frank_bunnik

<p>Hi, I am going to Ladakh from July 20th till about August 15 2009. My purpose is to go trekking and I favor a trek of about 16 days from Rumtse in Ladakh to Kibber village in the Spiti Valley. Is there anyone else who is in Ladakh in this period and who would like to go trekking? I don't mind another trek but I would like to go trekking for at least 2 weeks. I have done several trekkings before in the Himalya, both in Nepal and in India, but also in the Alps. Looking forward to any replies,<br>

All the best, Frank</p>

<p>Well, I tried it this afternoon and the 645 fits the Billingham Hadley easily. Fitted with a metering prism, the camera fits vertically, same as I used to carry my Hasselblad. The lenses can be put on either side or even on top of each other. Once again, I can only advice you this bag. Mine is going back to Ladakh in about 2 months with my Fuji GW670III and a Sekonic L758d meter and some filters.</p>

<p>Anthony, A friend of mine has a 645 (the original one). I will give it a try over the weekend.</p>

<p>What you need is a Billingham Hadley and nothing else! The bag does not look too much like a camera bag, is light, especially compared to Lowepro bags (though I see that weight is not a real issue for you) but above all, the bag looks small and is comfortably to carry. Though looking small, it provides ample space for your kit.<br>

In my Hadley (original) I carried with ease a Hasselblad 500 series camera with attached lens and back, 2 and somtimes even 3 other lenses (a 250mm is no problem), another back, a polaroidback, a few rolls of film, some filters, and a Sekonic lightmeter. The Hadely is the bast (made) bag I have ever owned. Get a canvas one, much nicer material than the nylon other bags are made of.</p>

<p>You could consider a Fuji GW670 or 690 rangefinder. In Japan, there was also a GW680 that turns up in the west on occasion sometimes. There is a wide-angle variant called the GSW690. The new Fuji/Voigtlander folder is nice but is very overpriced. For that amount of money you better buy a Mamiya 7 with some lenses.<br>

The Horseman or Linhof option is a good one. I can put a Horseman VH-R 6x9 camera with 3 lenses, one filmback, a lightmeter and a poupe in a Lowepro ProMag 2 AW easily. If I choose the rangefinder exclusively, I can put in an extra lens and filmback. The camera is easy to shoot handheld but myabe not so useful for streetshooting. The camera folds up very compact so it is a joy to use for travelling.</p>

<p>I have a Horseman 6x9 holder. To transport the film you have the pull the handle about 1.5 times. It locks when the counter reads the next number. 6x7 might be a bit different but I doubt it. With the lever I do indeed refer to the little thing you mentioned.<br>

Good luck, Frank</p>

<p>The counter only works with film in it. To transport the film after you made a photo, you pull the lever in the direction of the the arrow. A spring will return it to it's original position, then you transport the film by turning the transport handle about 1.5 times.<br>

To correctly load the film, you put the film on the opposite side of the transport handle, pull the paper along the pressure plate and transport until you see the arrow on the backing paper in the hole of the pressure plate. Then close the holder and transport until the counter reads 1.</p>

 

<p>I had a GX680II and a GX680IIIs. You can use the older backs on the version 3 camera without any problems.</p>

<p>I have been through the Katyhmandu airport many times, the last time in 2005. I never had any problems with the films that went through the x-ray machines for handluggage. If you are in doubt, ask for the films to be inspected by a customs officer.</p>

<p>I have the Horseman Super ER 180mm, similar to the 180mm p.t.. The diameter of the rear element is 39.5 mm. It is a telephoto design. It says so in the Horseman camera manuals and it uses the same infinity stops as the 120mm on the Horseman cameras. The stops for the 150mm are thus further away than those for the 180mm.</p>

<p>I bought this lens only recently so I can not comment much on the quality. I have shot only 2 test rolls so far. It is the most modern of the lenses you list and the Super ER version is multicoated.</p>

<p>I have a Horseman VH-R and I was wondering if the Silvestri ground glass holder for the T30 would fit since, from the little information I could find, the Silvestri GG holder fits a baby graflock back. I could attach the Silvestri focussing bellows to it. This would be ideal for travelling relatively light. I know horseman has an kind of binoloupe for the VH and previous models but it is bigger and heavier and rarely offered for sale anywhere.</p>

<p>Thanks for your help, Frank</p>

<p>I received my Horseman VH-R 2 weeks ago so I am not yet an expert. Before I bought it I did some research on the internet. Only the Horseman VH and VH-R (the model with the rangefinder) have an integrated rotating back. With the older models (985, 980 and 970) you have to mount the camera on it's side to make a vertical photo. For this purpose there is a tripod mount on the leftside of the camera. This mount is also present on the VH models.<br>

