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Simon Lucas

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  1. Simon Lucas
    I have been looking at shooting some Super 8 for the first time in ages. I noticed that even b&w Super 8 film is now very expensive. I have a reloadable cartridge and want to load my own. But where do people who still load their own cartridges buy cans of super 8 these days? I can see none.
  2. Simon Lucas
    Stunning piece of work. I'm impressed by the sheer quality workmanship and attention to detail. Personally, I got my stepper all rigged up and working at xmas, but then I stalled when it came to designing the LED light source. Would you be willing to share more detail about how you did that?
  3. Simon Lucas
    Josh - thanks for your input. I now have a basic mechanical system working - without the light and optics. A lot of it was inspired by your posts, along with some ideas from carl Hooper. I certainly got the motor spec from you and perhaps the idea of the photo-diode. Here's the initial build. Here's the one with the LED and photodiode that gives feedback to the Arduino. I'm now thinking about the light source. I was going to run an LED off the Arduino but I had no idea that LEDs could be so complex - with power ratings, current draw and heat dissipation important considerations. Also round LEDs and flat LEDs that affect the evenness of the light. I presume that with monochrome the key factors are brightness and evenness. I have seen LEDs which have lenses and wonder whether this could contribute to an even light distribution? I found these Luxeon LED assemblies, and I'm currently wondering whether they might be a good solution... http://www.luxeonstar.com/4000k-sinkpad-25mm-round-rebel-plus-led
  4. Simon Lucas
    There's a really bad Star Wars joke in there somewhere. Luckily, I can't think what it is.
  5. Simon Lucas
    Freya. Everything I have just read about your camera seems to say that is a good camera. It does sound like it is worth persevering with. I'm not clear what the problem is apart from the battery compartment taking some time work out. Perhaps the battery compartment is quirky. That's not unusual. To put it in context, the battery compartment on the Leicina Special is very bad. It also uses 5 batteries which threaten to fall out until the rubberised cover is on. The body of this camera has small brass pins to connect to the battery compartment that do not look like they will make good contact. But then it is also a great camera. Questions: Is the camera working when you have the batteries in? If not are the contacts all clean? I recommend a small ink rubber to clean them. Silly question, but are all the batteries the way round? (Hard to work out at times with the Leicina) How about sharing some photos of the holder? To check if there is a part missing? And when it is working I recommend buying 2 sets of 4 Eneloop batteries. They are the best rechargeables on the market
  6. Simon Lucas
    Carl, I hope this reaches you before you make any measurements for me. I have found and bought a stepper. It has Holding Torque 90N.cm, Detente Torque 3.5N.cm 2A/Phase. I think it will enough. I have found a £5 Eumig 502 projector and taken out the motor. I am planning how to mount the motor, feedback unit and LED light. I hope to get this built over the holiday period. Thanks for you input.
  7. Simon Lucas
    I never thought about using a feedback system – I assumed this was used by those who were using continuous motors. That sounds much more reliable and free from creeping error. That's really cleared up an area of mystery for me! Thank-you.
  8. Simon Lucas
    Carl. Thank-you for your help - I'd appreciate it if you can find time. Did you find the Elmo OK for converting? And do you think it is possible to remove and enlarge the aperture in the gate?
  9. Simon Lucas
    Carl, thanks for the very precise explanation of how to do this. In the UK force guages seem to be hundreds of pounds, sterling. I can look out for a sub- £20 gauge but perhaps there is another way. You could tell me what the torgue was that you needed in your elmo, and I use that as a 'rule of thumb' when guessing what to buy :) Steppers are in the range of £12-20 with a holding torque of 1Kg/cm. I'm not sure which torque measurement counts for this job but I would guess its the 'pull-out' torque. In the case of one I am looking at it has a 'pull-out' torque of between 300 and 500 g/cm.
  10. Simon Lucas
    Contact print from Tri-X neg.
