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Forum: General Photography
01-31-2024, 01:37 AM
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I think your results certainly do speak for themselves :) I'll probably use this weekend to get more familiar with the software, but I haven't found anything particularly wrong with it... Just perhaps not the most modern interface...
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Forum: General Photography
01-30-2024, 02:26 AM
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Wow, I love those photos! They clearly show the benefit of film. And I'm glad to hear you got a scanner.
I use the software that came with it - SilverFast 9 SE Plus. It's alright. The user interface is a little old, but there are a whole lot of options to it. Seems to be quite capable. It was a bit of work getting it installed on my M1 Mac, Nothing too bad, though.
I am also a VueScan user, and I've seen many posts suggesting it is superior to SilverFast, and frankly I can believe it. So why am I not using that instead? I have a newer model than the one they support. Your LS-9000 does appear to be supported, though, especially since you said it is older.
One thing that really impressed me - when I contacted their tech support, Ed Hamrick (the founder) personally responded. He also told me he bought the same scanner I did on Amazon. He made no promises, but the fact that he was willing to buy the scanner to support it in the future I found unusually responsive.
So... my suggestion - if you're already a VueScan user, probably worth checking that out. If not, VueScan is a great overall scanning tool, not just for photography, so it's not a bad thing to add to your collection. That said, I've had no particular issues yet with SilverFast.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
01-30-2024, 02:07 AM
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Nope - apologies for not being more specific. Both are in reference to the scanned image. The pixels size obviously is fixed, but the scanned film grain clearly wouldn't be. Therefore, a single grain could be represented by more than one pixel.
My thought was since digitally a grain is represented by more than one pixel, perhaps it would be more resilient to enlargement than the original film. I now think that's probably not the case - pixels are block-shaped, so edges would probably be worse.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
01-27-2024, 12:53 AM
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This is interesting - my original thought was that if pixels are smaller than grains, then perhaps it would be more resistant to enlargement. But it seems like the opposite might be more true - because pixels are a different shape, enlarging it probably might make it look worse instead.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
01-26-2024, 02:44 PM
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You actually answered a question I didn't ask. I think it's crazy awesome that I can scan 7200ppi, but that has to be overkill - since that's almost double what my FF camera can produce :). I think I'll drop to 3600 too...
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
01-26-2024, 12:51 PM
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Makes sense. I wonder how that fits in the calculus when it's digitized... I'm scanning these at 7200PPI (about 60MP), so I imagine the pixels are smaller than the grain...
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Forum: General Photography
01-26-2024, 11:28 AM
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Oh I am certain you're right. I chose that particular photo to compare apples to golden delicious apples. I recently started shooting film actively again - before I was just looking to scan old negatives. I was curious if my LX still worked, so I brought it out recently with some Ektar 100.
Here's a far cleaner negative of our local lady (Etna), the original and then one I passed through Topaz to clean it up some. I think it's safe to say modern tools help :)
Attachment 625359
Attachment 625360 |
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Forum: General Photography
01-26-2024, 09:31 AM
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OK, all, resurrecting an old thread - I get to do that right since I made it? Anyway, after a very long time of working with a tripod, macro lens, etc. etc. etc. I finally decided to invest in a good film scanner. Ended up with the PlusTek 8200i SE.
I just got to say I wish I did this earlier. I went midrange - it set me back about 350 euros. But it is SO worth it. The big thing you can't get from a camera option is an infrared re-scan that can find physical things on your film. This negative I scanned earlier, and it's pretty messed up, but with the dust removal - it's much better. The software seems pretty configurable too...
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
01-26-2024, 07:37 AM
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So have to admit... I'm pretty excited about the film project now - I got the photos I recently took with the LX. I decided to make life simpler for myself, so I bought a PlusTek scanner, and... voila. I love it. Got some work to do to make sure my lenses are cleaner, but I absolutely love the look of this...
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
01-17-2024, 03:36 AM
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That is very interesting! That definitely explains the higher price tag, but frankly I think it's worth it. LIDAR is used more for creating digital elevation models - of which it is king - no real competitor in the level of detail. I've long felt that it would be terrific for autofocus.
When I ran a geo shop in Hawaii, we had some difficulty creating a LIDAR elevation model in high grass, so I would imagine it would have the regular challenges with light - for glass, if it is transparent, it probably would go through, but colored it would bounce off.
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III Monochrome
01-14-2024, 02:13 PM
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That is interesting both on the art and technical sides. I particularly love the visual difference between the fish and the surrounding background in the first shot. The 3+ second handheld? Wow :)
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Forum: Pentax K-1 & K-1 II
01-11-2024, 08:46 AM
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Just as a follow-up, thank you for the great suggestion of the DFA 28-105! I'm going to shoot more with it this weekend, but it had a very unexpected benefit!
My go-to and primary telephoto for my OM-1 are the 12-40mm f/2.8 and 40-150mm f/4. One of the primary reasons for the telephoto is it's the same filter size as the 12-40mm... 62mm. And, so is the Pentax lens! So same filters, lens caps, etc.
Wasn't expecting it, but nice to have some simplicity...
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Forum: Pentax K-3 III Monochrome
01-11-2024, 04:01 AM
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
01-10-2024, 10:57 AM
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Well, to that my friend, I can only say amen and amen. I heard about the "Super Program" first, and I think only from you :)
But I get it - I have many, many fond memories of my K1000 - probably not the least because I still have it :)
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
01-10-2024, 02:17 AM
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Sounds like you built up a great film infrastructure, so I don't blame you. Those PlusTeks are nice -- I just haven't been able to justify one to this point. But maybe with the film cameras coming out. The K-1 really is a joy to shoot with, it's only the kg for the camera alone that's a bit hard on the arthritic knees...
