Photographing whales in medium format

[rj__]

I have a Mamiya 7II. It is my only medium format camera and I know very little

about other brands.

 

Last summer, because it was what I had with me, I used it, with the 150mm lens,

to photograph some whales. The results turned out to be encouraging, and I want

to use a medium format camera for the same subject when I return to the same

place this summer.

 

The one problem is that the 150mm lens limited me. In a number of cases, I was

actually close enough for it, but I lost some shots that I could have achieved

with a longer lens.

 

So here is my question...

 

What medium format camera would be manageable in a moving boat and take a lens

in the 300mm range?

 

Thanks.

[ellis_vener_photography]

Hasselblad.

[inspiration point studio]

Contax 645 with AF lens, but the 300mm AF lens is difficult to come by and you can only get it used.

[richterjw]

i would thinking photographing Wales would be a much more feasible venture in MF.

[derek_stanton2]

Pentax 67.

[derek_stanton2]

Sebastiao Salgado did it:

 

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/salgado/story/0,15021,1478365,00.html

 

I guess there is conflicting 'information,' about whether he used a Pentax 67 or 645....

[rj__]

Thanks for these replies.

 

The Salgado photographs help reinforce the sense that I got from using the Mamiya last summer that this is doable if you are in a whale rich area, which I will be for three months straight.

[nathan_wong1]

I used the 120mm lens on a Hasselblad 553ELX in Alaska a couple years ago. It wasn't easy considering the shutter release time is slow. I had to constantly check the exposure since it was a dark and rainy day (with 100 ISO film to boot!). Needless to say I didn't get very many successful photos.

[bkpix]

Pentax 645 + 300mm/4.0

[stuart_richardson]

Rather than buy a whole new camera system, why not use the 150mm and crop if necessary?

6x7 gives you a ton of room to crop. There is also the 210mm for the Mamiya, though it is

scale focus only.

[ulrik]

The Hasselblad H-series is the MF-system best suited for action photography that I know of because of the fast AF and brilliant viewfinder.

 

Ulrik

[david_henderson]

Are you sure that a medium format system is the best way of getting this job done? I use MF film a lot, and I have a Mamiya 7ii/150 but if it were me I'd be thinking of the greater reach, zoom lenses, autofocus, good quality auto exposure, image stabilisation and dof advantages of a good dslr, and concluding that all these things were going to make life an awful lot easier.

[rj__]

David,

 

That is certainly how this kind of photography is normally done.

 

I was really surprised at how well the Mamiya 7II worked with this subject matter, and the results, when I was in range, were outstanding.

 

It's easier than I thought it would be. For example, when a humpback puts on a show, tail slapping, it doesn't move very much and the display can go on for a couple of minutes. It's also pretty easy to keep pace with a whale that is cruising. We were alongside finnback whales, maybe 20 feet away, for two or three minutes at a time.

 

I'm in a situation where I can go out repeatedly over the entire two month period when the whales are in the area. I think that I just need a little more reach with the lens. Something around 300mm would do it. They are expensive lenses, but once I've figured out a routine with the Mamiya, I can rent a camera body and long lens and see how it goes.

[wai_leong_lee]

If you have enough light a mf camera can do the job. The main question is boat rocking.

[bueh]

A manual focus Mamiya M645 with a 210mm lens is a very inexpensive solution. There are even longer lenses (up to 500mm), which are more expensive but by far not as expensive as Hasselblad gear. It allows shutter speeds up to 1/1000 sec.

[graham_mitchell]

Rollei 6008 or Sinar Hy6 with 300mm f4 Apo Tele Xenar. Not the cheapest solution listed though.

[johnw436]

You could use my Bronica ETRs, but the mirror slap may run all the whales off!

 

Seriously, Bronica ETR series is ultra cheap and offers removable film backs for on the fly film changes. That's something you may or may not find valuable, but after having that option I'm not sure I could ever do without it. Add to that removable finders and a Speedgrip and I feel it's a winning combination for what you are doing.

 

250mm lenses for the ETR series cameras are dirt cheap. For about $60 USD you can get a 2x converter to take you to 500mm, which in 645 is roughly a 300mm lens for 35mm format. Portra 400 or 800 would negate the f/stops of light loss the converter would cost you. After all, if you are handholding, from a boat no less, then the loss of sharpness from increased film speed in MF would be inconsequential.

[rj__]

Thanks, more camera options to consider.

 

If you click on my name, I've uploaded three photos that show what I'm talking about. The first two were shot with a Mamiya 7II, 150mm lens, ASA 400 film at 1/500. The third was shot with a Leica M3, 135mm lens, ASA 400 film at 1/1000. It's the extra reach of the 135mm lens, plus a bit, that I'm looking for. A faster shutter speed than 1/500 would help too.

 

As you can see, the place that I'm talking about is a bay that is sometimes quite calm.

 

I'd like to get out in the bay in better lighting conditions (these were done midday under harsh sun) and get to the point where I can predict the behaviour and photograph accordingly. I'll be in this bay, with a boat, for most of the summer.

[rj__]

Correction - the 6x7 and 35mm whale photos were done with Kodak Portra 160NC.

[peter_weimann1]

Just think about what the camera should be able to do:

 

It should have autofocus

Mirror dampening should be excellent

Motordrive is a must.

 

This narrows it down to either Contax 645 or Pentax 645. I use the Pentax because of the lenses and it is still a living system. And inexpensive as well. You can see what this camera can do when you look into my portfolio here:

 

http://www.photo.net/photos/Peter_Weimann

 

Just my 2 cent.

[rj__]

Peter,

 

Your nature photos are encouraging. The photograph of the dolphin is quite something.

 

Thanks.

[john_photo]

Hi RJ,

 

For the record in regards to the above poster. I would not recommend the bronica etrsi or any 645SLR excepting the pentax 645N. I own a mamiya 7 and a complete bronica etrsi system so I have some perspective.

 

I would not reccomend a 250mm bronica with 2x converter. I once had the 2x converter and my images were quite soft. Additionally, while the 250mm PE version is quite sharp and a good optic it must be used on tripod with the mirror lockup employed. I suggest you look into pentax 645N with its well damped mirror and reasonably fast Auto Focus. Steer clear of Pentax 67. Unless your shutter speeds are well above a second its not worth the hassle. The Hasselblad 645 suggestion is worthy of consideration though its a pricey option along with the contax 645 and its hard to find zeiss optic. Mamiya does make an APO 300mm 645 lens. However, it was my personal experience many years ago that, in terms of mirror vibration, you are going to have a similar situation to the Bronica etrsi with most Mamiya 645 systems.

 

Hope this helps.

 

BTW: if it were me I would be looking at a DSLR. Probably something in the 12 megapixel range. Grab some AF-silent wave Nikkor Zooms and go to town.

[Ian Taylor]

Pentax 645N would be the cheapest AF system IMO. It's what Salgado used for his whale stuff.

[jean-louis llech]

Did you consider the 210mm lens for the Mamiya 7-II ?

[rj__]

"Did you consider the 210mm lens for the Mamiya 7-II?"

 

Yes, I think that the fact that it is not coupled to the rangefinder and requires a separate viewfinder makes it a non-starter for what I want to do. I've never quite figured out who the market is for this lens.