Medium Format Cameras.

[stowpirate]

It might also be worth looking at the Bronica RF645. Compared with the GA645 it has the virtue of interchangeable lenses (albeit a limited selection) and it's cheaper (and a little more modern) than the Mamiya 7 and pretty compact, to boot.

I've heard it compared favourably to a Leica M6 by people who've used both.

I've toyed with the idea of buying one on more than one occasion.

Can you compare a Leica M series camera to a medium format camera or are we talking about the handling qualities? Like it makes a good doorstop

Is image quality that you are hinting at? If so this is the way to go

 

[Pie 1]

Can you compare a Leica M series camera?....

Good point.

<shows Cybertect a yellow card for cross formatting>

Anymore of that & I'll get a 10x8 out.

 

[ViolentPanda]

Can you compare a Leica M series camera to a medium format camera or are we talking about the handling qualities? Like it makes a good doorstop

Is image quality that you are hinting at? If so this is the way to go

Yank rubbish.

I prefer the British version (salutes Union flag and hums national anthem )

 

[kerb]

Lot of information to digest. An exciting prospect of reseaching the cameras mentioned here.

Certainly don't make cameras like they used to, do they?

 

[sim667]

15 frames per roll, better frame ratio for magazine layouts, faster, lighter & more ergonomic SLR cameras.
645 was pretty much the format of choice for fashion shooters for example.

SLR 6x7's are generally much more hefty beasts & range finders are, as a rule, pretty useless for fast compostion work like that, that needs razor sharp f.2.8 focus, etc.

but the whole point of using a 67 camera is that its double the quality of a 35mm camera where as a 645 is roughly just above a third better quality.

Ive shot on mamiya7's, rb67's and bronica etrsi 645 and there's definately a noticeable difference between the 67 frames and 645 frames once they've been drum scanned

personaly a mamiya7 would have it for with any 120 roll film camera, but but as a majority of the TLR's and 645 rangefinders that have been suggested the OP would probably be best off with a rangefinder 35mm camera....... especially as he's going travelling, 35mm is much easier to find than 120 in far off lands.

 

[stowpirate]

I prefer the British version (salutes Union flag and hums national anthem )

Is there a British version of the ultimate camera?

The ultimate British medium format camera.

What happened to the British camera industry

 

[sim667]

Is there a British version of the ultimate camera?

The ultimate British medium format camera.

What happened to the British camera industry

we weren't very good i guess

 

[Pie 1]

but the whole point of using a 67 camera is that its double the quality of a 35mm camera where as a 645 is roughly just above a third better quality.

Actually, a 645 frame is almost 3 times as large as a 35mm frame & a 6x7 frame, over 4 times as large.

The whole point of using MF - period, is to get better quality than 35mm. Once you are using MF it's a case of the best application of avalable tools for the purpose in hand.

A RZ67 isn't the most practical camera for swinging around hand held on a hot beach in Miami as a model runs out of the surf, just as a 'blad or a Mamiya 645 may not be the best choice for a windy 8 second exposure on top of a mountain, or a close up detail of a Rolex .

What is for sure is that the quality of all MF formats was (& still is) more than enough for the majority of commercial applications.

 

[cybertect]

Can you compare a Leica M series camera to a medium format camera or are we talking about the handling qualities? Like it makes a good doorstop

* goes googling *

First hit for RF645 and Leica

http://photo.net/medium-format-photography-forum/00HMl9

My RF645 has the visual effect of a polarized viewfinder. It darkens subjects yet increases contrast for easier focusing. Focusing through the viewfinder is much more pleasurable than the Leica M6 on bright days. This is one of the never mentioned outstanding features of the RF.

...

Yes, those huge negatives next to miniature format trump any high dollar glass on 35mm. I have been shooting with the MP for most of the last 12 months but printed some recent negatives from the RF. Wow, FP-4 in Rodinal 1:75. It will be hard to go back using the MP if one can get the image on 120 film. The RF-645 imaging and ergonomics are outstanding.

Like I said, I'd seen them compared. My own MF experience is limited to a Lubitel 166 and a Yashica 124G so I'm in no position to comment directly myself <shrugs>

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/org/cameras/images/speed-graphic4x5.jpg

Effing Sheldon Brown?! I've spent the best part of the last two weeks continually referring to his excellent bicycle bits info and now I discover he's got a huge Photography section to his site. I'm never going to get away from the man...

 

[stowpirate]

Like I said, I'd seen them compared. My own MF experience is limited to a Lubitel 166 and a Yashica 124G so I'm in no position to comment directly myself <shrugs>

My Leica M2 does not in any way produce better images than my Lubitel 2. OK the photos have to be taken in ideal conditions to give that Lubitel a chance as it is only a plastic toy, albeit with a real quality glass coated three element lens. Also the mathematics on huge negative size make up for any slight deficiency in the optics.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/lubitel166/

Just noticed that the Lubitel 166+ is a dual format camera taking 35mm as well. That is really cool for a toy and it takes standard Leica 40.5mm filters.

we weren't very good i guess

Maybe it was 1960's style globalization with cheap labour in post war Western Germany and then third world slave labour in the far east including, Japan and Hong Kong. I can think of a few cameras that at least equaled if not exceeded the quality of German & Japanese products. Reid, W. Butcher & Co, Corfield, Ensign, Microcord & Microflex. Ok some are loose copies of German products but there are some real innovations as well.

