Photo Info, Equipment & Links

Cameras - Nikons + Mamiya 7

I have used Nikons for the last 15+ years and have been very pleased with them, mainly because of reliability, sturdy construction and the feeling that Nikon has a modicum of compassion for their customers by not changing lens formats every few years (not like Canon, Minolta, etc.) - You can use an old Nikon lens on a new camera and visa versa, even, to a certain extent with APS although I haven't tried it yet.

I have a Nikon F801, a Nikon F90, various lenses from 24mm to 400mm and many accessories including the ubiquitous polariser and warm up filters.

I have had a Mamiya 7 since 1997.  Wonderful quality.  A few very minor niggles but nothing serious.  The main reason for selecting this camera was that, of all medium format cameras, this is the only one with interchangable lenses that will go in my briefcase.  The M7 together with a Cullmann Magic tripod (very small and flat when folded) and I have a very sophisticated outfit and I still have room for a file or two!   This is a necessity for a photographer running a business as a Chartered Building Surveyor.  The M7 also weighs no more than one of my Nikons.  I need to visit clients and look professional but like to carry a camera at all times, hence the M7.

It's just like an enlarged Leica, and handles like one.  It's so quiet that, in noisy conditions, it can't be heard, even by the user.  That can be a bit of a nuisance as I have occasionally not known that I've taken a frame.  The other drawback is the information display at the bottom of the viewfinder is difficult to see in bright light and my glasses make it worse.  Some people find it impossible with glasses.  All the rest of the features are great and the quality of the results is fantastic.  I love it.

Some of the scans on this site are from the 6 x 7 cm transparencies but you won't see the difference with these low resolution scans.  You really need to see the original (or a 16" x 12" + enlargement) to appreciate the quality of the lenses.  I now need to earn a few ££££'s (yes 4 figures a few times over) to buy the rest of the lenses!

Scanner - Agfa 1236S

Agfa 1236S (SCSI).  Optical resolution 600 x 1200 dpi.  36 bit.  Transparency option (A4)

All the photos on this site were scanned with this scanner, from 35mm and 6 x 7 slides.

This is a recent purchase and has proved to be very good in a number of ways.  The resolution is more than needed for web use, even from 35 mm negs/trannies but is limited for printing unless scanning larger originals.  The Twain software (Photolook) is very good, especially when scanning negatives or prints.  Most of the time the automatic settings do not need to be changed but, when they do, it is very flexible.

These are extracts from larger scans one at 600 dots per inch, the other at 1200 dots per inch, both from the Snapscan 1236.  Remember that the optical limit for the scanner is 600dpi so the 1200dpi scan is using the software interpolation.  Click the images for a larger view.  These files are small and can be downloaded easily for testing.

Another two comparisons.  They are both scans from a full 7 x 6cm Fuji Velvia transparency.  The first is a scan at 600 dpi (about 1650 pixels wide).  The second is at 1200dpi (about 3300 pixels wide).  The larger file is big, so it may take some time to download so you can click the pics or download zip files here if you would prefer 600dpi  1200dpi.  You can use them to test your printer or to see how the Snapscan performs at these two resolutions.

If you print these at 150 dpi (optimum for most colour printers, they will print out with good quality up to 275mm (11 inches) and 550mm (22 inches) respectively but you will need a lot of memory to do this.  By the way, I didn't take particular care when scanning these particular images and they are not cleaned up so if you find spots etc, I apologise.

For slides, the scanner settings generally do need tweaking (mainly to brighten up the image and restore the contrast) and for dark areas, it struggles.  However, it is much better than the software which came with a Plustek scanner (9636T) which needed constant manual adjustment (particularly for contrast) and which didn't remember any of the settings.  That was a real pain.  The Plustek had the same theoretical optical resolution but was very slightly less good at very faint detail than the Agfa.  You would have to really study the results to see the difference in resolution but you would certainly notice the difference in contrast settings.  With both on auto settings, there is no comparison!

In due course I will get a film scanner for 6 x 7 and 35 mm formats but I need to justify the ££££.

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Brian Eyley

3 The Potteries, Wickham Road, Fareham, Hampshire, UK  PO16 7ET

Phone (+44) 01329 515122  fax 515133

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Brian Eyley Photography