light-weight, low-light-friendly, cheap rangefinder...?

[terry_stedman]

Hello,

<p>

I'm a big time medium format fan. I'm also into party/nightlife

photography. These two things are hard to reconcile. I've been

shooting nightlife for about half a year now with my Mamiya RB67.

It's pretty ridiculous - with a prism and grip, I need a monopod to be

able to move around without injuring myself. It looks like <a

href="

(you can see my flash in my pocket).

<p>

Its gotten to the point that I can't seem to make any more decent

photos - they all look the same, because they're all at waist or eye

level, basically the same distance from the subject because its hard

to change the focus at night, straight on because its hard to move

around quickly, etc. Hey, they're still good, I'm just frustrated by

the lack of dynamics in my photos for whats supposed to be a dynamic

topic. You can see what I mean <a

href="http://flickr.com/photos/stedman/sets/1065929/">here</a>

<p>

So, I think my solution, my magic bullet if you would, is a new mf

camera. Specifically, a rangefinder. As a college student, my

affordibility range is severely limited; my holy grail, the mamiya 7,

is way out of reach. I'm looking instead at fuji 6X9 rangefinders,

which KEH has in the $400 range every now and then. I'd have to save

up to get one. Are there good alternatives? The Koni-omega rapid

seems like a good camera, but I'm afraid it might be just as much a

brick as my RB. The price is about right, however; they seem to go on

ebay for under 200 dollars. Plus, the possibility of a wide angle

lens, which I dearly covet, excites me. Are there other alternatives?

I don't want to "step down" to 645. I love my 6X7, and only want to

get bigger; however, a wide-angle, low cost 645 rangefinder that fits

my demands is too much to resist.

<p>

I know the demands of my practice seem a bit peculiar; I need a light

weight, easy to focus in low light, big neg camera. Wide-angle is

possible. Oh, and good optics. At a college-student price. help?

<p>

Thanks,

Terry Stedman

[bueh]

I have used an Iskra 1 6×6 medium format coupled rangefinder folder camera with good results in low light. The rangefinder spot is very bright (in comparison to most other classic cameras) and the lens is very, very sharp and contrasty. While not exactly pocketable, the camera is pretty small for its negative size and also not too heavy (less than one kilogram). There are other comparable cameras (Super Isolette, Super Ikonta, Certo-Six etc.), but these are often more expensive thanks to their status as collectables and have also a much dimmer and smaller rangefinder image.

<p>

But: The four-element normal lens is fixed, so no wide angle option. Finding a fully working Iskra is a bit of a challenge, but is nevertheless rewarding. And rangefinders in general are pretty hard to focus accurately when your subject is moving quickly.

<p>

The pic below was taken in a local goth club with f/4 at minimum focus distance (one meter).

<center>

<img SRC="http://www.photo.net/bboard-uploads//00Dxmf-26206984.jpg" ><br><i>KMZ Iskra I, Industar-58 75mm f/3.5, Astia 100, Metz mecablitz 30 BCT-4</i></center>

[jeffcallen]

I've got a Koni Omega, I love it for this sort of work, and while it's not lightweight, it balances well and isn't quite the sort of beast an RB67 can be.... The rangefinder for the Koni is somewhat usable in the dark. Note that the $200+/- wide-angle lens for the Koni comes with a viewfinder, and it has enough depth of field that you can probably guess-focus, which is what I do for people pix, as the rangefinder is only in the other window. Some Koni backs have a winding issue, where the end of one frame overlaps the next frame by a few millimeters, you can <A target="_new" HREF="http://www.butkus.org/chinon/rapid_omega_100-200/rapid_omega_100-200.htm">download the manual here</A><BR>The Fuji 670 is nice too, my darkroom won't handle 6x9, so I couldn't look at the 690.

[mark_edward_seel]

I would look at a Fuji GA645 rangefinder. The autoexposure and

autofocus would come in handy for that kind of shooting.

[mike_earussi1]

Terry, I love Koni's having owned quite a few over the years. They are tuff excellent cameras and the 58, 90 and 135 lenses are very sharp--about 90% of the quality of the Mamiya 6 or 7 at only 1/4-1/5 the price.

 

But that said, they are slow as they lack any auto exposure. For the type of photography that you are doing you need auto exposure with preferably TTL metering. The absolute best MF camera for what you are doing would be a Pentax 645. It is the smallest, fastest and lightest weight MF SLR around. Also the used prices for the manual focus bodies and lenses are very cheap right now, certainly within you price range for a body, back and lens. Check out KEH as they seem to have a good selection. And unless you are making 16x20's you won't notice that much of a quality difference between 645 and 67.

[leicaglow]

I know it's not exactly the RF you're looking for, but the Hasselbad 2000 series is not that large, and you can get a 110mm f/2 lens (standard).

[lee hamiel]

Sell the RB67 & get a Mamiya 6 with a 50 lens - get a decent flash & you are all set.

[terry_stedman]

thanks to everyone for the suggestions.

 

I'm not too keen on auto-anything for this kind of stuff. As bad or slow as I might be in focusing, I'm sure faster and better than a computer in low-light situations with multiple figures. As for exposure, I've worked out a system: keeping the shutter open for a second or half second, and firing my flash manually at the right moment. I hate freezing dancing.

 

Anyway, I don't mind auto features if I can turn them off, its just that they don't factor into my decision-making.

 

I'm very leary of folders; it seems like their more of an investment of time than money, though maybe money too ;).

 

thanks again

terry

[guzzi01]

I like to use my Zeiss Nettar with a cheapie Sunpac flash on top. Sometimes if its really low light I'll turn the camera upside down with the flash on the bottom.

[._._z]

Sell the RB67 & get a Mamiya 7 with a 50mm lens - get a decent flash & you are all

set.

[michael_bach2]

Hey Terry

 

I like you photos and you work method.

 

Take a look at: the Mamiya Universal, the Plaubel Makina 67. The Bronica RF and the Fuji

6x7 and 6x9 with the 65mm.

 

But maybe part of you succes with you photos and you projekt is because you drag you

big crasy RB camera setup around and peopel respond to that, maybe you will lose som of

the "magic" with a more anonym setup, with the RB setup you are the photograph of the

party , right.

 

just a thought.

 

www.micbach.dk............."Photography workshops in Spain"

[john_morris4]

If you step down to 645, the Bronica RF645 45mm lens is splendid, and easy to focus in the semi-dark. And, of course, flash sync at any shutter speed.

[gaius1]

Have you considered a TLR? Fast f/2.8 normal lenses are available, wides are f/4, same advantage as a rangefinder in that there's no mirror slap, same disadvantage in that you can't focus very close.

[wayne_crider4]

The Mamiya 6 would be a hell of a camera but they still seem high priced to me. There's alot of folders out there at decent prices so if your flashing it might be an alternative for you. Maybe a Rollei TLR since they are so cool and prisms are available for some models.

[larry_kalajainen2]

If you're content with a 645 negative size rather than the bigger 6X7, the baby Fujis are superb, rugged, and have razor sharp lenses. The auto-focus, zoom (55-90) GS645zi will probably set you back more than you want to spend ($800-950) but the all manual (except for built in accurate light meter) GS645S (non-folding) with a 60mm lens is available used for $350-400. I have one that has been my "grab and go" camera for 15 years; it's been knocked around as though it were in the war, and it still functions perfectly and gives me very sharp images. There is also a wider-angle (45mm) model available sometimes, but they're getting rarer, and they cost a bit more. The great thing about these cameras is their size; they're not as big as current 35mm SLR's.