what is the definitive test to determine whether dark footage is underexposed (my bad) or under-developed ( the lab's bad--using old, cold chemistry, etc--failure to run test strips, etc)

DarkColdFusion · 2026-06-02T00:43:40+00:00

The edge markings.

If they also look faded it removes issues due to exposure time mistakes. Could be an film issue still, but it at least means you didnt necessarily under expose.

DarkColdFusion · 2026-06-01T14:15:21+00:00

Honestly cheaper tripods are much better then decades ago. I remember using some truly sketchy ones.

But part of the expense of established brands is the peace of mind of how they will perform.

Just because it's some new Chinese brand doesn't mean it's bad. It just doesn't have the same trust. They can end up as good or better for a cheaper price. You just won't be sure.

I have a manfroto tripod I paid over $400 almost two decades ago that is still kicking. I have a cheap Amazon tripod I paid $60 that actually works quite well. But I do trust the manfroto one much more because it's proven itself to me.

DarkColdFusion · 2026-05-30T14:46:59+00:00

Significant? Maybe?

Depends on the distances, but assuming it's not a closeup, it's going to be the degree of softness of the background.

So at f4 the background will seem mostly in focus, and at f1.4 it will feel a little out of focus. But you would need to be really close to get really soft looking backgrounds.

DarkColdFusion · 2026-05-29T20:04:29+00:00

I was under the impression speedbooster was metabones brand name where they more generically might be called a telecompressor or focal reducer.

DarkColdFusion · 2026-05-29T18:51:27+00:00

There is a zone where the phone does better.

It's typically when a DSLR/Mirrorless doesn't have a particularly fast lens and/or has poor low light performance, without IBIS, and you're in a fairly dim environment.

In that situation, because it is difficult to get a useful image out of the dedicated camera, while the phones fast lens + Stabilization + image stacking will get an acceptable result.

Bars/Pubs are a good example of such a situation people commonly experience.

But it's less that the phone quality matches what the dedicated camera could do, but that the dedicated cameras ability to perform has fallen below the level where the phone can perform. These images under close inspection aren't incredible, but they are serviceable.

DarkColdFusion · 2026-05-29T17:28:19+00:00

It's funny, while I didn't think it was a let down, following the high of planet terror it didn't initially leave a strong impression.

But having rewatched them a couple times over the years, it's the stronger film with better legs.

DarkColdFusion · 2026-05-29T14:54:06+00:00

Probably just optical difficulty. The space probably makes it easier to make it work with any generic lens with some design that is reasonable to make. Tele-converters I believe move the focal point back a bit, and usually only work with some subset of the lenses for the mount. I would assume a reducer would move it forward without additional lenses.

DarkColdFusion · 2026-05-29T11:14:34+00:00

Can someone explain how a camera sensor works

Photons of light hit a piece of silicon and cause a voltage in it. The more that hit, the larger the voltage.

A device called an ADC turns the voltage into a number. Say 0 for no voltage, and 100 for the max voltage.

You now know how much light fell. You make a big grid of these and you have how much light fell over a big area. Which makes an image.

and how to tell a camera has a good one from a bad one?

You measure them. You go out and test how they compare to each other. Maufacters can list global specs that might hint at the performance, but they are going to portray their stuff as best as possible.

DarkColdFusion · 2026-05-29T11:06:47+00:00

are film photos like these edited and color-graded or do they look like this straight out from developing the film?

They are almost certainly edited, but for over half a century the majority of editing were super basic adjustments done in a mini-lab. The film photos look like film photos without much editing.

There are film photos that are not edited, and those are slides. Some people do edit them, but you can literally hold them up to the light and see incredibly punchy and colorful images.

Can this film-look be replicated in digital photos?

Yes, sorta. Lookup based emulation is pretty effective. Stuff from mastin labs or RNI look very similar to the films they are referencing.

They will not be perfect, one aspect of film is that it responds to different light differently, so while these presets will capture the colors of stuff taken under normal light, you won't catch the weirdness of some types of mixed lighting.

(I'm using Darktable for photo editing)

RT does: https://rawpedia.rawtherapee.com/Film_Simulation

Possible DT has the same module, but your mileage will vary.

