Daniel D. Teoli Jr.

That is a beautiful focus rack Robert! I hate adjusting the Retroscan. It is very course.

Was at the post office last week. As an old dumpster diver I always survey the trash for items that may be useful to the Archive. Well, someone had trashed a fresh copy of a heavy equipment catalog. And most important...it had a lot of used prices in it. Sometimes I found commercial catalogs like this but no prices. I like the prices for the historical record. Took it home, sliced off the binding with the guillotine cutter, ran it through the sheet-fed scanner, uploaded to the I.A. and boom...an instant heavy equipment archive! Heavy Equipment Archive July 2022 : D. D. Teoli Jr. A. C. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Pretty interesting stuff. The machines are not graded by miles, like vehicles. They are graded by work hours. Too bad all my archival work can't be so cheap and easy!

Beta is tough. I got one Betamax player left. When it goes, I won't do Beta anymore. It is hell to find good ones on eBay. VHS players are not an issue. One went out a few months ago but still have 3 good VHS VCR's. Always have a supply of junk tapes to test new acquisitions. One eBayer ate my tape. Not the first time either. I ran out of space long ago. Closed down one storage locker, a few years ago to cut back on rent. Contacted numerous special collection libraries to donate VHS and Beta...no takers. They had zero interest. I ended up leaving them after I moved out. Hopefully some picker got them and will redistribute on eBay. I had digitized them to M-Disc, so they are archived. Also, hi res scans of the boxes and tapes. Space is at a premium. Most were adult oriented from the transition grindhouse 16mm and 35mm to VHS in the early '80's. That is the specialty of my VHS Archive. I had a large collection of VHS and Beta I started in the mid 80's. It got destroyed in a flood in Ohio in '01. I had to rebuild the VHS Archive after that. But I didn't bother much with the Beta, concentrated mainly on the VHS. I did pretty good, but I could not replace a lot of the obscure tapes.

VHS collectors seem to be neater than the film collectors. (Well, some of them anyway.) Look at that crazy gamer computer. Hate em! This collector recreated a video store! Sadly, all in storage now due to a divorce. Photos: Internet - Fair Use

Every Saturday Night (1936) Educating Father (1936) Back to Nature (1936) Off to the Races (1937) Big Business (1937) Hot Water (working title "Too Much Limelight"[1]) (1937) Borrowing Trouble (1937) Love on a Budget (1938) A Trip to Paris (1938) Safety in Numbers (1938) Down on the Farm (1938) Everybody's Baby (1939) The Jones Family in Hollywood (1939) Quick Millions (1939) Too Busy to Work (1939) Young as You Feel (1940) On Their Own (1940) List of Jones Family films I got introduced to them from a 2-reel 16mm film I picked up on eBay years ago. Up to that point I didn't collect any feature films in the Cine' Film Archive. But one of the Jones movies came up for $25. I looked them up as I had never heard of them. The Jones Family DVD's were pretty obscure and pricey. About $20 with the shipping for a 'R-' DVD. Even then you could only find 2 or 3 of their movies ever put on DVD. So, I figured I'd pay $5 extra and buy the film instead of a DVD. For $25 I could see what the Jones Family was about and also get into feature films as a bonus. I never got into feature films as part of the Cine' Film Archive. Oh, maybe a few W.C. Fields and silent film shorts. But feature films are for the big boys. They require lots of $$ and space. Most of my Archive are single reel shorts. Plus, I prefer to watch restored features on DVD or Blu-ray instead of scratched up / faded 16mm. I am always fascinated with this time capsule material. Too bad they didn't put the whole series on a DVD collection. Years later I've only been able to track down a handful of them on DVD. <><><><> 16mm Aluminum Splicing Block Photo: D.D.Teoli Jr.

Another thing to consider Tyler is this... In the wet darkroom, for optimum optical performance, we would use the next larger size enlarging lens for max sharpness. A lens is sharpest in the center. You have much less chromatic and spherical aberrations in the center. So instead of using a 50mm lens for 35mm coverage we used a 75mm or 80mm lens. For you, you would need to adjust the extension rings to make it all work. Just use real extension rings and no adapters with a magnifier element in it. As I said...start a blog on it...good advertising to spread your name around. "Making the HDS+ work!"

