Forgot that Merc has a double T tray like some of the other teams now, too. And some nicer photos of the new floor. And goddamn they are good at this copying thing.
Updates! Ferrari has a re-profiled rear wing and some changes to the DRS actuator. Their floor is missing the floor stay for now, which may indicate that it’s stiffer, but otherwise seems to look the same or very similar. We may see more later. Here is the new Aston RB18. Very much Red Bull like sidepods and floor. Another new rear wing for Mercedes with an interesting “shoulder” section. New floor, with either taller tunnels or maybe a stiffer/thicker upper part (look near the sidepod attachment, it is closer to the Petronas stripe than before). Also a largely different floor edge.
There is kind of a mind game going on now with Ferrari and RB too, regarding the cost cap. It seems like Ferrari thinks that the way RB is spending that they cannot keep bringing the updates that they have been, but RB states they have a “lot” of upgrade budget left. Could get interesting. I don’t really think that Ferrari can keep pace development wise, so they will really need theirs to work, as you said. They really really need to fix their tire issues. Also a big weekend for Mercedes. Could be good, could be really bad.
Finally tried scanning MF on my rig. Definitely not as easy as scanning 135 slides, but it does work. I scanned each 6x7 frame (these are from my Mamiya RB67) using two overlapping shots, and stitched them in LightRoom. Depending on the crop they ended up at about 45-50mp each. I also finally busted out the macro rail I bought a month ago (didn’t need it for 135 scanning). It works well. I only have a handful of reversal film images (2 rolls), but here are a few examples. I think they turned out well. I have posted the lab scan versions of these before, so sorry that they aren’t new. I could do the same with color negative film, but I haven’t bought Negative Lab Pro yet. There’s some dust I missed cloning out (need to to a better job making sure the film stays clean next time), and some of these are kind of uninteresting, but this is a test more than anything. The goal was to be as good or better than the lab, and I think I did accomplish that. I also MUCH prefer my processing to the lab’s. It seems like the Noritsu scanners they are using leave a green cast/WB. Ekatachrome E100 | Mamiya RB67
This one has been a little polarizing over on Steve Hoffman. IMO, Bernie tends to master things pretty flat and mostly as they were recorded, which let the shrill Harmon mute shine here. I like mine. I have a decent Bergenfield 2nd pressing too, and the new one is a bit more clear and present.
Nice. I have some babies, too. I don’t hardly drive since I WFH, so some kind of warbler (I think) made a nest in my vehicle wheel well. Not as cool as screech owls, though. Was kinda surprised they hatched since I noticed them the last time I drove and was away from home, but that was before they hatched. Since I park in the same spot, guess momma found em easily enough again.
Found them. You use the rubber stopper thing to remove the trim ring, then the spanner to remove the ring that holds the outer element, which then just kind of comes out. Then the aperture assembly comes out. I think I just soaked it in acetone (nail polish remover), but can’t remember for sure. Manually actuated it a lot to work the acetone between the blades to dissolve the oil, waited for it to dry, then re-assembled.