GUIDE to rec.photo FAQs and Other WWW Photography Resources

From: "John N. Wall" 
Newsgroups: rec.photo.misc,rec.photo.equipment.misc,rec.photo.technique.misc,rec.photo.darkroom,rec.photo.marketplace,rec.photo.equipment.35mm
Subject: GUIDE to rec.photo FAQs and Other WWW Photography Resources (Weekly Posting -- August 19, 1996)
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 1996 13:28:27 -0700
Organization: North Carolina State University

GUIDE TO REC.PHOTO FAQs and WWW RESOUCES IN PHOTOGRAPHY(Version 3.78)

This file is a pointer to repositories for the FAQs of rec.photo.*
newsgroups as well as to other resources for information about photography
on Usenet and the World Wide Web.

The original maintainer of this pointer was Bo-Ming Tong (bmtong@cs.arizona.edu).

After August 20, 1995, it is being maintained by John N. Wall (jnweg@unity.ncsu.edu).

I will post it weekly to selected rec.photo newsgroups, specifically
rec.photo.misc, rec.photo.marketplace, rec.photo.darkroom, rec.photo.equipment.misc,
rec.photo.technique.misc, and rec.photo.equipment.35mm.

This edition was last revised on July 22, 1996 and I
am designating it version 3.78. This version includes a number of
new and corrected addresses, including the Minox Home Page, along with
two Directories of Stolen Equipment and a new address for the
Canon FD FAQ, as well as new FAQs for
Nikon Australia, Infrared Photography, specific Nikon bodies, and Camera Mounts.

This Guide to the FAQs may be copied and distributed freely except for
direct commercial advantage.

I make my best efforts to ensure the accuracy of the information in
this FAQ. However, I do not assume any responsibility for
losses or damages resulting from the use of the information in this
FAQ. Use the information at your own risk.

This Guide is a corporate project. I must depend on the maintainers of
the FAQs to inform me when changes are made or new FAQs
are prepared.

I need folks to keep me posted when addresses change or new material
becomes available. I also need folks to alert me if they find that an address
is no longer available or as described. Contact me by e-mail at

jnweg@unity.ncsu.edu

Thanks! (JNW).

The Nikon FAQ is still being maintained by Bo-Ming Tong, and is available
at

http://www.cs.arizona.edu/people/bmtong/photo.html#qa

There is also a version of this Guide available on my World Wide
Web home page. The address is

http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/users/j/jnweg/html/

NEWCOMER INFORMATION

Welcome to the rec.photo newsgroups (known collectively as rec.photo.*)!

If you are a newcomer looking for a recommendation of a beginner's camera, take a
look at the vendor specific FAQs first (Canon, Minolta, Nikon, etc.), which
are listed below.

After that, you may post a question to the appropriate rec.photo newsgroup,
depending on the nature of the question. There a number of rec.photo
newsgroups, each one of which has a specific audience and purpose.

How do you decide where to post (in the rec.photo.* hierarchy)?

This is a very brief guide to posting in the new rec.photo
hierarchy, based on a message from Bob Atkins, the guru of the newsgroups.

It's not a substitute for reading the group charters, but it's a lot
shorter. When in doubt, read the group charters

(http://www.cyberenet.net/~eos/info/charter.htm).

See

http://www.mat.uc.pt/~rps/photos/rec.photo.new

for a full description of the newsgroups, including a description
of how to use them properly.

Here is the current list of rec.photo newsgroups and a brief description
of the purpose of each:

Rec.photo.misc                        	Questions not covered by categories below
Rec.photo.marketplace                  	Offers to buy and sell camera equipment
Rec.photo.darkroom                     	Darkroom techniques and issues
Rec.photo.equipment.35mm                35mm cameras and lenses
Rec.photo.equipment.large-format        Large format cameras and lenses
Rec.photo.equipment.medium-format     	Medium format cameras and lenses
Rec.photo.equipment.misc                Other formats, tripods, projectors, bags, etc.
Rec.photo.film+labs                     Film and commercial photo finishing
Rec.photo.technique.art                 Issues of fine art, framing, display
Rec.photo.technique.misc                Other non-equipment posts about                                            technique
Rec.photo.technique.nature              Wildlife, landscapes, travel tips etc.
Rec.photo.technique.people              Portraits, figure studies, weddings
Rec.photo.digital                       Digital cameras, scanners, printers, software,                                  PhotoCD
Rec.photo.moderated                     Restricted group; check group for types
                                   		of messages deemed appropriate

BASIC QUESTIONS ABOUT POSTING TO A REC.PHOTO NEWSGROUP

[0] Is the posting a binary image file (JPEG, GIF etc)?

