All about Better Light scanning back

[Urs]

I have been following this forum in a passive way but would like to ask for your advice now:
I'm a hobby photographer (architecture, landscape, pieces of art) without, alas, much spare time for my hobby. I gave up darkroom activities (black & white) some years ago, and since what I liked most in b&w was large format my LF activities are reduced to some pictures on sheet film now and then, with decreasing frequency since my stock of Readyload is diminishing... Now I got the occasion to buy a used BetterLight 8K at a reasonable price (about 2500 US $). I have to say that a BL back has been a dream for years, knowing that I never could afford one (or legitimate the investment to my wife...).
Now my question: Do you think it is worth to buy this piece of equipment now, knowing that for the next four years until retirement I will not have much more time for my hobby than in the past years. Is this a twist of fate, something like a last chance to get a jewel that will never be replaced, or would it be an act of nostalgic silliness to buy an outdated piece of equipment with all the related risks and problems (I lost my Leica DMR last summer because the spare part needed was no longer available). I'ts not a question of scan back vs. fixed sensor or the like. I am well aware of these aspects. Thanks a lot for your comments (and excuse my english).
Urs

[Jim collum]

I bought mine back in 2001.. and has never had a problem. i've done upgrades during that period (make sure yours is USB, rather than SCSI).

Betterlight has closed it's doors, but even closed, Mike (the owner and creator of the Betterlight back) provides better customer support than any other company I've dealt with.

I'd suggest getting the serial # from the unit and sending him an email. He'd know the history of the unit.

That being said.. the 8K is a more finicky than the 6K or Super 6K. It's slower, and much more prone to exhibiting artifacts from camera motion. It's really designed to be set up for art reproduction. The other backs I mentioned are geared towards architecture and landscape. The extra resolution you'll get from the 8K will surpass the ability of most lenses to resolve.

There are additional logistics involved.. but if you're on a large format forum.. most of those apply to any film view camera. The battery/laptop/control unit isn't that much more space/weight than a bunch of film holders. You do have to be careful about wind (camera vibration being a much bigger issue than subject being blown by it).

You'll either love it or hate it... (mine's the oldest digital camera i own.. and i still use it regularly).

I have been following this forum in a passive way but would like to ask for your advice now:
I'm a hobby photographer (architecture, landscape, pieces of art) without, alas, much spare time for my hobby. I gave up darkroom activities (black & white) some years ago, and since what I liked most in b&w was large format my LF activities are reduced to some pictures on sheet film now and then, with decreasing frequency since my stock of Readyload is diminishing... Now I got the occasion to buy a used BetterLight 8K at a reasonable price (about 2500 US $). I have to say that a BL back has been a dream for years, knowing that I never could afford one (or legitimate the investment to my wife...).
Now my question: Do you think it is worth to buy this piece of equipment now, knowing that for the next four years until retirement I will not have much more time for my hobby than in the past years. Is this a twist of fate, something like a last chance to get a jewel that will never be replaced, or would it be an act of nostalgic silliness to buy an outdated piece of equipment with all the related risks and problems (I lost my Leica DMR last summer because the spare part needed was no longer available). I'ts not a question of scan back vs. fixed sensor or the like. I am well aware of these aspects. Thanks a lot for your comments (and excuse my english).
Urs

[Urs]

Thank you, Jim. Getting the serial number is a good idea.
I'm aware that the 8K-HS might be an overkill, both with respect to my equipment and to my technique. But since there are so few occasions to get a LF scan back (right now there's just one offered on eBay world-wide, with a SCSI interface compatible with OS 9...) that I feel I have to take it - if only there wasn't this unpleasant doubt about the "sustainability" of the decision.

[NickyLai]

Is this a twist of fate, something like a last chance to get a jewel that will never be replaced, or would it be an act of nostalgic silliness to buy an outdated piece of equipment with all the related risks and problems ...
Urs

A dream of your fate is something worth more than money. Get it while you can. Everything, new or old, get outdated sooner or later, the best is to pick and put those fit into your own plan of fate.

Betterlight has closed it's doors, but even closed, Mike (the owner and creator of the Betterlight back) provides better customer support than any other company I've dealt with.

BetterLight NOT CLOSED, but MOVED into their own facility, a down sizing strategy from manufacturing to servicing and photographic activity. I believe Mike will continue to provide excellent equipment service, parts and photographic information for years to come. I meet him when I attended their 2009 scan-back-owners conference. He, for decades, is an design engineer and a Large Format photographer. Their new facility information is here: http://www.betterlight.com/contactCompany.html

[NickyLai]

I'm aware that the 8K-HS might be an overkill,

Wait until it pair with the BetterLight Panorama adapter.

Quote from their website:

This system can capture seamless 360 degree digital panoramic scans and wide-view images of adjustable aspect ratio, with wide or long lenses, up to 8,000 x 65,000 pixels — the largest digital panoramic images currently possible.

:unquote. More info here: http://www.betterlight.com/panoWideView.html

It can be done with ONE-SHOT only. Then you are way over and can forget the digital pixel race.

BTW, I have one of those and loved it. Enclosed a photo, made last year with my setup, of Tuolumne Meadow in 365 degree round panorama. The image isn't look long because it was captured with a super wide angle lens - 38mm Aerogor Goerz. The wide angle lens made the file size smaller and easier to manage (original size 6,846 x 30,258 pixels).

[Jim collum]

a thumbs up on the pano adapter. if you're going to spring for an 8K, see if you can find one of those around as well

(Ta Prohm, Cambodia)


but for me, one of the biggest advantages is to be able to use any lens without a shutter... pretty much get immediate feedback on the effects rendered with old lenses

[zloyx]

Could anybody provide an information on the cable between usb2box and scanning back?
Is it an ordinary d-sub 25-25 nullmodem cable?

[B.S.Kumar]

From Michael Collette in a BL forum posting:

The "insert cable" connects the scanning insert ("back") with its control box. This is a straight-through IEEE-1284 compliant "extension" cable with D-25 connectors at both ends that should be double-shielded (braid plus foil wrap), and no longer than 25 feet.

If you haven't joined the Betterlight Yahoo forum, I suggest you do so, by sending an email to Mike - mike at betterlight dot com. There's a wealth of information there.

Kumar