Plastic lens BODY....glass optics. they are good lenses, just a lot lighter and less durable then the others. I believe they are a bit cheaper$$$ too. The only one I ever actually used was on an N-70, and I believe it had an aperature ring as well. Just DON'T drop 'em

I've done it.... Hope you like "grain". It can be used to an extent for certain images though. My printer was printing at 720x720 dpi. I made 4x5 "negatives" It was pretty comparable to a bad digital print. and more expensive. for an 8x10 print. worth a try though. let us hear about your results.

SueO...Another one to steer clear of is "Doing Documentary Work" by Robert Coles. A real snoozer.... Currently working on the non-photo related complete works of H.G. Wells, and the employment section of the paper.

Sometimes I even use a pen. I will always try to keep a detailed exposure log of each image I am shooting. n+1, n-2, n-this and n-that. detail here, shutter speeds, iso,etc. then again, I am sort of a zone geek. Too much Adams, Sexton, Cunningham and Weston on the brain I suppose.....

DO NOT BUY A FLATBED WITH A TRANSPARENCY UNIT. I thought this would be the way to go (since I personally use 3 different film formats...35, Medium, and 4x5). so I bought an epson expression 636 with TPU.(worst purchase decision I have made in a long time) You will be SO disappointed with the results, and the resulting "noise" and lack of sharpness from these types of scans makes your images almost unuseable. To my knowledge, there are no desktop scanners that will do 4x5 film... Almost all desktop film scanners do APS(BOOOOO) and 35mm. There are a few that will now go up to medium format (120 film) Minolta, and Nikon both make models that I know of, but they cost around 3000$US.(new) There are some new desktop "drum" scanners ($$$$$) but even these will only handle up to medium format. So I guess what I'm saying is...If you don't shoot medium format, then you have LOTS of choices for affordable 35mm film scanners. And If you do get a large format camera, you are better off taking your images to get scanned by pros. (I don't reccommend EVER sending your original negs/slides anywhere...photoCDs,etc. Try to get involved in the process.) Just remember..If you want to scan film and slides, get a FILM scanner.

it is impossible to enlarge a raster image (gif, jpg, etc.) without loosing quality. if it were a vector image (eps, ai, freehand?) then it is possible to scale it without the loss in quality. raster is pixel based and used to display photographic images etc. vector is all mathematical and used for line art and such. you could try to run your image through a raster to vector conversion program like Adobe streamline or Corel trace, but then you would still loose certain aspects of detail.

Cool site... Be VERY careful when choosing a Graflex Super Speed Graphic, or similar "press camera". They are GREAT cameras IF they are in very good condition. But when they start to fall apart it goes very rapidly and can be next to impossible to use. (Stripped threads, bent clips, choppy focusing movements, etc.) I guess that goes for any camera though. I had one for a while, but then it crumbled. It wasn't really worth the time or money to fix it, so I just kept the lens and bought a "field" camera. I like the "field" type of camera better, they have a wider range of movements, and way more control than the really heavy press cameras. I think my graflex weighed around 6 lbs. My field camera weighs in at around 3-4 lbs. (both are 4x5's) either way I say you should go ahead and get into large format. It gets one to really slow down and concentrate on exposure and composition. really improving ones photography. (once you learn all the controls of course) Great time to learn the Zone System too.

They (PBS) also puts up an address at the end of their shows where "educators" can send away for vhs tapes of the program. They usually go for around 20$ U.S. check www.pbs.org although it probably won't be available until after it airs. I'll put up the info when it is available, for those who are interested.

Oops, bad style on that BBC line.... Didn't even cross my mind when I wrote that....that's why I'm a photographer and not a writer. My sincere condolences too...

oh yeah....sorry, I figured that PBS (Public Broadcasting) would have some international affiliates or something.... If anyone has satellite T.V. then you can get it on telstar304. Maybe the BBC will air it too hahahah.

Good shot...... Funny thing is almost all CD's will be "coasters" after about 10 years. They really need to work on an archival medium... but that is beside the point.

be sure you add your file extentions.... .jpg,.gif,.wma,.psd,....etc. ALL image files WITH the proper extensions ARE cross platform and should be able to be viewed by anyone with a simple graphics program...even explorer. .psd, .ai (and those corel files) are a different story... these sometimes will not be viewable by software that cannot read files with multiple layers. BUT...QUICKTIME will open everything. even layered files...for me at least.

Hi everyone....freezing my ass off in Montana surfing using a 28.8k modem....weeeeeee! Ansel Adams is my personal photographic Hero...Slynky, I know A LOT of people who don't really care for Ansels work...or landscape photography for that matter....oh well each to his/her own.....It's a broad field out there. Galen Rowell is also extremely talented....used to be an auto mechanic. I had the pleasure of meeting him a few summers ago. Very nice and VERY helpful. Got myself a signed copy of "Mountain Light" and a full days worth of tips, techniques, and other helpful information. He produces,IMO, some of the most dramatic 35mm color landscapes out there. I reccommend checking out his work, if you ever get the chance. Oh yeah...Ansel wasn't just a landscape photographer....he has taken some really nice portraits too. And his work from the Manzanar Japanese relocation camp during the war are VERY powerful. Check out John Sexton too.

........damn tahtsss good beeer.

....serioiusly though, congrats man. Sounds pretty cool. I had a friend (haha) that turned in 2 GIANT glass abstracts/photo montage type deal?? ( you'd have to see it to understand what I'm talking about) totally awkward and sharp....but very cool. ....your story triggered a memory.....