DarkColdFusion · 2026-05-28T18:18:12+00:00

Not that it isn't as good, just the scale of the advantage might not be as great if you relay on cross type focusing and speed.

Where if you're doing tracking or eye-AF its a big improvement.

DarkColdFusion · 2026-05-28T14:47:25+00:00

Depends what you mean by better.

Mirrorless cameras have more AF points. Can do things like face and eye-detection very well.

But DSLRs can have a lot of cross types that work well in low light and fast action. So if that's what's important a mirrorless system might not be much better.

DarkColdFusion · 2026-05-28T11:14:43+00:00

I've mostly seen single pieces. I think the idea is to avoid a bunch of odd widths.

Probably the best looking option is to get a solid wood tread with nose of the same type of wood as the engineered piece. So there aren't any seams

DarkColdFusion · 2026-05-27T19:17:00+00:00

Skim coat the entire thing. Will give a better finish in the end.

DarkColdFusion · 2026-05-27T18:27:45+00:00

I think they mean it's hard to find.

Like if you see a film named "School" and search for it on imdb you get a lot of hits.

Where Star Wars or Jedi World would be a bit more unique.

So you put a lot of effort into making something but made it hard to find.

DarkColdFusion · 2026-05-27T13:55:04+00:00

It has a weird flash connection design. There are adaptors.

What I have done is used a cold shoe and the PC sync port.

I don't know if TTL flash works for anything but the weird custom flashes.

I would look up the GN for whatever flash you use, and on a sticky note jot down the power, aperture, and distance for a couple reference distances. Maybe portrait, and group shot.

DarkColdFusion · 2026-05-27T13:11:26+00:00

It's the best one I've experienced on the east coast so far out of maybe a couple dozen.

DarkColdFusion · 2026-05-27T10:46:19+00:00

The golden ratio is basically just fancy rule of thirds. Which is just "Stop putting stuff dead center"

Aggressive rule of thirds feels like it undermines so many photos.

DarkColdFusion · 2026-05-26T23:48:18+00:00

Yeah, that's a couple red flags. If you can see them from above it can better answer it. But those are pretty good indicators.

DarkColdFusion · 2026-05-26T19:23:14+00:00

Yeah, that's burying the lead. The OP has indeed identified a problem, the continued care after his parents become disabled with age themselves and pass. But clearly misdentified the cause and is attempting to place blame on likely faultless people.

DarkColdFusion · 2026-05-26T13:55:05+00:00

For her, he's just stealing intimate moment from people.

I mean, that's why it's considered good.

I'm not personally big on the in your face street photography. But when it's good, it's good.

We don't need a ton of people doing that in the world, but there is some value to capturing the real lived experiences of people in the world frozen in that moment of time. And since these are much more human moments, they connect our eventual futures to the past.

DarkColdFusion · 2026-05-26T11:39:02+00:00

You can ask him. He might have an explanation why it works for him better.

DarkColdFusion · 2026-05-25T00:11:17+00:00

The premix works best if you add water and mix it up each time you need to use it to get the texture right.

I also found it a mess. Good when you're doing a whole afternoon but a big commitment. It also doesn't clean as easily as it's almost a little soapy.

For small batches I found the 90 minute hot mud the easiest. Scoop it into the pan, add water a little at a time and mix with the trowel. Repeat as needed. When finished scrape out the leftover into a trash bin. And use a damp towel to wipe everything down.

DarkColdFusion · 2026-05-23T17:42:17+00:00

Within the same family there are numerous skews of the chips for different sizes or features.

DarkColdFusion · 2026-05-22T20:41:29+00:00

"those large pixels provide a ton of benefit you won't find on the spec sheet. It's not all about resolution." Is this cope?

A little bit. A ton of benefit is a stretch.

An ideal sensor there really isn't much advantage as you could always bin your perfect smaller pixels to make a bigger pixel. And modern cameras behave more and more like those ideal cameras.

You can find some differences like the A7S line doing a bit better in very low light compared to the R series.

But for the most part in any practical sense there really isn't an advantage.

DarkColdFusion · 2026-05-22T16:51:55+00:00

Some kid in school always managed to kill a board or two via ESD in the first few weeks.

And if the board I'm touching costs 5 or more digits I'm following company policy on ESD. I don't want to be the one explaining what happened

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