Two questions:

1. Anyone using NPS for color and BW (scanning, out put to inkjet)? Looking for a do anything film and was wondering if anyone has tried this. Also was considering NPH and the Porta print films.

2. What screen do you find is the fastest focusing for your R bodies? I have the standard, but was thinking of switching to the all matte or microprism for quicker focusing for kid photos. Any thoughts.

Thanks as always,

-- Mark (acerview76eus@yahoo.com), April 29, 2002

Answers

The all-matte screen is terrific on the R-8. It makes using the long focal length lenses and also micro-macro work easier and more positive. I think you get sharper negatives! I just happen to have one for sale! Leica #14344, new with box, case and installing tools. First $50.00 Bill

-- Bill Carson (KE7GMx@cs.com), April 29, 2002.

Scanner hardware and software probably makes more difference than the film stock in this process but I'm coming to the conclusion that Kodak neg films make better scans on my Nikon 4000ED than Fuji ( or Agfa and Konica) - they just seem more 'natural'(used in the most subjective sense of the word). I use Gold and Royal in 100 and 200. I'm also getting good B&W results from Ilford XP2 (BTW my old LS2000 could'nt make any sense of this film)

-- Johann Fuller (Johannfuller@hotmail.com), April 29, 2002.

I've switched all my color and b&w neg to Portra. If I'm in the mood to scan first, I'll just turn down the color to get B&W, otherwise most of the time since I use a lab, I'll shoot the Portra B&W if that's what I want. If you get a good pro lab that processes a lot of Portra for wedding pros, and they've optimised their machine for it, the results are magnificent.

As to focusing screens it has a lot to do with the speed and focal length of the lenses you use. I find the R8 screens (all of them) hard to focus using the matte portion; anything wider than 35/2 impossible without the microprism and wider than 28mm impossible without the split-image. So I use the universal screen for everything except the 400/6.8. I'll only use that lens for nature, and change to the matte screen; it's less annoying than the blacked- out rangefinder spot but still awfully hard to focus. When I travel, even if I use the 500/8 MR-Telyt (yeah, I know, but it's there for emergencies)or the 180/2.8 with 1.4 and 2x's stacked, I use the universal screen and just ignore the black dot in the middle where the rangefinder used to be.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), April 29, 2002.

Well for the lenses I use (21-180) I like the microprism only screen and much prefer it to the universal. The SL had a similar screen and I liked that so kept the same arrangement on the R6.2. The split image is sometimes useful it is true, but most of the time I find the larger area of microprism much more helpful.

-- Robin Smith (smith_robin@hotmail.com), May 02, 2002.