P3D Re: Mark's New FED challenge

[Mark Shields <beamsplitter@xxxxxxxx>]

George, and all,

This particular FED I got at something like half price
because, among other things, the autoexposure doesn't
work. Most of my slide subjects _move_ and are impatient
to get the picture over with. So, autoexposure is a must
for me.

I also find that auto is a big film saver--my Olympus OM-10
gives highly accurate autoexposures, and the Nimslo is no
slouch, either, despite one bad roll. I almost always rely
on them for correct exposure and don't bracket, and they
almost always come across for me. This is for slides.

It is also true as far as I can determine that the FED's
trapped-needle autoexposure, when it is working, is not
accurate over its whole range--it bottoms out at 1/30 and
f/2.8 by specification anyway. I also get the picture that
the trapped needle often bends and makes things worse.
My own trapped needle does move--the battery and meter cell
are working, but something inside stops the needle from moving
very far. I am going to carefully explore how I might fix it.
But I don't expect it to be a camera that will yield consistently
accurate autoexposure (one shot only) for slides. I think one
in good condition might be fine for autoexposure with a +1
and -1 bracket. That would use up a lot of film. I think I
probably use less film than most other people on this list--
_definitely_ less than you, Dr. T!  :-)  I just can't afford
it. In fact, I recently posted to the Kodachrome list that
I use only about two dozen rolls a _year_.

I can and will dream that I can get the autoexposure system
working perfectly, or that some day I can afford a brand new
FED BOY, and it will be right on for slides. But not yet.

Meanwhile, I'll try some experimental stuff with the FED and
slides--at least one roll of Kodachrome just to try it out.
(Sorry--I don't consider Ektachrome Elite II 50 to be a
definitive test of its slide performance!)

As for the stereo cards, it's certainly inconvenient to view
those huge pairs from the FED--yes, pairs from the beamsplitter
are a very handy size, and I have some of those--drop right
into the Loreo viewer. But the FED pairs are so nice and big,
and in a few minutes I hope to be meeting Mark Dottle and
checking out his View-Magic viewer--no distortion, etc., etc.
These big pairs are basically a by-product of yearbook photography.
When the prints come back, there are three choices: (1) crop
them and make them Loreo-size for printing in the book (2) use
one whole print and put it in the book as a flat shot (3) keep the
pair to view with the View-Magic, just for fun (they can't all go
in the book anyway). I shoot these fast--kids move quickly--and
have to take what I can get in a hurry, then decide later. It's
kind of like B&W shooting with a Rolleiflex or something like
that--get big pictures and crop them if you need to. I do have
a line on a used View-Magic and hope to get it.

Mark

  |\       _,,,---,,_         |\	_,,,---,,_     
  / ,`.'`'    -.  ;-;;,_      /,`.-'`'    -.   ;-;;,_ 
 | ,4- ) )-,_..; \ ( `'-'    |,4-  ) )-,_..;\ (   `'-'
'---''(_/--'  `-` \_)       '---''(_/--'  `-'\_)
beamsplitter@xxxxxxxx
http://www.stmattpitt.org
"Let the little children come to Me," Jesus said, "and don't keep
 them away. The kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
  -Matthew 19:14


___________________________________________________________________
Get the Internet just the way you want it.
Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month!
Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj.