Hooray for MF! My first experience

[nicholas marrone]

Hello,

 

Just wanted to mention how happy I am. I inherited a Mamiya C22 from

my father with the 80mm 2.8 and 135mm 4.5 lenses a couple years ago,

but because I was just starting to get into photography I completley

ignored it because I moved to Japan and so I could use my Nikon

camera. To make a long story short, I finally started using it and

have shot 3 rolls of 120, and the results have been fantastic! 2

rolls of Fuji NPC and 1 of Fuji ISO 100 B&W taken at a famous rock

formation in Fukui, Japan (where I live. In case you're wondering

where in Japan that is, I believe it has been in the news lately

because some of the kidnappings occurred here). The rock formation is

also famous for its suicides. I am using a Sekonic lightmeter which

is equally as old as the camera.

 

Some questions and worries:

 

1. As you know, this camera is old, as is the light meter. When

comparing it to my Nikon FE light meter, the Sekonic seems to

recommend a shorter exposure. Of course, the methods of metering are

totally different. For the pictures I took, I usually upped the

exposure one stop. The pictures exposures don't seem to be tack on,

but then again, I was using print film. Next I'd like to shoot slide

film, but...

 

2. If I shot slide film, how much would a projector for MF cost? I

have never actually seen one. My father doesn't have one, either.

 

3. The B&W shots seem to be much too contrasty, whereas the color

shots are better. Could it be the lab that I used? I did not develop

or print these myself (access to a lab in Japan is super-expensive,

like many other things. It's ridiculous).

 

Thanks for reading,

 

Nick

[phil_royall1]

Hi Nicholas,

 

Difference in the lightmeters are probably duee to age/batteries, run some shots with slide film and you'll get a better idea about which is accurate.

 

MF slide projectors are available, but quite rare and quite expensive. That said the odd one comes up on eBay for a couple of hundred dollars.

 

Excessive contrast is usually due to the grade of paper the lab prints on, that said some films are higher contrast than others, could just be a bad mix.

 

Phil

[ashley_hosten]

Your black+whites were probably digitally printed. This can give really nasty contrast levels. If you persist with lab, I'd recommend Ilford XP2+. As a C41 film, they'll probably give it a standard print setting, which will mean less contrast. They'll probably be a colour cast though. Its a trade-off. Otherwise, change your lab, or ask the lab to print your b+w stuff on b+w paper.

 

Projectors for medium format vary widely in price. A 6x7 projector is normally more expensive than a 6x6 is. In case you ever wish to move up to 6x7 format, I've included info on both.

 

http://www.cabin-usa.com/Pro-Cabin%2067Z.htm

 

http://www.widescreen-centre.co.uk/av2.html

 

 

A link to previous thread

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=000GSq

 

 

 

As for the exposures; It could be that the older meter is no longer as accurate as it once was. If your meter is the L-398, get it serviced. It is possibly the best ambient light meter ever made. Sekonics are normally pretty good, but your FE meter (internal I presume) may just be a bit more accurate. Test with slide film. You won't know which meter is more accurate till you do.

[mark_brown2]

Welcome to the world of MF, and welcome to Japan.

 

Cabin makes a projector that projects slides up to 6x7 cm.

The manufacturer's price is 80,000 yen, and a mount carrier

for 6x6 slides is another 5,000 yen. Steep, but you should be able to pick this up from somewhere like Yodobashi camera for around 20% less than the manufacturer's price. Otherwise order it through your local camera shop.

 

If you're using a hand-held meter, it's best to calibrate it against a meter you find trustworthy. Small discrepencies between meters are normal, and so long as they're in the form of a constant offset they can be corrected for. A Seikonic meter I had read consistently 0.5 stop under my Canon EOS body's meter. Calibrate it against your Nikon's meter. Otherwise, if you're used to the Nikon's meter why not use it for metering and simply transfer the readings to the other camera.

 

For black and white, looking at the prints (especially machine prints) will tell you little. Check the negatives.

[gwilburn]

<p><i>2. If I shot slide film, how much would a projector for MF cost? I have never actually seen one. My father doesn't have one, either</i></p>

 

<p>If you're edging into the digital darkroom, you may be better off purchasing an Epson 2450 scanner which does a decent job of scanning 120 film. If so, have your slide film processed unmounted. Scans of 120 slides are gorgeous and can be shared easily with friends and family via email.</p>

[e_m3]

>If you're edging into the digital darkroom, you may be better off purchasing an Epson 2450 scanner which does a decent job of scanning 120 film. If so, have your slide film processed unmounted. Scans of 120 slides are gorgeous and can be shared easily with friends and family via email.<

 

I have to disagree. As a display medium a properly projected MF slide has no equal--not compared to prints, not compared to your computer monitor. (Yes, I've seen huge large format light jet prints from current master landscape photographers. They're impressive and beautiful. But they simply don't 'radiate' light like a projection.) A MF projection is simply breathtaking, literally like looking out a window. It's as if you have a 3 meter by 3 meter light table in your living room! A properly projected MF slide will have as much color saturation and contrast as your slide. And it will render virtually all of the detail you can see in your slide under an 8x loupe. (Yes, what I am saying is that the 'enlarging' of the projection to, say, 4 by 6 feet does not result in a softening or elimination of fine detail.) If you mount your slides in clean glass mounts you will always have edge to edge sharpness. Furthermore, MF projectors for 645 and 6x6 slides are not rare. Kinderman and Rollei both make carousel projectors for these slides; and both are available brand new. Cabin makes a 6x7 projector as well. I recenly purchased a Rollei Dual 66 P MF projector. I've written a review of it but have not yet posted it. E-mail me if you would like me to e-mail you the review.

 

Cheers

[wim_van_velzen]

Erik,

<p>

Why are you - the second time this day - standing in front of me, when I want to sing the praise of MF projection ;-)

<p>

I can only agree with you; there is no way to compare it to looking at a screen. It is more than the best you can get out of a slide.

<p>

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

[nicholas marrone]

Thanks for the commentary. I tested my meter somewhat against my Nikon meter, but I still want to test it under more light conditions to check if it is consistently under. There is an adjustment screw on the back of the meter and I moved it so that it gives me results accurate with the Nikon. BTW, the meter is a Sekonic L-28c ambient light meter. It is probably just as old as the Mamiya C22, so I would guess the components inside it have changed with time.

 

My next step is to shoot a roll of slide film so I can see more accurately where the meter is on and off.

 

About the B&W prints being too contrasty, I will ask the lab how they were printed and look at the negs under a loupe. I do not like the Ilford film, it looks creamy to me. All this has to wait until I go to Tokyo next week so I can actually buy the film I plan on using!

 

Nick