Jorgen Udvang
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 p.5 #17 · To film users, a question | |
edwardkaraa wrote:
I agree about the worst move part. This camera is a monster, even bigger than a Mamiya RB/RZ. It does have some incredible features, but it's a studio only camera. It requires a very sturdy tripod for outdoors use too. Not for everyone.
It's absolutely not for anyone, I have to agree to that, and it took me 10 years of consideration to finally throw in the towel and buy one (two actually, since I I've bought both the standard model III and the IIIs without movements for easier travel... it's "only" 2,350g vs. 2,690g of the standard body, but it's also easier to fit in a camera bag). A tripod with head for outdoor use is a headache as well. There's no way around a strong carbon fiber tripod, and the ideal travel head, the Arca-Swiss D4, costs over $1,000. Studio use is easier, since any cheap, heavyweight tripod will do, as will my old Manfrotto 3-way head.
There's also the consideration of viewfinders. There are several different available, but the "best" one, the eye-level AE viewfinder, is as common as hen's teeth and priced correspondingly. By some weird coincidence, I ended up with two of those (I didn't realise that one was included in a complete set I'd ordered and bought one from another source for $1,200). Want a neck strap? I recently lost an auction at the great big auction site because my maximum bid was "only" $350.
When all that is said, for some kinds of photography, like food and product shots, the camera simply has no equal. It has the advantages of a large format camera with all the movements and the operational ease of an SLR merged into one unit. A basic kit, even with the best of the lenses (they are all very, very good) is still very cheap, and a set with body, three lenses and a couple of film holders is easily obtainable for less than $1,500.
I'm hopefully into this long term, and I even consider digital back options. The Sinar backs seem to be the easiest solution for this camera, but current Sinar backs are for tethered shooting only, so not something for easy travel photography unless somebody can dig up a FW to WiFi solution with integrated power supply. The alternative is a Sinar Emotion, which isn't too badly priced second hand, and which could also be fitted to a more portable MF camera like the Hy6 or a Rollei. But now we're talking next year and beyond in my case...
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