joekraft wrote:
That's beautiful Brent. I'm not quick to dismiss anything at this point, but what are you thinking is an entry price for a setup with this model, say just basic body and one lens and wlf?
I bet you could pick up one wth a lens under $500. If you like shallow DOF, the 105 2.4 gives great results as or more shallow as the 85 1.2
The 45 is okay if not going crazy big. I have 2 40x50's in my studio. One shot with the 45 and the other the 100 macro both on velvia. You can definitely see the difference. The 100 macro print looks like a 4x5 it has so much detail.
The 165 is pretty sharp as well, either version.
Do you plan on using a spot meter with whatever MF camera you get?
Here's another couple of shots with it I think the 45 was used in both..
Those are really stunning. This is going to become a slippery slope for me. My entry point wasn't necessarily the ability to make a 40 X 50 print, but I'm sure once I start getting into it, I'll want to.
I do plan on using a meter, I've been meaning to get a modern one for a while, so actually if I went with a $200-level solution right now, I could put a little money towards that.
As far as shallow DoF; kind of on the fence with this one. One attraction of the C330 is the close-focus ability, but on the other hand, I'm looking at this as a way to focus more on slowing down and composing, so shallow DoF isn't critical to me in that context.
I'm just browsing images now, and you are right, that 105 is stunning.
Several people have mentioned how heavy the 6x7 options are. Give me some context. I use a 5Dw/Grip and RRS bracket. Are we talking even bigger for the pentax or Mamiya? I'm really becoming fond of the 6x7 format, the more I look at it.
Dumb question: Is ANY 6x7 going to be a relative hulk, or is it just these models in particular? I'm suspecting it is the former.
Well, the Pentax isn't as big as lugging around a fuji680 or an rb/rz. It's metal though, so it's maybe a little heavier than the 5d grip combo.
But I'll tell you the biggest difference, when I dropped my pentax 67 in a stream, I cussed a little, then took the lens and prism off and let it dry out.
I went to our local shop today, and they just had gotten a new Pentax 67 rig in, that I got to play with a little bit.
It's big, but not that much bigger than what I have now. Feels great in the hand. That wood grip is really cool.
However, the body was in almost perfect shape, and for the body, metered finder and two lenses, they were charging a premium price.
I'm not ready to pull the trigger right now anyhow, but after seeing examples of what the unit can do, and getting to actually handle it, it is hard not to think there is one in my future somewhere.
Could someone give me a little information about the differences between the TLR models, specifically a Yashica Mat and a Rolleicord? It seems more than one person has said if I can afford it, the rolleicords are a step up from yashicas or autocords.
There is a Rolleicord II Type 5, and a Rolleicord V available locally for decent prices.
I'm a huge fan of Rolleicords. They are completely manual cameras in every way. Advancing the film and cocking the shutter are two separate actions whereas with a Rolleiflex, Yashica-Mat or Autocord, film advance and cocking of the shutter occur simultaneously with the crank. The advantage of the Rolleicord is that it weighs a lot less than the others. I have owned various versions of all three and I always come back to the Rolleicords. I even prefer the lens on the Rolleicords (Xenar or Tessars) to the Yashica's or the Minolta Autocord tessar versions. The Rolleiflexes, such as the 3.5E, came with incredible Planar and/or Xenotar lenses but they weigh as much and are as bulky as a classic Hasselblad 500 with chrome lens and waist level (I owned both a Rolleiflex 3.5E and the classic blad at the same time and was shocked that the Rolleiflex offered no benefit regarding weight/ease of transport). The Rolleicord V would be a great camera if the price is right. I personally always preferred the Rolleicord versions with the focusing wheel on the right instead of left. By cradling the camera with the left hand, your left index finger can easily reach the shutter release/cocking lever under the lens while the right hand is left free to advance the film and focus. Once you get used to this arrangement, these cameras can be a very quick and stealthy because one does not have to change grips/holds to perform the various camera functions as you do with the other automatics (an ironic situation!). I believe the focusing knob on the first Rolleicrod V is on the right while the later versions, Va, Vb, moved the focusing knob to the left side.
Tariq, is there a good reason for not cocking the shutter when you advance the film? Seems that is a recipe for frustration, even after you get used to it.
