Hiya,

Converters are very much a big compromise. Even the very best ones degrade image quality quite a lot, if you just use small prints you may never see any difference, however if you enlarge much at all or use a tripod, you certainly should see the difference.
I personally am with the first respndant above and would not go near any converter unless you just use 6x4 inch prints.

Also, to suggest that photoshop, or for that matter any software can correct the problems of a converter is simply not being realistic, you cannot just 'replace' the image information lost just by a few mouse clicks. This 'sort it out' after attitude with digital users is frankly not sensible...any additional 'adjustments' in photoshop degrades the image file and you cannot correct for the inadequate optics used.

cheers Steve.

Hiya,

check out www.speedgraphic.co.uk

great service, good prices and lots of VERY good gear,

cheers Steve.

Hi all,

Anyone have any info at all on these lenses, particularly in regard to build and image quality..

Thanks Steve.M.

Hi,

Nothing but bad news on this front I think. I believe the last lab in the UK has now given up on Scala and that there was just one lab left in Europe (possibly Switzerland) which i think was intending to only dev the film for one more year. Do Agfa have a web site still? If they do, I would check there..

Cheers Steve.

May be worth asking this Q on the AP forum..they had news about Scala not so long ago..

Hi G,

I very much hope this particular student is not representitive of all current art school students..judging by his other 'what makes a pro camera' postings I should say he is very narrow-minded and arrogantly self-centered (like many in London 'art' circles) and sorely in need of a reality check, so please do not judge all current art schools by his somewhat dubious ideas.

I agree with you 100% about the camera being pretty un-important in the greater scheme of things, you can make truly 'great' photos and art with almost anything...a short web search can prove that easily..or any look around a few London galleries on almost any day.

Cheers Steve.

Hi,

I am afraid Georges views of art school are very out of date and totally out of touch. I went to both art school and a photographic college and any art school worth it's salt does not try to 'teach' art. The good ones simply expose students to many styles, types and ways of creating art and then nurture the talents in the students...to dismiss art schools out of hand is simply silly...you may as well dismiss any educational establishment in the same way..they all have both good and bad ones.

Cheers Steve.

Hiya,

"Good grief Man !
Beset as we are with so much lifeless commercial conformity
surely visiting such a shop is a unique experience ?
Hope she wipes off the chicken grease before handling the stock"

...I made quite sure I was far enough away that I could not tell whether it was chicken or Duck!....

I still do intend one of these days to venture back with a camera to photograph this 'den' so you can all see it in its full glory...

cheers Steve.

Hi Matt,

I used to visit friends in London every year three or four times and found London quite tiring enough without carrying camera gear around, so I did not have a camera with me.

However I shall be returning fairly soon and may well take a return trip to this photo den of doom. If I do, I will take a camera and capture whatever I can. It was so disgustingly dirty last time I did not want to get too close. This is why I never took my life in my hands and went inside last time...I was scared of getting buried under all the 'rubble' inside.

cheers..

Hiya,

Here is a true story about a camera shop. All UK forum members, read it and see if you can guess who it is..I have not exaggerated one little bit, this is just as I found things one afternoon about 8 months ago..

I had seen their ads in AP for ages and so much great old stuff was advertised I finally went out of my way to find the shop. When I found it, I was somewhat surprised. It was a very old and shaggy victorian shop front, very small and had not beed painted since about the 12th century.

There was a small 4 foot wide window either side of the door. I looked in the left hand side one. There were about 4 or 5 tatty chipboard shelves with cameras and lenses liberally scattered about. There were no prices and all the items were covered in about 5mm of thick BLACK dust. It looked like no one had cleaned the shop for quite literally years.

I then looked inside. There was an old lady about 60 serving an old guy and another assistant standing behind the counter..it was about 3pm in the afternoon and she was eating chinese takeout from the silver tray they come in.

The floor area in the shop was about 10 feet wide and about 15 feet long, trouble is there was a mountain of camera gear, boxes and general rubbish piled up on the floor. This pile was about 3-4 feet high and was taking up about three quarters of the floor area. There was only a narrow corridor of floor left directly in front of the counter which was about 18 inches wide. Had there been a fire, people would have had difficulty evacuating.

On the counter and on many shelves behind the counter were countless cameras, lenses and all manner of gear just piled up on top of each other and just scattered everywhere..it looked just like a jumble sale.

I was absolutely shocked that in the year 2006, a shop, especially one who sells technical equipment, which needs storing properly, should be in such a complete shambles. I would suggest the owner has no cleaning going on at all in the shop and also in my opinion has a complete disregard for health and safety.

I shudder to think what state the cameras and lenses are in which 'inhabit' this joke of a shop.

........the shop is called Nicholas. I have spoken to several camera buyers in London since and all have said this retailer has a shocking reputation...this does not surprise me one little bit..

The really bad thing in my opinion is that Amateur Photographer magazine are every week advertising this shambles.

cheers Steve.M.

Hi all,

Not wishing to put a damper on this thread, but I think a word of warning is in order...

Just to say, as good as both MXV and Ffordes have been in the past, I would say to anyone buying items from either of them, to check the items with a very fine tooth comb. I have had to return more than three lenses to both of these dealers within the last few months due to them not properly inspecting them. Some of the lenses had very obvious faults which had been missed. I get the distinct impression that both of these dealers are skimping on checking items properly.

They do give no quibble refunds, but it still takes time and some cost to return items. Ffordes also seem quite prone to often sending incorrect items.

I recently rang MXV about three Minolta MD lenses they had listed...two were marked MINT- and one was marked EXC++. I asked the sales guy to check them closely while I was on the phone....guess what...one had clear coating marks and another had internal haze, so whoever graded them in the first place clearly did not look very closely....so be warned.

Cheers Steve.