Still using medium format
 

I just came back from a trip to Alaska. I decided not to bring my 35mm
camera and to use my Hasselblad 553ELX. It was heavier than heavy, but
I figured I wanted to use what I have and get the quality I want. My
traveling companion used a tiny Canon P/S digital camera with a
capacity of 2000 shots (wow!). She would complain about how big and
heavy my camera bag was and how tiny her camera was and the fact that
she could put it in her purse and not carry some huge bag around. One
of the kids that was with us decided that he wanted to take pictures
with the digital camera every single day of the trip. So the day before
he got the digital camera and proceeded to shoot 300 shots in a span of
20 minutes. He's 6 years old, mind you, so he shot everything under the
sun, including his shoes and a bunch of other insignificant things. In
fact, he was using the camera in ways that's normally fit for movie or
video cameras. I took some shots, very careful not to use up all my
film.

The day after the boy takes more pictures. My traveling companion
bought the digital camera, large SD card, and extra battery for this
particular boat trip. We took a boat on a 9 hour tour to the glaciers
and on our way we saw the sea animals that inhabit the place. I had a
limited amount of film (very, very poor planning on my part) with 8
rolls of b/w (3 400-speed and 5 100-speed) and 4 rolls of 100-speed
slide film. So what happens? It rains (dark skies demanded fast film or
slow shutter speeds with 100 speed film). I ended up wanting maximum
quality so I used 100 speed film as much as I could. The shutter speeds
were very slow, especially with my f/4 lenses with a 2x teleconverter
(yes, f/8!). Needless to say a few of my shots I was hoping to get were
blurry when I finally developed the film (sigh). So, we start getting
close to our main destination with the glaciers. My traveling companion
with at least 1500 shots left in her camera gets her camera, holds it
up and suddenly...beep, nothing. Battery dead. She left the spare in
the hotel room and she's left with nothing to take pictures with. I, on
the other hand, was still shooting. My ELX battery still winding away.
If my batteries had died I would have reached in my bag and pulled out
my spare 500C/M and continued on. On the boat I heard repeated whispers
from one passenger to the another when we finally got the glaciers
"...I can't. My batteries are dead" or "I'm out of room on my camera."
Thunk...whirrrr....went my camera. So, I got the shots that mattered
whereas they didn't (poor planning on their part). Unfortunately there
was a shot I wanted and should have had if I had bothered to wait 2
minutes, but I moved away so others could take pictures. When I saw
what was unfolding before me I was too late to get in position. That
one untaken picture, unfortunately, is the one I keep going back to in
my mind.

I got home and developed all 12 rolls of film. Some pictures I expected
to be blurry were, but the ones that did come out the way I wanted were
nothing short of spectacular. I also love the fact that if I wanted to
enlarge them to 30"x30" I'd have no problems doing so, whereas a 6 or
7MP camera might. So, overall I'm really, really glad I lugged my 15
pound camera bag around. My traveling companion has over 1000 pictures
taken by her little movie camera-like son. She's happy with her
pictures and that's all that count.

So, I'm sure I'll continue to use my ancient Hasselblad since it brings
me satisfaction when I get the slides and negatives developed. I don't
need instant gratification and I know that I like the fact that I
already own my equipment. I don't need to shell out $8000 and up for a
new 16MP camera that will give results "superior" to medium format when
in reality their cameras will be "obsolete" and "inferior" to other
cameras just 2 or 3 years from now. They may be "better" than medium
format but I don't care. I get the tonal range and sharpness that I
need with what I have. As long as there's film available I'll continue
to use my medium format camera.

Still using medium format
 

Glad to see that I'm not the only one carrying around MF gear.

Just got back from Martha's Vineyard with my Pentax 6x7 outfit.
It weighs 16 kg in its spiffy new Porter Case rolling pack, *not*
including
the tripod!

The results - some wonderful Provia and Velvia slides, which I'll print
at
24"x30".

Peace,
-chasfs
http://chasfs.com

Still using medium format
 

nathantw wrote:
I just came back from a trip to Alaska. I decided not to bring my 35mm
camera and to use my Hasselblad 553ELX. It was heavier than heavy, but
I figured I wanted to use what I have and get the quality I want...

I have travelled with my Pentax 67 in its Pelican case and
have taken wonderful pictures with it. My Crown Graphic is
lighter and a lot easier to use handheld, but is a little awkward
for taking lots and lots of pictures.

My digital camera is no slouch (a Digital Rebel), but for
pictures that look like *photography*, big film wins, hands down.

Laura Halliday VE7LDH "Que les nuages soient notre
Grid: CN89mg pied a terre..."
ICBM: 49 16.05 N 122 56.92 W - Hospital/Shafte

Still using medium format
 

Oh yes, the tripod. I have a Gitzo 224 with a really heavy Bogan 3528
(or whatever that 3D head is designated). It literally put me over the
luggage weight limit. Needless to say that my companion wasn't too
thrilled putting it into her luggage without saying "why do you need
this tripod? Can't you take a smaller one?" I said "nope, not for this
camera." Overall, she wasn't happy with my camera selection at all. I
heard "next time..." and I just said, "no matter what camera I have,
this one or a spiffy new digital, I'm still carrying this camera bag
and the tripod. Besides, I'm the one carrying it and you don't hear me
complaining."

