Yep, obviously the best way to show Fuji you care is to continue to buy the film but I think it adds extra weight with a petition. There will always be nay-sayers/doom-mongers who believe these things never work... but they are probably the same folk who wonder why they never win the lottery even though they never bought a ticket

The petition has reached it's initial target of 1,000 signatures and now has a new target of 1,500... currently they are at 1,162...

Cheers
Rick

Hi,

Slightly off topic but there is now an online petition to save Velvia 50 which Fujifilm announced they will stop producing in certain formats (initially 4x5 and 8x10). The news was announced in the BJP: http://www.bjp-online.com/british-journal-of-photography/news/2193030/fujifilm-d...

The petition now has over 1,000 signatures including some high profile photographers such as Joe Cornish. The petition can be signed here: http://www.change.org/petitions/fujifilm-continue-manufacture-of-velvia-50-sheet...

Cheers
Rick

Thanks John!

Hi,

I recently was fortunate enough to be able to pick up a 55-100mm Zoom lens for my Pentax 67 II camera. This is my first zoom lens for the camera and I'm very much looking forward to using it after hearing very positive things about its quality.

Most of my photography with the Pentax 67ii is Landscape work and my main lenses were the 45mm, 55mm, 75mm and 105mm. I expect the 55-100mm zoom to replace 3 of these lenses in my bag. However I have a question regarding how best to focus the zoom lens. As most of my work is in landscape I am almost always looking to maximize depth of field without losing too much sharpness. I found pretty much all the primes mentioned to be great quality even stopped down to f22. I couldn't really see any softness introduced by diffraction, etc.... When focussing the primes I would use the lens barrel to put the infinity mark just between 22 and 16 on the left side in order to maximize depth of field (assuming I had a shot which included a far horizon/mountain, etc).

Now my question is what should my technique be for obtaining maximum depth of field with the 55-100mm zoom? I don't believe I can now use the lens barrel to see what the limits of the focus are going to be. Should I now rely on adding hyperfocal distance 'markers' to the lens at various focal lengths?

Any opinions on what approaches are available would be much appreciated !

Cheers, Rick

Hi,



Just picked up a 55-100mm zoom lens for my Pentax 67ii body. I know the filter ring is 95mm on this lens.



Currently I am using a combination of Lee and Hi-Tech filters (Grads, NDs, etc) in a Lee Holder with a number of adaptor rings for the previous lenses I was using. With this new zoom I am going to need a new adaptor ring (95mm thread) to attach the holder to the lens. I see that Lee don't make a 'Wide Angle' version of their 95mm adaptor ring. So I wanted to ask if anyone is using the Lee 95mm 'Standard' adaptor ring with this lens and if so whether there are any issues with doing this? (eg, vignetting, etc).



Thanks for any help!

Rick

I see. I've just taken another look at the extension tubes I have and I'm pretty sure they are the 'Manual' type and NOT the 'Auto' type...

I'm guessing that the main difference is that you need to remember to stop down the lens yourself (using the DOF lever) before taking the shot otherwise you will be probably end up with everything underexposed (metering wide open for what may actually be a stopped down shot)...

Thanks for the responses. I'll try and get out with the camera and tubes in the next day or two to try them out. A couple of thoughts and conclusions on the replies so far...

1) Seems best to use these for close-up/macro type work rather than trying to use them for the 'extra reach' (eg wildlife type images)

2) Looks like general consensus is that the tubes are optimally used with focal lengths in the range of 75-165mm (75mm, 90mm, 105mm, 135mm, 165mm) although of course they can be used practically with all lenses with maybe less than optimal results.

3) I think I get it now with the EC. When the manual says x2.0 it translates to 1 extra stop (ie, double '1' ONE time) and when it says x4.0 it means 2 extra stops (ie, double '1' TWO times). If I summarise the data from the tables in the manual I believe that as a rule of thumb to remember the EC:

Tube #1 (14mm) : Add 0.5 Stop
Tube #2 (28mm) : Add 1 Stop
Tube #3 (56mm) : Add 1.3-1.5 Stops

Again using the TTL meters obviously helps removing the need to remember these numbers.

