william_cook1

I would like at add a different direction to this discussion. Anti-Shake (by any of the names used) is not just for low light photos ... at least for me and many like me. I have been a photographer for almost 30 years and as I approach my 50th birthday I am afflicted with an inherited problem called 'Familial Tremors.' This shaky hand condition affects the hands or a single digit, in my case the thumb. What's more, a lot of people have this benign problem. In daylight, I cannot steadily handhold a 50mm shot at 1/60th anymore. I do not ALWAYS like to use tripods ... OK for landscapes but for walking around shots in the city they suck. I need stabilization all the time. I LOVE Canon's and have had several. I also have owned and liked Minoltas. I would prefer to own Canon but until they insert stabilization in all their lenses, the best choice for me is Sony. Any lens I choose is now stabilized, whether it is the 50/1.4 or any zoom that will fit the mount. For me, it is the stabilization. I will live with the noise and every other thing perceived to be a fault with these cameras because EVERY ONE OF THOSE PROBLEMS is trumped by blur.

Not sure of the age of the folks posting here, but even those of you who have no affliction now will not be able to hand hold as steadily as you do now as you grow older--then you will understand how revolutionary and wonderful it is to have the stabilization in the camera body (unless Canon and Nikon by then stabilize every one of their lenses). Thanks for your time and attention!

Bill

I've had them both, starting with the 7. I love the 6 and you could not pay me enough to switch back. Yea, 1cm is nice, but the benefits of the 6 outweigh that. It would be a very simple decision for me.

Bill

Hi all, I too plan on getting the new Epson scanner. While jumping from 2400

dpi res to 3200 may not seem so much, from what I have read the actual res of

the 2450 is more like 1800. If the new scanner just brings the actual res up to

2400 I would be happy, and with new technology it may be even higher,

approaching the 3200 as claimed. Now the waiting game ...

Bill

Hello all, I am stretching this thread a bit, but I was just looking for the Adobe Gamma monitor calibration and can't locate it on my computer. I am using Windows and Photoshop 7. Does anyone know where the Adobe Gamma resides?

Thanks,

Bill

Greetings! I have recently started printing again. I used to sign the mattes

and recently read a book by a pro I really respect and he says signing the

matte is amateurish. He recommends signing the print itself. OK, but what

type of pen or ink works best and where should the signature appear? I

guess I am just trying to find out how others do and then adapt something that

fits my style. Any help and information will be appreciated!

Thanks,

Bill

I had my rf645 converted a while back, turnaround was just a couple days,

sent the camera in first part of the week, had it back by the end of the week.

Surprisingly fast. They also assign the camera a new serial number when

they do this by removing the old serial number label and gluing another one

in its place. Anyway, I loved the camera but the 100mm was just not a long

enough lens (comparable to about a 60mm in 35mm) so I sold the set up. I

need a minimum of 75-80mm 35mm equiv.

Bill

Hello all, this question has been asked and answered before, but the last time

was a year ago. I am hoping things have changed in the meantime. What I

would like to know is this, is there a film scanner out there less than $1,000

that can scan a full Xpan panorama negative without having to "stitch" two

halves together? I know the Minolta Multi Pro and Nikon 8000 will do this, but

these are far too expensive for me. What I am looking for is a 35mm scanner

that will "go wide." Any help or advice will be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Bill

Hello all, please forgive that this is a bit off topic for this link, but it does

concern this Epson scanner. I read recently that Epson is about to release a

newer version or replacement for this model. Has anyone any further

information on this or is it just rumor/wishful thinking?

Thanks,

Bill

I too am a big fan of the camera, I sent it in to Tamron to get the

frame lines changed for the 100mm I just bought and I had the

camera back in less than a week from the day I actually sent it! I

was expecting it would take a couple weeks at least. I realize

they are probably trying to overcompensate for the debacle over

the 135, but that is still great customer service. I have not yet

tried the 100, but if it is anything like the other two lenses, it will

also be superb.

Bill

Hello All! I agree with most of the posts to this query. I love the RF645. I use the 45 and 65 lenses and I just ordered the 100mm from B&H. I too wish there were a broader spread between the focal lengths, but I guess we are all really used to zooming with our feet anyway so it isn't such a big deal. I switched to this camera from a Mamiya 7II. That was a good camera with well respected and highly rated lenses, but I find the RF645 lenses just as crisp and contrasty.

I did not really like the 7II ergonomically and it felt a little on the cheaply constructed side, not a good thing for a camera in this price range. I know for a 6X7 camera it was not large, but it and its lenses proved to be too large a kit for me to haul around. I loved those huge negatives but the downside was constant film changes. I shoot B&W only and use filters all the time. Because of the different lens sizes, I used step up rings and went with filters two sizes larger than the largest lens filter diameter. Surprisingly, I still experienced vignetting with the 50mm lens. My investment in top brand filters was staggering and then not to be able to use them for wide angle work was disappointing to say the least. In short, good camera, bad fit. The RF645 is perfect for me, especially the vertical format. The camera is constructed (or seems to be) like a Hassy compared to the 7II, it really is that good. With lenses, the kit size is good and not too heavy comparitively. The camera and lenses aren't light but they really don't weigh much more than a good 35mm setup. Most important are the images--in a word SUPERB! Sacrificing the 6X7 neg for a 6X4.5 turned out to be not a problem, incredible quality plus significantly more images per roll. I prefer the vertical format because it makes me think more creatively. With horizontal format cameras I tended to shoot horizontally without thinking about it even though in the darkroom I realized a vertical was better and had to crop. No problem whatsoever with the viewfinder layout and magnification, anyone with a problem I suggest they look through the Mamiya 7II finder and they will realize the RF645 is not so bad afterall. Also, I use the same filters as I had purchased for the 7II and use step up rings. Absolutely no evidence of vignetting on a test roll I took even though I had stacked three filters just to test! The downside of using filters of course is that it makes a slow lens even slower, but that's a tradeoff we decide to make before laying down money, no? I shoot 3200 speed B&W and rate it at 1600 and still get great, sharp contrasty images. With filters, this film combo gives me hand-holdable speeds in lower light situations. Beyond that, I use a tripod

(which I should use more, but don't ... probably like a lot of us). I also use a lot of 400 speed film and push it a stop, also with great results. I can't comment on performance with color film, never use it. I am pleased with the metering system, I get perhaps one unusable exposure out of two or three rolls, about the same as with the 7II, but I think this is due to my failure to compensate exposure enough due to the filters I use. Oh, one other thing, I sold the 7II and two lenses for roughly my initial purchase price, approx. $3,000. I bought the RF645, 45mm and 65mm lenses AND flash for $1250 and have now spent $500 on the 100mm lense. Total price of new system $1750--a little bit over half what the 7II lesser system cost!!! Enough said!

Hi all, I was wondering if anyone knew of a specific Bronica RF645

group or a generic Bronica users group.

Thanks,

Bill

Hi all, I just did a search and can't really find anything that

pertains to my question ... which is ... Does anyone who uses a

rangefinder like the Mamiya 7II use fog filters such as those

produced by Hoya? I am trying to find out how well the filters

work as the lens is stopped down. I have heard the fog effect

diminishes as the lens approaches f22. Is the effect still

detectible? Can you use doubled up filters to increase the

effect? In general, how well do you like the filters, effect, etc.?

Thanks,

Bill