Best medium format for wedding photography

I want to start wedding photography and I don�t think my Nikon F100

would do the job, therefore I am looking for a good MF camera.

What is the best MF (reasonable price) for wedding shoot?

Besides 55mm W lens what else do I need?

 

Thanks!

It all depends on your taste in equipment. Do you want 'sharp' images and manual focus? Do you want 645 negatives over 2-1/4 negatives?

Do you need autofocus? Some photographers take on a wedding with three monolights, umbrellas, soft boxes, stands, a good flash meter, and assistants.

 

Just a medium-format camera may or not make you the 'best' wedding photographer out there!

Thanks Gerald for your feedback. I like to use manual focus. I like both sharp and soft images and 645 is my preference. I was thinking of using my F100 for candid shots and use the MF for main/elegant shots to be able to get a nice enlargement. Also I am thinking of using studio flash so if you have any recommendation I appreciate it.

 

Thanks!

There are books written on wedding photography. I suspect the best way to understand what you might need is to work as an assistant for a successful wedding photographer in your area and see how he/she operates.

I can recommend you the Pentax 645 system. It's a very nice camera system that handles like a 35mm camera, it's ultra reliable, a real workhorse, and the optics are very sharp. It also offers TTL flash with some dedicated units like the Pentax AF400T and AF280T. There is also leaf shutter lenses available for those that complain about 1/60 flash synchro speed. It is a great camera, I highly recommend it.

Be aware that nowadays, Digital is sweeping the Wedding Photo industry. As a result, Wedding photographers are all dumping their gear for digital. You could pick up a perfectly nice Mamiya RB67 setup with multiple lenses for < $1000 as a result. I just did.

 

You need two lenses: A moderate wide for group shots (~28-35mm equivalent in 35mm photography), and a Tele for portraits (~85-105mm equivalent) of the wedding party.

Shawn,

 

Unless you are strong and enjoy handling large, heavy, clunky cameras for hours at a time the RB67 might not be the best choice you could make. It's a big, heavy lump of a thing. Great in the studio or on a tripod, but difficult to use hand-held.

 

There are some nice 645 cameras. I would also consider the Mamiya 7II. It gives you a full 6X7 negative, a big advantage, I think. A 645 neg has 27 square cm., a 6X7 has 42, quite a difference.

 

I don't do weddings, but if I did I would give a lot of thought to using my Mamiya 7II. Not too heavy, easy to use, bright rangefinder, excellent lenses, reliable, long battery life, not much bigger than some larger 35 mm cameras, etc. I like RF cameras, but realize that some people prefer SLR.

 

cheers,

 

Joe S.

If you had the money: Hasselblad H1 or Contax 645. The "fast" AF on the H1 would

be perfect for candids... No need carting around the 35mm film and equipment.

 

Another funky choice could be the Hasselblad XPan with wideangle or Contax T3 for

black&white candids.

 

With the H1 or Contax you could start off film-based and wait til some of today's

digital backs come up on

the used market.

Hi Shawn,

<p>

I really like my Rollei 6008i and lenses. Personally I like the square (and it forms part of my marketing) but there is a very good 645 rotating back. If you work with the camera on tripod, this is more convenient than a 645 camera.

<p>

That said, I have been using old Bronica EC's for years with very good results. It is not in the equipment per se (though medium format offers a real visible difference with 35mm).

<p>

I wrote a review on the Rollei <a href="http://www.fotografiewimvanvelzen.nl/webarticle03.htm">here<a/>.

<p>

Success and enjoy whatever you choose.

<p>

<a href="http://www.fotografiewimvanvelzen.nl">Wim</a>

Forget the Mamiya 7 series, you have to dismount the camera from flash

bracket to change film, just not a reasonable way of working.

Bill,

 

Put a small spacer or adapter between the flash bracket and bottom of the Mamiya 7II and you can change film without removing the bracket. You can also offset the bracket about 5-10 degrees forward and that will allow access to the buttons on the bottom of the camera that need to move in and out to release and install film rolls.

 

Joe

Bill, not exactly true, Stroboframe makes a dedicated flip bracket

for the Mamiya 7. Allows you to change film without removal of

the camera. I've used a Mamiya 7II for a number of weddings,

and it's just fine. Still, it wouldn't be my first choice.

