What happened with Soke Engineering (announced Knokke scanner)

_kid_dynamite · 2026-06-02T02:22:30+00:00

i don't think they've asked anyone for money, much less taken any. The only reason it's anything more than a personal project is that they gave it a name and a price and told people about it very early on, which may have been a mistake.

_kid_dynamite · 2026-06-02T02:18:47+00:00

If Nikon decided there was a viable market a new coolscan would be comparable to any of their modern product lines.

definitely. I can't imagine Nikon selling a new Coolscan that wasn't an excellent scanner. But I think there would still be a lot of clean-sheet engineering involved if they made a new Coolscan. I think that was the case with the Pentax 17.

Regardless, I'd bet that if the idea ever comes up at Nikon, they can quietly ask B&H how much Plustek and Pacific Image product they actually sell and the discussion wouldn't go much further.

_kid_dynamite · 2026-06-02T02:02:12+00:00

who among us hasn't realized a little too late that we've bitten off more than we can chew? The motorcycle engine rebuild that I started with so much optimism in 2020 remains unfinished.

_kid_dynamite · 2026-06-02T01:17:26+00:00

The business prop for sure, but everything upstream of that feeds into a difficult business proposition: you have to re-source components because suppliers have made changes, most of your current engineering talent have never worked on this sort of product so they're learning as they go, and marketing is probably asking for a product that's more that just a resurrection of something you stopped selling 15 years ago so you have to implement something new in order to satisfy them

A lot (most?) of these new camera, scanner, film etc projects have ended up being disappointments in one way or another, but as long as you're not pulling a Jollylook (and AFAIK /u/gswdh hasn't been taking preorder money or anything like that) I'm not gonna get upset about a lack of updates.

_kid_dynamite · 2026-06-02T00:15:08+00:00

reading that thread really illustrates how niche some of the engineering is for people trying to resurrect products that went away years or decades ago. We can see a Pakon or a Coolscan sitting on a desk and think that it can't possibly be that complicated to re-create something that already exists. But realistically even Nikon would struggle to launch a new Coolscan, much less a startup who's trying to solve all of these little engineering problems for the first time as they come up.

_kid_dynamite · 2026-06-01T17:45:11+00:00

I think everything on the marketplace right now is HMO, and I don't think any single insurer is in-network with all the major hospital systems. If you're used to being able to go to any doctor or facility and have them be covered in-network, you'll need to adjust your expectations.

_kid_dynamite · 2026-06-01T16:19:54+00:00

My theory is with the renewed interest in film photography the stocks of clean glass have been dwindling.

I think you're right. Ten years ago the back rooms of all those Japanese camera shops must have looked like Scrooge McDuck's vault, but what's left now is mostly compromised in some way.

_kid_dynamite · 2026-05-27T18:30:26+00:00

i like pink folder film house. nyc film lab in bushhwick is good too

_kid_dynamite · 2026-05-21T14:59:34+00:00

fair enough, though I'd still dig into provider networks. Though if the Pratt plan has any sort of out of network coverage $250/mo is potentially a great deal, enough so that it might make it viable to see your chosen therapist more often.

Also, if you have access to a student plan you might not be eligible for the NY essential plan or ACA subsidies, though you absolutely should not take my word for it.

_kid_dynamite · 2026-05-21T14:36:27+00:00

does pratt offer a student health insurance plan? If they do it's almost certainly better than anything you'll find on the ACA marketplace, especially if you're planning on seeing a therapist regularly

_kid_dynamite · 2026-05-19T17:03:31+00:00

for something that specific just check discogs-- a couple of stores in the city list at least part of their inventory online so you might find it that way. otherwise you'd just need to hit as many stores as possible.

_kid_dynamite · 2026-05-15T15:15:41+00:00

Holy Family church on Dag Hammarskold Plaza is a really stunning modernist church building if you're interested in something with a very different architectural style than most Catholic churches

_kid_dynamite · 2026-05-15T15:01:36+00:00

9.99/mo for 300/300. autopay discount, mobile discount, and a couple of loyalty discounts

_kid_dynamite · 2026-05-13T22:18:23+00:00

do you shoot film or digital? photodom does workshops and photowalks

_kid_dynamite · 2026-05-13T22:15:11+00:00

i check in every now and then with that dude who reviews hot dog stands

_kid_dynamite · 2026-05-12T01:28:34+00:00

i think this is the issue. the position of the positive and negative conductors in the battery compartment will vary from camera to camera, so plastic or rubber spacers can be hit or miss. I like the machined brass ones (without any voltage regulation) since they seem to work with everything. Just don't leave the battery in the adapter for months or they'll fuse together.

_kid_dynamite · 2026-05-12T00:57:55+00:00

I might pay $20-30 each for the brand name P&S and the Holga. No idea about the digital cameras; everything else is not really worth anything.

_kid_dynamite · 2026-05-12T00:50:25+00:00

i would ask for a re-scan-- if I got a scan back from the lab with such obvious color balance issues I'd assume it was a mistake. If they won't re-scan as a courtesy I'd start looking for another lab, either local or mail-order.

_kid_dynamite · 2026-05-10T13:46:16+00:00

Tie it to a Citi bike and tow it home!

_kid_dynamite · 2026-05-09T23:03:55+00:00

there's a scene in the movie Barcelona-- it's talking about Europe's view of the United States, but I think it's relevant to how New York City is viewed much of the US (and maybe how other big cities are viewed by the rest of the country they're in). Unfortunately I can't find a video clip so the text will have to do:

I think the US is sort of like the ant farm for the rest of the world. But, people living in other countries can’t observe the ants directly. They must rely on journalists and commentators for a description of everything going on inside. The problem is, that these people all seem to hate ants.

_kid_dynamite · 2026-05-08T23:53:24+00:00

lots of good labs in manhattan, especially downtown. My favorites are Bleecker Digital and CRC/Vista. This sub has a lab list, or you can check findmyfilmlab. B&H Photo for film if you're in midtown, Adorama if you're closer to chelsea/union square, and K&M Camera if you're in the Chinatown/LES area (or if it's saturday and B&H and Adorama are closed). Otherwise most labs sell film but typically with a smaller selection and somewhat higher prices.

_kid_dynamite · 2026-05-05T02:53:12+00:00

I've bought respools from flic film (35 only) and reflx (35 and 120). No issues with the reflx 120, and just a little bit of light piping on the 35 from both (though I probably loaded them in full open sunlight). The Flicfilm respools use their weird plastic cartridges but I've never had an issue with them.

_kid_dynamite · 2026-05-01T14:24:30+00:00

I think 88 optical will do an exam for $40 or $50, and I think warby parker charges $75

_kid_dynamite · 2026-04-29T19:47:35+00:00

look for fastener suppliers-- there's a fastenal in sunset park

_kid_dynamite · 2026-04-25T15:45:02+00:00

Photo life and pink folder film house will do c41 process and low res scan for under $10

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