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X-Roads<div></div>

I am no expert and I may get this completely wrong: the image gets formed inversely on the film, in which case your upper right (on the results) is actually the lower side of the back. If you are using a Hasselbald Polaroid back you may likely have some kind of leak there (the lower portion being along the edge). I'd probably do some tests: take a strip without attaching the back to the camera and without exposing it to check if there's any leak there; then attaching it to the camera and exposing it with the lens cap close. Probably this way it'd be possible to identify where the the problem is.

One of my friends got in touch with Ken Rosenthal and asked him the same question. His reply was that he achieves this effect in (traditional) darkroom. He mostly uses a Hasselblad 500 CM, not a Holga or Diana which some of the images may suggest. Though he did not reveal his 'trade secret', he just mentioned that some of his photos needed exposure time of several minutes in the darkroom. Well I have no idea what he does which needs such a long exposure.

Thanks a lot everyone - Alan, Jason, R O'Dinal, John, QG, Richard, Mike, Jay and Simon for your time and help with this. You have mentioned different possible scenarios. In my case I figured it was the DOF button which got stuck. John, it would have never struck me unless you had mentioned about it. You guys are awesome.

 

Thanks again!

I remember there were discussions on this, but can't seem to find

those threads. I noticed that sometimes half of the split area of the

viewfinder goes black. This makes it impossible to focus, which

needless to say is very frustrating. I am using a 501CM body with

Acute Matte D screen and PM45 viewfinder. Why does this happen and

what can be done to correct it?

Dominic, I guess the darkness was due to the way light was reflected off the snow for this arial shot. Though I dogded that portion, it was not enough. Paul, you inspired me to look up Rodchenko & Moholy-Nagy on the Internet. For the brief time I spent on them, I realized why you said "they have a nice constructivist taste". I wish to come back to their portfolio when I get home. Allen, I agree with your observation regarding being monotonous. Though I am not trying to develop any style here (these are the only 2 shots I took although I exposed almost one roll), however even if I was I guess it would still be boring if everything was shot from the same height and revolved around the same subject.

 

Thanks again everyone for your comments. Critiques like this make this forum so successful.

Thanks everyone for your valuable comments. I used a 35mm lens in both the pictures. Snow is not very common where I live, life virtually stops after the snow. I waited for at least half an hour to get a bus making the turn. I was attracted to the X shape of the white lines, thought they balanced well against the black road and white snow; and wanted to place it with an interesecting line in the form of the bus. At the same time I wanted have some people walking by. Like Stephen I would also like it without the suv, but the same moment never occurred in the half an hour that I waited after taking this before it became too dark. When I printed it I burnt the foreground pillars down to make it less distracting, perhaps I'll try doing the same on photoshop. But Stephen, I did not like the way it looked cropping them off completely, I felt the photo lost its balance there.

 

Regarding the second picture, I would try cropping as suggested by Jamie and Mike. Thanks again, Karim, Stephen, Jamie, Harvey, Mike and Peter for stopping by and sharing your comments.

<p> After lurking in this forum almost silently for a while I finally

gathered courage to post a couple of pictures from my first roll

through Leica. I enjoyed your images and learnt from your

discussions, however stopped short of sharing any of mine. Guess the

ice is finally broken. Hopefully you would like these photos (though

these are below-par compared to yours), but please leave your comments

either ways, which will definitely help me improve.

</p>

<p>

<a

href="http://www.photo.net/photo/2347800">http://www.photo.net/photo/2347800</a>

</p><p>

<a

href="http://www.photo.net/photo/2347806">http://www.photo.net/photo/2347806</a>

</p>

Thanks a lot everyone for your help. People like you make this forum so invaluable.

Hello,

 

Is there a way to tell the age of the 90mm 2.8 Elmarit lens from the

Serial Numbers? I have searched a lot but could not seem to find an

answer.

 

Thanks everyone for your help, as always.

Since you asked this question, I am assuming that you do not have the manual. If you go to the site below, you would be able to download a free manual for the camera you have. The manual nicely explains the loading process with images.

 

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/holga.php

The 80mm T* lens should have a B50 mount (unless it's one of those later version just prior to introduction of the 80 T* CF, which is B60). You should be able to get used B50 filters pretty cheap on ebay. In fact I myself have a few B50 filters to sell. Another alternative is to use a B50-52mm or B50-62mm step-up rings and use 52mm or 62mm filters.

Thanks a lot for your post. David Brandt is brilliant. And great to see some background details of some of his spectacular photos.