If so, DON'T POST IT!. Binary postings are not permitted in the rec groups, including
the rec.photo newsgroups.  Check out the alt.binaries.pictures groups.

[1] Is the posting an advertisement for a business or service? If so,
then DON'T POST IT!  The group charters all explicitly prohibit commercial
advertising.

[2] Are you selling a an item of *personal* used equipment related to photography, or
are you looking to buy such equipment? If so, then post in rec.photo.marketplace.

[3] Is the post about darkroom work? That includes any non-digital
item of darkroom equipment or any (chemical) darkroom technique. If
so, post in rec.photo.darkroom.

[4] Is the post about digital imaging, including PhotoCD, scanners,
printers and software? If so, post in rec.photo.digital.

[5] Is the post about film or commercial photo finishing services? If
so, post in rec.photo.film+labs.

[6] Is the post about camera equipment?  If so, post in ONE of the rec.photo.equipment
newsgroups.

[7] Is the post about a 35mm camera body or lens? If so, post
in rec.photo.equipment.35mm

[8] Is the post about a medium format camera body or lens? If
so. post in rec.photo.equipment.medium-format

[9] Is the post about a large format camera or lens? If so,
post in rec.photo.equipment.large-format

[10] Is the post about some other item of equipment - e.g. tripod, projector,
camera bag, battery, flash system, filter etc. If so, then
post in rec.photo.equipment.misc

[11] Is the post about photographing people - e.g. portrait work, wedding
photography, etc. If so, then post in rec.photo.technique.people

[12] Is the post about photographing nature - e.g. wildlife, landscapes
etc.  If so, then post in rec.photo.technique.nature

[13] Is the post about photography as art - e.g. what makes a picture
art?  How do you display art photography, etc? If so, post in rec.photo.technique.art

[14] Is the post about some other photgraphic technique - e.g. medical
photography,architectural photography, sports photography? If so, post in
rec.photo.technique.misc

[15] If the post doesn't fit into any of the above, then post
in rec.photo.misc

[16] There is also rec.photo.moderated. All submissions to this group
are reviewed by the group moderator and may be rejected if deemed inappropriate
for the group. Lurk in this group for a while to see what kind
of postings are appropriate.

The one-line group descriptor for rec.photo.moderated is the
art and science of photography, so generally any serious question
about photography will be OK. BUT questions about choices of cameras
or lenses are NOT appropriate on rec.photo.moderated!

A FURTHER CAUTION ABOUT rec.photo.marketplace!

Do not post requests for information to rec.photo.marketplace! Rec.photo.marketplace is
for the buying, selling and trading of personally owned used photographic equipment, not
for questions.

Nor should you post offers to sell or buy camera gear to any newsgroup EXCEPT
rec.photo.marketplace.  You can get flamed if you do.

You may also want to check the Directory of Stolen Equipment at

http://db.photo.net/registry/index.html

and at

http://server1.illuminet.net/~busby/

when purchasing gear through rec.photo.marketplace or when purchasing
used gear of any kind.

PURCHASE OF CAMERAS BY MAIL ORDER

If you are trying to order a camera in the US, the mail-order survey
is a MUST-READ.  See

http://math.liu.se/~behal/photo/photographic_mail_order_survey

or

http://www.gtlug.org/photo_stores_survey.txt

THIS IS PERHAPS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT SERVICE OF THE REC.PHOTO
NEWSGROUPS.

Many mail order houses are dishonest, advertise false prices, engage in flagrant bait-and-switch
practices, claim special deals on non-existent gear, charge your account without your
authorization, and charge exorbitant return fees or refuse to take back wrongly-shipped articles.

The mail-order survey gives statistics on customer satisfaction and you will learn which store to
avoid.