As far as I know, all VH models were overall black while the previous cameras were chrome and black.<br>

I have 3 lenses, a Super ER 75mm Horseman, A Super ER 180mm Horseman and a Topcor 150mm. The last lens is meant for 5x4 cameras, the 75 and the 180mm were made/meant for the Horseman 6x9 cameras. The Super indication means they will cover the 5x4 format so they have plenty of room for movements in 6x9. The ER indication means the lens is multicoated. Theay are coupled to the rangefinder with a cam. Some of these cams are available through ebay. The 65mm lens is a Biogon clone and should provide good optical quality. I have yet to receive my first film back so can't say much yet about the quality of the lenses. Mechanical they seem very good.<br>

You can use a lot of other lenses besides those meant for the VH cameras. This link provides a list of useable lenses:<br>

<a href="http://www.komamura.co.jp/e/lens_list.html">http://www.komamura.co.jp/e/lens_list.html</a><br>

There is some discussion on the internet if it is possible to use for instance the 180mm cam with any 5.6 180mm lens to focus using the rangefinder. Some say it is possible, others say it is not. If you don't have a cam for a lens, you have to focus on the groundglass. The groundglass and fresnel lens are protected by a foldable focussing hood. From my limityed experience, I say that this hood is pretty useless for focussing unless you are in a dark environment and the subject is well lit. Otherwise you will not or hardly see anything. Therefore you have to use a focussing cloth. With use of a focussing cloth, the image is bright and focussing is easy.<br>

The camera weighs 2 kilo. The lenses are quite light and so are the (type 2 all black) rollfilmholders. You have to keep in my mind that you also need a good tripod and a lightmeter. It does not take up much space. My set of VH-R body, 3 lenses, a Sekonic L758d meter, a 6x9 back and a loupe fits a Lowepro ProMag 2 AW. The 75 can be kept mounted on the camera when you close the camera.<br>

This link provides a manual for the VH-R. The same website also has the manual of the 985 which is almost the same except for the rotating back:<br>

<a href="http://www.cameramanuals.org/prof_pdf/horseman_vh-r.pdf">http://www.cameramanuals.org/prof_pdf/horseman_vh-r.pdf</a><br>

I have only been out once with the camera yet. The proces is slow. Set up the cameras, (maybe) apply movements and focus, close the shutter, take of the groundglass back and mount the rollfilmback, meter, set the lens and shutter take out the darkslide and take the photo. This slow proces does make you, in my opinion, think more about the image however. <br>

A decade ago I used a Linhof Technika 70 for a while. Excellent 6x7 camera and well made but I do not see that much difference with the Horseman however.<br>

I hope this helps. If you need some more information, please let me know, maybe I can help you. </p>

<p>Thanks for the replies. I will stick to the Horseman backs. Brian, that is a lot of useful information on your website, prestented in a very clear way. Excellent.</p>

<p>Hi, I just bought a Horseman VH-R with a couple of lenses and a Horseman 6x9 back. This camera has a baby graflock back. Am I correct to assume that any rollfilm back made for a 2x3 camera should fit? I know the Linhof backs will not fit. I see 2x3 backs from Wista and Toyo for nice prices so I am interested in those backs. Do Mamiya RB67 backs fit?<br>

Thanks for your help, Frank</p>

What a coincidence. Over the last couple of weeks, I had the same considerations. I wanted a (medium format) camera that does not take up too much space while travelling and that as a set with some lenses etc. does not not weigh too much. I regularly go out on walking trips. This summer I go to Ladakh in the Indian Himalaya for a month and I want to make a trekking of at least 2 weeks for example. I was also on a budget. I never liked the 6x4.5 format that much so I was considering the Pentax 6x7 with a WLF and a few lenses. The lenses are not that heavy but they are big so they take up considerable room.

 

I had a Fuji GX680II and a IIIS (the one without lens movements) and I planned to take my IIIs this summer but the beast is just way too heavy eventhough it was lighter than the 680II. So I sold the whole 680 set. It also needed a heavy tripod. Thus more weight.

 

However, I did like the movements of the 680II (though they were limited) and in the past I have used a Linhof Technika 70 with a 100mm apo-symmar. Now that was a superb lens. There results I got on Velvia were just fantastic. The Technika was however a bit cumbersome. There was no fresnel lens so the focussing screen got very dark in the corners, the rangefinder was not working well on my model and parts for it were scarce to say the least. This was in the pre-internet age so looking for all kinds of extras for the camera was more difficult than it is today.

