Rangefinders doing landscape photog.

[RaymondC]

<p>Hi, quite a newbie question. </p>

<p>I have been researching and going around in circles. I bumped into one of the Fuji 6x9 cameras. The non-removable wide angle lens might suit me but with the inability to use graduate filters properly is that a severe limitation? </p>

<p>OTOH I have read that some photographers have managed to use graduated filters with a Rangefinder after trial and error and now gets it consistently.</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

[andrewg_ny]

<p>Also depends on what you're doing after exposure. You could bracket exposures and blend digitally, no filter required.</p>

[RaymondC]

<p>As I shoot slides, I want that on the original slide. :) </p>

<p>Perhaps RF is not for me?</p>

[uconnjames]

<p>Get the Lee RF75 filter system specifically designed for rangefinder cameras. For fuji 6x9, thing would be easier. You mount the filter(s) and put some magic tape on the film plane. Then you will see how the placement of the filters affect the final image. Take notes and next time you can, hopefully, get expected and consistant results.</p>

[ellis_vener_photography]

<p>I used graduated filters on my Fuji GSW690 II. </p>

[ellis_vener_photography]

<p>It wasn't so much trial and error for me as common sense: I just held the holder (A Lee Foundation kit) up in front of my eye and adjusted the height of the filter relative to the center line of the holder until it looked right. This is neither calculus or rocket science. </p>

[david_henderson]

<p>I've found it impossible to consistently position grads correctly with my Mamiya 7. Whichever way I try and do it I'm liable either to get a strongly visible "line" or the reverse- a bright gap between the bottom of the ND area and its desired position. Obviously getting this right is both more difficult and more important with a strong horizon such as a seascape when you're using a hard edge than with a more complex horizon and a soft edge. To be honest I don'r find grad placement that easy with a slr and i didn't start to feel really comfortable on this score till I started using a dslr in Live View mode. </p>

<p>In the 10 years or so i've had the mamiya I've seen many different routes to apparent success outlined on here and I've tried lots of them without notable success. Still I have to say that I haven't tried Ellis' route before and maybe I should. I did buy a screw -in 2 stop because I could at least work with a filter that i knew was always divided right in the middle and it has a very gentle transition and has never produced a visible line. However that means of course that you get virtually no ND effect near the horizon, and thats where the sky is usually brightest. So I consider that as better than nothing but (obviously) not a perfect solution. In reality I tended to use a slr MF system whenever the use of a grad became critical</p>

[sfcole]

<p>I wouldn't keep that one thing from letting you use a RF. I'd never give up my Mamiya 6 because of that. You can always bracket, slightly changing the position of the filter. <br>

I've used grad filters with SLRs, both digital and MF, and to tell the truth I've found it very difficult to see where the graduation begins, even looking through it, and even with hard edges. </p>

[jens_g.r._benthien]

<p>I don't see any problem with graduated filter on a Fuji 6x9. Just get an adapter ring, a LEE filter holder and a graduated filter (the 'hard' version). Position the center in the middle of your front lens, place the horizon in the middle of your composition, meter accordingly and 'clack'. </p>

<p>Just set the time and aperture before you retract the lens shade and mount the filter.</p>

[tim parkin]

<p>I just bought a Mamiya 7 and have got the Lee RF75 rangefinder. I used a grad for my first image here <br>

http://www.flickr.com/photos/timparkin/5822390692/in/photostream/<br>

And managed to get it spot on by working out my line of view to the horizon from the pupil of the lens, sticking my eye in line with this (i.e. between the pupil of the lens and the horizon) and then moving the grad up and down until it just crossed the pupil of the lens. This worked a treat for me and I was very surprised. <br>

I do plan to take calibration shots so I can use the markers on the front of the RF75 kit too though (as a double check). </p>

[Ed_Ingold]

<p>You can do HDR merges with film, but registration is difficult from one frame to the next when scanning. Software like Photomatix handles registration issues well. An GND filter always leaves a visible line of demarkation in the photo, which tends to be objectionable once you learn to recognize it. HDR merges can range from cartoon-like to subtle, depending on your personal taste and skill in the blending.</p>

[sergio_ortega7]

When new the Fuji MF 6x7 and 6x9 fixed-lens rangefinders, either with the 90mm or 65mm lenses, came packed with a small, white, frosted plastic groundglass screen accessory, meant to be used when composing an image directly at the film plane, with the camera back and shutter open, of course...just like a view camera.

I imagine most people who bought these cameras didn't know what this little white plastic screen device was for and just threw it away; I've never found a used Fuji rangefinder for sale with the original plastic groundglass screen included. I

used graduated ND filters all the time with the Fuji rangefinders, while unwieldy and not as convenient to use as with an

SLR design, it was workable once you figured out where to place the ND filter's graduated transition area..