Nikkormat FTN 35mm in 1969. Till that time, that was the single most expensive purchase I had ever invested in. I think it cost me about $200.00 CDN at the time which was a lot of money for those times. Considering later that year, I put a down payment down on a new Toyota Corolla. The price being $2,120.00 CDN. So that puts it in perspective. Anyway, I still have my Nikkormat in perfect working order. It was one of the best investments I ever made.
I wouldn't worry about not having a manual for the Bronica. I'm sure there are plenty of places on the Web where you can download manuals or parts of them. If not, there are most likely user sites and forums similar to this one where you can get any help you need.
Is the Bronica system similar to the Hasselblad set-up. SLR that uses 120/ 60mm film?
Andre
|
|
|
|
|
Nick Karagiaouroglou
{K:127263} 1/16/2007
|
What? Your father had a Yaschicamat? And you used it for a year? And what niow? You don't use it anymore? Oh but of course, you know the new ones are so much better, and blahblah, so I could help you to get rid of some useless gear in your home, so you have more space for other cameras. (Be careful Nick, your claws are showing! ;-))
The Bronica system is indeed good, but how can I use it and take advantage of its features when I can't find the manuals anywhere? That's what bothers me most. I assume without the manuals I'll not be able to really use all its capabilities. Shoould I just buy it and start searching here and there? :-/
Nick
|
|
|
|
|
Andre Denis
{K:66407} 1/16/2007
|
Hi Nick,
I had a feeling we were talking about the same thing. I should have known better. Of course the negatives is 60x60. I used to use my dad's old Yashicamat tlr for the first year or so that I started photography. Those large negatives are super detailed and can be enlarged to very good size prints in the darkroom. I think the Bronica is a good one. You won't be sorry with the large negatives.
Andre
|
|
|
|
|
Nick Karagiaouroglou
{K:127263} 1/15/2007
|
Hi Andre!
After some search in the web I found that we are talking mainly about the same thing. The film type is named 120 (no dimension,just the number) and most of middle format cameras use a 60mm x 60mm square for each film frame (image). But there are also many that use other dimensions to frame a shot, like for example 55mm x 60 mm and so on. So the one thing is the film itself and the other is how the film is used and divided into frames by the camera.
A very nice website for reading about this subject is http://www.rogerandfrances.com . I think I'll contact the people there since they write very nice and very understandable without forgetting to mention the very well known phenomenon: "I am an artist, I don't need any knowledge" ;-)
So, I've learned another thing that will be very useful when I switch to middle format. The film is almost always 120 but the dimensions of the frame are many things around 60mm x 60mm (or sometimes also 30mm x 60mm, which is then named "half frame").
Thank you very much for mentioning the 120 film - or else I might never know.
Best wishes,
Nick
P.S.: Today I saw an excellent used middle format camera set. A Bronica for only 750CHF! (600$) And the list prices are at about 2000-2000$!!! Unfortunately no manual with it :-/ If I could find them somewhere!
|
|
|
|
|
Andre Denis
{K:66407} 1/14/2007
|
Hi Nick,
I don't know anything about the 60mm format. I have always thought that 120 was mid format, used in TLRs. Whatever, there is no shortage of cameras to choose from. :)
|
|
|
|
|
Nick Karagiaouroglou
{K:127263} 1/12/2007
|
Actually to my knowledge middle format is 60mmx60mm as dimensions of the film frame - but 120 looks like the double of it. Any relation? :-/
But yes, there are many excellent cameras with all their accessoirs at unbelieveble prises! And I am going to try some of them at the bazaar market of Lucerne already tomorrow! Wow, am I impatient!
Nick
|
|
|
|
|
Andre Denis
{K:66407} 1/11/2007
|
Hi Nick,
By middle format, I assume you mean 120? I originally learned on a Yashicamat 124 (copy of a Rolleiflex tlr) Excellent for the size and quality of the negatives. I'm sure there are a lot around at very good prices now.
Andre
|
|
|
|
|
Andre Denis
{K:66407} 1/11/2007
|
Hi Kes,
Lucky for me he didn't get any bold ideas in his head and he decided to run around me to get to his mate. :) I didn't really have a lot of time to think about the what if's, so I just did what came natural and took pictures :) I've been this close to younger bucks in the wild, but never this close to one this old. They usually stay high up on the ridges and stay a good distance from people.
