Hey Ben and Justin,
Good news?
Bad news?
Any news?
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Hey Ben and Justin,
Good news?
Bad news?
Any news?
Wow zuiko90, you're keen.
The last kickstarter update was July 22, and the last post by Ben in this thread was August 5th!
Actually August 7th. In that post Ben said they were running the 65mm plate tomorrow so they would have that to show too. So naturally I thought there would be another post soon.
Perhaps they are just busy inspecting, assembling, and testing parts. Even when they are able to put together the first few full cameras they will still have to test them with film to verify that everthing is on spec and working, so I wasen't expecting to hear they were ready to ship. Still the updates are fun.
To tell the truth I'm not quite ready anyway. To keep cost down I intend to use paper negatives and still have not fully worked out optimal pre-flash times, development for longest tonal range, and effective ISO speeds. I will use B&W film too but at $1.50 a shot for Ilford or Kodak I'll reserve that for special times.
Hi guys! Sorry for the delay. We just posted an update for Kickstarter backers. For everyone else: things are moving! We're working out kinks, and the final version isn't far off.
I think we're going to set up a webpage for preorders once we're a bit closer. We're trying to work out what payment systems to use, and what the retail has to be. Stay tuned!
Looking good in the kickstarter update though!
Nice!!!
Looking forward to the 8x10 version some day .....
Zuiko,
Have you checked the Freestyle site, freestylephoto.biz. They have Arista 4X5 film, 50 sheets for $30.68, half the price of Kodak film. The site is dedicated to preserving black and white photography and sell over 5,000 products. I have recently tested the ISO 400, four exposures bracketed. The range and contrast looks good but I have't printed the negs. The neg substrate is thinner than Kodak and the backside coating is green, not blue or black. They also sell Ilford and Adox. Customer service good too.
Steve Pitchford, Happy Trails...
Steve;
Yes, I shop Freestyle quite a lot but was a little reticent about going up to 4X5 size as I thought there would be a greater chance of pin holes and other coating blems with cheaper film. I bought some Arista in 120 and on one roll there was missed area of coating about the size of a nickle. Perhaps this was a fluke, and is not a valid concern. Interestingly I just bought a pack of their Arista ortho litho film, 3.9 X 4.9 in., loads right into filmholders. At the time I got a packet of their soft paper developer to cut contrast . Have not mixed the soft developer yet so no results to show. This stuff is as cheap as paper, can be handled undr safe light, and of course in normally very high contrast. The main bug is the same as paper negs, even if you get the contrast under control the ISO is about 8, so tripod work all the way.
Yes, I admit it, I'm cheap, sometimes too cheap.