[BertieWooster]

December 26, 2006 at 3:14 pm

Hi Everyone

Thanks for the help – both here and by email. I contacted a number of papers but absolutely nobody showed any interest. So my scoop really turned out to be a damp squib in the end! I think that there’s a lesson to be learned in marketing these things as early as possible, so that papers aren’t already committed to their own staff covering the event.

Anyway, thanks again…

[BertieWooster]

December 19, 2006 at 11:40 am

Can anyone help me out with this one? Tomorrow’s the day.

Thanks in advance.
Bertie

[BertieWooster]

December 18, 2006 at 9:19 am

Nice turnout of photos in the end. Congratulations to the winners.

[BertieWooster]

December 18, 2006 at 9:17 am

Stevie wrote:

I don’t know if this has been asked before, so apologies if it has, but is there a way that the entries can be identified with the entrants when the winners have been announced?
You can check the point scorers againt their photos but it would interesting to see all of them.
You can tell some by the content of their photos, but it would be nice to match a name with the entry.
Thanks.

Conversely, I find that if my photo hasn’t received any votes, it is rather pleasant to remain anonymous. :-)

[BertieWooster]

November 21, 2006 at 5:38 pm

The 17-55mm lens is a very good lens. I have one and have no fault to find with it at all, other than that I like it so much that I keep in on my camera at times when I really should be using an alternative lens that is lying in my bag. Maybe the one fault is that it is digital only and can’t be used on film cameras. I still would hardly recommend it as an early purchase. There are other lenses which will give most users more overall bang for their buck. Hence my recommendation would be for the 28-200mm VR. I think it should nearly be regarded as the ideal kit lens for just about every digital Nikon short of the top professional cameras.

Just my ?0.02

[BertieWooster]

November 21, 2006 at 4:06 pm

I?m a bit late in turning up to comment, but heartiest congratulations to Earthairfire on the winning photo. I didn?t actually vote for it but agree in the end that it was a great photo that merited the recognition. Congratulations too to those who got into the points, particularly Richiehatch, whose photo (No 19) got my vote both before and after the restart.

I?d imagine that the structure of the voting would not allow it, but sometimes I wish that I could vote for 3 images. Anyway, it was a great round in the end, with a large number of images that showed that the participants were really making an effort. I enjoyed it.

Thanks, above all, to the one kind, generous soul who voted for my old car (No 21). Whoever you are – may your tribe increase! 

Roll on the next round?.

[BertieWooster]

November 21, 2006 at 3:42 pm

Eddie wrote:

Mark

You should be able to pick up the gear cheap on Ebay. Keep an eye out for the Patterson kit that has everything you will need. etc….

SpeedGraphic are selling the Paterson kit new at ?65. They describe it as everything you need besides the enlarger, chemicals and paper.

[BertieWooster]

November 21, 2006 at 3:17 pm

As a lover of old Nikon cameras, I’d suggest that you buy along the following lines:
EITHER buy a camera that is cheap and you lose little if you damage it, lose it or give up on film photography,
OR buy a model that is highly regarded and that you could resell at much the same price in a few month’s time.

Among the cheapies don’t touch Nikkormats, Nikkorexes, etc. The F301, F401, F501, F601, F801, and the F50, F55, F60, F65 and F80 can be picked up in good condition on ebay for ?35-?70 body only. They’re nearly all near the bottom of their value curve at the moment, but most of them can take good photos if they have a reasonable lens on them.

Among the more valuable cameras, a good F3, F4 or F5 would represent a good investment, but the F4 and F5 will, as leading professional cameras in their day, have something of a learning curve, and the F3, like the F and F2 may be getting a bit too old now for regular use. As a rough guideline, expect to pay ?100, ?150 and ?200 respectively for a good body. The FE, FM, FG and FA are also good cameras but you need to know what you’re buying among those cameras, and may be best avoided unless you seek advice on a specific model. (BTW, I have two books of Amateur Photographer reviews on just about every Nikon film camera and can email you a scanned copy of a report if you need info on something exotic.)

Possibly the best compromise will be what others have already recommended – an F90 or an F100. Good bodies will cost roughly around ?100- ?130. They are really pro-sumer level cameras, can deliver excellent results and would resell well still if you want to trade up in the next six months.

[BertieWooster]

November 15, 2006 at 1:49 pm

Thanks again everyone for all the advice.

I have foolishly become the owner of 4-5 old Nikon film cameras and I’m determined that all of them will shoot film occasionally. They will not simply be collector’s ornaments. So I’ll be along to beg advice again from time to time here.

Heartiest Regards
Bertie

[BertieWooster]

November 15, 2006 at 1:09 pm

I have a Dell Latitude D610 laptop, which I use more often than I’d like for retouching photos. I also have a Dell Workstation with a dual monitor and graphics tablet setup. There really is no comparison.

However, as stated above, I assume that you must have a laptop. The one point I’d emphasise is that you check out the screen configuration controls – brightness, contrast, etc. Many laptops, including my D610, only permit basic brightness adjustments. That handicaps proper monitor calibration.

[BertieWooster]

November 15, 2006 at 12:53 pm

Great to see another Co Armagh photographer joining. Welcome on board.

[BertieWooster]

November 4, 2006 at 10:56 am

Fintan wrote:

For a huge huge auction of classic cameras goto;
http://www.auction-ph.de/eng/index.asp

Its under Catalog Online > Photographica 4

I watch these auctions every few months. Beautiful stuff in them.

Thanks for passing on the info. That is some link. I have to admit to drooling a bit over some of those cameras.

Another famous auction is Christies – very famous internationally.
http://www.christies.com/departments/overview.asp?DID=13
They have about 4 camera auctions in the year. I can’t seem to find an online listing, but they do send out fantastic auction catalogues to those who subscribe.

I find the early months of the year a bit boring, so I fancy flying over to Christie’s for one of their auctions early next year – taking in Grays of Westminster while I’m in the area.

I’ll post a book review of some camera collecting books in a day or two and add several more if there is interest.

[BertieWooster]

November 1, 2006 at 3:53 pm

Thanks again for the advice on this. I’ll probably try 2-3 of the recommended films and then settle for one of them.

BTW, I’m glad this Film section on the forum exists. I’ll be watching it more actively in future.

[BertieWooster]

November 1, 2006 at 3:50 pm

Interesting conclusions, stasber. I have arrived at the conclusion that I’ll buy neither the Lumix nor the Ricoh until either Panosonic improves the noise problem or Ricoh offers a model with another lens. The cameras are nearly there – but not quite ideal yet.

[BertieWooster]

November 1, 2006 at 3:46 pm

Hi Brandyman

Thanks for taking the time to post those images. That’s an impressive little collection indeed.