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Antony,
Thanks for your reply. I have begun using Boots for negative processing, not the instore one hour process but the overnight one where they send the film away. I have found that service locally to be OK and the CD is useful if you order it.
For slides at the moment I am using dlab7.com
www.dlab7.com/ and find them very reasonable in price and good apart from the slide mounts which I don't like. I like CS mounts.
I used to use a pro lab but the cost has scuppered that and to be honest, I did not find their ordinary processing to be any better.
I agree about the immediacy of digital but you still have to get it into the computer and edit, digitally process etc.
Black and white is another matter. I no longer do my own precessing either and I am not sure whom I would use for that now. Probably stick with Agfa Scala and scan to the computer.
All the best,
John
 
I use the RTS3 and Canon 20D, and whilst the RTS3 is a fantastic camera with every feature you could wish for, it is built like a tank.
This means it is very strong and will last forever, but it weighs a ton!

I find I use it less and less now I have the 20D, and recently I've actually been using my tatty 30 year old RTS (the original model) for film because it is so much lighter. I've even been considering getting an Aria like you have! (The grass is always greener...)

I think you need to consider the type of shooting you mainly do. For wildlife and macro the 1.6 digital crop is a great bonus, it makes a 300mm f2.8 into a near 500mm f2.8, and gives extra distance for macro work. Also the results from the 8mp digic2 are probably better than most 35mm film.
Unfortunately that crop factor means my beautiful 21mm Distagon becomes a rather mundane 33mm, so for wide landscape work it can be frustrating (hence wanting a lightweight film body to carry as well).

If I were you I would probably opt for the Canon digital, because you will then have the choice along with your Aria, and they are light enough that you will carry both.

With regard to processing, I use Peak Imaging, Freepost SF 360, Sheffield S1 1AY www.peak-imaging.com and have found them fast, reliable and very professional for my E6 processing.

Cheers,
Matt
 
Hi Antony,

I will second John on www.dlab7.com. I use them exclusively for my E6 slides with good results. I have also used them for C41 print packages and have been more than happy with them. They scan to cd as well (18 meg images) which are very good and blemish free.

Paul
 
Thank you all very much for the advice, it has been VERY useful.

I think I will hold out a while longer and get a 20D - this seems the logical route (I really like Matt's argument in its favour) and I will look into dlab7 and peak-imaging for processing.

I guess my next question is which is the best adapter for my lenses to the canon?

antony
 
Hi Antony,

I think you'll be happy with your choice, the 20D is a very useful tool alongside a film body. The good quality high ISO is a blessing, and the instant results are very helpful.

There is nothing that can quite match the appeal of a landscape shot on Velvia through a Zeiss lens, but once you see a wildlife or macro shot from the 20D you'll be a convert. And the lack of those full res. 15min dimage scans for 1 shot is something you will really like!

I've used the Camerquest adapter for 6 months now and found it well engineered, easy/fast to use, and very reliable. They're not cheap, but I think it was worth the cost (about £100).
http://www.cameraquest.com/

Cheers,
Matt
 
If you are discriminating enough to desire the excellence of Zeiss lenses, then only one DSLR will come close to what you are getting with a film Contax and good scans. Hint: it isn't the Canon D10 or 20.

I've used, or use, all the digtial cameras from Canon, from the D30 on up to the current 1DsMKII for wedding work. Hint: I'd never use the D20 for a major shot like the wedding party formal ... unless it was the only camera I had that worked.

Digital is fun, it's a novel way to see the stuff right away like a Polaroid. The newer pro-sumer cameras like the D20 are indeed better at high ISOs than before. As long as you look carefully at the results to understand what you are losing with digital capture.

While digital appears less expensive to process, in the long run I've not found that to be true. The gear depreciates at a wallet humbling rate, and you end up adding improvements to your processing tools every year or two in an attempt to "keep up".
 
Marc,

Your first point reflects my initial thinking when I started this thread...

I am going to assume (for better or worse) that you are talking about the ND..? The problem I have there is that I have no N lenses. Fair enough I dont have that many C/Y lenses, but for me - an amateur, who likes to think he is discerning - replacing my lenses with the N mount range would be an unappealing expense to say the least, let alone the price of the body!

As for your comments on digital getting outmoded - you make a fine, and thus far unappreciated, point. Buying a new body every year or two would indeed be very expensive. My thinking here is that this is the case with all technology and considering I have a PC laptop, PC desktop and a Mac a fact that I am all too aware of. This said I have had my contax 3.1mp digital camera for a couple of years and have no plans to change it yet.

So here's where I'm at... I have a nice little collection of lenses equalling a fair hobby investment. I have the lightest (read: plasticiest - not that i dislike it in anyway) body in the contax range which theoretically is the easiest to break and the company are no longer making bodies. This leads me to think I need a C/Y compatible backup. An RTS3 body wnd hand will set me back £600 in mint condition - the 20D £1000 plus adapter. The RTS3 would appear too heavy for what i'm likely to use it for (travel) and the 20D would seem to be an expensive 'technology whim' for me. So...

A Contax film body lighter than the RTS3 but as close as possible in terms of features and durability would be???

The ST perhaps?

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Antony
 
Marc,

Your first point reflects my initial thinking when I started this thread...

I am going to assume (for better or worse) that you are talking about the ND..? The problem I have there is that I have no N lenses. Fair enough I dont have that many C/Y lenses, but for me - an amateur, who likes to think he is discerning - replacing my lenses with the N mount range would be an unappealing expense to say the least, let alone the price of the body!

As for your comments on digital getting outmoded - you make a fine, and thus far unappreciated, point. Buying a new body every year or two would indeed be very expensive. My thinking here is that this is the case with all technology and considering I have a PC laptop, PC desktop and a Mac a fact that I am all too aware of. This said I have had my contax 3.1mp digital camera for a couple of years and have no plans to change it yet.

So here's where I'm at... I have a nice little collection of lenses equalling a fair hobby investment. I have the lightest (read: plasticiest - not that i dislike it in anyway) body in the contax range which theoretically is the easiest to break and the company are no longer making bodies. This leads me to think I need a C/Y compatible backup. An RTS3 body 2nd hand will set me back £600 in mint condition - the 20D £1000 plus adapter. The RTS3 would appear too heavy for what i'm likely to use it for (travel) and the 20D would seem to be an expensive 'technology whim' for me. So...

A Contax film body lighter than the RTS3 but as close as possible in terms of features and durability would be???

The ST perhaps?

talker.gif


Antony
 
Or perhaps another Aria. What are the odds of droping two of them on the floor and breaking both?
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