Josh is right about the Contax and all its features but they are SOOOOO freaking expensive. There is almost no way I personally could ever justify getting one. Heck I do not even have a metering prism or winder for my Mamiya ProTL. Really don't need one. When shooting film I want to take my time and think about the shot not if all the electronic parts of the camera are going to work.
All of our film gear has no batteries and no electronics. It is nice knowing that if I pull the trigger it is going off.
Plus for the cost of the Contax system you could have a medium format system, scanner, AND a large format system with money left over for film.
Unless you shoot more than 75% of your stuff on 645 the Contax is just to expensive to justify in a business sense. Josh does mostly film work so it works for him but damn... those kits are pushing 2500$ or more these days IF you can find one.
The 6x7 cameras minus the Mamiya are just way to cumbersome to carry around. Your going to have to change the entire way you shoot and approach a wedding. With something smaller like a 645 system you can at least wear it around your neck for a while during the day.
Diggler- The color scanning on the V700 is fine. Is it as nice as the Noritsu or Frontier... No... but for a 500$ scanner it is pretty amazing. True film buffs can always tell the difference but someone who knows what they are doing on the V700 will be pleasing clients all day long.
With that said I would never scan color film on the V700 because I normally have so much and it is so cheap to have the lab scan it that it makes no sense to waste my time at home. Cost analysis says let the lab do it.
All BW stuff is done at home and scanned in with the V700. For certain applications I will even send out the negs to have them printed in the darkroom and then send the real prints to Renaissance for the album.
Just curious. Are you thinking about shooting the entire wedding film, or just formals/portraits?
I shot weddings in the late '70's and '80's and would have given my left gonad for the quality and flexibilty offered by modern digital cameras and large aperture lenses. I shot with Mamiya 645's for candids and RB67's for formals. Everything was manual - exposure, focusing, etc. I never shot a wedding with 35mm.
I have an Epson V700 and scan quality is excellent. The V750 might be worth the difference in price to get a full version of Silverfast.
OP, I'd highly recommend getting a 35mm film body that goes with your existing gear to see if film is something that can fit into your workflow. While I run a Contax (and not because other people use it, I was bent on Hasselblad H but decided against it due to high cost and Hassy's closed market tactics), I run 3 EOS 1VHs's as well. 35mm film, while not MF, gives about 90% of what MF can give you if you use good lenses and about 200% more convenience than MF. Portra 400 also has outstanding grain characteristics.
Hell just froze over and I just bought a Pentax 67. Handles just like a 35mm slr but gives the flexibility of a waist-level finder. It loads like a 35mm as well, which might be slightly slower than changing backs but is faster than loading a back. I figure if you're going bigger you might as well go WAY bigger.
CRFTony wrote:
What cam are you using to shoot 4x5? I was so tempted to go large format but it seems so intimidating between field/view cameras, bellows lengths for telephoto lenses, film holders, etc. I was just too scared to make the jump. Maybe in another few years.
If you do be aware that despite size comparisons 4x5 is way way different to medium format, you are using a view or field camera which is just a frame with a lens on it and not an slr.
For ONE shot you have to:
Load an individual holder in pitch black without one single speck of dust landing on it (done previous to going out shooting)
Focus the camera with a cloth over your head and a loupe
Cock the shutter, stop down the lens
Slide in film holder and darkslide
Take exposure praying your subject has not moved
Put back in dark slide, remove holder
Then for developing you need to develop each film one at a time either in the dark with a tray (without scratches) or in individual tubes.
Large format is about 10x the pain in the backside 120 roll film is and the film is very expensive, so much so that I have not used my LF camera after the demise of quickload. You have to very seriously ask yourself if there is any advantage to 6x7.
The camera Doug mentioned though seems a little different, at least in terms of loading. It appears that holders/mags that can hold 6-12 shots are available for it. Something like that would make it a lot easier to manage.
Still not sure I can justify making the jump. I also don't do any developing (yet). I only shoot b&w film so I know I should, but I'm super paranoid about screwing it up.
dmacmillan wrote:
Just curious. Are you thinking about shooting the entire wedding film, or just formals/portraits?
I shot weddings in the late '70's and '80's and would have given my left gonad for the quality and flexibilty offered by modern digital cameras and large aperture lenses. I shot with Mamiya 645's for candids and RB67's for formals. Everything was manual - exposure, focusing, etc. I never shot a wedding with 35mm.
I have an Epson V700 and scan quality is excellent. The V750 might be worth the difference in price to get a full version of Silverfast.
Not all of the wedding, thinking of doing a mix to begin with, thinking more along the lines of bridal prep, couples and portraits.
Digital for low light( Ceremony) and motion Processionals etc. If I like the look and feel then all.
Something different
TRReichman wrote:
Hell just froze over and I just bought a Pentax 67. Handles just like a 35mm slr but gives the flexibility of a waist-level finder. It loads like a 35mm as well, which might be slightly slower than changing backs but is faster than loading a back. I figure if you're going bigger you might as well go WAY bigger.
My 4x5 can be shot reliably just as fast as an RB 67 given I have the cut film holders loaded up.
I specifically use the Graflex Super D because of the way it shoots just like the RB system.
CRFTony wrote:
Yeah, that's a lot of what scared me off.
The camera Doug mentioned though seems a little different, at least in terms of loading. It appears that holders/mags that can hold 6-12 shots are available for it. Something like that would make it a lot easier to manage.
Still not sure I can justify making the jump. I also don't do any developing (yet). I only shoot b&w film so I know I should, but I'm super paranoid about screwing it up.
A well developed 6x7 neg from a film like acros with a good developer is easily knocking on 4x5 quality up to fairly large print sizes. A RB67 is literally "put on tripod, push button, recock shutter and wind film" and the RZ even quicker. If you are scanning on an imacon there is even less of a reason since an imacon can only scan larger film sizes at lower res.
Loading film holders in the dark after desperately trying to remove all dust then after all the pain having your best neg ruined due to one dust spot hurts lots
With the advent of proper b&w prints on fibre paper from digital files I no longer use film at all, D800 ftw. I can't even distinguish my film prints from digital rpints in colour or b&w - I guess I don't get people's fascination with film after shooting it for so long pre-digital.
TRReichman wrote:
Hell just froze over and I just bought a Pentax 67. Handles just like a 35mm slr but gives the flexibility of a waist-level finder. It loads like a 35mm as well, which might be slightly slower than changing backs but is faster than loading a back. I figure if you're going bigger you might as well go WAY bigger.
I agree that 6x7 film resolution wise with good lenses scanned right can def. rival 4x5. However, shooting the graflex and developing those shots is an amazing experience and with the right lens yields amazing results. There is nothing quite like a large format negative.
At this point shooting it for pure resolution is almost not necessary. I just like the experience I have shooting it and the originality I can provide clients. When I only have 12 shots to work with it puts me in a completely different mind set in terms of creativity.
I just bought Evan's RZ kit and while I have tried the Contax I didn't feel like 645 gave me THAT much more in quality over 35mm and I value 35mm speed. However 6x7 is a completely different story IMHO. Anyone tried out the new Plustek Opticfilm 120 for scanning? Looks pretty compelling.
Doug - Another question from your stalker. What back do your Super Ds have? I found one with a Graflok and with a Graflex and I don't really know if one if preferable.
Maybe in another few years.
What back do your Super Ds have? I found one with a Graflok and with a Graflex and I don't really know if one if preferable.