Hi there,

Thanks a lot on the developing times, chemistry & stuff! What I would like to know if it is "absolute necessary" to use a tripod when shooting Tech Pan at ISO 25 -64. Is it possible to shoot without a tripod at that rating given that you'll be using a faster shutter speed e.g at 250 or above? I have an old Bogen and it is very heavy to hike with at times!

Thanks,

Adrian Ng'asi

Thanks alot.

-- Adrian Ng'asi (angasi@xbellatlantic.net), March 04, 1999

Answers

I'm assuming that the reason you want to use Tech Pan is so that you can make large prints from your negatives and retain small grain with high detail. With that in mind my advise is to use a tripod if at all possible. One rule of thumb is to use a shutterspeed that is faster than the focal length of the lens you are using for hand held shots. So if you are using a 210 mm lens use a shutter speed of 250 or faster. With a 20 mm lens a shutter speed of 30 or faster will suffice. Anythnig slower and camera shake will rapidly become appearant. However, the fact that you are using Tech Pan and my assumption for your reasons for using it cause me to recommend that you still use a tripod no matter the shutter speed if you can. That way your negatives will be absolutely tight. That said I just shot the cemetery of the old territorial prison the day before yesterday on Tech Pan using a 28 mm lens for the whole shoot and I hand held the whole thing. But when I am going for a big sweeping scenic scene that I am going to try and print at 16x20, you can bet that I will use a tripod. Use your own best judgement as to when you can get away with hand holding and when you do keep the shutter speed high.

-- Frtiz M. Brown (brownf{DHWTOWERS/TOWERS3/brownf}@dhw.state.id.us), March 04, 1999.

Adrian:

One possibility is to look for a used smaller, lighter tripod. I was going to recommend that you get faster lenses, but a used $25 tripod might be the best answer. I have 4 tripods, three of which see service. I have a Slik 500 which is tiny and not real sturdy, but for two weeks on foot in Europe, it worked ok. I also have a Slik 212, which I also got used and it is not very heavy and will suport 35mm well. The monster pod is a bogen 3046/3045 for use with 6x7 camera and possilbly 4x5 in the future. I don't carry that one more than 1/4 mile from the car.

-- Gene (nikonguy@emji.net), March 20, 1999.

Opps! The bogen is 3046 (legs)/ 3047(head).

-- Gene (nikonguy@emji.net), March 20, 1999.