I have not used the new combi back, but have used the older 100 back and only for studio work. One can use backs outdoor, but I do not see any benefits there. Polaroid tests are basically used for lighting or compositional adjustments in a studio situation. While outdoor one controls composition by moving onself or through zooming. And of course you do not control lighting outdoor other than choosing time of day or overcast conditions, and may be by using filters. However in studio you have complete control of your setup. And that's where Polaoid comes very handy in judging how the final image is (sort of) going to look like. In your case if you use studio for your portraits, you would benefit from a Polaroid back, otherwise probably not. As far as availability is concerned I do not think 100 films are going to go away soon, though there's a claim of superior quality of the 80 films. If this is confirmed you may want to buy a used Polaroid 100 or PolaPlus 100 back, which I guess would be cheaper than the new Combi back.

Stephen, here are some of the past discussions on this subject:

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=006aLY

 

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

Yes, the mirror works on the same principle as a 35mm SLR. It's angled to reflect the light falling through the lens upwards, enabling the photographer to view the image through the viewfinder. On click of the shutter it flips up, thus allowing the light to go straight into the film chamber. The only difference between most Hasselblad cameras and 35mm SLR is in the leaf-shutter mechanism of the former i.e. shutter mechanism is mounted on the lens rather than the camera body. However as far as I know this does not have any effect on the camera-shake. Yes, one may potentially get camera shake when handheld, and it takes a while to get used to the size, shape and handholding technique of a Hasselblad. But Hassey also provides mirror lock up, which cuts off vibration from the mirror slap.

Another vote for PME45. The 45 degree angle makes it more convenient to handhold. It can be easily held against my eyes and that offers some good stability due to the angle of the force. I found the 90 degree much less stable. Even when mounted on a tripod PME45 is easier to look through esp for low angles. If you can compromise with the couple of inches height that the PME90 will provide you, I would go for the 45.

Some great advice there from everyone. As far as models are concerned you would see 80 C (single-coated), C T* (with T * multi-coating), CF T* (additional layers of multi-coating), CFE T* etc. Also C and CT* come in both Chrome and Black models, Chrome being a little cheaper than Black. The C & CT* had Bay 50 mount, and the remaining (including some later versions of CT*) have Bay 60. I have personally used both CT* & CF T* and have not found any appreciable difference in quality (though some people say CF T* or later versions give more realistic saturation). B50 filters (you would mostly get them 'used') are mcuh cheaper than their B60 counterparts. However B50 lens shades are more expensive, perhaps because they are becoming a rarity these days. Even it's difficult to find B50 mounts for compendium shades. I would suggest that you look at www.keh.com for a price check across various models.

 

Regarding testing the lens, I would just add that also test rotating the focusing ring all the way to make sure it's not caught anywhere. Make sure there's a return policy. And then make sure you test at very low shutter speeds (below 1/8). All Hassy lenses I have bought used have had shutter timing problems below 1/8 (may be just my lenses), but no harm to test and make sure they are alright.

Hi.. I would say that before you make a decision of buying any equipment, try looking at some studio or may be take a studio photography course at a local photo school (if there's one). Only then you would know what kind of equipment will really suite your needs. Perhaps a Hassey flash (may be reflected of an umbrella) can fulfill your needs and a used flash would be cheaper compared to a full-fledged studio gear.

Excellent images, all. Excellent framing with the hands. Or perhaps the hands and their apparent tension become the subject here. Your scan is very good too, you achieved almost print-like feel to the images.

Matt, from your post you seem to be going on a work-related visit, the places you mentioned are not usually a traveller's destination. Agree with Raymond's post regarding places to see. Perhaps you can add Mahavalipuram on Chennai coast. A general warning (though I am sure you must have heard it several times): be careful about the water you drink and always buy bottled water (if you do) from big stores rather than the roadside (cigarette) shops.

 

Hope you have fun there and wait to see some images when you get back.

Matt, which places in India are you going to visit?

Juan, there are mainly polaroid backs from Hasselblad and NPC. The NPC ones are usually cheaper, I had bought one but returned it since it hangs below the camera body, which was coming in the way of my tripod. The Hasselblad backs [Polaroid 100 (older model) & PolaPlus] stand above the camera, so certain prisms cannot be used with them. I have the Polaroid 100 back and I use it with PM5 prism.

Janet, I live in Charlotte, NC; about 50 odd miles from where you are. Not real close, but not too far either. Evan, are you in Charlotte too? As Evan suggested, you may want to check out Charlotte Camera for the Acute-Matte screen, they may have one. I have this screen too, so in case you wish to try it out drop me an email.

Also regarding selling, probably you would get the best deals on ebay, but I would also try the Classified section here. But if you have bought the equipment used from a camera shop you may have to take a cut unfortunately. Also may want to try the Classified section on www.hasselbladpro.com