Two yashica mat 124's went for at least $250 on ebay tonight. There are many with buy it now prices of $400 or so. Not exactly a value market right now. I wonder if the prices will be down after the holidays.
SHVv wrote:
An overlooked MF bargain is the Hasselblad ELM. Bodies with waist level finder, 9 volt battery adapter, in EX cond., are selling at KEH for less than $200. Add an 80mm f/2.8 C lens for under $500 and an A12 film mag and you are good to go with a nice system.
"A distinctive type of image/camera personality"
It would be difficult to find a more distinctive camera than the one that was the camera of the Moon landing program.
Steve
I have two EL/M bodies, one of them has the moon commemorative little "plaque" on the front. Great system. So great in fact, that I haven't run film through them in over 4 years. *snif*
If you want something Completely Different, as they say, I found a 25 dollar "Super Ricohflex" TLR on ebay. the grease in the lenses had turned into cement in its 50 years but a little time with some isopropyl alcohol and a warm lamp took care of that.
The taking lens is a triplet, which means that it isn't ever going to be super sharp but the bokeh is really interesting.
The only problem is that upon putting the lenses back together I've been unable to get them completely aligned but I haven't had any time to use it since school started back in august.
joekraft wrote:
Tariq, is there a good reason for not cocking the shutter when you advance the film? Seems that is a recipe for frustration, even after you get used to it.
Two yashica mat 124's went for at least $250 on ebay tonight. There are many with buy it now prices of $400 or so. Not exactly a value market right now. I wonder if the prices will be down after the holidays.
It becomes second nature once you get used to the two separate actions of cocking the shutter - advancing the film...but you will forget to cock the shutter early on most likely. I don't know of any good reason per se but an advantage is that the mechanism is less complex so there is less to go wrong mechanically. There is also weight savings from not having the more complex mechanism.
I've tried a few MF systems... Hasselblad, Rolleiflex (2.8C TLR), and currently a Pentax 67. I love the 6x6 format, but these days I'm a sucker for the background blur capabilities of the 105mm on the Pentax. I've been using it for casual family shots...
I also have the 45mm lens- absolutely love it, and quite a bargain compared to other wide angle solutions for medium format
http://adnan76.com/blog/europe09-87.jpg
http://adnan76.com/blog/europe09-91.jpg
http://adnan76.com/blog/europe09-89.jpg
If you can do with a fixed lens, I think a Rolleiflex TLR is the way to go- no mirror slap, quality on par with anything else, and plus people seem to love to have their photos taken with it
Thanks adnan, very nice shots. I am really struggling with the decision. The 67 I looked at this weekend had the 45mm lens on it. I'd love to be able to take something like that out in the field.
One more thing to add: I use my Pentax because I love the look of medium format black & white films... to me, there's nothing as cool as Pan F or HP5+/Tri-X. Medium Format film is also probably capable of delivering results better than the best of the DSLRs right now, but to get there you need proper scanning. I'm not sure medium format can compare on sharpness/resolution against the best of the DSLRs when scanned on a nice flatbed. I use an Epson v750, and its great for my purposes, but to get to the huge prints discussed earlier, you're talking a lot of time and $$$, either sent out or on dedicated MF scanners.
adnan76 wrote:
but to get there you need proper scanning.
Well, no. To get the best results you need proper printing. Which doesn't (shouldn't in fact) involve any scanning. Optical prints, particularly of B&W, are going to be superior to any scan. Unless shooting for some sort of production / publication, scanning doesn't need to enter the picture at all. (And if you are shooting for something like that, chances are you aren't going to be shooting B&W in a MF camera...)
The beauty of MF film is that it avoids all the computer-related nonsense and baggage that so pervades popular photography today.
I recently traded an old 20D and a couple of lenses (50mm f/1.8 and a kit lens that came with an old film Rebel) for a Mamiya RB67 with two lenses, 120 back, prism finder, waist-level finder, and some other goodies (disks to go with the soft-focus portrait lens, filters, etc.), all in great condition. I think I got a great deal! If you can find someone looking to "go digital" and make a trade with you, you might be able to pick up a great deal on something. Probably *not* on a Hassy (they seem to hold value really, really well, tho, if you decide to invest...) but on a Mamiya or Pentax, possibly.
Dec 07, 2009 at 09:03 AM