tashley Posted June 18, 2007 Share #1 Posted June 18, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Or maybe more than one... Whine One: Last Monday was the one month anniversary of my sending M8 body number two and 35 cron off to get looked at by the experts. So I called Leica to ask if there were any signs of progress. Today is the one week anniversary of that call and despite follow-up (from me) there is still no sign of an answer, let alone a camera. Whine Two: Today is the one week anniversary of my packing for a short trip, and in so doing making the fatal mistake of transferring my charger from one hand to the other moments after unplugging it. As hand two touched the prongs, I got zapped. So did the charger. Needless to say it did occur to me that I might have damaged it so I plugged it in again and the light went on. I was running late so I packed and went. When I got to France, the charger was dead. Luckily I had two and a half fully charged batteries with me and luckily the dealer in Rennes (no spare charger in stock, no MATE either...) kindly let me re-charge one in his shop. Which made the 150km round trip worthwhile... Are the chargers covered by passport? Whine Three: Has anyone in the UK found somewhere that develops and scans B&W film to high res. quickly and well? It seems to take everyone two or three days and I WANT TO CHIMP! There, all done. Thank you for listening! Tim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted June 18, 2007 Posted June 18, 2007 Hi tashley, Take a look here Time for a whine. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Shootist Posted June 18, 2007 Share #2 Posted June 18, 2007 I wouldn't worry about Passport. Just call and send it in under normal warranty. First off there should not be any feedback voltage at the plug, so I'm think that charger was faulty to begin with. Second, by just touching the 2 prongs with your hand just after unplugging it from a wall outlet should not short the unit out. EDIT: Are you sure the outlet you plugged the charger into was hot? Maybe it was on a wall switch or simply didn't work. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quorrell Posted June 18, 2007 Share #3 Posted June 18, 2007 Tim (Whine 1) My M8 and 90mm APO is on hols in Solm (backfocus probs) been there now over 4 weeks they have no idea when I will get it back. (Re Whine 3) Depends on how hi-res and if B+W is standard B+W or C41(XP2-BW400 etc) If I'm using standard B+W I process it myself as it's cheap quick and I know it will be right, then use my Nikon Scanner (slow but great results) If it's C41 I've used Boots one hour service and had it put on CD High enough res for 10x8. Quality has always been V.Good surprisingly, but I guess it depends on your local people. Some one that I use for E6 is Lab 35 Milton Keynes I know that they do both types but have no idea of time. Cheers Phill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted June 18, 2007 Share #4 Posted June 18, 2007 Tim, are you dealing with Solms or MK? I always bypass MK and go to Solms directly, send it by DHL to arrive next day. Everybody says they're busy though... As regards the charger, have you tried it again since getting back to the UK? If the light comes on, a good chunk of it is working and you getting zapped by a discharging capacitor should not have killed it; poor design though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tashley Posted June 18, 2007 Author Share #5 Posted June 18, 2007 Thanks for advice and answers all... The charger is certainly the faulty item - all the power outlets involved were and are in rude health, and I have tried the charger with different prong adaptors in different sockets with different batteries. It is, quite certainly, an ex-charger... Mark, the zap was pretty noticeable, must have been a capacitor. Same thing happened to me with a TV once, but it didn't die thereafter! I have made the stupid stupid mistake of dealing with the Milton Keynes Muppets. Must learn faster, must learn faster, must learn faster etc. Phil, I just got my first HP5 shots back from a pro lab and they are pretty nasty. Not only does the CV15 with IR filter on it vig quite horribly (I didn't take it off cos it took a while to get it to stay on!) but the grain is like footballs. That looks really nice on some of the shots but absolutely ruins others. Not sure if the lab is at fault but I suspect that I just forgot how very noisy an ISO 400 film is! Best to all, TIm Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tashley Posted June 18, 2007 Author Share #6 Posted June 18, 2007 Tim (Whine 1) My M8 and 90mm APO is on hols in Solm (backfocus probs) been there now over 4 weeks they have no idea when I will get it back. Cheers Phill Phill, all is not lost... I just received voicemail saying that MK will get the camera and lens back this week, so I should get it early next... hoo-bloody-ray! Good luck with yours... t Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott kirkpatrick Posted June 18, 2007 Share #7 Posted June 18, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Phill, all is not lost... I just received voicemail saying that MK will get the camera and lens back this week, so I should get it early next... hoo-bloody-ray! Good luck with yours... t Whine 