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RJ Emery · 08-25-2005, 09:11 AM

CompuServe many years ago had an excellent Photography Forum, to my knowledge long since defunct. I was wondering where today I might find a similar forum.

My interest is in both old (prior to 1980) film cameras (35mm and larger) and the latest digital cameras. When I speak of cameras, I mean still photo, as in Leica, Roloflex, Nikon, etc., not motion picture.

ktinkel · 08-25-2005, 09:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RJ Emery

CompuServe many years ago had an excellent Photography Forum, to my knowledge long since defunct.

The CIS Photography Forum is still running. Click the link …

RJ Emery · 08-25-2005, 11:27 AM

Kathleen,

The continued existence of the CS Photograph Forum was a surprise, but the forum appears now to be an all digital site. That will answer about half of my questions.

Is film now totally obsolete? Maybe those cameras have all gone the way of the manual typewriter, I don't know.

In any event, I am still interested in knowing about alternate photography forums.

terrie · 08-25-2005, 01:08 PM

>>rj: but the forum appears now to be an all digital site

No...I think you'll find at least one section (if not more) for film and people open to questions about film...

Terrie

curveto · 08-25-2005, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RJ Emery

CompuServe many years ago had an excellent Photography Forum, to my knowledge long since defunct. I was wondering where today I might find a similar forum.

My interest is in both old (prior to 1980) film cameras (35mm and larger) and the latest digital cameras. When I speak of cameras, I mean still photo, as in Leica, Roloflex, Nikon, etc., not motion picture.

Have you tried...

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/

or

rec.photo*

http://groups.google.com/... (or a newsreader)

Just thinking out loud,
JR

PS - Where's JC when you need him???

ElyseC · 08-25-2005, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by curveto

PS - Where's JC when you need him???

Right here and was talking about his SLRs back in Feb. in this thread.

JohnC · 09-07-2005, 08:50 AM

Sheesh! Can't take a sabbatical without being missed! I was out taking pictures.

As noted, the Photo Forum still exists. But I lost my ability to see more than three messages at a time a couple of months ago and I've pretty much dropped out of there.

Current favorite spot is photocamel.com (but like other photo sites it is mostly about digital). Still, the basics of exposure, composition, etc. are the same.

Used to like dpreview, but all it is now is arguments about why the Canon 5D doesn't have a built-in flash or why the flash synch speed is 1/200 sec.

Fredmiranda.com is also good, but I'd like to see more granularity in the forums (they have ALL Canon cameras covered in one forum).

Adobe Forums also have a photography forum (http://www.adobeforums.com/cgi-bin/webx?14@@.3bb41392) that has a mix of film and digital users (and the battles between them).

John

Quote:

Just thinking out loud,
JR

PS - Where's JC when you need him???

RJ Emery · 09-07-2005, 09:12 AM

John,

Thanks for the site referrals. My sabbatical away from photography has been more than Rip Van Winkle slept.

1) I've got old time Leicas, Nikons and Rolleis for which I could use technical advice on upgrading and minor repair.

2) I wish to get into digital photography, but I don't know what hardware would serve my needs!

---

Most of my trips are multiweek trips into wilderness areas -- no electricity and no computers for a month. I use to take up to 40 rolls of 36 exposure 35 mm film with me. If I were to purchase a digital camera, how do I go about keeping a 1,000 shots for downloading and processing when I return to civilization?

I use to bracket my exposures to be certain I captured the right lighting. Would digital cameras permit me to preview a picture just taken so I could reshoot and avoid bracketing?

Would any of the current digital cameras take my old lenses?

gary · 09-07-2005, 11:19 AM

1,000 shots - easy: you just take along enough digital "film" (CF, SD, whatever). My Canon came with a (laughable) 8MB CF; I now have a 512MB CF (~800 frames, depending) and 256MB CF (~400 frames).

Preview is what digital is about - if you don't like the result you can delete it on the spot. Or you can take all the bracketing exposures you wish.

For long trips, the KEY item would be extra rechargeable batteries.

Some of the more expensive digital cams take changeable lenses; but there is limited variation in lens mounts. I have been looking at a Nikon digital since I have an 35mm black FM and several lenses (800mm Nikkor, 180mm flat Vivatar, ...). Of course the old lenses don't support AF and other features that come with most for-digital lenses.

It's been a long time since I bought film in bulk to assure consistent exposure response...

JohnC · 09-07-2005, 11:36 AM

I did one of those sabbaticals, too. I took about 15 years off from photography, but am really back into it full-steam-ahead. I probably have more/better equipment now than when I had a studio back in the early 80s.

Your requirements are not too tough. I currently use a Canon 1DmkII. Its battery is good for 600 to 1000 shots (depends on a few factors). I carry an extra battery when on the road.

