shooting medium format

[christopher gentile photog]

For the last 4 months now I have been shooting with my Contax 645. I have a

very nice Dslr that i use for work and general shooting of stuff, and found it

was getting all the use.

My SLR package was collecting dust.

My reason for the Contax package was to move forward with a body that

would fit into the Digital Phase system.

Shooting with the medium format system and the phase back is very nice

indeed.

But a interesting thing has happen, in that I am now shooting more film then

ever, with this camera. ( mainly for personnel use) but yes a lot more shooting.

This camera just is the most beautiful piece of hardware I have come across.

From size to handling and the glass and the viewfinder are in a world of there

own compared to my 35mm stuff.

I have shot 35mm for ever,and loved it, but to compose and see the image

through the glass of the contax (645 format) is to discover photography all

over.

I find my self processing negs and getting scans, a great way to work.

I can push my self in photo-shop, get amazing results on prints and be blown

away by the detail in the screen in front of me.

I have used the Hassy for work and found it to be a beautiful camera with

amazing glass.

But to make the jump from 35mm to medium format the Contax for me has

been the right choice.

95% of my work for money is digital.

But that other 5% for people and just shooting, what ever...well it will be along

time before I stop buying film.

[david_simonds]

Christopher, did I write your comments? Truly, I have had the exact same experience. Since I got my used Rollei 6008 kit, I have not touched my Contax G2, which I dearly loved. I have become much more involved in the picture taking process with the Rollei. It demands and deserves this level of attention. The results have been so rewarding, that I just want to shoot more film. I have to get a scanner, though. Unfortunately, my Canon fs4000 can not handle the MF. My kids will be PS7 orphans, and my wife a PS7 widow. Have lots of fun.

[simonpg]

Christopher, my experience was similar - added a Hassey kit to my EOS1V kit. Like you I found that looking through the Zeiss glass was a revelation. Then taking the time to compose improved my skills. I also found working in 6x6 square a creative bonus - made me think more.

 

Most of all it cemented my commitment to film. One day I showed a scanned 6x9 neg taken with my 1939 Ikonta C to a freind - he commented that "digital is a great advance isn't it? What DSLR are you using?" I told him that I'm using a 30MP digital rangefinder built in 1939. That confused him for some time.

 

120 film seems to be the most enduring photographic technology. This is reflected by the fact that digi companies continue to position their megapixel performance by comparisons to how close they are to film. Well that may apply to 35mm today for those with big budgets, but certainly not to MF. But, of course digi has added a great benefit to MF like you say, through scanning and software like PS.

 

My MF experience then lead me to large format. Wow! Enjoy.

[scott_eaton]

MF compliments dSLR quite well. No news there. If it's something digital can't do, you have enough film area with MF to solve the problem with no arguements or whining.

 

Doing your own film scans from 120 - mandatory. Makes all the more flexibility.

[avid]

Christopher,

I was going to write that, but I am glad you took the trouble. Like yourself, I am using a Contax 645 right now and similarly use a dSLR for my work stuff. I do computer generated special effects and the dSLR is a quick way to get my references, textures and background plates etc into the computer fast. I wanted to get a MF camera for work and personal use. I tried out almost all the MF cameras out there and I loved the Contax. It fit my hands and my intended use like a glove. I bought all the lenses and the Mutar 1.4x TC for it and have been extremely happy, amazed actually, with the results of the Zeiss lenses, all of them. The only other camera I would consider would be the Rollei 6008AF for two reasons, I could shoot 6x6 and I could use Schneider and Zeiss glass with the same body. But modern films are so sharp, the 6x4.5 works out well for size and weight. Like you, I am shooting film only. Love it. It is a bit more cumbersome in terms of getting it into the computer, but I got used to it. I am about to get the Phase One P25 because a job requires the speed (to work digitally), but I will still be shooting film over digital for personal stuff for a long long time to come.