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Author Topic: Mike Collette has passed away  (Read 3997 times)

Jim Kasson

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Mike Collette has passed away
« on: May 15, 2017, 01:23:55 pm »

I just found out the Mike Collette died of cancer on May 11.

For those of you who don't know Mike, he was the inventor of the scanning back marketed by Dicomed in the 90s, and later by his own company, Betterlight. Mike retired to the Sierra foothills in 2012 right after selling me a Super 6K, but still answered questions, gave advice, and supported me as I came up with ways to use the camera that he called "intentional misuse". In retirement, Mike was generous with his time and his engineering creativity, at one point cleverly coming up with a way to measure, characterize, and analyze the a7R shutter shock the helped many of us come with ways to ameliorate it.

Betterlight continues to support the product line.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but glad to have known Mike.

Jim



BernardLanguillier

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Re: Mike Collette has passed away
« Reply #1 on: May 15, 2017, 05:08:30 pm »

Thanks for sharing this Jim.

As a former betterlight owner I had the chance to exchange with Mike also an found him to be very supportive.

Sad to hear he passed away.

Cheers,
Bernard

Doug Peterson

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Re: Mike Collette has passed away
« Reply #2 on: May 15, 2017, 07:46:31 pm »

Didn't know him, but I've only ever heard good things about him.

RIP

kers

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Re: Mike Collette has passed away
« Reply #3 on: May 15, 2017, 09:01:03 pm »

Thanks for sharing and pointing me to the man behind the Betterlight back.
Alas, never have had a chance to use a Betterlight back, but always found it an intriguing device.
It is one of the digital photography specialities invented by special persons.
Sorry he passed away.
« Last Edit: May 16, 2017, 04:27:18 am by kers »
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Kevin Raber

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Re: Mike Collette has passed away
« Reply #4 on: May 15, 2017, 10:50:13 pm »

Sad.  Mike was a good guy and a pioneer. Sad to see another great person succumb to cancer.  I have fond memories of Mike.
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Kevin Raber
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henrikfoto

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Re: Mike Collette has passed away
« Reply #5 on: May 16, 2017, 03:07:46 pm »

Really sad to see this!  I have used a Betterlight for many years and have talked to Mike many times.
He was a perfect seller and allways was helpful and nice😊. I hope he will rest in peace😊. There are not many like him.
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Quentin

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Re: Mike Collette has passed away
« Reply #6 on: May 16, 2017, 06:51:27 pm »

Very sad.  I'm a former Dicomed Field Pro user.  Tricky old SCSI connected kit, but it could make great images.  Clearly an inspired pioneer.
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Kumar

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Re: Mike Collette has passed away
« Reply #7 on: May 22, 2017, 12:37:14 am »

Mike was a gentleman in the true sense of the word.

Kumar
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devin

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Re: Mike Collette has passed away
« Reply #8 on: May 23, 2017, 01:56:56 am »

R.i.P. Mike
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tim wolcott

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Re: Mike Collette has passed away
« Reply #9 on: May 24, 2017, 09:36:10 pm »

Thanks Jim for the news, I remember Mike way back in 1996.  He really was a kind and gentle man with a great deal of knowledge.  He will be missed.  Tim Wolcott
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SGalloway

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Re: Mike Collette has passed away
« Reply #10 on: May 30, 2017, 11:49:48 am »

As a young artist, I began working with a Better Light back in the early 2000's.  It was a demo model, the old sccsi model, and I kept it in my dirty, humid basement studio.  On a number of occasions, I had to take the back down to the shop on the peninsula, and Mike would fix it all up and keep me running.  He was great to talk to, and would enthusiastically explain all the things photographers were doing with his back.  He was also really interested in artists, and supported our work on the company website:   

http://www.betterlight.com/featuredPhotog_Index.html

He was generous, nice and a great collaborator.  An inventive and curious mind.  So sad that he's gone.
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