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Post by aDave on Feb 27, 2019 15:34:05 GMT -5
I assumed you meant "unhappy" with those posted.......didn't realize they were shot with a "gray" background since that group of lace and other very light colored stones seemed to not have the contrast the other stones had against the same background.....maybe just my bad eyes.
Did you use a primary lens........the magnification is awesome.........not to worry, Canon or otherwise. Once one gets to that quality of glass, outside of manufactured or abuse issues, the only problem should be the camera type and user's ability to properly apply (the lenses) ability......certainly those are not an issue with your photography....... (IMHO)......I'm still shopping for a primary macro, that's the reason I ask.......thanks. Ahh, poor wording on my part. I just edited for clarity. Thanks. The lens I used for the group shots was a 24-105mm Canon zoom. Most of the photos would have been taken toward the higher end of the zoom range. It has a pretty good minimum focus distance, but I still had to crop the photos. That's why I suggested shooting the largest file you can which is what I do. This way, when the photo was cropped, it actually causes the subject material to become larger to fill the image size. The lens that may be having an issue is my Canon 100mm macro. I don't know exactly what the problem is yet (mechanical or electrical), but I think I'll be taking it to get looked at. It's doing strange stuff when trying to autofocus, so I hope it's not too big of a repair ($$$). FWIW, I've always heard that good Nikon lenses are outstanding. If you can afford it, try to move toward the higher end line of lenses. Glass definitely makes a difference. Good luck.
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Post by aDave on Feb 27, 2019 15:39:02 GMT -5
Super nice tumbles! I love the Condor Agates. I tried a slightly different schedule than yours this time. After the coarse I've been doing 120/220 for 7 days, 500 for 7 days, 1200 for 7 days, then AO for one week, followed by a burnish with Borax. The last batch I ran I did a burnish between each stage. I finally have another batch due to come out on Sunday I'll have to see if I want to stick with what I've been doing or run the AO for two weeks. I can see that a Lot-O might become a necessity eventually. Thanks Mike. The only reason I do 500 for two weeks is to try to take advantage of grit breakdown over that time and not do a prepolish stage. I originally started with one week polish, then two weeks, but things have progressed to three weeks. There seemed to be a visible difference in what I was producing.
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Post by miket on Feb 27, 2019 15:47:27 GMT -5
Super nice tumbles! I love the Condor Agates. I tried a slightly different schedule than yours this time. After the coarse I've been doing 120/220 for 7 days, 500 for 7 days, 1200 for 7 days, then AO for one week, followed by a burnish with Borax. The last batch I ran I did a burnish between each stage. I finally have another batch due to come out on Sunday I'll have to see if I want to stick with what I've been doing or run the AO for two weeks. I can see that a Lot-O might become a necessity eventually. Thanks Mike. The only reason I do 500 for two weeks is to try to take advantage of grit breakdown over that time and not do a prepolish stage. I originally started with one week polish, then two weeks, but things have progressed to three weeks. There seemed to be a visible difference in what I was producing. That makes sense. I may have to give that a try some time and see if it makes a difference. I'm still learning about this stuff and I'm sure everyone uses what works for them. Thanks!
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Feb 28, 2019 7:22:46 GMT -5
Hats off to a great rotary tumble. Lots of eye candy in those pictures. 5 weeks after stage one though, ugh.
Chuck
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sabrosa
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2019
Posts: 3
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Post by sabrosa on Feb 28, 2019 9:45:25 GMT -5
Beautiful pics. This forum is the best, so much inspiration and knowledge. Thanks for sharing.
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Post by aDave on Feb 28, 2019 13:02:39 GMT -5
Hats off to a great rotary tumble. Lots of eye candy in those pictures. 5 weeks after stage one though, ugh. Chuck Thanks Chuck. Actually it's just over 6, but who's counting. That's the primary reason I made the switch, but there are other benefits as well...as you know. Thanks for your help.
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Post by aDave on Feb 28, 2019 13:04:25 GMT -5
Beautiful pics. This forum is the best, so much inspiration and knowledge. Thanks for sharing. Thank you and welcome to the forum. If you get a moment, please drop by the Introduction area and tell us about your interests in the hobby.
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NevadaBill
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2019
Posts: 1,332
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Post by NevadaBill on Mar 1, 2019 10:31:39 GMT -5
Wow. I think these all look like museum pieces. I don't even have a single rock that looks as good as any of yours. Not in shape or gemstone quality. I am starting to believe that rock tumbling is less of a science and more of an art. And to think that they were all finished in Rotary machines as well. Thanks for sharing Dave!
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Post by aDave on Mar 1, 2019 12:41:16 GMT -5
Wow. I think these all look like museum pieces. I don't even have a single rock that looks as good as any of yours. Not in shape or gemstone quality. I am starting to believe that rock tumbling is less of a science and more of an art. And to think that they were all finished in Rotary machines as well. Thanks for sharing Dave! Thanks Bill, very kind.
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Post by greig on Mar 1, 2019 14:20:02 GMT -5
Nice job! I love the results. I am also thinking about a Lot-O, for the same reasons you have stated. I currently have some moss agate that has been tumbling for 5 weeks and I still don't have it into polish.
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Post by aDave on Mar 1, 2019 15:32:15 GMT -5
Nice job! I love the results. I am also thinking about a Lot-O, for the same reasons you have stated. I currently have some moss agate that has been tumbling for 5 weeks and I still don't have it into polish. Thanks greig. I'm dealing a bit with what I only hope is a learning curve, but I've been able to finish two batches since I got the machine one month ago. I'm glad I made the move.
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Post by beefjello on Mar 2, 2019 19:08:01 GMT -5
An excellent roll Dave!
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Post by aDave on Mar 2, 2019 21:11:39 GMT -5
Thanks Brian. There might have been stuff from you, but I can't keep track of everything at this point. I know I have more of your material, and it will come out at some point in time.
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Post by frane on Mar 3, 2019 10:46:12 GMT -5
Don't give up on the rotary's yet. I often like to use the barrels first to smooth out rough edges and then when I like the looks of a stone, I set it aside until I have enough for a vibe batch to complete and polish. Seems to work well.
Fran
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Post by aDave on Mar 3, 2019 13:18:12 GMT -5
Don't give up on the rotary's yet. I often like to use the barrels first to smooth out rough edges and then when I like the looks of a stone, I set it aside until I have enough for a vibe batch to complete and polish. Seems to work well. Fran Oh, there will always be rotaries in use for the coarse run. The change for me will be the vibe being used for all other stages.
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