greg_hilton4

Langdale valley, Cumbria. Near the end of a day's walk in the hills. Beautiful weather, if a little cold...One of the few times I could indulge in taking as many pics as I liked, as I was on my own! This one was with Velvia slide film. I think it captures the mood well.

One of my early pics with the Hasselblad, using the light meter app. I recall that starting using the Hassleblad was like learning photography all over again - exposure, composition, technique...

Hello, I'm late to this thread, but... I use the "Pocket Light Meter" app from Nuwaste Studios on my iPhone. I use it with my Hasselblad 500cm, and it always gets the exposures spot on. I've been using it for around three years now. It's free and plenty accurate enough. Good luck and have fun with the Hasselblad!

View west, from Buena Vista Peak, Kings Canyon NP, California.

Leica R4 and 50mm f2 Summicron! If you want a rangefinder instead of a reflex, still go for the Summicron.

For what it's worth, I have used a Leica R4 for the last seventeen years (it's been in the family for 34 years, from new), and it has been a fantastic camera to access the superb optics of the Leica R lenses. The spot and full frame metering, along with all types of metering modes, means it can do everything you need it to (and a useful mechanical 1/100th shutter speed). Very straightforward, compact size and robust...(until you do something pretty dumb with it, as per my other thread). John - I also hear the Minolta bodies are great - perhaps try to stretch to buy some Leica glass. I can highly recommend the 50mm f2 Summicron. The most widely available, and therefore reasonably priced, Leica lens. Absolutely superb contrast, sharpness and bokeh. You will not regret buying it! If you also have a digital SLR, with an adapter from someone like Roxsen, the Leica R lenses perform very well, though you usually need to dial in around a stop of underexposure.

I recently returned from a tour of California. During an awe-inspiring trip to Yosemite National Park, I did something pretty stupid - I attached the screw thread from my 'photo' walking pole monopod to the tripod mount of my R4. I then put on the ND grad, and waited for the light to fall on one of the incredible granite domes of Yosemite. Perfect evening light, camera on monopod, press the shutter release...nothing. After changing the batteries, I resorted to using the 1/100 second mechanical shutter speed on the R4 (very useful), after taking a meter reading with my EOS. The following day I noticed that I had screwed the monopod thread too far, and broken through the tripod mount. This seems to have messed with the electronic circuit in the base plate. The meter and electronic shutter control do not work. I haven't checked inside, as I still have a roll of Velvia 50 inside. Does anyone else have first hand experience of this problem? With an R4 or other camera? The camera was a Christmas present for my father in 1983, and has been incredibly reliable until this self imposed problem. I've been told Sendean Cameras on Charing Cross Road (London) may be able to help, but does anyone know of any Leica R specialists in the UK, in case Sendean are unable to fix it? I hope to post some scans of the slides from the trip once I get them back from Ag Photo next week!

Half Dome, Liberty Cap and Nevada Falls, Yosemite NP. Dawn light.