A RULE OF THUMB!  ALWAYS use a credit card when ordering and contact your credit card
company IMMEDIATELY if you feel that you have been cheated.  You do not have to pay the
bill and the credit card company will deal with the photo equipment company for you.

GUIDE TO WWW PHOTOGRAPHY RESOURCES

http://www.oz.net/1world/phoorg.html

GENERAL PHOTOGRAPHY QUESTIONS

http://www.ksu.edu/~camk/photography.html

PHOTOGRAPHER'S NEWS NETWORK HOME PAGE

http://www.photonews.net/

THE PHOTOFORUM HOME PAGE

http://www.rit.edu/~andpph/photoforum.html

THE PHOTOFORUM FAQ

http://www.rit.edu/~andpph/faq.html

THE PHOTOPRO LIST OF ADDRESSES OF PHOTOGRAPHIC ORGANIZATIONS

http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/users/j/jnweg/html/prolst.html

CAMERAS:

WEB PAGES OF MANUFACTURERS

CANON

http://www.usa.canon.com/

LEICA

http://www.leica.com

NIKON

NIKON JAPAN

http://www.klt.co.jp/Nikon/

http://www.mitsubishi.co.jp/companies/COMP40E/08.html

NIKON USA

http://www.hyperzine.com/company/nikon/home.html
(register first at www.hyperzine.com)

NIKON AUSTRALIA

http://www.maxwell.com.au/photo.html

MINOX

http://www.minox.com/

OLYMPUS

http://www.olympusamerica.com

PENTAX

http://www.pentax.com

CAMERA FEATURES COMPARISON

http://www.uni-karlsruhe.de/~unl4/lenstest.html

http://www.cs.arizona.edu/people/bmtong/photo.html

CAMERA MOUNTS

http://www.a1.nl/phomepag/markerink/mainpage.htm

DIGITAL CAMERAS

http://www.digicam.org/

HISTORIC CAMERAS

http://home.aol.com/dcolucci

RESOURCES FOR CAMERA REPAIR

http://www.fargo-ent.com/index.html

http://math.liu.se/~behal/photo/index.html

GUIDE TO RELOADING QuickSnap CAMERAS

http://www.ph.utexas.edu/~read/aquashot/reload.html

LARGE FORMAT HOME PAGE

http://robotics.eecs.berkeley.edu/~qtluong/photography/lf/

LARGE FORMAT FAQ

http://www.math.liu.se/~behal/photo/FAQrec.photo.equipment.large-format

VENDOR SPECIFIC FAQ SITES:

BENDER VIEW CAMERA

http://www.eecs.wsu.edu/~geoff/bender-faq

CANON EOS

http://www.cyberenet.net/~eos/info/index.html

http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~acs/photography/index.html

ftp://relay.cs.toronto.edu/pub/acs/rec.photo/canon/

http://avocado.pc.helsinki.fi/archives/eos/

http://math.liu.se/~behal/photo/faqs_docs.html#faqs

http://www.uni-karlsruhe.de/~unl4/lenstest.html

CANON FD

http://www.pt.hk-r.se/~mpt95mos/photo/

CANONET QL17

ftp://relay.cs.toronto.edu/pub/acs/rec.photo/cameras/

EXAKTA 66/PENTACON 6/KIEV 60

http://kbssun1.tamu.edu/~fdchen/

GRAPHIC/GRAFLEX

http://www.graflex.org/speed-graphic/FAQ.html

ftp://relay.cs.toronto.edu/pub/acs/rec.photo/cameras/speed-graphic-faq
      (old version from 1994, but useful for those no web browser)