As for memory, I usually have 4 or 5 1-gig CF cards, a 2-gig CF card, and a couple of 1-gig SD cards (this camera takes both types of cards). So even shooting RAW files, I usually have enough memory for a trip.

Digital cameras do let you preview all your images. But that uses up batteries. And a few times I've thought about discarding an image from the camera only to get it open on a computer and realize that it was a good shot.

The Nikon dSLRs will probably take some of your lenses, but won't offer auto focus.

John

08-25-2005, 09:11 AM	#1
RJ Emery Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 190	Photography Forum CompuServe many years ago had an excellent Photography Forum, to my knowledge long since defunct. I was wondering where today I might find a similar forum. My interest is in both old (prior to 1980) film cameras (35mm and larger) and the latest digital cameras. When I speak of cameras, I mean still photo, as in Leica, Roloflex, Nikon, etc., not motion picture. __________________ RJ Emery, Eastern USA WordPerfect 8 User on XP Pro SP3 System Adobe Acrobat Standard version 8 OCR ScanSoft PaperPort SE v9 on Brother MFC-8840DN Printer/Scanner/Fax

08-25-2005, 11:27 AM	#3
RJ Emery Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 190	Kathleen, The continued existence of the CS Photograph Forum was a surprise, but the forum appears now to be an all digital site. That will answer about half of my questions. Is film now totally obsolete? Maybe those cameras have all gone the way of the manual typewriter, I don't know. In any event, I am still interested in knowing about alternate photography forums. __________________ RJ Emery, Eastern USA WordPerfect 8 User on XP Pro SP3 System Adobe Acrobat Standard version 8 OCR ScanSoft PaperPort SE v9 on Brother MFC-8840DN Printer/Scanner/Fax

09-07-2005, 09:12 AM	#8
RJ Emery Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 190	John, Thanks for the site referrals. My sabbatical away from photography has been more than Rip Van Winkle slept. 1) I've got old time Leicas, Nikons and Rolleis for which I could use technical advice on upgrading and minor repair. 2) I wish to get into digital photography, but I don't know what hardware would serve my needs! --- Most of my trips are multiweek trips into wilderness areas -- no electricity and no computers for a month. I use to take up to 40 rolls of 36 exposure 35 mm film with me. If I were to purchase a digital camera, how do I go about keeping a 1,000 shots for downloading and processing when I return to civilization? I use to bracket my exposures to be certain I captured the right lighting. Would digital cameras permit me to preview a picture just taken so I could reshoot and avoid bracketing? Would any of the current digital cameras take my old lenses? __________________ RJ Emery, Eastern USA WordPerfect 8 User on XP Pro SP3 System Adobe Acrobat Standard version 8 OCR ScanSoft PaperPort SE v9 on Brother MFC-8840DN Printer/Scanner/Fax

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08-25-2005, 01:08 PM	#4
terrie Staff Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 4,535	>>rj: but the forum appears now to be an all digital site No...I think you'll find at least one section (if not more) for film and people open to questions about film... Terrie

09-07-2005, 11:19 AM	#9
gary Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: In the heart of Lake Minnetonka Posts: 337	1,000 shots - easy: you just take along enough digital "film" (CF, SD, whatever). My Canon came with a (laughable) 8MB CF; I now have a 512MB CF (~800 frames, depending) and 256MB CF (~400 frames). Preview is what digital is about - if you don't like the result you can delete it on the spot. Or you can take all the bracketing exposures you wish. For long trips, the KEY item would be extra rechargeable batteries. Some of the more expensive digital cams take changeable lenses; but there is limited variation in lens mounts. I have been looking at a Nikon digital since I have an 35mm black FM and several lenses (800mm Nikkor, 180mm flat Vivatar, ...). Of course the old lenses don't support AF and other features that come with most for-digital lenses. It's been a long time since I bought film in bulk to assure consistent exposure response...

09-07-2005, 11:36 AM	#10
JohnC Staff Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 124	I did one of those sabbaticals, too. I took about 15 years off from photography, but am really back into it full-steam-ahead. I probably have more/better equipment now than when I had a studio back in the early 80s. Your requirements are not too tough. I currently use a Canon 1DmkII. Its battery is good for 600 to 1000 shots (depends on a few factors). I carry an extra battery when on the road. As for memory, I usually have 4 or 5 1-gig CF cards, a 2-gig CF card, and a couple of 1-gig SD cards (this camera takes both types of cards). So even shooting RAW files, I usually have enough memory for a trip. Digital cameras do let you preview all your images. But that uses up batteries. And a few times I've thought about discarding an image from the camera only to get it open on a computer and realize that it was a good shot. The Nikon dSLRs will probably take some of your lenses, but won't offer auto focus. John