Advice Need on Next Camera

I'm in an envious position: my fiancee has offered to buy me any camera system I choose as an engagment present. (Her offer offsets somewhat the damage inflicted on my bank account by her ring, an item I regard as useless.) I have a fairly complete M6TTL system (black body, 24, 35, 50, and 90mm lenses). The question now is, do I opt for medium format or indulge in a Nikon F5 with a brace of high end zooms? In short, what best complements the M?

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To add to the confusion, I stopped by Ken Hansen today. He's got a beautiful Rollei 6008 system for under $3k. Tough to focus, but the big negative is enticing. I also considered the R8, but was told it's just not selling.

Unless you need AF, a fast motor and long and/or macro lens

capability, I wouldn't advise getting a Nikon system. The R

cameras and lenses are first rate, as long as you like a

traditional system without a lot of bells and whistles. I have an

R6.2, 180/2.8 APO and 80/1.4. The lenses are incredible, way

ahead of Nikon.

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If I were in your situation, I'd get a Hasselblad with a couple of

lenses. Much like Leica, the cameras feel like precision

instruments. They're pricey, but if that's not an issue, and if you

like the square format (as I do), go for it.

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You could also check out the Mamiya 7II. It's like a 6x7 version of

a leica rf. It's relatively small, very quiet and handles well.

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You should decide what kind of work you want to do and which

system would be most useful for that kind of photography.

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Good luck with the decision, and congratulations on the

engagement.

I'd wait a year to see what's coming on the digital horizon. Surely

a full-frame sensor in upper-end, prosumer bodies is on the way.

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In the meantime, you've got a great system

For me, the perfect compliment to my Leicas is a 4x5 field

camera. I'm drooling over a Toyo metal field body right now. For

the work I do, I either want small, light, fast working tools to catch

things quickly- for which I use my M's, mostly- or I want to work

slowly, methodically, carefully. For these portraits, landscapes,

architectural work, etc. I figure that if I'm going to use a tripod

and carry all the heavy stuff, I might as well get a nice 4x5 neg or

positive. So I have very little use for medium format. The only

place I use 120/220 is for wedding formals.

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The point is this- what's your way of working? What do you like to

photograph? How do you shoot? Answer these questions, and

you will know exactly what sort of system to put the generous

offer into.

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As for your fiancee- does she have a sister? I'm in New York,

too...

I would trade my M6 for a M7, then I would consider a Bronica 645RF,

Its got the larger neg, PLUS its a rangefinder! Nicely made as well.

Hasselblad is an option, at least with a 150mm lens. If you do Nikon,

do primes, no zooms, 300mm 105mm etc. save that for your 'long' work.

Personally, I'd go for an EOS 1v and the 70-200mm f2.8 L IS, and then

maybe the 16-35mm f2.8 L. For 6x6, I think your hard put to exclude

the Contax 645 AF with Zeiss lenses. Of course, I'm plenty happy with

my Leitz M6 and Elmar-M, so if I were you, I'd be on a plane right

now, with nothing but carry-on luggage, heading for some exotic

destination, or three, to burn film with what you already have.

I think a medium format system would be nice...maybe with a widish

lens and a portrait lens. Me, I'd go for a Hasselblad, but then

again I don't know too much about Rollei, which may be just like a

Hasselblad. Good luck...

A nice Hasselblad 203FA, 45degree prism viewfinder, and 80mm-CFE lens.

Cant do too badly with that!

Gulley:

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Buy the 35 and a good 70-200 zoom before the MF set-up -- in the long-

run you'll find it more useful. Once you've got that, look into the

MF system.

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Now I'll make another push to consider Canon over Nikon in high-end

SLR's. I find the Canon SLR bodies and lenses to be far more

compatible ergo-wise in use AND the lenses closer in image quality to

the Leica. I do not mean to imply that Nikon's image quality is

inferior in any way - just different - and that the structure

or "feel" of the images from Canon glass is more similar to Leica

than those from Nikon.

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Cheers,

It really depends what you think is missing from your current

equipment lineup. Do you want to take wildlife (eg. birds, safari,

underwater)? Do you want to do studio?