 

I decided to look again for a fieldcamera. About 14 years ago I read a comparitive test in a Dutch photographic magazine between the Horseman VH-R and the Technika V. Indeed, a 6x9 and a 4x5 camera. The Horseman looked small next to the Linhof and the Horseman came out of the test with a positive result. The lens range for the Horseman in combination with the rangefinder was a bit limited (65, 75, 90, 105, 120, 150 and 180mm). Not too much tele and no extreme wide-angle but the quality of the lenses was tested as good to very good and, because the lenses only have to cover 6x9 with room for movements, they are also smaller compared to 4x5 lenses. I was tempted then but I did not have the money and I was spoiled with autofocus etc. But how lovely did those fieldcameras look. I used the Technika 70 a few years later by the way.

 

The test came back to memory again these last weeks and I looked all over the internet for information on fieldcameras, both 6x9 and 4x5. Because I want to use the camera also while travelling in difficult terrain, I would need a Fuji Quickload holder to use 4x5 film so it can be loaded without the fear of dust on the film. These holders are expensive and so is quickload film. I could indeed use a 6x9 back on the camera but I would be using a big camera for a "small" format. Except for the Linhof Technikas, other 4x5 fieldcameras do not have a rangefinder. Thus you always need to focus on the groundglass and I would like the comfort of rangefinder focussing for those moments when movements are not needed and I just want to be a bit "quicker".

 

Thus I came back to the Horseman 6x9 fieldcameras and I orderd a VH-R with 3 lenses and a 6x9 back just a few days ago from Keh. All in EX to LN- condition. I realise that 4x5 has a lot of postive aspects to it but for my intended purposes, the 6x9 VH-R should be fine. The 6x9 camera set is also a lot cheaper than a similar 4x5 set. Compared to the Horseman 985, 980 and 970 fieldcameras, the VH-R has a rotating back and this is come comfortable than turning the camera sideways (which needs to be done to these other models), especially when movements are also needed. The tripod can also be a bit lighter compared to the one I would need for a 4x5 camera.

 

I now plan to sell my Fuji GW670III to buy a few more extras for the Horseman set.

<p>I have the opportunity to buy a Linhof 6x9 camera (probably a Linhof 23) with 2 6x9 backs, 1 6x7 back, a polaroid back, 3 lenses: a 53mm biogon, a 100mm planar and a 180mm sonnar and 2 lenshoods. What would be a fair price fot this set, provided everything works fine?<br>

Thanks for your help,<br>

Frank</p>

<p>When I made my first order from Keh, I also had to send the mentioned copies of creditcard and passport/drivers licence. It is also mentioned on their website that they will ask this from your the first time (at least on int. orders). The order did take a while then but that was because an e-mails of mine did not get through. For later orders the copies are not needed.</p>

<p>or mine, you might have a look at this one:<br>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/asialover/sets/72157600230333399/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/asialover/sets/72157600230333399/</a><br>

Most of these mountain images have been made with medium format cameras (6x6 mostly) and some were made wuth 35mm cameras. The difference is most of the times easy to see.<br>

The same goes for this set:<br>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/asialover/sets/72157600299648169/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/asialover/sets/72157600299648169/</a><br>

I would second the votes for Keith Laban and Michael Kenna and the site of Wim van Velzen is also worth a good look.</p>

<p>I noticed this morning when I looked at the (very nice) image that flipping the photo horizontally will give it an even greater feeling of dept.</p>

<p>No one ever said the Fuji is shaper than a Mamiya. The Mamiya 7 is also more versatile. One final one</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

<p>and a Fishterman from Sur, Oman.</p><div></div>

<p>I welded to photo's together in photoshop for this image, scanned on an Epson 4490, and in one of the poles in the background you can see the wires (on real pixelsize that is).</p><div></div>

<p>I don't really care for resolution charts but in real photography, my GW670III has not disappointed me yet. I used all kinds of f-stops, from f/4 to f/32.</p><div></div>

<p>the fuse is in the battery and can easily be swapped for a different one.</p>

<p>Last year I bought a Sekonic L758d brandnew through a reliable salesman in Hong Kong for 280 euro incl. shipping. This is a great meter as it has a built in spotmeter. Thus no need to buy expensive parts later on and as it is built in, no part that might get lost. Sinve I shoot much slides, I like to have a spotmeter.</p>