I really like the simplicity of this 127 German medium format Foth

 

[sim667]

Actually, a 645 frame is almost 3 times as large as a 35mm frame & a 6x7 frame, over 4 times as large.

I dont think thats right

 

[Pie 1]

http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/index-frameset.html?filmformats.html~mainFrame

 

[stowpirate]

http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/index-frameset.html?filmformats.html~mainFrame

Interesting link

6x9cm is the way to go, I used a folding 1920's Voightlander 6x9cm a few years back which produced this slightly soft image.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3387/3213838882_3de2892538_o.jpg

 

[stowpirate]

Amateur Photographer Article on Yashica TLR's

http://www.tlr-cameras.com/Japanese/Yashica Article.html

 

[boskysquelch]

My Mamiya C330 lenses are going mouldy. :bwaaaaaaaaaaaah:


frkkn Cornwall.

 

[boskysquelch]

I dont think thats right

as the link provides...it is.

the print quality jump, away from 35mm, is an eye-opener also.

 

[stowpirate]

as the link provides...it is.

the print quality jump, away from 35mm, is an eye-opener also.

Not albeit if you return to the digital versus film debate

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1037&message=32256697
http://www.danharrisphotoart.com/35mm.html
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/shootout.shtml

Not sure how reliable this testing is?

Here is an unscientific film based comparison

http://www.porteous.net/test/35mmv66.html

I did a similar thing with a Lubitel 2 a few years back and found that the toy camera was really impressive. I cropped a 35mm sized frame out of the negative and printed it at A4 size and found it to be quite sharp. Also B&W hides a lot of defects - so a tad unscientific

Maybe I should rescan the negative and do another comparison?

 

[boskysquelch]

Maybe I should rescan the negative and do another comparison?

don't do it for me... I know about stuff already_already.

 

[kerb]

I've got a C2 and a pair of C33s, and have used them for the last 20 years. Lovely cameras, and lovely lenses. The C3xxx series cameras tend to be heavier than the C2xxx series, mainly because of the auto-cocking mechanism (leaf shutter cocked as film wind-on crank is turned).
This site has a pretty exhaustive run-down on the entire Mamiyaflex range and accessories.

Nice

This thread has thrown up some good ideas for MF. Didn't realise there were so many things to consider.
That being said, this is definately the next stage I want to go with photography.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

Bumping here - I recently got a Fuji GS645S as mentioned on a previous page, and it's terrific - tough, compact, fairly light (I sometimes worry whether I've actually put the camera in the bag as it feels like there is nothing in it) and the rangefinder, in contrast to some reports I read, is really quite nice and bright. I've not had issues using it where there's enough light to see what you're focussing in the first place. The bull bar around the lens does make me feel a bit more secure.

The shutter sounds like an airgun admittedly.

I find that I really like 6x4.5 - you still get an awful lot of detail plus 1/3 more shots per roll.

 

[Hocus Eye.]

Another undead thread is brought into the daylight.

 

[Cid]

Where do you get your film developed FM?

 

[FridgeMagnet]

Where do you get your film developed FM?

I do the B&W myself, which is pretty much all of it.

I posted a thread about a place I was trying which does 120 colour dev only for £2.29 + VAT + postage, which seems good so far - http://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/genie-imaging-photos2you-for-development.289873

 

[Cid]

Basically wanted to break out the FM2 again for a while and, now MF hardware is affordable, thinking of trying that... The place I used to go to has closed down though, and I no longer have access to darkrooms for the prints, which makes me a bit cautious - half the fun was the er... physical photoshop aspect.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

Basically wanted to break out the FM2 again for a while and, now MF hardware is affordable, thinking of trying that... The place I used to go to has closed down though, and I no longer have access to darkrooms for the prints, which makes me a bit cautious - half the fun was the er... physical photoshop aspect.

Well, for B&W, getting hold of the kit and chemicals doesn't seem to be an issue - I don't have a darkroom either, I just use a changing bag to put the film onto spools and into the Paterson tank. I then scan everything myself. I only really use colour on special occasions.

 

[Cid]

Ah right, you scan directly from film of course...

Might try that actually - what kind of scanner do you use?

I really want to find/make a darkroom at some point, used to love them... Don't seem to be many you can rent, or they're bloody expensive.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

Ah right, you scan directly from film of course...

Might try that actually - what kind of scanner do you use?

I really want to find/make a darkroom at some point, used to love them... Don't seem to be many you can rent, or they're bloody expensive.

Mine is a Canoscan 9000F, which was the cheapest one I found that did medium format. (As a bonus it will scan 12 35mm frames at a time as well due to the larger backlight - it's quite fast too, though the bundled software as usual is shit.)

I'd do prints myself but the whole darkroom thing just isn't going to happen in my flat.

 

[Cid]

Come to think of it I've got my Epson V500 knocking about somewhere, should be capable (if I can find the bits for film).

Will definitely be giving this a go, never really got the hang of processing the film itself (this was mostly uni work, so I sent the film off rather than risk losing it), but I'm sure I can work it out.

 

[ViolentPanda]

Well, for B&W, getting hold of the kit and chemicals doesn't seem to be an issue - I don't have a darkroom either, I just use a changing bag to put the film onto spools and into the Paterson tank. I then scan everything myself. I only really use colour on special occasions.

Good to see you testifying!!

 

[killer b]

check out this badboy my brother picked up in paris last year - the negatives are so big that you can just stick a polaroid back on it and snap away. lovely photos too.