Andre
|
|
|
|
|
Nick Karagiaouroglou
{K:127263} 1/10/2007
|
Thank you very very very much for that bunch of information about the camera, Andre! I am searchingfor an old middle format camera as my next purchase, but still I wonder if I should buy some good digital camera. Oh well, as you already said, the list of urgent things always seems to be much longer than the list of important things ;-)
Thanks again and have a nice day!
Nick
P.S.: As about the computer... buy a Mac! (Not that I am biased, not at all ;-))
|
|
|
|
![Nelson Moore [Kes] -](http://images.imageopolis.com/images/5/7/8/7/5787/1481659-micro.jpg)
Nelson Moore [Kes] -
{K:20241} 1/10/2007
|
Wow, that is close, Andre! They get a little, um, "too confident" this time of the year. They should be about done with that by now though I would think.
Kes
|
|
|
|
|
Andre Denis
{K:66407} 1/10/2007
|
Thanks Kes,
Lucky for me, he was in the open.
He was about 35 to 40 yards away I estimate.
Andre
|
|
|
|
|
Nelson Moore [Kes] -
{K:20241} 1/10/2007
|
Hi Andre,
Great capture of this fine buck! He appears very close!
|
|
|
|
|
Andre Denis
{K:66407} 1/9/2007
|
Hi Nick,
Fuji might not make exactly the same model that was sold in 2003, but the one that is closest to it might be the S9000 which is a much higher megapixel camera at probably half the cost of what they were going for in 2003. Yes, they do have manual settings for everything as well as many automatic settings. The only manual setting that I find not very user freindly is the focus. (due to the small fiddly buttons) I much prefer the manual focus on an SLR. I can focus my Nikkormat FTN manually 10 times faster than I can the Fuji. Autofocus works very well with this camera though. A few of the big surprises for me was how good the lens actually works in the Macro and Telephoto modes. Multiple images works well too, but they do not store very fast. About 5 seconds to store 3 images seems like a lifetime when shooting birds, wildlife or racing cars. The battery life is amazing. I use rechargeable NIMH double A's and just keep an extra charged set handy all the time. I've even dropped this camera in the water once when I tipped my kayak. It was submerged for about 5 seconds. I ran it up to the cottage and took it apart and blew it dry with a hair dryer. It took a few days for the condensation to completely disappear from the lcd and the lens. But once it was gone, it has worked fine ever since.
Having said all this, I am still looking to buy a Nikon D80 for my next camera, because I have had so many good years of service from my Nikkormat FTN. I can still use my "real" lenses with a D80 manually, so that is a bit of a bonus.
First things first though... and that's a new computer. It never ends :)
Andre
|
|
|
|
|
Nick Karagiaouroglou
{K:127263} 1/9/2007
|
Do you know if it is still produced, Andre? From what I see in the web it must be a very good one. Unfortunately I couldn't find if it has also manual settings capabilities, so does it?
Nick
|
|
|
|
|
Andre Denis
{K:66407} 1/9/2007
|
Thanks Nick,
I have been amazed at the performance of this camera since I got it in late 2003. For what it is, it has surpassed my expectations in almost every area.
Andre
|
|
|
|
|
Nick Karagiaouroglou
{K:127263} 1/8/2007
|
And I am still amazed much more because of the DoF since the tele usually retains sharp focusing only in a very narrow domain of depth, but here anything seems to be really sharp! Little Fuji did a great job in your hands!
Cheers,
Nick
|
|
|
|
|
Andre Denis
{K:66407} 1/8/2007
|
Thanks Nick,
I have to admit, I'm not 100% sure about the f/3.5. It must have been close to that though. Usually when I'm using the telephoto setting that far away, the f stop comes down quite a lot on automatic exposure. I was using the 200iso setting and it was not a sunny day.
I'm very pleasantly surprised just how much detail that little Fuji lens can get. Even at the 10X setting.
Andre
|
|
|
|
|
Nick Karagiaouroglou
{K:127263} 1/4/2007
|
What a coloring, detail and composition here, Andre! The buck is in a perfect color balance to its background and still the photo doesn't become "monotonous". The finest details make it feel very very live!
How on earth did you get such a DoF with f/3.5?
