All Forum Comments
Comment by George Lazarette posted on B&W Conversion at 31/05/2006 - 12:32
Ok, Matt, but a picture is worth a thousand words. Hint, hint.
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Comment by George Lazarette posted on B&W Conversion at 31/05/2006 - 12:28
The clouds have come out really well, but I think you need to lighten the sea and the beach.
Where's Matt whn you need him?
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Where's Matt whn you need him?
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Comment by George Lazarette posted on B&W Conversion at 31/05/2006 - 11:27
Pentax won't be going full-frame. That's what the D645 is for. If they themselves thought they would go full-frame, they wouldn't have brought out so many DA lenses. In a couple of months time there will be 13 DA lenses. And hopefully next year there will be a long one, too.
Full-frame Pentax is a fantasy of a few people who find it difficult to multiply by 1.5.
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Full-frame Pentax is a fantasy of a few people who find it difficult to multiply by 1.5.
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Comment by George Lazarette posted on FA 20-35mm or DA 16-45 on digital at 31/05/2006 - 12:23
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...call me paranoid...but I blame Everything on Microsoft.
Everything? I blame them for much more than that. ...call me paranoid...but I blame Everything on Microsoft.
We used to have scapegoats, now we have scapeGates.
Coming to Irfanview, that jewel of a program. It will never replace a proper image manipulation program, but it's wondefully efficient at basic editing tasks like cropping, resizing and simple colour and contrast corrections.
Don't use the Sharpen option in the Image menu. Press ctrl-E and you will find a sharpening tool which can be varied.
Do experiment with Display options in the View menu. I tick the top and bottom ones. Then, when the image is displayed, press Enter, and it will be resized, if necessary, to fit the window.
Load the plugins, and use shift-J to rotate and save without loss of quality.
The various options in the Batch Conversion/Rename tool are powerful.
The Thumbnail tool can be set to create webpages of thumbnails and images, and if you know even a little HTML you can edit the templates to do exactly what you want.
Irfanview is in my view the best program available for the pc. And it's free. By "best", I mean it does what it says it does, quickly, efficiently and with a very shallow learning curve.
Can't say the same about Mr Gates' products. Or Adobe's.
Any program that requires a user to take a course to learn it has fallen at the first hurdle, IMHO.
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Comment by George Lazarette posted on Some pictures read only files. at 31/05/2006 - 11:23
The 31mm Ltd permits the easy attachment and detachment of conventional circular filters. What it doesn't permit is the use of Cokin and similar square filters.
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Comment by George Lazarette posted on FA 35 F2.0 AL? at 31/05/2006 - 00:35
Somebody once described a zoom lens as a dust-pump. Every time the lens moves backwards and forwards it sucks air in at one end and out at the other.
Of course the same applies to focussing, too.
It is a mistake to think that poor design/construction is to blame for the dust-pumping. If the glass has to move, then so does the air.
So dust is a fact of life. In the days of film, you changed the sensor every thirty-six exposures. Not so with digital.
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Of course the same applies to focussing, too.
It is a mistake to think that poor design/construction is to blame for the dust-pumping. If the glass has to move, then so does the air.
So dust is a fact of life. In the days of film, you changed the sensor every thirty-six exposures. Not so with digital.
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Comment by George Lazarette posted on Digital cameras as home electronics at 28/05/2006 - 23:41
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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
Pete
Quite so. There's a not dissimilar place called Mac's Cameras between Hammersmith and Chiswick. It operates more like a parts counter for motor spares - there's no room to display anything in the shop as the shop-floor doubles up as a store-room.bretbysteve wrote:
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.
sounds like Diagon Alley in Harry Potter 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.
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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.
Plan to put it on my 'to see' list if ever I return to the UK !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.
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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.
Good grief Man !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.
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
Pete
But if you collect 60 year-old camera gear, it's probably just what you need. Digital? I don't think they've heard of light meters yet. 35mm film is the latest fad to hit them.
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Comment by George Lazarette posted on Recommended suppliers of equipment at 17/07/2007 - 08:21
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I think you would be surprised just how much dislike there is for digital in pro sectors where quality is the main concern ie anything except press!
"Pro sectors"? There are many more "pro sectors" than are dreamed of in the narrow little world of "fine art" photography. And I wouldn't be at all surprised that this narrow little world hates digital.I think you would be surprised just how much dislike there is for digital in pro sectors where quality is the main concern ie anything except press!
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You will never find a fine artist using digital, in some cases when digital manipulation has to occur the neg is drum scanned, the alterations made and then a 5x4 neg is made from the digital file and then its printed traditionally. (expensive stuff.. Ive only done it twice but it looks amazing)
Why is it that "digital manipulation has to occur"? These are fine artists you are talking about, not professional photographers. These are the people whom you say "You will never find" using digital. A contradiction, methinks.You will never find a fine artist using digital, in some cases when digital manipulation has to occur the neg is drum scanned, the alterations made and then a 5x4 neg is made from the digital file and then its printed traditionally. (expensive stuff.. Ive only done it twice but it looks amazing)
If you define a "fine artist" as one who uses film, then self-evidently they wouldn't use digital. But there are many photographers selling high quality b&w prints that are entirely digital, and none of the priests of "fine art" can tell the difference.
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In terms of commercial most still life photography for advertising is still done on large format and pretty much all fashion is still shot on 6x6 or 6x7
Perhaps that was true five years ago. It certainly isn't now.In terms of commercial most still life photography for advertising is still done on large format and pretty much all fashion is still shot on 6x6 or 6x7
I'm afraid that you do seem to see things in terms that are as black and white as your favourite photographs.
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As I mentioned in my first post anyone in London who wants to see examples of high quality photographs (both technically and conceptually) go to London College of Communication degree show from 6th June to the 16th
I hope that most exhibitors are more open-minded and better informed than you appear to be. As I mentioned in my first post anyone in London who wants to see examples of high quality photographs (both technically and conceptually) go to London College of Communication degree show from 6th June to the 16th
Nobody would argue that a 10x8 plate is capable of a sharper and more detailed print than any digital camera. But that is hardly an original insight, and does not justify your wild assertions in which you confuse professional photographers with "fine artists" (who might perhaps be described as people who are hung up on ultimate print quality to the exclusion of all else).
Give me Cartier Bresson over Ansel Adams any day.
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Comment by George Lazarette posted on What is a Pro Camera?! at 29/05/2006 - 20:37
What makes a pro photographer is easy. If he makes his living by selling his photographs, he's a pro.
But good workmen do tend to use good tools. For some people, that's a plate camera. For others, it's a Minox.
But for what it's worth, I would guess that the number of professional photographers who use 35mm/APC DSLR for most of their images outnumbers the users of all other formats put together by a factor of 10 or more.
Any other guesses?
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But good workmen do tend to use good tools. For some people, that's a plate camera. For others, it's a Minox.
But for what it's worth, I would guess that the number of professional photographers who use 35mm/APC DSLR for most of their images outnumbers the users of all other formats put together by a factor of 10 or more.
Any other guesses?
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Comment by George Lazarette posted on What is a Pro Camera?! at 29/05/2006 - 18:17
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