[Leica] 35 & MF, scans, and Bali

["Bill Lawlor" <wvl@infinex.com>]

I just got back to California from Bali last night and have a lot of mail to
review! The latest Digest hits on some subjects I have interests in.

MF vs 35: I use 'em both. I took a dozen rolls for Provia 100F 120 and a
dozen rolls of 35mm Provia RDP II as well as a Pro Pak of Reala 100 220 on
my trip.

Scanning MF: I got an Epson 1640 SU with transparrency adapter up to 4X5 a
few weeks before my trip for $349 from B&H. (A few days later CompUsa ran
adds for the same unit with rebates bringing down the price to $149!). My
early experiments with the 1640 SU are encouraging. Quality of prints from
'chromes or  Reala 100 is very good up to 11X17 on the 1270. At the very
least is is an easy/cheap way to proof scan for MF. I expect the really
important shots will go on to pro quality scans for big prints.I used color
neg film only on my last overseas trip in 1999 because I print for sales at
art shows. The digital advancements I have seen convinced me to shoot
transparrencies for scans too.

Scanning 35: I have been using Kodak Photo CD scans for most of my 35mm
work. When I compared the quality of those scans from Kodachrome 64 with
those from Provia 100 I found the difference to be significant. I had a
bunch of K64 all packed to go to Bali but I swapped it for Provia at the
last moment. Has anyone else noticed the difference in scans from these two
films?

Catching up on mail and sleep,

Bill Lawlor