Max wrote:Sebastien, I will try to post something, but I guess it must be in some other site, there's no way to do so here in the forum, is there?
Easy: first you have to post your pictures anywhere on the web (Flickr, PBase, etc.), then you click on "Reply" and type your message. When you want to include a picture, you click on the "Img" button on top of the reply typing box, then you paste the address of your uploaded image, then you click on "Img" again to close the IMG tag.
Max wrote:The problem is I don't have a cheap alternative to the drum scan. I do have a good 35mm scanner and some horizon pictures shot with the 50mm seem extremely well suited for scanning a central strip, great panoramic compositions. I'm thinking of cutting these to fit the 35mm scanner, and they would produce great results. Since these lack impact when seen as a 6x9 picture I'm very tempted, cause I'm not loosing a lot in image content, and being able to fine-tweak the scanning at home improves the results a lot.
Anyway, it's always hard to cut one of those chromes.
A flatbed scanner capable of scanning MF negatives can be bought for cheap. A refurbished Epson 4490 will cost you $173 if you buy direct from the constructor. It's a flatbed, so you won't get the same dynamic range as a dedicated neg scanner and the resolution will never reach the full 4800 dpi advertised, but rather something around 2000 dpi. Anyway 1600 dpi is more than enough when you work with 6x9 negatives.
Max wrote:On using slide film, I believe developing it is quite simple if you buy the chemistry, although i never tried that (i was never too much into the wet lab thing).
Chemistry for developing slides at home exists but the whole process comprises 6 different baths and requires very precise adjustment of time and temperature. It is almost mandatory to have some kind of temperature controlled film processor to use one of the E6 kits, especially in an equatorial climate as here in Brunei. Anyway, I feel a little to clumsy to be able to develop my own slides at home. I use Diafine in B&W because it allows me to develop anything at any temperature without adjusting the development time. This way, I can use my chemicals at room temperature. I probably would get better results with D76, but then I would have to chill the developer, and probably all the other chemicals used in the process, because film doesn't like temperature variations.
Cheers,
Sebastien