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#1
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Stepping Up to Medium Format - Suggestions please.
Hello All.
I am considering a venture in to Medium Format. I currently own a Nikon D100, F100 and N80. There are a few reasons that I want to try out MF, but the top reason is the overall quality of the image. I am looking to shoot artsy black & white street scenes and portraits with the intent of blowing them up to gallery size. That said, I am considering my options. Hasselblad has a phenominal reputation and I have been considering purchasing a used 500CM kit which has a waist-level finder, 80mm lens, 220 and a Polaroid back. I thought this was a great starting point. I do realize the added expense in the future of purchasing additional Hasselblad lenses. My main concern is quality over cost. I also considered a Mamiya 645AF, but am leaning towards the Hasselblad. Any suggestions that you can provide me would be greatly appreciated. Once again the main uses for this camera would be studio portraits, fine art images, street scenes and to a lesser degree landscapes. I would appreciate and emails. You can send these to my email address at: and respond to the group as well. Thank you in advance, Chris Jett www.chrisjett.com ~Stay In Focus~ |
#2
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Chris, the Hassy would make a fine MF camera, but (as you say) the lenses
may be a bit pricey. You also might consider a Mamiya RB67 system, which, right now, should be way more affordable with excellent quality - i.e., consider the 6x7 format, rather than the 645 - way larger negative. Ken www.wyattphoto.com "OnSafari" wrote in message oups.com... Hello All. I am considering a venture in to Medium Format. I currently own a Nikon D100, F100 and N80. There are a few reasons that I want to try out MF, but the top reason is the overall quality of the image. I am looking to shoot artsy black & white street scenes and portraits with the intent of blowing them up to gallery size. That said, I am considering my options. Hasselblad has a phenominal reputation and I have been considering purchasing a used 500CM kit which has a waist-level finder, 80mm lens, 220 and a Polaroid back. I thought this was a great starting point. I do realize the added expense in the future of purchasing additional Hasselblad lenses. My main concern is quality over cost. I also considered a Mamiya 645AF, but am leaning towards the Hasselblad. Any suggestions that you can provide me would be greatly appreciated. Once again the main uses for this camera would be studio portraits, fine art images, street scenes and to a lesser degree landscapes. I would appreciate and emails. You can send these to my email address at: and respond to the group as well. Thank you in advance, Chris Jett www.chrisjett.com ~Stay In Focus~ |
#3
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If you are experienced with eye-level 35 mm cameras, you probably should
look at the Pentax 67. The camera form factor is similar to a Nikon, just much larger (and heavier). The Pentax negative (image is 55 x 70 mm) is larger than the Hasselblad and in the exact proportions for standard paper sizes (11 x 14 and 16x20 for example). When enlarging to "super size" in rectangular prints, the additional image area should be significant. WF On Wed, 13 Apr 2005 11:48:37 +0000, OnSafari wrote: Hello All. I am considering a venture in to Medium Format. I currently own a Nikon D100, F100 and N80. There are a few reasons that I want to try out MF, but the top reason is the overall quality of the image. I am looking to shoot artsy black & white street scenes and portraits with the intent of blowing them up to gallery size. That said, I am considering my options. Hasselblad has a phenominal reputation and I have been considering purchasing a used 500CM kit which has a waist-level finder, 80mm lens, 220 and a Polaroid back. I thought this was a great starting point. I do realize the added expense in the future of purchasing additional Hasselblad lenses. My main concern is quality over cost. I also considered a Mamiya 645AF, but am leaning towards the Hasselblad. Any suggestions that you can provide me would be greatly appreciated. Once again the main uses for this camera would be studio portraits, fine art images, street scenes and to a lesser degree landscapes. I would appreciate and emails. You can send these to my email address at: and respond to the group as well. Thank you in advance, Chris Jett www.chrisjett.com ~Stay In Focus~ |
#4
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Though the Hasselblad has a good reputation, it does appear to need more servicing than average, and additional lenses are VERY expensive (and the lenses, while good, are not always as good as some others made by Fuji, Pentax, and Mamiya in some focal lengths). As another pointed out, 6x7 may be a better choice than 6x6 for its larger area and closer to customary 8x10 proportion, and all three makers above offer cameras in this size (and I have a nice Pentax system available with some really fine lenses - see for description and photos: http://www.ferrario.com/ruether/fs-misc-photo.htm). -- David Ruether http://www.ferrario.com/ruether "OnSafari" wrote in message oups.com... Hello All. I am considering a venture in to Medium Format. I currently own a Nikon D100, F100 and N80. There are a few reasons that I want to try out MF, but the top reason is the overall quality of the image. I am looking to shoot artsy black & white street scenes and portraits with the intent of blowing them up to gallery size. That said, I am considering my options. Hasselblad has a phenominal reputation and I have been considering purchasing a used 500CM kit which has a waist-level finder, 80mm lens, 220 and a Polaroid back. I thought this was a great starting point. I do realize the added expense in the future of purchasing additional Hasselblad lenses. My main concern is quality over cost. I also considered a Mamiya 645AF, but am leaning towards the Hasselblad. Any suggestions that you can provide me would be greatly appreciated. Once again the main uses for this camera would be studio portraits, fine art images, street scenes and to a lesser degree landscapes. I would appreciate and emails. You can send these to my email address at: and respond to the group as well. Thank you in advance, Chris Jett www.chrisjett.com ~Stay In Focus~ |