 

IMO, the best all around NON digital system for shots as Shawn

has described is the Hasselblad 503CW with the TTL D-flash 40

and diffuser...I would add a prism finder with a flip magnifier for

critical focus, especially with wide angle lenses.

 

If you had the cash, I'd recommend going straight to a 1D or 1Ds

digital. It does the whole job: candids, formals and portraits,

with one system and one set of lenses...in fact an entire wedding

could be shot with Canon's 24-70 and 100/2.

IMHO. You mention reasonably priced. Whatever you get I

recomend two of them set up the same way both rigs. For me I

would find Mamiya C330, C330F, Or C330 S. The problem is

they would be used because they are out of production. I like the

tlr for many of the same reasons others like rangefinders. Flash

sync at all speeds, you can see the faces and your flash at time

of exposure. With the mamiya you can also change rolls while

camera is on a bracket . As important as the camera is the flash

rig is as important. A good start is two C330s on strobeoframe

brackets with Vivitar 385s and a Quantum Turbo Pack. You may

want an eye level prism on at least one of the cameras. I've used

a C330 as set up above with a Rollei tlr set up as the second

camera ready to go and nearby in case you get caught needing

to reload the primary camera at a time when you need to get a

series of shots. Whatever you get you will want a second similar

rig. Also I would want my cameras checked to good working

order annualy. Carry a spare of everyting incluing sync cords,

batterys etc. If you decide on an SLR try to get an eyelevel finder

and learn to focus and shoot with both eyes open to catch

blinkers or flash problem. Best of luck !

I use both Hasselblads and a Fuji GA 645zi rangefinder. The Fuji rangefinder is

relatively cheap on the used market ($750-850.) and takes some nice sharp images.

It also benefits from having a built in zoom lens (55-90mm). Although the lens is

very slow (f/4.5-6.9) it is an exceedingly versatile lightweight camera. I use mine

with a Sunpak J120 bare bulb flash. The Hassys are nice for tight portraits as the

rangefinder cannot focus very close. Usually I have the Fuji on a Stroboframe bracket

with flash for a nice handheld setup and the Hassy on a tripod for more posed shots.

This combo works well for me until I can afford to get a full frame digital slr. Good

luck!

While I love Rollei 6003, 6008i, I'm going to tell you to go with a Mamiya RB or RZ. You'll have a diffusing portrait lens to choose from, too. Your group shots will have detail. Then shoot the wedding in 35mm, mostly. Use 6x7 for the altar. But if you are sold on 645, go with 32 exposure back for Rollei 6003/6008i in 645. Digital is here, but 6x7 will deliver the detail today. I'm waiting for a full frame Fovea chip in 7mb before I jump. Mamiya RB's for $450 all over the place! I also like Rollei 6001, has everything I need for $1100 You see, Rollei has all leaf shutter lenses, very important feature. I own Rollei, Hasselblad, Mamiya Super 23, Graflex xlrf, Koni Omega, Nikon.

Forget the Mamiya C330 or Mamiya 7. The most bang for the buck is a Koni-Omega 6x7, $240 used. Sharp lenses, fast, rugged. Use it for the altar shots. A $3000 Pentax is a waste with digital coming. Use your Nikon and a Mamiya RB or Koni Omega will absolutely do the job. Then use the money you save for another monolight, like Speedotron Force 10.

You do not really need a slight wide angle lens for a wedding because it causes noses to grow. You do not need a telephoto, either, because you are usually photographing two people together or head to belt line of a single bride. Just a normal lens will do it all. Disregard the gadgeteers. If you are not sensitive to the distortions that wide angle lens cause to the belt lines and noses of people, then you should become sensitive or warn the bride about your equiptment! A 60mm on a Hasselblad or 35mm on 35mmm is as far as you should go 98% of the time.

Hi,

I recommend a Rolleiflex TLR camera for B&W formal shots, and a used Mamiya 645 for the rest. There are many inexpensive (but wonderful) lenses available for the Mamiya 645. Both suggested cameras are light.

You need leaf shutter lenses because fill-flash is used in nearly all outdoor wedding photography. In 645 that means Bronica (or Mamiya with special lenses) - in 6 x 6 you have more choice.