1 -- total blackness covering repairs -- bothers me, too. I sent in my 28/2.8 asph (the lens that is rare at announcement) to have scratches on the rear element dealt with in February. It took a few weeks for me to learn that they needed authorization to send it on to Solms from NJ, but I called, reached someone, and off it went. In early April I received email in response to my inquiry saying that it was repaired and would leave Solms, be in NJ in one or two weeks, and be sent to me. About one month later, it arrived, but by then there was no one to receive it, so it went back to NJ. A month after that, I was able to learn that it had been returned to NJ, so I emailed a new address at which i could pick it up, but now, three weeks later, it has not arrived at that address either. (sigh) The people at Leica in NJ and in Solms are pleasant, but saying that they are the victims of a totally inadequate IT support system is off the point. Someone has to spend a little MONEY to make them able to perform like any modern business, and that money will probably be returned in the form of extra business from happier customers and employees better able to do the jobs that everyone expects of them. And the happy squeal that we give when the prodigal part finally returns also blinds us to the fact that this really shouldn't be this way. Web interfaces and tracking numbers are intended to keep us from worrying while Leica's customer service people get on with more important things. I hope Guy gets a chance to ask about this level of service when he is in Solms today. scott Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted June 18, 2007 Share #8 Posted June 18, 2007 I think all that Solms and N.J. needs is someone to outline a procedure which includes some feedback, and then give someone a whip. This is not rocket science, and the desire to do well needs to propagate all the way down the line from the nice people up front. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quorrell Posted June 18, 2007 Share #9 Posted June 18, 2007 Tim Grandmother and eggs!!!! HP5 is pretty grainy at 35mm but shouldn't be that bad. I'd try processing the film myself and doing a comparison. For panchromatic film I use Kodak Tri-X 400 down rated to 320asa (although they do a 320 version. Old habits die hard) then developed in Microdol X (all the X's) the results are fab, fine grain and pin sharp. But for most of my B+W work I now use Kodak BW400 or XP2 C41. Because of the latitude you have when shooting. 50-800asa fine grain dense negs at the 50asa end and gritty grainy stuff at the 800 end. All on the same film without any special processing. Cheers Phill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shootist Posted June 18, 2007 Share #10 Posted June 18, 2007 Phil, I just got my first HP5 shots back from a pro lab and they are pretty nasty. Not only does the CV15 with IR filter on it vig quite horribly (I didn't take it off cos it took a while to get it to stay on!) but the grain is like footballs. That looks really nice on some of the shots but absolutely ruins others. Not sure if the lab is at fault but I suspect that I just forgot how very noisy an ISO 400 film is! Best to all, TIm I suspect the lab is at fault. I use HP5 almost exclusively, having switched from Tri-X, and do my own developing. The negatives are very good, that is why I switched. I'm using all Kodak chemicals with great success. That is if I do my part in the shot taking. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quorrell Posted June 18, 2007 Share #11 Posted June 18, 2007 Phill, all is not lost... I just received voicemail saying that MK will get the camera and lens back this week, so I should get it early next... hoo-bloody-ray! Good luck with yours... t Thanks Tim, fingers and toes crossed. p Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tashley Posted June 18, 2007 Author Share #12 Posted June 18, 2007 I sent in my 28/2.8 asph (the lens that is rare at announcement) to have scratches on the rear element dealt with in February. .... it has not arrived (BACK YET). (sigh) scott Blimey Scott, you win, you poor chap: that really is outrageous. Truly lah lah land for them to think that sort of service is in any way acceptable. I hope you get it back fixed and soon! Tim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tashley Posted June 18, 2007 Author Share #13 Posted June 18, 2007 I suspect the lab is at fault. I use HP5 almost exclusively, having switched from Tri-X, and do my own developing. The negatives are very good, that is why I switched. I'm using all Kodak chemicals with great success. That is if I do my part in the shot taking. I would appreciate your advice: sorry to others for posting this here but the flow of conversation has led to it! Here's a full frame shot HP5 developed and scanned by a pro lab to a 388*2048 pixel jpeg, followed by a '100% crop' from Lightroom. There look to me to be bad digital artefacts on top of the grain... Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Any thoughts much appreciated... Tim Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Any thoughts much appreciated... Tim ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/26907-time-for-a-whine/?do=findComment&comment=284210'>More sharing options...
