Call for Photos !!!

[WA3VJB-AM]

> Call for photographs.
>
> I am preparing some magazine coverage and need some
> images to represent the inclusion of larger homebrew
> MOSFET-based transmitters in the upcoming Heavy Metal
> Rally January 8th, 2005.
>
> Publishing deadlines happen within weeks for Popular
> Communications, Radio World, and CQ Magazine.
>
> Please send publishing-quality JPEGs or TIFFs (your camera must be >4MP or above, or scanned image resolution must be 1200 dpi or better)
> and a caption identifying
> your station and why you'll enjoy participating in the
> HMR.
>
> Many thanks, in advance.
>
> --WA3VJB@yahoo.com
> delete the anti-spamming double dashes to reply

[ke1gf]

I guess that counts me out paul... My Digital Camera is only 2MP...

I do have my dad's old Nikon F 35MM and a high-res scanner but I'm not a very good photographer and I don't understand how to setup the camera with it's various timing adjustments and stuff... I only learned how to adjust the lense for focus and light on the level meter...

R U Sure, you won't take a 2MP photo?

Seeing that's there's only maybe 3 of us that have working "heavy Metal" rigs...

-Bill 'GF

[WA3VJB-AM]

Hi Bill,
How about I become an unpaid insultant and take you through the Nikon, with an offer to buy it from you when we are done ?
Truly an excellent camera, and I'm **this** close to buying a NOS F3 that went out of production a few years ago.

The problem with digital cameras of less than 3-4MP is that the JPEG images will not translate very well to the dot matrix type of imaging used in publishing.

My heart sank when I had a ton of images from a transmitter rescue, only to learn the biggest that could be published without a lot of pixelation is about 1" by 1".

For a feature article we need larger published images, which means better input size. Not to extend this into a photography thread, but two days ago I just got a Sony DSC-P93, 5MP for $275 brand new from one of the NYC houses. That's within $25 of what I paid for my Olympus D-520 a few years ago (2MP).

Believe it or not, throwaway cameras with 100 ASA film, and the use of some halogen shop lights, will produce images whose negatives I can scan at about the 4MP level of quality. Maybe if the Nikon is too fiddly, just get a tossout camera with its wide lens, and ship me the negatives? I can crop and refine.

Let me know, very keen to include you.

Paul

[ke1gf]

Okie Dokie, Paul, I'll give it a shot. Wish me luck... Although I don't understand how to use that Nikon I do appreciate it greatly. It's very heavy (good quality) and as I understand, it's has quite a large amount of titanium components in the shutter etc... I hope you don't mind a finger in the corner of the pic...

-Bill 'GF

[W1DAN]

Bill:

I know just a little about photography. Enuff to be dangerous.

I find that if you use alot of even light...say two halogen shop lights. One on each side with one a little farther apart (to create a little shadow) works well.

Sometimes if you can include a sheet of paper in the shot, say a corner that is not gonna be used, that can be used for white balancing or color corretcing after the fact in Photoshop.

My best photos are taken outside on a bright cloudy day. This gives lotsa even light. When shooting pix of gear, if at all possible I bring it outside.

For film, ASA 100 speed film would be good. Lower numbers equal less noise or grain. If the end user can accept it, slide film (like Codachrome) is better as it saves one processing step and copy. If not, for the photo you really like, print at least a 5x7". If you have $ do an 8x11 for better scanner resolution.

Digital cameras also fall apart in reproducing low light areas. Their low level linearity is poor, and they need alot of light.

If ya really want to buy a good digital camera for this stuff, make sure it can save as TIFF or other native un-compressed format. JPEG really hammers an image.

Just some ideas.

73
Dan
W1DAN

[ke1gf]

Hello Paul, if you still stop by the board, I've decided that I'm going to chicken out on the photos... I hope somebody else has some nice ones for you.

-Bill 'GF