I've heard of the term rogue's gallery but didn't know what it was. eBay Photo: Fair Use Photo titled: Simpson Crawford Dept Store Rogues Gallery. Looks like this store had their own gallery of thieves. Usually, the police station had the gallery. It may be a recreation of a shoplifter taken in by the store detective...or it may be real? That part is lost to history. The company selling the glass plate neg has sold tons of old store photos that would put the L.O.C. to shame. Only problem is they cost $40 to $70 a pop with shipping and tax. I bought a few of them over the years but couldn't afford anywhere near what I wanted to buy. Just fantastic stuff.

That is terrible if you got an element in the ring. See if they make M39 extension tubes and lose that adapter. Adding an element will degrade the res. Very poor choice on FF's part if it has an element in it.

Haha...you are lucky if they reply at all Tyler!

Wow, what a variety of lenses David! Going by the numbers may work out better for copy work lenses than 3D photography where the character of the lens is important.

You are lucky they replied to you. I wrote to Novoflex in Germany, in the USA...all over. Never one reply from them.

Got timed out... As far as the extension tube / ring. That is how you adjust the magnification...thinner or thicker rings. At least that is how the Retroscan operates. It came with many rings to adjust. One edit to the above... Extension tubes should not reduce sharpness...unless a lens won't perform well in macro mode. You can also check your HDS+ sensor by mounting your lens of a digital camera with an adapter to see how it performs Tyler. Have you inspected / cleaned the front and back of the lens Tyler to make sure it has no smudges? The Retroscan uses a C mount for CTTV lenses. Lots of lenses available, but all cheapies. I use a Ricoh and it seems doable. The 2K sensor is just so-so. One of the best lenses for copy work ever made was the Nikon Printing lens. Internet Photo: Fair Use Yes, you need lots of $$ for it! But if you got a M39 mount on your HDS+ you are very lucky Tyler. You can try all sort of lenses. Nikon, Rodenstock and Schnieder all make APO enlarging lenses. Internet Photo: Fair Use Or test out non-APO lenses. Tons of options for you Tyler.

So, you got an extension tube. Many times, enlarging lenses are mounted backwards for photography. Supposedly better performance for photography, since the lens was designed to project. Extension tubes don't reduce sharpness. Tubes with lens, such as teleconverters or cheap macro magnifiers do reduce res. I don't know if mounting a lens backwards helps that much. Never tired it, but it is a common claim. I don't see how it is an issue to try different lenses Tyler. Just order a few from B&H, try them and see. If no good return for a refund as you are dissatisfied. What kind of lens does Lasergraphics use?

Enlarging lenses are usually mounted backwards for macro work.

Yes...Phil sums it up. (If you are serious about getting a project done.) As I said earlier, an artist can dream, but the artist should never ruin a project because of ego. Shoot digital with a cheap, used camera from eBay. Don't ruin a project over ego and prejudice. But...it is your choice.

The Association of Moving Image Archivists - Fair Use Got an email from the AMIA. They want me to take some of their classes on film preservation and other things. One class was on taking oral history. I do lots of audio work. Much of it is with archival material, but I have recorded a decent amount of audio for the Archive as well. A pretty basic thing when you are recording is; don't hold the mic in your hand unless there is no other way to support it. You will get noises in the recording from finger movement. And even if you are using a mic on a stand, you can get hand cramps holding a recorder for hours on end. Some of the old timers wander all over with their stories. When I did this oral history below, it was over many hours and in 7 recordings I consolidated. Now, I don't mind wandering stories. You never know when you will get some gem audio. But GD...I don't want to have to hold the recorder for all that time! I recorded this right when Covid was first exploding. Was shut down for a year after it. I was shooting a film with this guy, but after covid he deteriorated, and I never could finish the project. I was glad I got some audio. (...and the raw footage.) Oral History Nesta Kerin Crain R.Morriale D.Teoli Jr. : D.D.Teoli Jr. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Photo: D.D.Teoli Jr. I've always told you this... You got someone with special knowledge or history...get it down. Audio, film, photography, scanning ephemera, whatever...get it down. One day they don't wake up...and all that history is gone!

