safe haven for tiny formats

[jcoldslabs]

Nonsense, a real rangefinder shooter would have climbed over the fence!

Not these days! I've been hassled twice in Portland for taking photos from public property. Cops seem a bit overzealous about photographers, which is nuts, especially with LF. I have had an idea for a long exposure at dusk out near the airport to capture the streams of light from the landing aircraft. I bet I get hassled for it. We'll see. I'll report back either way.

On a more serious note, all the different medium format film cameras seem to have a strength at the expense of something else.

That's true. I rented a Hasselblad once and found it to be clunky and LOUD. (Come to think of it, there don't seem to be many Hasselblad shooters among us, if this thread is any indication.) Next stop after the clunky rental was the Mamiya 7. No regrets. Not to slag Hasselblad shooters, though. They must be good cameras if they went to the moon and all, but they just aren't for me.

Jonathan

[tuco]

...
Come to think of it, there don't seem to be many Hasselblad shooters among us, if this thread is any indication.

Jonathan

Those airplane pictures I just posted were done on a Hassy 500C/M with a CF T* 50mm FLE lens.

[tuco]

...
Not to slag Hasselblad shooters, though. They must be good cameras if they went to the moon and all, but they just aren't for me.

Jonathan

No batteries and hot-swapping backs! Shooting at EI 6, for example, means a tripod most of the time. If the next shot needed to be 400 film for the shutter speed or I wanted it to be color film, no problem. Put on a new back. That's the appeal of the 500C/M for me.

[mono]

No batteries and hot-swapping backs! Shooting at EI 6, for example, means a tripod most of the time. If the next shot needed to be 400 film for the shutter speed, no problem. Put on a new back. That's the appeal of the 500C/M for me.

YES! I have 8 backs meanwhile. Hassi forever! I have no problems with the format.

[Leigh]

... there don't seem to be many Hasselblad shooters among us, if this thread is any indication.

I shoot Hasselblad, both film and digital, but I don't post them here.

- Leigh

[austin granger]

In the spirit of us hanging out here in the tiny formats garage talking shop, I'd like to share that last month I bought a Fuji GF670. I have to say, of all the medium format cameras I've owned (Pentax 67, Mamiya 7, Mamiya C330, various Yashica Mats), it's my favorite. Which is a good thing since it's my last camera. No really, this is it-the very last one. Anyway, while the GF is certainly not for everyone, and has a few quirks (using filters is a ridiculous process), for the right person (such as me) it's just about perfect. I'm not sure what Fuji was thinking, coming out with a fixed-lens, folding, medium format rangefinder in this day and age, but God bless 'em!

[tuco]

...
I bought a Fuji GF670. ... it's my last camera. No really, this is it-the very last one.

What's that old saying? Oh yeah, now I remember. Make your words soft and sweet because you never know when you have to eat them. The last one, eh.

[Roger Cole]

The Fuji GF670 does look like a great camera and the price new... well for a film camera today with a quality Fuji lens isn't TOO bad, but I'm spoiled by the prices on used gear these days.

To be fair, there are other, less expensive medium format cameras than the Hasselblad that have film backs. I have three for my Mamiya 645 Pro and about to buy another as they're so cheap. But I certainly need batteries, two of them of different kinds with the winder though it can be removed easily if the battery dies in the field and you don't have a replacement. Plus I get a smaller negative. If my Yashicmat had interchangeable backs and lenses, while somehow being the same size and weight and not the weight of a Mamiya TLR...well there's no such thing as a perfect camera but as Jonathon said they all have their pluses and minuses.

I love large format but this thread has still become my favorite on this forum.

[jcoldslabs]

I stand corrected on the Hasselblad front.

I agree, swapping backs is an advantage, although I rarely find myself in need of doing so. At the peak of my M7 shooting I had three bodies so I could have color, B&W and a panoramic set-up all at the same time, but these days I've pared down to one body and two lenses, and, sadly, it doesn't see much use these days.

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Scanned through some more 35mm slides last night. I'm thinking I had a thing about clouds and the ocean in the old days. I also realize that I would be very happy to come across these scenes again, only armed with MF or LF this time! (Or maybe--gulp--a good DSLR?)

Nikon F3HP, Kodachrome













Jonathan

[paulr]

I'm not sure what Fuji was thinking, coming out with a fixed-lens, folding, medium format rangefinder in this day and age, but God bless 'em!

I've never had a Fuji, but they seem to be the most imaginative and adventurous big company making cameras. I like just reading reviews of their stuff. Just about everything they make would be fun to borrow and play with.