larry Posted June 18, 2007 Share #14 Posted June 18, 2007 Tim, From what I can tell, that's mostly just a really awful scan. Larry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tashley Posted June 18, 2007 Author Share #15 Posted June 18, 2007 Tim, From what I can tell, that's mostly just a really awful scan. Larry I suspected that - thanks for the feedback. The lab charged nearly $80 to develop and scan two 24 exposure films with no prints... I wonder what a proper quality job would cost? ;-( Tim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shootist Posted June 18, 2007 Share #16 Posted June 18, 2007 Well I can only state what I have seen from labs and what I get from a run of the mill flatbed scanner, a Epson V750. The lab scans are terrible and only in JPG. When I scan I save in TIFF. Here is a shot taken with HP5 in a M3 with Cron-C 40 f/2 scanned on the V750. touched up a little in PS CS2. Other then the guy in the background looking like he is smelling his armpit I think it came out great. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/26907-time-for-a-whine/?do=findComment&comment=284233'>More sharing options...
tashley Posted June 18, 2007 Author Share #17 Posted June 18, 2007 Well I can only state what I have seen from labs and what I get from a run of the mill flatbed scanner, a Epson V750. The lab scans are terrible and only in JPG. When I scan I save in TIFF.Here is a shot taken with HP5 in a M3 with Cron-C 40 f/2 scanned on the V750. touched up a little in PS CS2. Other then the guy in the background looking like he is smelling his armpit I think it came out great. You utter b*****d. Now I have to re-learn how to develop my own film stock, and I have to splash out on a scanner. Damn! ;-) Tim ps that guy really IS sniffing his armpit! pps I would love to see that larger if you have it online anywhere - nice shot indeed and very smooooth Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shootist Posted June 18, 2007 Share #18 Posted June 18, 2007 As far as I know I'm not a b*****d. But I'll check with my sister. Have fun. I have always liked doing my own developing. Ed Chatlos (Shootist)'s photos - powered by SmugMug In the M8/M3 (or is that the M3/M8) gallery Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry Posted June 18, 2007 Share #19 Posted June 18, 2007 I suspected that - thanks for the feedback. The lab charged nearly $80 to develop and scan two 24 exposure films with no prints... I wonder what a proper quality job would cost? ;-( Tim Tim, I use a Nikon Coolscan V to make my own scans. I let the lab process and contact the rolls and then choose a few shots to scan and print. Although I've been shooting less film, it's still been a cost- and time-effective method for me. Making a limited number of scans isn't as time consuming as you might think. And unlike Ed, I am a b*****d. Larry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sergiolov Posted June 18, 2007 Share #20 Posted June 18, 2007 Hi Tim, as Ed, I get acceptable results with the (cheap) V750, and the HP2 is a practical compromise. I am not shure if I proposed the following images in a previous post, in which I defended the HP2, but anyway, I'll post them again. HP2, m2, summicron 50, scanned at 3373x2315. Grain seems pleasant. 2 and 3 are 100% Sergio Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/26907-time-for-a-whine/?do=findComment&comment=284321'>More sharing options...
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