Keep it up,
Nick
|
|
|
|
|
Andre Denis
{K:66407} 1/4/2007
|
Thanks Biljana,
Yes, I was very lucky that day!
Andre
|
|
|
|
biljana mitrovic
{K:48110} 1/3/2007
|
Hi Andr,This is amazing.Lucky you!
Warm regards
Biljana
|
|
|
|
|
Andre Denis
{K:66407} 1/3/2007
|
Hi Dave,
Thanks for the comment. You had me thinking if I had the right species. Although I might have spelled it wrong? I did a google image search for them and they seem to have all the same markings. This one's antlers should get bigger. Not sure if it's spelled White Tail, Whitetail or White-tail? You can find lots of photos under either spelling :)
Andre
|
|
|
|
Dave Holland
{K:13074} 1/3/2007
|
A memorable image, Andre. Not sure I've ever been this close to a white-tail buck before, as I didn't recognize the facial markings.
|
|
|
|
|
Andre Denis
{K:66407} 1/3/2007
|
Hi Andrzej,
I hope you are having a great New Year so far!
That is a nice thought about the first achievement setting your path. I don't think I have ever heard that before. I think we can afford to let you have a lazy first day off with no achievements. In any case, getting those shots of the deer was more good fortune than achievement on my part. We were walking up a hill path when I noticed the doe in the trees quite close to us. I couldn't get any good shots of her because of all the bush cover. She walked away slowly and then we noticed this big male standing about 50 meters from us. Fortunately for me, he was almost in the open and let me get a few good shots of him.
Andre
|
|
|
|
|
Andre Denis
{K:66407} 1/3/2007
|
Hi again Ina,
I think you are right about the image quality being a bit better on this one. I was about three times further away for the other shot and it is cropped much more.
Yes, as I just commented to Peter, the reason I would want to go with Nikon is because of the lens mount for lenses that I already have from film days. Also the Fuji S3pro uses the Nikon mounts too.
They are dropping in price all the time, but they always seem to come out with some other gimmick to bring out another high priced model.
Andre
|
|
|
|
|
Andre Denis
{K:66407} 1/3/2007
|
Thanks Peter,
About a year ago, I was considering a D70s because I have a couple of Nikon F mount lenses that can be used with the camera (if only manually) I'm assuming that the D80 can still use these lenses. I have a Vivitar 70-150Macro Zoom with a 2x multiplier that will serve at first, until I can get something better. I have had some success in the past with this lens on my Nikkormat FTN. If it does not work well, the plan would be to get something as you suggest. I believe the D80 comes standard with the 18-70mm lens.
Andre
|
|
|
|
Andrzej Pradzynski
{K:22541} 1/3/2007
|
Andre, great shot for the New Year Day, good season start indeed, seems like it will be a year of the nature/animal chapter in your portfolio. People were saying that your first achievement in a new year is marking your path through - for me unfortunately it was a lazy day with no achievements in any area but I simple do not believe the tale. Happy New Year, NJ
|
|
|
|
Ina Nicolae
{K:44481} 1/2/2007
|
Hi Andre, I like #2 too, but still prefer the background in this one, although there you can see some greenery and the buck is framed nicely by the weeds, this one is sharper and the line quality is wonderful :)
I've snooped on your other comments and see you might be getting a DSLR :-) Good luck with the purchase(s)! I was also a film user (Minolta) - but K-M were the last ones to come on the market with a digital SLR, so before that I switched to Canon, although I had no Canon lenses. I still have a few Minolta lenses, and now they fit the new Sony Alpha, which is a nice one, too. Either way, it's a big investment to be sure.
|
|
|
|
Peter De Rycke
{K:41212} 1/2/2007
|
Well, i wish you a lot of success with the D80 .. and do consider to buy a good lens (in the range 50-250mm) to get the equivalent of your Fuji .. i myself worked with Fuji S602 for 2 years until i switched to Canon 300D + kitlens + Canon EF 70-200 F4L.
Peter
|
|
|
|
|
Andre Denis
{K:66407} 1/2/2007
|
Thanks Ina,
Happy New Year to you too!
