Hasselblad or other Medium Format Users out there?

[rsilfverberg]

Are there any other Hasselblad - or any other MF user out there with images posted on their site?

My photos are about 98% from my old Hasselblad 500c/m.

http://www.pbase.com/rsilfverberg

[hyperfocal]

Hello rsilfverberg,

I recently purchased a Rollei 6008 AF (no digital back yet). I do not have any scanned photos. What scanner did you use to scan yours? I have heard that the Minolta are really good. Hope to heve something posted soon.

Regards

hp

[davewyman]

Are there any other Hasselblad - or any other MF user out there with images posted on their site?

My photos are about 98% from my old Hasselblad 500c/m.

http://www.pbase.com/rsilfverberg

Take a look at my medium format images, made with my Rolleiflex, at http://www.pbase.com/davewyman/its_hip_to_be_square.

Your own MF images are superb, by the way.

Dave Wyman
http://www.pbase.com/davewyman

[ray645]

It looks as though we are vastly outnumberd, but if you count the years actually making photos we have the lead Im sure

Nikon F100
Bronica ETRSi
Rollie TLR

Over the next few days Ill add some of my work I hope you will find some time to check it out

still burning film and loving it
Ray Lee Bradlau

[rsilfverberg]

Bought some more Olympus 35 classic film cameras.
Love that zuiko lens....

[ray645]

I love digital or at least what it has done to th resale of medium format gear!

I now have the type of kit I wanted for years at about 1/10 the price from new!

[jamesbogue]

I too am interested in a finding more medium format images out there. I just like the feel of medium and large format photography. Maybe because it makes you really take time to compose and meter (if it is a camera like mine) to be sure you have a shot. Although I do admit I am having a lot of fun with my digital elph s400. However as much as digital allows me to play, medium and larger format photography is still where I pay my respect too.

My medium format images are mixed in the bunch, but you can see my work at:

http://www.pbase.com/jamesbogue

my other cameras I shoot with are:
canon A2E
olympus XA
calumet 4 x 5

and a few others I get my hands on from time to time.

Great photographers on this forum!

[zuiko40]

I use a Mamiya 7. I have some images taken with it on my site:http://www.pbase.com/zuiko40

The panoramics were taken using the Mamiya 7 and the panoramic adaptor.

The Mamiya 7 images are mixed with images taken with my other cameras,
including Olympus OM4T and OM2, Olympus Sylus Epic, and
Contax T2.

[rsilfverberg]

Great photos there zuiko.

My favorite cameras right now are;
- Hasselblad 500c/m (I LOVE this camera),
- Mamiya 6MF (Also a wonderful camera to use!), and
- Olympus 35SP (my favorite 35mm camera)

Also have an OM-2n and more classic olympus cameras than I want to know

[jamesbogue]

Zuiko40 -

Great collection of images. I was wondering how comfortable you are with the Mamiya 7? I have been having sleepless nights thinking about this camera. I don't own one (used one once over 10 yr. ago),but seem to think this might be the one for me. I keep holding out on investing in any new serious camera system because I want to see where the technology of digital vs. price drops in traditional systems come into play. But never mind my constant quandary, I want to know from someone who has experience, like yourself, what thoughts you could offer on the Mamiya 7.

Some basics:
- Its response to focusing (the decisive moment) Comfortable to operate fast? I am accustomed to the rangefocus in my Olympus XA

- It's comfort as a carry around camera when traveling. Does it feel rock solid when getting bang around. Or does it require extra pampering (especially with the size of the 80mm lens)

- the use of the additional viewing attachment for telephoto or superwide lens? Is it a pain to use? Does it break concentration of taking a photo?Accurate?

- Anything else you might add?

I shoot a lot of people but have a curious eye for anything. I think this camera has a lot to offer even against the digital pro SLR systems out there. Plus I like to try to keep the beauty of film alive..

Best regards - james

http://www.pbase.com/jamesbogue

[zuiko40]

James, I will answer the specific questions. Otherwise I wil procrastinate and never respond.

Focusing. Except for my XA, which to be honest I never was comfortable focussing, and only really appeciated it when I learned more about depth of field from a series of articles by Alfred Blaker, my experience was almost exlcusively with SLRs. I would say it is much easier to focus the Mamiya 7 than the XA. (In some things, size matters, and the viewfinder in the XA is quite tiny in comparison.) I would say in low light and with the object moving back and forth from the plane, it is not as easy for me to focus as my SLR. I tried to shoot some concerts in clubs with the Mamiya, and have pretty well given up the idea. That said, I have over the past 4 or 5 years, used it to shoot outdoor dance, primarily towards the end of the day, and have been mostly successful.

I have taken it on month long trips to India and Bolivia. I usually travel light and compactly. In India, I had the Mamiya 7 with the 80 and 43 in the "slightly smaller" Domke bag, along with an OM body and 50mm and 85mm OM lenses. I mention this, because it did involve a lot of squeezing and maneuvering -- hardly pampering. It's been in a Toyota landcruiser bumping across the Salar and environs in Bolivia. It is a great travel camera. On one short trip to Mexico, I took the Mamiya with the 80 and my old Contax T2 in a tiny Domke 5xb (probably the wrong number --- a very small "belt" bag, although i used the strap not the belt), and that was a nice kit.

I don't have the auxiliary viewer for the 150mm, and I don't miss it. On the other hand, it is the lens I use least.
I have the 43mm, and yes the viewer is a bit of a pain. It does slow one down. On the other hand, with the depth of field on the 43mm focussing accuracy is not quite as important. I do like the level (although it doesn't seem to work in portrait mode). For panoramics, I prefer the external viewfinder/43mm combination to the 80, in part because of the level, in part because it seems brighter. (When I bought the 43, the 50 was not out yet, and I would lean to the 50 now, if I was faced with that choice; although the 43mm is good for panoramics). As I mentioned, I travel compactly, and the viewfinder is a pain when putting the camera away in my bag, because it usually involves unscrewing it.

Other comments? Well, until the Epson 3200, scanning was a pain, because I can't afford the dedicated slide/negative scanners for MF. And, the camera is very expensive, with no prospects of adaptibility to digital. Tough decision. Maybe buy the mamiya and the 80 and hope that other people will unload their equipment as they switch to digital. Also, as more pros turn from MF to digital, 120, and especially 220 (it's nice to be able to switch without changing backs) will get harder and harder to find.

[jim_panzee]

When ever could you buy a TLR Rolleiflex model T, with Zeiss Tessar lens in very good condition, with four spare lenses and lots more bits for 240 Euros (230 Dollars). I just did. Thank you Digital, I love you.

[jamesbogue]

Thanks zuiko40 - this was very helpful. Digital Imaging technology may take over the film market, but the dependability of film cameras will be around for a long time. Film companies will always have a market for film too, just not as dominant as they once were.

[stevo104]

I now use a Bronica ETRsi. as a student, digital is still too expensive for me to jump into, however as an aspiring portrait photographer, a larger negative makes the difference. Most of the images in Fall 2003 and Spring 2004 galleries here, http://www.pbase.com/stevo104/antonelli_assignments are done with the ETRsi.

At school I usually use the Epson Perfection 3200 scanner, it does a really nice job, and is actually affordable for home use, it handles 35, medium, 4x5 as well as transparancies and flatbed.
School - http://www.antonelli.com

Stevo104

[gwilburn]

Richard, we meet again :)

You've got some beautiful work in your galleries. I enjoy seeing MF photos. I use a Rolleiflex 3.5F TLR that I've had for umpteen years. There are a few Rollei images in my gallery. I don't use it as much these days, but I shoot with it occasionally. Always a pleasure to use!