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
01-09-2024, 02:49 PM
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It's not a bad thought at all - I have multiple film cameras - I mean, the lenses I have literally were bought for them. I ended getting the K-1 for a few reasons:
- On the digital side, I had M43 and APS-C, but nothing full-frame. Since the bulk of my FF lenses are Pentax, it made sense to look at the ecosystem.
- The residuals of film photography are significant if you think you'll shoot it regularly. Film and developing will set you back probably $10/roll. And there is no good consumer way to digitize. I use my K-1 to convert negatives.
- Some features of the K-1 are just plain neat. It really is the best way to shoot those old lenses.
But there is also something deeply satisfying about turning a film knob :) Guess I'm internally inconsistent on this... No wrong answers...
---------- Post added 01-09-24 at 03:09 PM ----------
I wish I could say it did :). The name in Japanese is バァフアウト (Baafu auto - roughly boff out-o) which is written in a script often used for foreign words, and has a sound that doesn't correspond to natural Japanese, so clearly it's a foreign term. And on the cover it says "BARFOUT! means Speak Out! Loudly."
I can only reply, no... it really doesn't. Sorry. Though I love everything about the country, the people, and frankly the photography they've given us for decades...
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
01-09-2024, 12:05 PM
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Eric, I suppose you are rather prophetic - I am certain these conversations have been had, or will be in the halls of Pentax. And frankly, it's the right one because the question - how do you bring out a modern film SLR in the 21st Century, is a crazy, ridiculously hard proposition. One that personally I believe is high reward - I believe there is an audience for a professional SLR today. If I'm (we are) right, Pentax could do really well by it - I think the same thing for a monochrome camera. If not, or if it's not done well, it's high risk. I can only imagine how much R&D will cost - aperture rings alone :)
Did I mention that's what I love about Pentax?
How many companies would go all-in on a 50-year-old mount? I mean it's one thing to not stop people from adapting, but little things - like automatic aperture on Pentax-A lenses, Catch-in-Focus, etc. Who puts out a monochrome mainstream camera in 2023? Frankly, the same company that's bringing out a film camera :)
Anyway, I know I'm talking to the choir, but that's what's crisp and exciting about this - whatever they put out.
And on Timmy Horton's... Goes to show you what happens when the Army doesn't let you live in North America for 14 years. They also had one in Kandahar Afghanistan :)
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
01-09-2024, 08:06 AM
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Thank you. I really needed that :)
They would get my money if it comes in around $800 (US -- the land of no Timmy Hortons) and does something with autofocus in something near the size of my LX. Otherwise, they may get my $1600 or whatever if the K-1 III is really amazing. If none of the above, then at least they have a fan who's still looking for ways to give them money... :)
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
01-09-2024, 07:20 AM
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Exactly :) I know film handling is something that went through a great deal of engineering over the years. Aperture control will require some engineering as modern lenses don't have an aperture ring. Personally, I hope they keep it really simple and relatively inexpensive. I know the closer it gets in price to a K-1, the less I'm going to be inclined to get it...
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
01-09-2024, 06:47 AM
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Yeah, really excellent point. I think the purpose for having a compact camera come out first is perhaps audience development. I suspect compacts have always been primarily directed to consumers, perhaps whetting the desire to a more feature packed camera.
I think we'll have to wait and see what they come up with for the SLR. To me, a K-1 that shoots to film I think would be expensive (basically all the electronics of a K-1 with physical components). I think you can easily do a "point and shoot" mode - Pentax-A techonology gives you auto-aperture, the LX has auto-shutter speed, and more modern ones can read the ISO off the film case. Add some knobs to allow manual settings, and boom you essentially have a modern LX :) Triple extra credit if you can change viewfinders :)
Edit: I think the hard one is auto-focus. Frankly, I think an "it just works" would be fine - i.e. no user interface, just hold down the button halfway, and it focuses. Obviously that would be no where near as feature-full as any modern DSLR, but it would be easy (well -er).
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
01-09-2024, 01:59 AM
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Doesn't sound like a bad plan, unfortunately I don't think anyone from the actual companies visits any of these fan sites. Hopefully this is more than an instamatic, though :)
West suburbs of Cleveland? That's awesome... I'm technically a native Elyrian -- just left when I was 9...
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
01-08-2024, 09:08 AM
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I would be very happy if God granted you another forty years! I am a generation behind you but would love to have a great film camera to pass on to my children or grandchildren, as my father left me his.
I think we all agree Pentax is a great camera manufacturer. Hopefully, all this effort will re-invigorate the industry to more than just megapixels...
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
01-08-2024, 07:34 AM
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Yeah, excellent point. The flip side of that is every film camera I currently have will break at some point with an uneconomical repair - pretty sure one of my LXs is broken already. So maybe a new film camera will break that cycle anyway. But cost is a factor - it'll be interesting to see what the price point on these are.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
01-08-2024, 01:24 AM
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Yeah, I hear you. It would be really nice to know what they intend for these, and whether those plans have changed. On the one hand, a film camera with modern autofocus - how cool would that be? On the other hand, even an LX Mark II would be a win - compared to a K-1, the LX is super light, and to actually be repairable - bonus! :)
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
01-08-2024, 12:20 AM
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Amen and amen. The backwards and forwards compatibility of the K-Mount is probably my single most favorite thing about Pentax. I mean - the fact that my LX can take my -A and -F* lenses shows Pentax's commitment to the mount.
I just can't get over the big if -- if they get an SLR working with fast, modern, auto-focus, that to me is a game changer. And with you on the repairability - for all these old cameras, they work until they don't. It would certainly be worth it to me just for that...
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