Film Reviews

i like this film speed for one reason , it's great for family parties etc , where there's not alot of light around . it's an awesome film for it drinks in the light & colors, above all a good buy.

Highly Recommended.

My great uncle invented the film that was first used on the moon. He was the one who always taught me that using KODAK, was a security I couldn't take the chance in going without.

It is a real shame that more consumers do not know about Kodak's Royal Gold line of film. I would expect that most people normally buy the Gold (low speed 100 or 200) or Max (high speed 400 or 800) series of film simply because it is the only type of film sold in nonspecialty stores. Don't -- it's a mistake. "Royal Gold," even though a little more expensive, is much better, and you will certainly appreciate the difference in quality.

As you are probably aware, film comes in various "speeds," which allow you to shoot in differing light conditions. The higher the number, the less light needed. Thus, 100 film often requires bright outdoor sunlight, whereas 400 and 800 film is used for indoor or "high speed" (sports) photography. The problem with high-speed film, however, is that it is grainy. In order to get the film to react more quickly to light, the film needs to use larger silver crystals. Result? Your pictures will tend to be comprised of "dots" rather than smoother blends of color.

Despite improvements from 400 and 800 films of the past, Kodak's current low-end consumer film (i.e. Kodak Max) still suffers from excessive graininess. With everyone switching to 4x6 and 5x7 prints nowadays, pictures shot on these low-end consumer films will often still show "dots" when observed up close. If you want pictures to be treasured for years to come, do you really want dots? When I started doing more serious amateur photography, I tried these consumer films, and I was really disappointed.

The solution is Kodak's Royal Gold series. Despite the high speed advantages of Royal Gold 400, it maintains a remarkably small grain size. Thus, you get the best of both worlds -- less graininess and good responsiveness in darker situations. I couldn't recommend a better film selection. Obviously, if you are shooting outdoors, make sure to use Royal Gold 100, but for an all-purpose film, there is not much better than Royal Gold 400.

the tri-x is a good all around b&w film. its the only kind i use and i like it. good quality pictures, dark blacks and bright whites.

I've had this camera for a few years, and it's great fun. The editorial review is accurate- don't expect great pictures, but almost any subject can become strangely compelling when captured by this camera. My own favourite photos came from a nighttime visit to a carnival- the pics were surreal!

I've found that being within 3-8 feet of the subject is best, and use film that's rated to your light conditions. The big secret to successful photos is to move the camera strongly while you are taking the picture (or have your subject moving). The resulting photos are all slightly different, off centre and skewed.

The more you experiment, the more fun you'll have. Just remember to warn your developer that these photos are going to come out a little 'differently' than usual!

Need a 4000dpi scanner but don't want to go over your budget? Get this scanner. If you have any experience with scanning film, you can get great scans from this one. It is really nice, producing very sharp scans. No, it does not have digital ICE, so you may want to make sure your slides or negatives are as clean as possible.

(I have scanned slides from 1975; and have taken a lens cleaning cloth and dampened it with distilled water to clean these old slides. I did a scan before cleaning and after-what a difference! What I deemed was ruined or unusable turned out to be very usable-with only very minor touching up for spot removal in PhotoShop 5 LE-what a relief. I would use a soft lens cleaning cloth only for wiping-be careful, after blowing the usual dust off.)

I am running a 900 Athlon, Win ME, and 256megs of RAM. I can upgrade to 768 megs but haven't had to, and have scanned many slides in one session. Once it does the final scan it has a strange whirring noise straight out of a 50's Science Fiction "B" movie-kind of amusing to me. It looks like an armadillo.

It comes with an SCSI card to install in your computer; I removed the firewire card for my Microtek 8700 to make the bay available for this scanner-the 8700 runs fine on USB, and is not any slower. First turn on the scanner, let the indicator lights stay on, then turn on your computer.

The Pros:

1. Sharp scans

2. I would select auto focus in the preferences menu-it works well.

3. You can adjust the gain (D-Max setting from .05 to 4); I usually hit automatic, and adjust from there when necessary. This is an excellent and useful feature.

4. Scan Wizard Pro software is nice-I have almost the same with the 8700-but do not have the Adjustable D-Max option. With a dark or underexposed slide, using curves or bright/contrast might help also, before scanning. Most "purists" like to do this after, but I've had to do this before-it helped-get that shadow detail.

5. It seems to do a multipass (ever so-slightly back & forth) on very high-4000dpi scans, with little or no noise. I have noticed once you open the scanned image in Photoshop-there is usually an improvement, especially when it comes to noise.

6. Scan time is not too slow-it took about 3 minutes and 45 seconds for a 48bit 4000dpi, scan-1:1 ratio-the file was a little over 100MB. When I get to Photoshop, after any adjustments (if necessary) in 16 bit mode-curves, levels-I switch to 8 bit mode and save these files with LZ Compression checked-save some disc space for these high resolution scans until they are saved to CD.

