Schneider Makro-Symmar-MSR120 plus Robert Otoole’s Close-up Photography

I’m back to thinking about macro work and possibly doing some scanning and have found that the Schneider Makro Symmar Iris lenses get used in industrial applications often paired with line scanners.  Sometimes you can find them on ebay for a song.   While searching for info on the Makro Symmar line-up, I happened across Robert OToole’s site and blog.  He’s got a lot of great information about a number of macro lenses, and also some fantastic close-up work – wellRead more

Kodak Technical Pan, Super XX, and Verichrome Pan films – Were these better film stocks than what we can find today?

I ask my friend Greg why really old expired Kodak Tech Pan film fetches insane prices on eBay and his reply was, “It’s God’s film”.   He said that with the right developer, it would provide incredible grainless detail and long smooth tones and that it was better than say the ADOX CMS 20 II film which isn’t sensitive to all colors like Tech Pan was.   Greg is the one who also introduced me to Kodak Verichrome Pan which I immediatelyRead more

Mechanical shutters – set shutter speed before cocking

F L U T O T ‘ S    Helpful Tips Q What’s your opinion on changing shutter speeds? I’ve heard it both ways: Don’t change the speed when the shutter is cocked. Only change the speed after the shutter is cocked. Which way is correct and why? Answer: It’s safe to move the speed dial first before cocking the shutter on any shutter. When you cock the shutter, it engages the slow gear train so that a lever is againstRead more

Color Management on Windows 11

Source: How to configure Firefox color management I’m working on getting my new Windows 11 machine up and running with a new to me Wacom 24 touch display.  It seems like I’m not getting all the DR that the Wacom screen has that I saw when it was connected to my Mac so I’m trying to figure it out – first time on the Windows platform in a long time.  Love the machine … i9-12900k with 3080 GPU and 3Read more

Voigtländer Perkeo II – oh man, wow: So much performance in such a small camera! – YouTube

I’ve got the Perkeo IIIe with the rangefinder and haven’t used it very much at all, but I agree with this reviewer that they are really nice cameras.   I have a few of the Ikonta’s too, and the Bessa I, II and III.  It would be fun to compare them all sometime, but certainly the Perkeo’s are nicely built and very lightweight.  What is your favorite folding 120 rangefinder?Read more

EIZO and Lagom monitor tests for checking the quality of your display – that I found really useful!

I’m just setting up a 2nd hand Wacom Cintiq 24 Pro and wanted to check out the display for any flaws and found some great tools on Eizo’s site.   The one on the first link will run through a bevy of different tests so you can check for hot pixels, dead pixels, uniformity, sharpness, color gradation, and sensitivity.    Turns out the Wacom display is truly very good.  Try yours by following the links.  Monitors should be color managed too,Read more

Ukraine soldiers create modern day version of the painting, “Reply of the Zaporaozhian Cossacks” https://t.co/0PwXDvu65x” / Twitter

The heroism of the Ukrainian people has been inspiring, but also their humor. Here some soldiers take time out to recreate a scene of a painting that purports to be the writing of vulgar and poetic f…off letter to occupiers of their land in 1676.   I can see a 4×5 large format camera set up to take the picture.  Would love to see the actual photo sometime.   Slava Ukraini!Read more

PSA Journal 1959-11: Vol 25 Iss 12 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

I just learned today that the Internet Archive has many thousands of publications and journals going back 100 years or more on their archive.  Wow! You can search for photography or art or whatever your interest is. Shown here the cover of Photographic Society of America 1959-11 volume 25, Issue 12 but you can see all 61 pages if you get a free account.  Totally amazing resource!  Other photo related publications they have include Popular Photography, Signal, AfterImage, Aperture, ModernRead more

Have You Seen My Acutance?

Roger Cicala from Lens Rentals always writes with clarity about technical issues.  If you’ve ever wondered about MTF charts this should help a lot. Two takeaways for me and one note: Lens Acutance can be improved with sharpening in post, lens resolution can’t. Differences in the MTF between sagatial and meridal result in differences in the bokeh or out of focus areas of a lens.  The closer the two lines are, the better the bokeh (perhaps a bit subjective). AndRead more

Shooting 20×24 Portraits With A Massive Camera & Unique “Instant” Process [Instant Shoots] – YouTube

I’m super interested in the  process that Ethan Moses shows here in this video to make ‘instant’ color ULF photos. Here instant really means direct positive color process, and not anything as easy as a peel apart film.   He’s built a film holder that can double as a developing tray so that he can pour the chemicals straight into it after exposing the film.  It looks like a lot of fun and the results are quite amazing.   He alsoRead more

[PRO] PHOTO. Go and shoot

Great resource for getting information about Russian cameras and lenses and see sample images taken with them.  Actually the site does test many international brands but is very comprehensive with the Russian made ones. Photographer from scratch. Photography training, photography training courses, technique reviews, photography history, lens reviews, camera reviews Source: [PRO] PHOTO. Go and shootRead more