645 landscapes

In Michael Reichman's website, LUMINOUS LANDSCAP, he says of

645, ". . . some models (particularly folding cameras), frame

vertically when held normally. If you're a portrait photographer or

shoot a lot of weddings this may not be an issue. But for someone

that shoots landscape and nature it can be annoying. Check the camera

that you're interested in to see if this is the case."

 

I am totally new to MF. I am surprised that any 645 frames

horizontally. Which ones do horizontal?

Mamiya 645, Pentax 645, Contax 645, Hasselblad H1, Bronica ETRS all frame horizontally.

Vertical orientation is common in 645 rangefinder type cameras, those that are not box-shaped SLR cameras with a film magazine in the back, but instead have the film run from left to right in similar way as in 35mm SLR cameras. The film width is always 6cm (56 mm to be exact), so if the film runs from left to right it has to be 56 mm high, and if it is a 645 camera then the width must be 4.5 cm. In a Pentax 67 or Mamiya 7 the film runs in the same way but because they have larger width, the image is in horizontal orientation, 56 mm high and 70 mm wide.

I have one of these 'vertical' cameras, a Bronica RF645. For me, holding the camera ninety degrees rotated for shooting landscapes isn't really an issue. I recommend you just try for yourself - whether it's annoying or not is personal.

I have one 645 camera, an Ikonta, which is "portrait" format. Turning it doesn't bother me, any more than turning a 35mm camera does. If this is really an issue, 6x6 is probably the format to use.

I see now. The film in the SLR backs must run through up and down rather than left to right.

 

I would be using a MF format camera almost entirely for landscape, so the horizontal orientation would be preferable.

 

THANK YOU.

Tom, its not really an issue. So what if the f stops and shutter speeds are on one side rather than on top? I shoot a lot of landscapes, and sometimes I have a preference to use 'portrait' orientation for landscapes (ok, actually a lot). So, you may find yourself rotating the camera no matter what. A bigger consideration is how you like the feel and weight of a particular camera, as well as the characteristics of its line of lens. IMHO the range finders are great.

I don't much care about the feel of a landscape camera. Once it's bolted to a good tripod

it has NO feel. Now the controls are important as to accesability and ergonomics but any

decent landscape work is done off a tripod and quite slowly compared to the chimping

style of the digital 35mm shooter. A good ballhead helps too.

For landscapes you ought to consider something larger, like the beautiful Fuji 690 GSW. If you are planning to use tripod all the time, a LF camera might suit you better than MF, not just for larger format, but ability to tilt and shift the lens. I am mostly Hasselblad user, so for the occasional landscape I use the flexbody to get some tilt. Makes a big difference!!!

Why don't you try 6 x 9 format - it is horizontal in cameras similar to those which have 6 x 4.5 vertical (especially folders you mentioned).

 

OK, it has bigger film consumption, but landscape photography doesn't consump too much film.