7. Small, "footprint" scanner-fits on my desktop-never far away.

8. The film holder has an adjustable sliding lever so you can position your film right at it's edge-not to clip any of the image, and holds the film pretty flat. There are tabs you can knock out for 35mm panoramic scans-watch the file size. The slide holder is good also-you can adjust to make sure they are lined up square. I like Microtek's film holders.

9. At this price, you would be hard pressed to find such a high resolution scanner, with great quality scans, that you can adjust or correct somewhat before the final scan.

10. Color Matching and calibrate your monitor with Kodak's Q60ES slide-this is a pretty valuable tool in itself-that has Color and Grayscale, with a color image-what a bonus. It also includes a Silverfast and Genuine Fractal's-2 things I do not use. I do not use calibrating with the Kodak slide-something you can launch in itself, but for those who do, this is nice. I use one of Kodak's downloadable color profiles.

Cons:

Really, NONE for me. But I must tell you, you should cover this scanner with a plastic bag to keep dust out of it. This is a problem with all desktop scanners. The little front door for the APS option (holder does not come with the scanner) opens, sliding down. This makes it easy to clean the little rectangle in the scanning base of the "tunnel"-something I do before scanning, to make sure any dust is not in there. Your scans will improve, much "cleaner" scans and it is easy to access this area-and fast.

A good way to do this?? Unplug the scanner. You can use an artist's sable brush-(genuine-can use the brush end to remove surface dust on film, slides without scratching or inside scanner before wiping)- on the opposite end of the brush, tape or use a small rubberband to affix a cotton ear swab to that end, letting the swab extend.

Wrap a lens cleaning tissue around the tip-the cotton underneath gives it cushion-and tape or use the same rubberband to hold the tissue around the swab. Moisten the tissue with a few drops of lens cleaning fluid (squeeze the excess out), and you will be able to reach the scanning "tunnel", the bed where the rectangle is, and inside anywhere else you want to wipe down.
Watch the wiring or electrical components. I wipe whatever I can reach-the inner walls, etc. IF your scanner does get dust, this will help remove it. I cover mine with a plastic bag-it works well. If you want to get in there, taking off the cover is tricky-take your time, as it does take some time.

If you want to see some samples scanned with this scanner, go to: geocities.com/kowenphoto/ . The only image not scanned (so far) with this scanner is the opening page and the rose on the second-these were scanned with the 8700. These are not very high resolution shots, for the web.

To wrap this up, I consider this one of my best buys for 2001. This scanner, for me, is digital heaven, without all the expensive add-ons of pricier scanners. If you are familiar with scanning, you already know that if you cover your scanner, and keep your film stored well and clean, you will enjoy using the Artixscan 4000T. Digital nirvana.

When using a camera that gives you a 8x11mm negative, fine grain is a must. The image is 1/10 the area of a standard 35mm film. Using the modern Fuji emulsions, Minox gives us the best film we can find.

This is the best digitally controlled 35mm SLR I have ever used. The price tag may be high, but the features you get in one package make it worthwhile. The auto focus lock button and auto exposure lock button are located where they should be. The auto focus selector (single, continuous, manual) allows full control in every situation. The metering system is extremely accurate, and the built in spot meter is a plus. The control dial rather than an arrow up/down configuration gives you much faster control. I recommend this camera for the professional, or students. The vast amount of digital control might be confusing for the beginner.

I love this camera! I am a photography student and freelance photographer, and this camera is amazing. It offers top-of-the-line features at a price a student can afford. It offers all-manual options that are perfect for student work - but also has the latest and greatest automated features. For example, Dynamic Autofocusing allows you to capture photos of moving subjects, even in continuous mode, all in focus. And, this particular kit comes with a Nikkor lens that goes from a wide-angle 28mm, to a normal 50mm, through to an 80mm telephoto for portrait work. A very affordable set up, and all at Nikon/Nikkor quality. I'd definitely recommend it!

The Nikon N80 is a super camera. When I bought mine 6 months ago, the price for this package was more than $700 ... but the prices have come down significantly. Take advantage and buy this camera today!

This package offers two very high-quality Nikon lenses, to go with an excellent camera body. The camera itself offers you the ability to use manual mode, shutter-priority, or aperture-priority, or a truly stunning "program" mode. The program mode is amazing. It will let you keep moving objects in perfect focus, even if they are moving towards you, so that you get a perfect picture every time. It comes with a built-in speedlight, and offers so many features that Nikon has even developed a video to help you understand them all!

The two lenses in this package cover the complete range: 28 mm wide-angle... 50 mm normal ... 90 to 105 mm for portraits ... and up to 300 mm zoom. The low end is 28 mm because the N80's built-in speedlight is designed to provide flash coverage up to 28 mm ... anything smaller and the speedlight may not cover it.

As for the high-end, Quantaray has come out with a 2x teleconverter for Nikon autofocus cameras, that allows you to extend that 300 mm zoom all the way up to 600 mm ... perfect for nature and sports photography. The Quantaray teleconverter can be found at camera stores for around $100.00 or so ... making this a super deal, that you will love for years to come.

After I got my camera, and began using it ... my husband liked the results so much that he decided he would shelve his old Canon camera and buy an N80 too. We'd definitely recommend it!