#5
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In article .com,
"OnSafari" wrote: Any suggestions that you can provide me would be greatly appreciated. Once again the main uses for this camera would be studio portraits, fine art images, street scenes and to a lesser degree landscapes. Do you want square or rectangular,....thats a big consideration? If I was doing artsy fartsy imagery solely and want to do candid street scenes I would consider an ergonomic camera like the Fuji rangefinders or maybe a Bronica 645 Range finder....I am sure there are other similar options but those would be my choices,...BTW my MF is a SQai but I need the square for magazine work. -- LF Website @ http://members.verizon.net/~gregoryblank "To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."--Theodore Roosevelt, May 7, 1918 |
#6
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Thank you so far to all who have responded. I am looking to purchase
some sort of MF system within the next few days. (I don't know why there is a rush, maybe I feel like I need something new in my life.) As far as wanting square or rectangular images, I'm not sure if I put much consideration in to this. (I'm hearing laughter). I tend to like square images because you rarely see them, but that said, I usually crop any images I shoot. I love to crop - somtimes I find new perspectives inside a photo I shot due to cropping. Also unique sized cropping to me tends to stand out from the norm. I am keeping my eye on a Hasselblad 500CW system on eBay (I am currently winning the auction), but I am also considering two Mamiya RB67 systems. I have to admit that it is nice that the RB system is cheaper and I could always put the extra money in to other accessories. This of course leads me to ask if any of you have had any working knowledge of the Mamiya RB67. I'd love to hear your thoughts about it. I am going to do a Google search for additional user reviews. I am aware that Mamiya made an RB67, an RB67S, and their current RB67 Pro SD systems. The two RB systems I am looking at are the original 67's. Is anyone familiar what each system had to offer above the previous. Also, what seemes to be the pros and more importantly the cons about the original RB67? Any chance that the Mamiya's took a Polaroid back? Thank you all for helping me out in steering me towards a MF system that I can growth with and use for years to come. I am very passionate about my photography, and after MF, I will probably eventually look at large format as well. Cheers, Chris Jett www.ChrisJett.com ~Stay in Focus~ |
#7
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I'd like to follow up on my last email. I did find out that the RB67
takes a Polaroid back, which I like. I did not mention this, but the RB67 has bellows, which I have never used on a camera before. Is there an additional learning curve here? Thank you again, Chris |
#8
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looking at your images, i'd say:
you could either pick up and old p.o.s. ecBronica with waist level finder great for candid shots of people when you don't want them to know otherwise, the Pentax 6x7 is pretty awesome and you can always cut the top centimeter off if you want to be a square. A Blad is a lovely creature but I wouldn't go from an F100 and D100 to a Blad, actually, the ecBronica might be a bit confusing too. Anyway, shoot a heap of Velvia and have a blast, you can crop to your hearts content. |
#9
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On 13 Apr 2005 11:48:37 -0700, "OnSafari" wrote:
If you're going to medium format for the image size, I don't know why you'd even want to consider 6 x 4.5. As others have mentioned, the lens and lens cost considerations rule out the Hassies and Bronicas for many of us. 6x6 is very convenient because, obviously, you never have to rotate the camera while shooting. This is especially significant if you shoot a lot with flash. The RB67 and the Pentax 6x7 are excellent, more affordable choices, but I haven't heard anyone yet suggest the Mamiya 7-II rangefinder. For your described interests, that would be my choice. (I have owned the RB67, and presently own both the Pentax 6x7 and the 7-II.) -- Larry |
#10
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I think you will get as many different suggestions as there are
different MF cameras out in the market. I have worked with many of them -Bronica GS1, Mamiya RB67, RZ67, RZ67ProII, Hasselblad 500C, Mamiya S23, Linhof, Rollei SL66, SL66SE....you name them. My advise is simple - basically all modern medium format cameras are really good as they are made primarily for professionals or pro-sumers. Optical quality is fine and you won't see differences unless you enlarge to over 20"x whatever the other side is. The important topic is that you feel comfortable with the camera - so try them out, have them in your hands, "play" with them and then decide according to your feelings and liking (and budget). Yes there are some pros and cons for the one or the other camera - weight is certainly an issue, price of course (unless you swim in $$) and availability of special lenses (if you need them). rgds George Nyman OnSafari wrote: Hello All. I am considering a venture in to Medium Format. I currently own a Nikon D100, F100 and N80. There are a few reasons that I want to try out MF, but the top reason is the overall quality of the image. I am looking to shoot artsy black & white street scenes and portraits with the intent of blowing them up to gallery size. That said, I am considering my options. Hasselblad has a phenominal reputation and I have been considering purchasing a used 500CM kit which has a waist-level finder, 80mm lens, 220 and a Polaroid back. I thought this was a great starting point. I do realize the added expense in the future of purchasing additional Hasselblad lenses. My main concern is quality over cost. I also considered a Mamiya 645AF, but am leaning towards the Hasselblad. Any suggestions that you can provide me would be greatly appreciated. Once again the main uses for this camera would be studio portraits, fine art images, street scenes and to a lesser degree landscapes. I would appreciate and emails. You can send these to my email address at: and respond to the group as well. Thank you in advance, Chris Jett www.chrisjett.com ~Stay In Focus~ |
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