4) Looks like there should not be too much loss of image quality as long as tubes are used individually and stacking is avoided. Generally it sounds like I should be using very small apertures to get maximum sharpness throughout? As f/22 may introduce softness it sounds like f/13-f/16 is optimum? Also, as noted and probably dictated by these shutter speeds a tripod sounds mandatory.Conversely using a tube with longer lenses should help to produce nice bokeh (probably good for portraits with the 165mm?)

5) A bit confused here. After a couple of tests it looks like the tubes do not allow the aperture modification to be used (pentax service centre mod to display aperture instead of the frame number in the viewfinder display). This is not a big issue really. However just so I am clear on how to measure exposure. It sounds like I cannot use Aperture Priority mode? And I'm not too familar with the term 'stop-down metering' (excuse my lack of knowledge here). Am I right in thinking the procedure for metering with these tubes are:

i) Switch metering mode to manual (ie NOT 'A' mode)
ii) Compose and focus the scene
iii) Set desired aperture for required DOF.
iv) Use the DOF Preview lever to stop down the lens to desired aperture and then set shutter speed to correct exposure (using viewfinder meter to get to Center Mark '0').
v) Press 'Meter Lock' to lock exposure or keep DOF lever locked at stopped down aperture. (However the P67II manual says that the 'ML' button cannot be used when the camera is in Metered Manual Mode?)
vi) Release shutter

Does that sound correct?

Thanks again for all your help!

Rgds
Rick

Hi,


I have just purchased a set of Pentax 6x7 extension tubes on ebay. I have never used tubes before so I'm just trying to figure out a couple of things. Hope someone can help with the following questions...


1. What scenarios lend themselves to using the tubes? Am I right in thinking these are best used for when you want to focus closer in on your subject almost like a macro lens. I am thinking these are not really designed to get longer reach which is what I believe Teleconverters are used for?
2. Which Pentax 67 lenses are most suitable for using with the tubes? or is there no real limitations?
3. What exposure compensation if any is required when using the tubes? Looking at the manual (http://www.pentaximaging.com/files/manual/6x7_EXTENSION_TUBES.pdf) it seems that for example using Tube #1 (14mm) on most lenses results in an exposure compensation of x1.6. Does this mean I need to add just over half a stop to my exposure (either aperture or shutter speed) to compensate for the tube?
4. Is there any tangible loss of image quality when using these tubes? Is the effect cumulative (ie, more tubes = more quality loss)? As there is no optics in these tubes not sure about this...
5. When using the tubes on a P67II body how is the metering on the AE Prism affected? And if I have the modification on my P67II to show the aperture in the viewfinder is that now not going to work when using a tube?


Thanks in advance for any help with these questions!


Rgds

Rick

Got to say I'm happy to stick with Velvia 50 for as much as possible of my photography. I might have to switch to Velvia 100F or Provia 100F when light is an issue and would force a slower shutter speed beyond 10 seconds or so (which I think is where Velvia 50 starts to display a cast)... I tried Velvia 100 but it exhibited some strange magenta casts when used with Lee filters over skies on a recent trip so I'll need to be careful where and when I use the 'non-F' version...

I have heard Velvia 50 rated at 100 does add some extra warmth and contrast while giving the extra stop of speed but I've not tried that yet...

Yes, I think my intended workflow with the scanner is different to yours, Chris...

I'm planning to use the scanner to scan medium format (6x7) images and then after some post-processing/colour correction to have them printed at medium to large sizes. So I'm probably only working on a handful of my best images but happy to spend a lot longer on each one to get the best end result in the form of a print.

But it's useful to know your workflow and it certainly reminds me of the need for some 1TB (or larger) drives and a backup/archival strategy.

Thanks
Rick