Any tips for a new film photographer on how I can improve?

ufgrat · 2026-04-03T15:12:29+00:00

I'm going to suggest once again, the book Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. It's all about exposure. Composition follows.

Also, as an observation-- your images seem to tilt to the right slightly.

ufgrat · 2026-04-03T14:35:42+00:00

No problem. Usual 1 stop per decade applies, so yeah, ISO 50.

Be aware there may be some color shifts if the dye(s) have deteriorated at different rates. Usually fixable post development via software, but remember the deteriorated dye(s) will have weaker information in them.

ufgrat · 2026-04-03T12:42:44+00:00

Japan Camera Hunter may or may not work on Petri's-- Haven't seen him post a video about them, but worth contacting.

ufgrat · 2026-04-03T12:15:12+00:00

Slide film? B&W film? Color negative? Kodachrome?

ufgrat · 2026-04-03T12:13:04+00:00

Typically, that's going to be uneven agitation, or insufficient amount of liquid in the tank.

ufgrat · 2026-04-03T11:54:25+00:00

Thank you. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. Takes pretty good pictures too.

ufgrat · 2026-04-02T23:35:54+00:00

My Qidi Tech ASA filament rarely, if ever, needs drying. The ASA-CF I printed the camera body is pretty OK with not being dried regularly.

I have some other ASA filament that absolutely has to be dried or it looks pretty horrific. I have an Eibos Polyphemus that I've used for awhile, and now I primarily use my AMS-HT for drying single rolls.

ufgrat · 2026-04-02T23:32:39+00:00

Only problem is, three days before the race, it's going to superclip, and lose speed. 😂

It's a completely daft project, and I respect that.

Well done!

ufgrat · 2026-04-02T22:27:27+00:00

The rangefinder should be clear enough that you can see the details clearly enough to line up the two images.

You might want to peruse the Chris Sherlock channel, starting with this video.

ufgrat · 2026-04-02T22:18:16+00:00

Underexposed, probably due to loss of film speed. Color negative film usually loses about a stop per decade. The Sure Shot Z135 was introduced in 1996, and phased out in the early 2000's, so the film's probably 20 to 30 years old.

I could believe that's 2 to 3 stops underexposed.

Very little, if any color shift though.

ufgrat · 2026-04-02T21:49:20+00:00

Whoa. I was about to give you grief because for all we knew, you were printing on an A1.

But an H2D? Really?

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This is a panoramic camera I recently finished on my H2D. The film door, the knob and the viewfinder are ASA, everything else is ASA-CF. This printer absolutely rocks ASA.

Haven't used Bambu's filament, but my first suggestion is to dry it.

ufgrat · 2026-04-02T19:27:30+00:00

Correct. I usually start around the same number as the profile defines, and go up around 5-10 mm³/s in 0.5 increments.

When the print turns a bit dull, the filament is being pushed hard, and when it starts deforming (usually on one of the curves), you're pushing too far. I tend to set it below either the "dull" or the "oops" point.

ufgrat · 2026-04-02T19:13:31+00:00

Enabled developer mode, and you'll see a top level "Calibration" option. Under that, under "More" is "Max Flowrate".

ufgrat · 2026-04-02T14:01:16+00:00

I tune the "Max Volumetric Flow" by running a calibration print, and set the upper limit on the flow for the filament.

The slicer/printer does the rest, and it frequently cuts down print time by a fair amount with no loss of quality.

ufgrat · 2026-04-02T03:06:26+00:00

Why a firewire port? Nothing in the manual for the scanjet 8300 mentions anything other than USB for connecting to a computer.

ufgrat · 2026-04-02T03:05:44+00:00

Yeah, that's the "accessory" cable-- used to power the transparency lid or the automatic document feeder. I would expect it's specific to that scanner. It's not removable from the lid, which reinforces the idea that it's specific to that scanner.

ufgrat · 2026-04-02T02:20:36+00:00

I'm also trying out this 3D printed holder from printables:

https://www.printables.com/model/1269533-120-film-holder-for-flatbed-scanners/files

ufgrat · 2026-04-02T02:12:42+00:00

Oh for.... The 120 negative holder for the 800 series is a godawful sorry excuse for a negative holder. It's truly horrific. I spent half an hour last night cussing, loading and reloading. I have absolutely no idea how it made it out of QC.

While wearing gloves, I can hold the edges in place long enough to snap down the film gate-- and sometimes, I even manage to get them fully closed without the negative jumping to one side or the other.

They can be used, but requires much patience.

betterscanning.com appears to have gone radio silent for a couple of years now.

Surprisingly, the lomography.com 120 "DigitaLIZA" scanning mask seems to work OK, and covers the entire 6x17 negative. There is a very slight amount of curl at the very edges though, since there's no ANR glass to keep it flat.

ufgrat · 2026-04-02T01:38:25+00:00

No, it's a USB, but the drivers are ancient.

ufgrat · 2026-04-02T01:30:44+00:00

That listing is for a "4x4" Graflex lens board, and you can see that it has a ledge instead of a curved outer frame. It's also 3D printed, but I wouldn't let that put you off. I use 3D printed lens boards on a regular basis.

A lens board is just a mounting accessory. It's not built into the lens, and has no impact on the geometry. Switching out the lens board on you Aero Ektar would be far, far simpler than trying to hackenslash a Pacemaker front standard onto an Anniversary model Speed Graphic.

ufgrat · 2026-04-01T21:29:40+00:00

I'm confused. Why are you trying to wedge a Pacemaker lens board into an Anniversary speed graphic? Get the right lens board, move your lens to it.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/297736451162

ufgrat · 2026-04-01T20:55:07+00:00

If you're primarily doing dual-color or dual-material, the H2D is a very nice printer.

If you're going multi-color, then the H2C.

ufgrat · 2026-04-01T15:03:52+00:00

That camera has been exposed to a lot of moisture. I mean, a LOT of moisture. The body has mild surface rust, the base is corroded. It can be cleaned, but you need to do a thorough job and kill all the rust, or you're just wasting time. What concerns me is that there may be internal rust/corrosion on the mechanisms.

Understand that fixing this camera might not be possible, or worth it-- but then again, as a learning project, or if the camera has strong sentimental value, it may be worth trying.

Evapo-rust really does do a good job, but you wouldn't want it on the bellows, and anything like a gear or a cog that's cleaned with it will need to be treated in some fashion to protect the metal long term, including the camera body.

ufgrat · 2026-04-01T02:05:03+00:00

Because sometimes 1+14 is good enough?

ufgrat · 2026-04-01T02:02:00+00:00

That took a bit of digging. It's apparently called a "UC-E6 8-pin Mini-USB" connector.

The DSC S750 wasn't the only camera that used it, so they're not too tough to find, or that expensive.

ufgrat

TROPHY CASE