On a few recent subjects:
1. I got my 135/2.8 from Brooklyn Camera Exchange. It appeared unused, quite
a bit better than promised, at a reasonable price. No complaints at all,
but, having read others comments, I probably would think twice before buying
a body from them. It is interesting to read their ads and flyers for the
interesting, unusual items they have. I have an image of an old room on the
third floor of an old building, lit only by bare bulbs hanging from the
ceiling...
2. On x-ray: I have taken four trips abroad with film in my carry-on in
those lead lined bags, and have only been asked once to open the bag. Just
lucky? On the other hand, when making a connection to a flight to Argentina
in the Miami airport, I noted absolutely no security check at all. Nothing.
Nada, as they say in South America. I wasn't feeling too safe, I assure you.
On packages, I'm sure that no domestic packages are routinely x-rayed. A
very small percentage of packages are carried on passenger airlines. Most
packages that travel by air are on freighters, and it is a dumb terrorist
indeed that would bomb a freighter. Some companies have their own aircraft,
like FedEx, and others contract with operators. Also, fewer and fewer
packages are shipped by air, unless for overnight delivery. The railroads
are snaring a lot of that business these days. Note the longer route Amtrak
trains today, often with more boxcars and trailers than passenger cars.
These are for packages.
Don't ever pack film in checked luggage. The latest generation of x-ray
equipment for checked luggage is incredibly powerful, and if something
questionable is seen at regular exposure, your bag is sent back for a shot
of higher power. Even ASA 100 film cannot withstand this treatment. This
equipment is not installed at all airports yet, and the locations of
existing units are classified.
3. The digital insert for film cameras is called "Silicon Film" and is quite
late to the party. I've not seen it, but a friend went to PMA, and it was
being shown there as an available product. It is likely to be dead as you
read this.
One of the many things the developers forgot as they sold the idea to
investors is this: the distance from the felt seal on the cartridge to the
left edge of the frame is a bit different on each camera model. It's not
even standard on models from the same manufacturer, and why should it be?
The answer is, to make silicon film's job easier. It was only offered for
specific models of Canon and Nikon cameras.
My friend says it also suffers from low resolution and lack of memory. Oh,
and it's less than 24x36. Apparently, a sub-$200 digicam can do better. Just
another idea that seemed too good to be true...
Bill Pearce
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