I'm happy to hear that others are still using their medium format
cameras and not relegating them to the closet or Ebay.

chasfs wrote:
Glad to see that I'm not the only one carrying around MF gear.

Just got back from Martha's Vineyard with my Pentax 6x7 outfit.
It weighs 16 kg in its spiffy new Porter Case rolling pack, *not*
including
the tripod!

The results - some wonderful Provia and Velvia slides, which I'll print
at
24"x30".

Peace,
-chasfs
http://chasfs.com

Still using medium format
 

I use digital mostly now. I've a mark one 1ds and also Olympus e1 BUT I
still use film.
I find 35mm print has the same res as 1ds, but with grain. I also scan
MF and often take my Mamiya 6 kit on my cycletours. This gives
fantastic results and a very high hit rate. I find MF colour better
than digital as well.

Still using medium format
 

nathantw wrote:

close to our main destination with the glaciers. My traveling companion
with at least 1500 shots left in her camera gets her camera, holds it
up and suddenly...beep, nothing. Battery dead. She left the spare in
the hotel room and she's left with nothing to take pictures with. I, on
the other hand, was still shooting. My ELX battery still winding away.

This is not a film v digital issue, rather a poor planning issue.

Pete

--
http://www.petezilla.co.uk

Still using medium format
 

nathantw wrote:

minutes, but I moved away so others could take pictures. When I saw
what was unfolding before me I was too late to get in position. That
one untaken picture, unfortunately, is the one I keep going back to in
my mind.

Don't dwell on it for too long. Missed shots are everywhere,
for everyone. God to see I'm not alone in carrying a backpack
full of gear that works. In my case it's a rb67. But I'm mad!...
:-)

(and yes: when the shots comeback, I just fill my eyes
with the joy of those glorious, HUGE frames!)

Still using medium format
 

So, I'm sure I'll continue to use my ancient Hasselblad since it brings
me satisfaction when I get the slides and negatives developed. I don't
need instant gratification and I know that I like the fact that I
already own my equipment. I don't need to shell out $8000 and up for a
new 16MP camera that will give results "superior" to medium format when
in reality their cameras will be "obsolete" and "inferior" to other
cameras just 2 or 3 years from now. They may be "better" than medium
format but I don't care. I get the tonal range and sharpness that I
need with what I have. As long as there's film available I'll continue
to use my medium format camera.

After reading a great post I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents. I've used
35mm all my life and all of my cameras have been the fully automatic
type - from my first Canon AE-1 to a Rebel Eos I recently sold on
e-bay. In fact, I sold all of my 35mm gear so I could buy a new Canon
S2IS digital camera - another fully automatic camera. I love the idea
of digital - being able to take hundreds of pictures and not having to
worry about processing and then discarding most of them.

Then something special happened. My wife's grandfather died way back in
1980, but it wasn't till last month that we inherited his camera gear
from her grandmother. There was a ton of old polaroids, Bell & Howell
8mm movie gear, an Agfa 35mm from about 1958 and a Yashica-Mat LM.

The Yashica caught my attention last but held on to it the longest.
I've spent the last two weeks reading online articles about how to use
such a beast and I just finished my first roll of film. Tomorrow I'll
take it to the processor and see what medium format prints look like.

I love this thing! There's nothing automatic about it. The light meter
still seems to work. I get to figure out (finally) how to set an
aperature and shutter speed combination. I get to look down into a huge
finder and wonder how to get my brain to work backwards - since
everything seems to be reversed in the focusing screen.

I live near the mountains of North Carolina and look forward to hauling
this old camera and a tri-pod up to the Blue Ridge Parkway to see what
kind of photos I can capture. I'm brand spanking new to medium format
and can't wait to learn more about it!

Still using medium format
 

sr3 wrote:
aperature and shutter speed combination. I get to look down into a huge
finder and wonder how to get my brain to work backwards - since
everything seems to be reversed in the focusing screen.

A word from the wise, whatever you do, don't go flying in a small plane
and try to take pictures from the waist level finder. Believe me, the
motion of you going forward, while the image in the viewfinder going
backwards will make your sense of orientation bonkers. That was enough
to make my plane trip stop being fun.

kind of photos I can capture. I'm brand spanking new to medium format
and can't wait to learn more about it!

Welcome to medium format. You'll love it, especially when you start
shooting slides and b/w film. Slides are just incredible to see on the
lightbox.

Nathan

Still using medium format
 

"sr3" wrote in message
ups.com...
[SNIP]

I live near the mountains of North Carolina and look forward to hauling
this old camera and a tri-pod up to the Blue Ridge Parkway to see what
kind of photos I can capture. I'm brand spanking new to medium format
and can't wait to learn more about it!


Have fun,and remember, "if at first you don't succeed..."

TLRs are nice solid cameras, not much to go wrong and as I'm sure you've
read, the lens on that 'mat is no slouch. You should find the square format
is interesting too: if you haven't been cropping to square previously it may
seem very different, but it has its own charms and there are some subjects
it suits very well indeed.

Getting a roll of slides film back and plonking the sheet down on the
light-box for the first time is a continuing source of joy - like being a
child coming downstairs on Christmas day to the pile of presents under the
tree. Except it doesn't only happen once a year.


Peter