KIEV 88/66

http://math.liu.se/~behal/photo/faqs_docs.html#faqs

http://users.aol.com/kievrpt/home.html

The Kiev Report FAQ is also available via fpt at

users.aol.com/kievrpt

MAMIYA C series

http://www.phys.rug.nl/mk/people/aue/photo.html

METZ 32 MZ-3

http://www.cs.arizona.edu/people/bmtong/photo.html#qa

MINOLTA

http://tronic.rit.edu:80/Minolta/

http://math.liu.se/~behal/photo/index.html

MINOX

http://math.liu.se/~behal/photo/Minox_Models_List

NIKON

http://www.cs.arizona.edu/people/bmtong/photo.html#qa

ftp://ftp.cs.arizona.edu/people/bmtong/photo/nikon.faq

http://math.liu.se/~behal/photo/index.html

http://www.zaiko.kyushu-u.ac.jp/~walter/nikon.html

http://www.uni-karlsruhe.de/~unl4/lenstest.html

http://f-server.cs.hks.se:80/~nicke/private/photo/lenstest/

http://f-server.cs.hks.se:80/~nicke/private/photo/lens-faq

http://f-server.cs.hks.se:80/~nicke/private/photo/camera/

email to ritphoto@rit.edu, subject NIKON-FAQ$txt, empty message

NIKON F3

http://www.math.uio.no/~fredrigl/f3/f3.html

http://www.math.uio.no/~fredrigl/f3/f3.dvi

NIKON FA

http://www.shsu.edu/~vis_cah/nikonfa.html

NIKON FG

http://www.shsu.edu/~vis_cah/nikonfg.html

OLYMPUS

http://www.oih.no/~brynila2/olympus/

PENTAX

http://www.primenet.com/~jtsatsk/pentax.html

http://www.pentax.com/

ftp://ftp.cdt.luth.se/jem/foto/pfaq/pentax-faq.txt

SURVEYS (VERY IMPORTANT to people who are going to buy cameras in the
US)

MAIL ORDER

http://math.liu.se/~behal/photo/photographic_mail_order_survey

USED CAMERAS -- SOURCES

http://www.tufts.edu/~jalbro/used.html

LENS:

ANGENIEUX

http://www.cs.arizona.edu/people/bmtong/photo.html#qa

CANON

http://ptolemy.eecs.berkeley.edu/~murthy/Canon.html

http://www.uni-karlsruhe.de/~unl4/lenstest.html

http://www.phys.rug.nl/mk/people/aue/nikon/grover.html

NIKON

http://www.phys.rug.nl/mk/people/aue/nikon/david.html

http://www.phys.rug.nl/mk/people/aue/nikon/grover.html

http://f-server.cs.hks.se:80/~nicke/private/photo/misc/lens-faq

http://f-server.cs.hks.se:80/~nicke/private/photo/lenstest/

NIKON F3

http://www.math.uio.no/~fredrigl/ OLYMPUS

http://www.oih.no/~brynila2/olympus/

NIKON 2020

http://www.duke.edu/~pt1/photo/F301.htm

DOF SOFTWARE

http://math.liu.se/~behal/photo/index.html

http://waterworks.com/~tfv/dmatic.htm

DOF DATA

http://oh114.wpi.edu/cgi-bin/htdof

http://waterworks.com/~tfv/dmatic.htm

LENS FAQ

http://math.liu.se/~behal/photo/index.html

The lens FAQ is also available by anonymous ftp from butler.hpl.hp.com.
See the directory jacobson/photo.

LENS TUTORIAL

http://math.liu.se/~behal/photo/index.html

The lens tutoral is also available by anonymous ftp from butler.hpl.hp.com.
See the directory jacobson/photo.

LENS TESTS: SUMMARIES OF PUBLISHED TESTS AND CHARTS FOR
DO-IT-YOURSELF TESTING

http://ptolemy.eecs.berkeley.edu/~murthy/lenses/photoAsia.tests

http://ptolemy.eecs.berkeley.edu/~murthy/Canon.html

http://www.uni-karlsruhe.de/~unl4/lenstest.html

http://robotics.eecs.berkeley.edu/~qtluong/photography/35mm/test.html/

http://www.cs.arizona.edu/people/bmtong/photo.html

http://f-server.cs.hks.se:80/~nicke/private/photo/lenstest/

http://www.phys.rug.nl/mk/people/aue/nikon/grover.html

http://www.uni-karlsruhe.de/~unl4/complete.htm#L28+

A postscript version of the USAF 1951 testchart is also available
by anonymousftp from butler.hpl.hp.com.  See the directory jacobson/photo.

