P3D MF Velvia Spudoscopy

[LSmart@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (Smart, Lattie MD06)]

WOW, and again I say, wow.
Now I finally got around to dev. & mounting my Velvia Sputnik slides.
Understand that my previous Spudperiences involved out-of-date EK200
or F50 in my earlier, glareful Sputnik. Viewing these new, mounted slides
through my Alan Lewis / RMM MF kit viewer was a revelation. The intense
sharpness, texture & detail are breathtaking. Composition aside, I'd dare
say these f22 @ 1 sec. close scenics are as retina-ly intense as anything
I've seen at NSA '98. I like them better than my Provia 100 Bogan-slide
shots taken with my Omega-Rapid's 58mm lens (a lens which has been
compared favorably to some Hassy lens). Now I can't wait to try portraits.
Hard to believe that this humble, bakelite beast can produce such results
(almost worth all the sore knuckles and swear-words). Maybe I just got a
model made on a good day in Worker's Paradise :-). The viewer is quite
important too - esp. when one has tried the abysmal Sputnik viewer before.

I know most of us here are 35mmers, & you can't beat the convenience
& economy of Realist format-but aren't the RESULTS all that really count?
:-)


Well, enough proselyting! My big beefs w/ using the Sputnik are:

No Filters: esp. Polarizers - that's why I've been involved in the Big Filter
discussion here.

Dinky Focus: the bright screen and little magnifier are the worst! Does anyone
know if I can efficently replace the focusing screen setup?

Smooth Windknob: I've heard someone suggest using a big, rubber band on
difficult winding knobs - any other suggestions?

Shutter range: The speeds only go down to 1/15th. It's hard for me to
cableplunge n' guesstimate any thing under 1/2 sec. Has anyone here heard
of some kind of selftimer device that can actually be set for different exposure
times on a camera's bulb mode?

thanks,

LS


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