Now, I do tons of Google image searches. Tens of thousands over the years. So, image searches are a big deal to me. I'm a photographer and archivist. Photos are what I'm about and not text so much. So, this test only applies to image searches. Here is the history of a recent search for the IL killer. It just happened to be the search that set off this post. I missed what he looked like on the news, so I did a Google image search to see him / it . I've more or less always used Google and never thought anything about it. It is just easy, and I thought it gave the best results. Sure, I heard about all the privacy issues, but didn't care. Really, I like the popup ads as I archive them in my popup advertising Archive. I also welcome SPAM emails. Have over 400 of them...in the Archive. So, I'm on a different wavelength than most people. Apparently, Google results can vary quite a bit. And the exact same, repeat searches can vary greatly within a few minutes or seconds of when they were originally made. Here is the original search I made... I figured somethings gotta be wrong, so went to Bing... Then tried AOL search... I tried some Russian or China Search engines, but when they didn't respond immediately, I shut them down worrying about ransomware. Retried same exact Google image search as I started with and did better this time...but not by much... Then tried Yahoo search... I finished up with a repeat of original Google search... Crazy huh! I didn't time it, but all these searches were made within say 5 to 6 minutes.

What lens are you looking for Tyler? What lens mount does the HDS+ use? How do you know it is the lens and not the imager? I'm thinking you need to try other lenses before making that determination. Or am I wrong and there is another way to determine this? I thought the Scanity had a very good reputation. (Although I never had any scans done with it.) Have you compared aperture to resolution? F4 or 5.6 is usually best for sharpness. But it may vary.

Beside her plaster work, Cynthia Plaster Caster was quite a creative illustrative artist. I saw some of her Christmas cards she made in a video. Unfortunately, I can't find much online about the cards. Cynthia Plaster Caster 5.24.47 - 4.21.22 Sadly, Cynthia Plaster Caster died a couple months ago. She was 74. I had tried to contact her to see if she would send me scans of the Christmas cards she made so I could include them in my Archive. But I could not get in touch with her. I hope a collection of the cards surfaces someday. You just never know...some things never surface.

A while back you had complained the lens that came with the HDS was subpar and giving you soft images...or some such thing. Did you ever find a lens you are happy with for the HDS?

That is why you do tests / sample scans. You can debate all you want with words, but where are the test images? You try the options to see what works best for you. The tests have the final word.

Is it similar to the Retroscan where you got aperture and a light brightness dial? You should do a YT video on its operation. When I first started cine' scanning I tried auto exposure. Terrible results. Everything is manual now. And much is timed scans if exposure is not consistent.

OP...I gave up cable about 15 years ago. Saved about $14,000 over the years. I put that money in cine' reels for the Archive, photography and other archival work. On a good day, in my local, we get 3 on-air channels. All political propaganda pretty much. I only watch the nightly propaganda news, 60 Minutes and Sunday Morning propaganda show. I copy the Olympics every couple years and speed through it. I generally just watch DVD and Blu-ray I get from the library. I can get 10 or 20 DVD's from the library a week if I want. They have access to all the collections in the state more or less. But, in general, I just watch an hour or two of DVD's a night. I'm mainly doing work. No time for TV...especially propaganda. WWII Propaganda Postcard DDTJRAC Now, I collect propaganda extensively in the Archive, but don't like being force-fed propaganda on TV when I want some entertainment. I watch all sort of films as long as they are interesting. I especially like old Noir and obscure films. A friend has Netflix. I can watch it anytime I like. Seldom if ever used it. Over the last year watched something about bodybuilders buying breast milk to build muscles and the Don't Look Up movie on friend's Netflix. My favorite part was then the shits got eaten in the end! I got Yellowstone season 1 a few months ago. I will order Season 2 from the library when I feel like it. I like old films. Especially some of the Avant-Garde obscure film collections and silent films from the early 1900's. An old favorite film of mine was High Noon 1952. I like watching films, when films were films, and not a bunch of bullshit jump cuts and CGI.

OP...is the exposure pretty constant on the film? Are they home movies? If exposure is all over the place, you may need timed scans, as opposed to best light scans, to get the best you can from the film. Just depends on how much the exposure varies. You should put up some sample scan photos. Text only goes so far. Good luck with your project!

This is a crop of the title page. It was on a dupe VHS tape. One of the other films on the tape was dated 1980. I'm thinking this is some of the earliest titling text used on videotapes. Any idea as to the date/s it was used? Thanks