USED LENSES

http://www.epp.cmu.edu/~tw1u/faq.html

ACCESSORIES:

TRIPODS AND TRIPOD HEADS

http://photo.net/photo/tripods.html

BOGEN/MANFROTTO

http://www.mat.uc.pt/~rps/photos/manfrotto.txt

FILTERS

http://www.infinet.com:80/~lucid1/colfilt.htm

http://math.liu.se/~behal/photo/index.html

FLASH

http://www.mat.uc.pt/~rps/photos/flash/

FLASH UNITS:

METZ

http://www.mat.uc.pt/~rps/photos/flash/

METZ 32 MZ-3

http://www.cs.arizona.edu/people/bmtong/photo.html#qa

POLARIZER/UV

temporarily unavailable

FILM:

WEB PAGES OF MANUFACTURERS

AGFA:

http://www.agfahome.com

FUJI

http://www.fujifilm.co.jp

ILFORD

http://www.ilford.com.

KODAK

http://www.kodak.com

BLACK AND WHITE

http://math.liu.se/~behal/photo/index.html

DX CODING

ftp://relay.cs.toronto.edu/pub/acs/rec.photo/technology/

FILM LOADING

http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/genie/

http://www.mang.canterbury.ac.nz/~busa057/photosoc/bulk_load.html

http://www.mang.canterbury.ac.nz/~busa057/photosoc/rolling_films.html

FILMS

DATA:

http://math.liu.se/~behal/photo/index.html

TECHNIQUE:

DARKROOM

http://math.liu.se/~behal/photo/index.html

ftp://relay.cs.toronto.edu/pub/acs/rec.photo/printing/

INTRODUCTION TO PHOTOGRAPHY

http://math.liu.se/~behal/photo/intro-to-photography.html

http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu:/~kc3r/ps/photography.ps

NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY

http://www.cyberenet.net/~eos/index.html

http://members.aol.com/natureloco/index.html

TRAVEL GUIDES FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS

http://home.earthlink.net/~phototravel/

WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY

ftp://relay.cs.toronto.edu/pub/acs/rec.photo/weddings/

http://math.liu.se/~behal/photo/index.html

MODELING

http://www.cwe.com/kevinz/

INFRARED PHOTOGRAPHY

http://www.mat.uc.pt/~rps/photos

http://www.a1.nl/phomepag/markerink/mainpage.htm

STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY

http://math.liu.se/~behal/photo/index.html

ZONE SYSTEM

http://math.liu.se/~behal/photo/index.html

RIT MAIL SERVER

email to

ritphoto@rit.edu, subject FAQ$txt, empty message

MISCELLANEOUS:

ASMP COPYRIGHT GUIDE

ftp://moink.nmsu.edu/rec.photo/asmp-copyright-guide

LIST OF MAILING LISTS

http://math.liu.se/~behal/photo/index.html

OPTICS FOR BIRDING

ftp://relay.cs.toronto.edu/pub/acs/rec.photo/misc/

GUIDE TO PHOTO TOURS

http://home.earthlink.net/~phototravel/tours.htm

PHOTO CD

ftp://relay.cs.toronto.edu/pub/acs/rec.photo/digital/

PHOTOGRAPHY EXPERIMENTS

ftp://moink.nmsu.edu/rec.photo/experiments/

WWW PHOTOGRAPHY MAGAZINES

APOGEE PHOTO MAGAZINE

http://www.apogeephoto.com/

CREATIVE CAMERA INTERACTIVE

http://194.62.180.3/channel/creative/

CHASSEUR d"IMAGES

http://www.epita.fr:5000/~denis_r/photim/index.html

PHOTON MAGAZINE (WWW edition)

http://www.photonpub.co.uk/photon/photon.html

FREEZE FRAME

http://lightning.mgl.ca/~blairm/freeze2.htm

STAFF PHOTO MAGAZINE

http://www.staffphoto.com/index.htm

REC.PHOTO FAQ

http://math.liu.se/~behal/photo/index.html

REC.PHOTO.* CHARTERS

http://www2.cybernex.net/~eos/

STOCKPHOTO MAILING LIST

http://odyssey.apana.org.au/~joel_day/STOCKPHOTO.HTML

NOTE TO FTP USERS:

Even if you don't have WWW access, documents at

http://www.cs.arizona.edu/people/bmtong/photo.html

can be downloaded by anonymous ftp to

ftp://cs.arizona.edu/people/bmtong/photo.html

John N. Wall
Professor of English
North Carolina State University
Department of English
Box 8105
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-8105
(919) 515 - 4162
jnweg@unity.ncsu.edu