Amateur Photographer - UK (2020-03-07)

subscribe 0330 333 1113I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI 7 March 2020 21

Competitionwinners

Congratulationsgoto

HannahBrownwhowona

LEE100LandscapeKitworth

over£200in ourWordsearch

competition(AP’sChristmas

issue)andto PaulBuller

fromManchester,whowon

a Sigma135mmF1.8DG

HSMArtlensworth£1,400

in ourSigmacompetition

(AP, 12 October2019).

anxioustoturntheminto
digitalimageswithout
payinga fortune.
I startedwithanAcer
ScanWit2720sscanner
backin the1990s,which
wasa decentscannerbut
didn’thaveanywayof
removingtheeffectsof
scratchesordirt.Since
thenI haveI trieda Plustek
model,usingSilverfast
software(notvery
successfully),thenan
EpsonPerfectionV750
Pro– a flatbedscanner.At
thetimeit wasreckonedto
bethebestflatbed
scanneravailable,but
accordingtoScanDig.com,
a Germancompanythat
testsscanners,thehigh
resolutionsthatthe
scannerwassupposedto
becapableof werenot
realisedin practice.It said
thebestscannerswerethe
Nikonones,buttheywere
nolongermade.
Aftertryingseveralother
optionsI endedup
correspondingwithEd
Hamrick,themanwho
wrotetheVueScan
software,andhe
recommendedtheNikon
SuperCoolscan 5000 ED.
I followedhisadviceand
boughta second-hand
onefor£800andI
haven’tregrettedit. The
scansareof veryhigh
quality,althoughslides
havetobeinsertedoneat
a time,whichis a distinct
disadvantage.A slide
feederwasmadebutthey
arenotreadilyavailable
andcosta smallfortune.
Withoutthefeeder,it takes
aboutanhourtoscan 36
slides.Scanningnegatives
is quicker because a

stripcanbe

inserted.The

freeNikon

software,

NikonScan,

is still

availablefor

download,

andcanbemadeto

workonWindows10,but

VueScanis better.I’vestill

a waytogotodigitiseall

myoldslidesandpictures,

butI’mnolongerlooking

foranyotherequipment.

KenVines

GettingArti

Iwasdelightedtoread

yourarticleRescuingold

cameras(AP,8 February).

I havea habitof ‘acquiring’

oldcamerasin needof a

home,andhavecollected

amongothersa 1974

Zenit-E,Halina35Xanda

1960sKonicaEEMatic.

However,I didrecently

acquireanArti-Six 120

rollfilmcameraandcan

findverylittleaboutthis

modelat allonline.I

wonderedif youorany

readershaveevercome

acrossthiscamerabefore?

I shouldaddI paidonlya

coupleof poundsforit.

I cleanedit upandit

worksbeautifully.

EmmaGarvie

Age-olddebate

Asan85-year-oldstill

pursuingphotography,I

feelI mustmakea

contributiontothedebate

openedbyDrLow(Inbox

11 January).I havebeen

readingAPfor 75 years.

The‘debate’

hasbeen

continuingfor

farlongerthan

thatbuthas

neverreached

a conclusion

andit never

will.The

reason?Allof

theproponents

say similar

thingswhile

embarkingona

similarjourney.Theyall

startfromthesamepoint,

theirloveof photography;

theyall‘master’theircraft,

aswellastheywishwhile

continuingthatjourney.

Butit’snotthesame

journey!Allartiststake

theirownpathand

persuadeotherstofollow

them.Convictionbecomes

itsownworstenemy

becauseit leadsto

dissension.Seekersof a

singular‘message’only

leadotherstooppose.

Nosolutionis needed

becausethereis no

problem,argumentis a

factof life.Wecouldlearn

moreif manyof us

changedourattitudeto

othersof opposingviews.

Whynotstopobjectingto

differenceandwelcomeit?

I’veusedfilmandplate,

singleandtwinlensreflex,

rangefindersstillhavean

attraction,flashpowder

andbulbpluselectronic,

monochromeandcolour,

oh,anddigital.I’vetried

themall.I’mstillonmy

journeyandgettinga

littlesurerof my

destination.I amsurethat

therearerulesto

photographybutI know

theyarenotimmutable.

Malcolm Talbot

Back in the day

AwanderthroughtheAParchive.This

week we pay a visit to February 1984

These two stories were prominently featured on the cover

YOUKNOWthatfeelingwhenyou’redesperateto go

to thebeachbutyou’vejustpaintedyournailsand

they’renotdryyet?No,meneither.ButI betthecover

modelonthisissuedoes.SportsproTonyDuffy’sguide

to photographingsportswomenis lessa tributeto

femalesportingachievementthana glamourfeaturefor

menwitha penchantforathleticwomen,andfocuses

almostentirelyontheirattractiveness.Nicetry,butno

cigarfromtoday’sstandpoint,that’sforsure.Butit’sa

lotbetterthantheothercoverstory,onbodyart,in

whichartlesssnapsof tattoosthatcouldhavebeenshot

ona single-usecameraareinexplicablypresented

sidewaysonthepage– asif someoneouttheremight

wantto makea posteroutof it. Thefascinatingarticle

onEugèneAtgetgetsnomentionat allonthecover.It’s

entirelyhisownfault,though– if onlyhe’dspentmore

timephotographinggirlsinsteadof Parisianshop fronts,

things could have been so different for him.

1984

EmmaGarviewould

liketoknowmore

about her Arti-Six

TheNikonSuper

Coolscan 5000 ED