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1) For wildlife - I would get an AF SLR hands down and the F5 would

be my choice. f5 with full equipment spread can weigh you down.

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2) Studio/still life - Hasselblad. Just a pain lugging around town

or on trips - trust me you don't want to do this unless you are

getting paid.

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3)Landscape/outdoors - Linhoff ... going a bit over the deep end now.

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4)If all you want is a Medium format version of what you do on the

Leica then the Mamiya 7ii is worth a think.

I don't recall what subject matter you concentrate on, Gulley, so it's

difficult to provide solid advice. You might find some interesting

thoughts in the <a

href="http://greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=009DVB">combo

thread</a> a few days ago.

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I also use an F5 with the 28-70mm and 80-200mm AFS zooms you alluded

to. They, plus 60mm and 105mm macro lenses, provide a nice functional

extension to the M. When shooting models, I'll usually combine film

and digital (Nikon D1), and I've added the M to the mix a couple of

times. But, the operational differences are enough to be somewhat

cumbersome during such a shoot.

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In contrast, when headed to the field, I find the M and my Toyo 45AX

field camera to be a natural combination - in part due to the

similarity of thoughtful operation of both systems. My Hasselblad kit

is seeing less use of late.

Hassy SWC. one body, one damn great lens-perhaps the best lens for

civilian use ever offered. perfection designed in the 50's and not

possible to improve (new 905).

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If you blow her budget by splurging on a rollie/mammy/hassy set,

albeit for the same $$$ or lesser. tell her quality not quantity,

just like the blood/de beers/war funding diamond.

Gulley, do you see all the positive answers you get here from your post? No matter what you

do, stick to Leica so that you can benefit even more from this helpful forum in the future. R

something? M7?

<A HREF="http://www.linhof.de/english/kameras/m679/m679cc.html">Linhof

M 679cc</A>

I don't know how much you spent on the ring but if you want HER to

have positive feelings about her very generous offer I would

recommend you spend much less on your new camera system. To spent as

much will imply to HER a lack of love and respect.

Anything Linhof, Alpa 6x9, Rollie, or if you really want to kick

but...5x7 or 8x10 or larger.

Just to confuse you further...

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If you're looking at medium format, have you considered a

Mamiya 7II and a couple of lenses? It's like a Leica on steroids.

Huge negative, wonderful lenses, portable, nice ergonomics,

and great viewfinder/rangefinder.

Ooops. I can't read. Noah already mentioned the Mamiya 7II.

Sorry.

First, let me agree totally with Gulley that the cost of a diamond

ring is disgusting considering all it does is just sit there like the

lump of carbon it is. Let me disagree totally with Doug that you

should under-spend the cost of the ring. Ring's are her thing and

cameras are yours. Marriage should be a 50-50 split but believe me

it never works out that way. This may well be your last chance to

break even.

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That said, I would not throw more money into 35mm film-based

equipment unless a digital body is already a reality which can use

the lenses. The reason the R8 has stopped selling is the R system is

(so far) heading up a dead-end street. If a digital R body existed,

or was even confirmed by Leica as "in the works", more people would

feel better about buying into the system.

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If your interests lie in wildlife and nature photography, a Canon EOS

system would be much better than a Nikon F5. Canon's vast lineup of

Image Stabilization lenses far exceeds Nikon's VR (one so-so zoom and

one which is still unreleased), and in the shorter lenses the USM

autofocus has always been faster and quieter than Nikon's screwdriver-

drive. The 45-point AF sensor array in the 1V and 1D is a quantum

leap farther than the F5's 5-sensor arrangement.

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OTOH, if your interests lie in landscape photography, then a medium-

format or even large format would be better. Neither format will

soon be eclipsed by digital capture--at least, not *affordably*. I

am a personal fan of Hasselblad. To me most of the others are

cheaper copies. Mamiya's are very plasticky. I would avoid the

Rollei's because they are very hard to resell whereas Hassy and

Mamiya fly off the shelf. I prefer 6x6 to the rectangular formats,

but if I went rectangular I'd go up to 6x9 rather than across to 6x7

or down to 6x4.5. MF rangefinders are limited by lens speed, close-

focus distance, and limited DOF which you need to guess at. A view

or SLR camera is more user-friendly.