Hi Shawn

 

Get a good working C330 with the std 80mm lens, use your f100 for a backup, get a good hand held incident/flash meter, and spend the rest of your time/money on marketing your services. Take my word on this :)

Hi shawn, I do work (fine art, + some public relations and commercial shootings) for a pro photographer that shoots mainly weddings. Not my cup of tea but he has been doing that for 20 years. He uses Bronica ETR cameras (645 format) with prims and speed grips and 3 lenses (mainly a 50mm,75mm and a 150mm. For some shots he uses a soft filter.

 

In the field he uses a sunpak 544 handle mount flash in auto mode and some white lighting monolights. For the studio he has a speedotron brownline powerpack with 4 heads, one mounted on a boom overhead that serves as the hair light, another one on a small stand that lights the backdrop and two bigger heads on stands with umbrellas.

 

He told me he always has a backup body, about 3 or 4 inserts, an additional back and handle mount flash just in case.

 

Most wedding deals include some pre wedding shots of the bride and groom in the studio + some during the wedding day in the hous of the bride (bride with family) and of course the ones in the ceremony and reception. The final prints are almost always no bigger than 8x10 and total about 10-20 prints presented in a fancy album.

 

I believe that weddings can be shot using high quality digital cameras. I see no need for film special in the studio where the light is very controlled. I was discussing it with him the other day and he agreed. I even did some tests using a 2 mp Kodak DCS 520 (1998 camera based on a Canon EOS 1, ancient by todays standars) and the results were very good.

 

With a Canon 1Ds I believe exceptional results are possible and allows one to take a lot more shots (which increses the ammount of good shots) and be a LOT faster. Many customers dont like the delay of taking formal shots and inevitably working with film slows things down.

I respect others opinions, but after reading all the replies to this post, I have to say that I've found some that in my opinion have no logic at all.

 

First, saying that a Mamiya RB67 is the camera to shoot weddings is crazy, that camera is way too heavy, big and cumbersome, it has more disadvantages than advantages when it comes to shooting weddings, and the great level of sharpness that it offers is not needed when you balance that out with all the limitations and weight of that system. I would really love to see someone shooting a 6-8 hours wedding with that monster.

 

Second, saying that all wedding photographers are going digital is absurd too, most of the wedding photographers I know that do weddings exclusively, are still shooting mainly with film.

Why?. Because they have been doing it like that for many, many years, and second, because you don't need to throw out your film camera(s) in the garbage and buy a digital camera to get the "advantages" offered by digital, there are many "wedding labs" that process the negatives, scan them, put the pictures on a website, and all the ordering of prints is done through that website, all that in about 24 hours, and you pay for printed previews and final prints only, and sell directly to your customers through that website, and crop and resize the images the same way. If all the wedding photographers were going digital, as many say here, it wouldn't make any sense for the labs to be offering this kind of service.

Just my two cents.

Antonio, you may know a lot of wedding photographers that still

shoot film, but it is not the direction the field is heading at all.

 

The labs are offering digital services in an attempted to stay

competitive against the digital onslaught, not because wedding

photographers are entrenched in film useage.

 

I'm completely digital now in my wedding business (except for

some B&W Leica M work), and I'm killing my competition. Young

couples are computer savvy and are assisting the evolution to

digital.

 

It's just a matter of time...and later is becomer sooner than a lot

of resisters can imagine.

Marc:

 

After reviewing your work, I honestly think that the main reason why you are killing the competition is because your work is excellent, not because is digital, it's very different to the "templates" that most "wedding photographers" do, yours are photographs, I would hire you myself to shoot my wedding.

 

Now, I still don't think that every photographer on earth is just going to dump their equipment to get a digital camera, specially now that you can get the best of both worlds without spending a fortune.

 

I really liked your work.

Thanks guys for your comments and info. I found someone that wants me to go to a wedding shoot with him and he asked me to use my 35mm for candid shots while he uses his Hasselblad 503CW for formals. After a while I will probably have an idea what most couples want and what do I need to get. I agree that digital technology is going to take a lead, because its much better to put your memories on a DVD and show it (off) on your wide screen plasma TV rather than album and you know that it will last longer, but I am sure at the same time there will be people out there who appreciate film photography. I think for now I spend some money on a good lens (Nikon 85mm f/1.4) and flash. Feel free to add more comments.

 

Thanks again!