  11. Simon Lucas
    I wanted to see if I could reasonable results pushing Tri-X for indoor shooting. Push processed Tri-X. 11 mins D19. Taking in as RAW and then levelled to even out the 4 variant images. First levelled versions, then unprocessed. Tungsten lighting.
  12. Simon Lucas
    I'm on the cusp of buying the kit I need to convert a Super 8 projector for scanning. I will either cannibalise my nice old Bolex (slightly reluctantly) or buy a cheap ELMO, or something similar. But assuming that the requirements for the motor will be similar across projectors, I wonder what torque I might need? And I can use a 200 step motor or would I need the more expensive 400 step motor for greater accuracy? Thanks for any advice.
  13. Simon Lucas
    Hi Phil, I suppose the point of what I am doing is to show that, with negative processing almost anything can be made to work, if the image is going to be scanned and adjusted through PP. Reversal is less forgiving in terms of first developers. For me the acute flatter Rodinal is as satisfying as the more contrasty but less sharp HC110 or D19.
  14. Simon Lucas
    Thanks Rudi, I have thought about it. I've never blogged. If it might help others, I thought it could be a good thing.
  15. Simon Lucas
    Rudy, I enjoyed your post. I checked out the Spanish service you mentioned, Ocho Y Pico. They have a nice page of films they have scanned. And inspiring. http://ochoypico.com/en/our-works/
  16. Simon Lucas
    Here's some TX, rated at 100asa, processed in D19. Photographer's Formulary D19 suggests times starting at 9 minutes* for this very active developer. But the 9 minutes which I started with gives very dense negs, so I eventually worked down to a potentially adequate 3.5 minutes. All are usable with adjustment in photoshop. The longer times give more contrast, although the dense 9 minutes neg has become very grainy and requires considerable adjustment. I think the main difference between this developer and the HC110 or APH09 developed films is a large increase in overall contrast, with much better blacks in the neg. (*I wonder whether the 9m starting times are aimed at reversal processing?) 9 minutes: 6.5 minutes: 4.5 minutes: 3.5 minutes:
  17. Simon Lucas
    Here is Pan-X nominally rated at 80asa. Processed in D19. 3.5m. The rating of the film at 80asa is probably superficial claim given the manual control in the Nizo cameras, and I have yet to try it at a full stop higher.
  18. Simon Lucas
    thanks - I suddenly realised. Sounds cheaper to get it scanned, or make your own scanner. (As you can probably testify, Josh)
  19. Simon Lucas
    I do have a full-size Lomo, but at the moment am running small strips . I usually shoot 7 secs of film in a re-usable cartridge and chop off 5" to develop in a 35mm stainless tank. This makes it easy to tune my results before risking my work-in-progress film, being shot on a full reel. So far I have used APH09, HC110 and D19. Developing to negative makes it more possible for me and like you I'm much more at home doing simple B&W processing. I enjoy it. With regards the end result, I think it is around £12 + VAT to get a cart scanned in the UK. I will build my own scanner later. When you say 'Retro 8' do you mean transfered from negative to positive?
  20. Simon Lucas
    I've used Super8 in NL, but there is a new one in the UK called Guage Films, set up by a young couple in Dudley. They sell, develop, scan and run workshops. I'd like to try them.
  21. Simon Lucas
    Paypal are very good at disputes. Obviously you want to get your films back, but I think he'll sit up and take notice, once you open a dispute.
  22. Simon Lucas
    Have you just tried phoning? Or go to the shop? from their website: 07971 069263 from google: 020-3016- 2039
  23. Simon Lucas
    Doesn't the 814 feature exposure compensation, too? Wouldn't help with any worries about over or under exposing? I'm also not clear why your camera won't go into manual mode. You've pressed the centre button in before trying to turn to manual? Or is it broken?
  24. Simon Lucas
    thank-you
  25. Simon Lucas
    Sorry - who is the administrator for this forum? I'm confused.
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