Another vote for medium format, and for Hasselblad in particular.

While the M6TTL continues to be my "go to" camera, I recently added a

Hassy 501CM to my arsenal, and I find that the 6x6 is a nice

complement to the Leica. For me, the 501CM has the same character

that I appreciate in the Leica: a solid, well-built, precision

instrument . . . all manual (and no batteries).

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If you go the medium format route, take a look at some of the

rebates/incentives Hasselblad is offering right now (which, I think,

expire at the end of June). I did a lot of research on Hasselblad

vs. Rollei, and went with the Hassy.

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Congratulations on the engagement . . . it sounds like you have

chosen wisely!

I would suggest you first consider what you want to do and then

figure out what equipment is best suited to helping you do that.

Another way of putting it: what, if anything, do you feel limited in

doing with your M kit?

Jay. I disagree. An engagement ring is a tradition dating back a

great many years. What you consider a lump of carbon may be very

important to someone else. On the other hand it is not customary to

receive an expensive camera as an engagement gift.

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I say get a top of the line Holga system. :-)

without taking a position on the relative value of a camera wersus an

engagement ring, for sentimental reasons for your wife's benefit,

you might consider the following guidelines.

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1. make sure it is something that you will use. while she may be

understanding of a $4000 camera system that you cherish enjoy and use

on a regular basis, she will be less understanding if it sits in the

closet and catches dust. if you are married to you M system, be

realistic on how much you will use your new system. please

understand that many on this forum shoot in excess of 1000 rolls of

film a year.

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2. make sure it is something that will last and not become obsolete

in a few years. you do not want to establish a tradition of return

and exchange. (gee honey i would just love to get a bigger diamond)

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a few random thoughts:

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3. both the hasselblad and the rollie are excellent cameras, but

after hauling around an M system, this is a major lifestyle change.

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4. while digital may be the wave of the future, the life expectancy

of a digital camera is less than three years before it becomes

obsolete. all computer products fall into the same category. this

might make it less actractive as a wedding present.

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5. medium format is more expensive to shoot and develop. with the

continued improvement of film, more wedding photographers are

shooting 35mm. a bad negative looks just as bad at 6x6 as it does at

35mm.

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6. if you can get a nice portrait setup that you can use to shoot

your wife it is a bonus that will flatter her.

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7. medium format photographers seem to fall into one of 4 general

systems depending upon their needs and styles, they are rangefinders

such as the bronica 645, and the mamiy 7II, 645 slr autofocus

cameras that handle like large 35mm such and the contax and the

mamiya 645 af, 6x6 cameras suchas the hasselblad and the rollieflex,

and 6x7 cameras such as the mamiya rz67.

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FWIW if it was me in some order I would get.

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A. a second M body probably a late , over 1.1 million mint M3, and

then get a good CLA. a timeless classic which you will never tire of

and can eventually pass on to your children. i would add to that

either a 28 f2.0 or the 75 summilux. of all you options this will

probably get the most use.

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B. a leica R6.2. it is a nice compact camera that compliments the m

system quite well. I would pick up a nice portrait lens to go with

this. i shoot my R6.2 with a 90 f2.8 as a standard lens.

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C. a mamiya 7II. see previous posts. this is a nice landscape

camera, but is less effective for portrait work. most of the people

that i know who have a mamiya 7II also have another MF system.

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D. I would not get a pro AF camera, if you are really set on your M

then it just won't get enough use. I have one and it is under

utilized, however i purchased it and an 80-200 f2.8 zoom lens when my

children started playing sports since it cant be beat for that

purpose.

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good luck and congratulations

I respect Jay's advice on cameras but Gulley his bit about fiances

and wives = DANGER! DANGER! DANGER! I'd get a second M body. Now if

the budget is really expected to be a lot more than that add a Lux 75

to take her portrait. Get the picture?