As far as the background goes... I liked the background of the second upload of this guy much better. "White Tailed Buck 2" He is a bit smaller in the image in the second one, but the foreground and background frame him nicely, with a bit more variety in the colour. This one is getting a bit more attention, I think mainly due to the size of the deer in the image. Easier to spot in the thumbnail, I guess. Anyway, see what you think of the second one.
Andre
|
|
|
|
|
Andre Denis
{K:66407} 1/2/2007
|
Hi again Peter,
I got the Fuji S5000 near the end of 2003. Till then I had only owned film cameras. I had used some antiquated digital cameras at work that I was never impressed with, (except the instant images) I have been pleasantly surprised with the performance of the little Fuji over the past few years. If it didn't work so well, I would have bought a DSLR ages ago. Having said that... the time is now right for me to jump up to a Nikon D80. I have been holding off for quite some time now because it is not just the cost of the D80 that I have to consider. In order to get the most benefit out of a new DSLR I will also need to get myself a new computer to handle and manipulate the images properly.
Andre
|
|
|
|
|
Ina Nicolae
{K:44481} 1/2/2007
|
Great capture Andre, and Happy New Year to you! Lovely look on his face, and beautiful background too :) Ina
|
|
|
|
|
Peter De Rycke
{K:41212} 1/2/2007
|
Thanks Andre, and indeed the S5000 has 10x optical, all the better ! And indeed digital zoom is always a compromise, zooming in on existing pixels.. but i agree: Fuji has excellent optical material for a good budget !
See ya,
Peter
|
|
|
|
|
Andre Denis
{K:66407} 1/2/2007
|
Thanks Peter,
The Fuji S5000 that I am using seems to work fairly well with the auto focus at 10x zoom. One thing that it does have trouble with is when branches or leaves are in the general area. Then It is more difficult for the auto focus to pick the right spot. In this case, the deer was big enough and co-operated with me by not standing behind bushes. (the same goes for the second image)
Fuji claims this model camera is 10X Optical Zoom. There is an additional line in the viewfinder that warns when you are going into the Digital Zoom area. Although the digital zoom area brings the subject in closer, I find there is a significant drop in quality. So I try and force myself to stay out of this area. The 10x setting is about equivilant to the distance obtained from 250mm I think. Another problem with using the zoom is the exposure times. Quite often the shutter speed is on the low side for what you want to shoot without a tripod.
I really like the versatility of this S5000. It's the kind of camera that does most things pretty well. But, still can't compete with the nice new DSLRs. However, I am very pleased in comparison sometimes.
Have a great New Year Peter!
Andre
|
|
|
|
|
Peter De Rycke
{K:41212} 1/2/2007
|
Good shot with focus spot-on .. not easy to do in 10x digital zoom (not optical in 10x i figure, used to have a Fuji S602) i suppose .. Peter
|
|
|
|
|
Andre Denis
{K:66407} 1/2/2007
|
Thanks Gary,
An even bigger problem can be when they wander out onto the roads. This little herd is just minutes from Hwy. 401 and Kingston Road.
Happy New Year to you too!
Andre
|
|
|
|
Gary Dyck
{K:12834} 1/2/2007
|
Great shot, Andre. Looks like a healthy guy too. Nice to see that there's deer around the big city! They're a nuisance around here though, always eating trees and flowers and gardens etc... Happy new year. Gary
|
|
|
|
|
Andre Denis
{K:66407} 1/2/2007
|
Thanks Dave,
Lucky for me, he decided to take a walk around me to his mate, rather than run right through me :)
He seemed cautious, but not too afraid.
I hear you are having some bad weather in Winnipeg
this week. Still no snow here in Toronto to speak of. I have a feeling we are going to get hit pretty hard sooner or later.
Andre
|
|
|
|
|
Andre Denis
{K:66407} 1/2/2007
|
Thanks Alicia,
Sometimes we can surprise these deer and they will just freeze on the spot for a little while before they run away. Most times they are hidden so well, we just walk right by them without knowing.
Andre
|
|
|
|
Dave Stacey
{K:150877} 1/2/2007
|
Great that he stuck around to let you get some pictures, Andre! This one's a great pose, and you got excellent detail and colour!
Dave.
|
|
|
|
|
Alicia Popp
{K:87532} 1/2/2007
|
son especialmente bellos estos animales... me impactan sus ojos!
Felicitaciones por la captura!!
|
|
0 
