iangillett

Impressive aerial photograph. Which Minox was this taken with?

Direct viewfinder or through-the-lens?

Many thanks to all those commenting on this thread. I hadn't looked at the Morgan & Lester books before and managed to get a copy of the 12th Edition (1953) a couple of days ago. A fascinating read on the state to Leica photography from the year I was born. I purchased a Leica IIIf a few months ago which came with a Summarit and have just added a 50 mm Elmar - all from 1953. What little gems!

Nicholas, The shutter does not 'default' to 1/400 if the battery is bad; you would have to set the switch to the mechanical setting. I did this by mistake once when doing a fashion shoot and didn't understand why my images were coming out dark - I was using a Polaroid back (with Fuji film) at the time. The 350 won't need any exposure compensation if you are just using the lens with the camera bellows but if you are focussing closer using extension tubes then you will need to take these into account.

Does Phocus 'de-fish' the 30 mm lens? I recently met a Hasselblad user while on holiday in Venice and he was using both 30 mm and 40 mm lenses with a CFV-50c back and claiming he got no distortion with the 30 mm if he kept it straight.

<p>Probably the most common lens set-up with a Hasselblad 500 series is the 50mm/ 80mm/ 150mm combination - which I have. I also have a 903SWC so that gives me a super wide option as well. Like Edward, I have a CFV16 digital back which means the 50mm lens gives me the equivalent angle of view as the 80mm full frame (I realise the 'crop factor' means it is more of a 75mm but Hasselblad don't make one of those). I did have a 100mm but traded that in to help fund an 8x10 Ebony. I also considered getting a 60mm - after reading many threads here on photo.net - but never managed to find one at the right price.<br> I would suggest that you go for the 50mm lens as this will give you the wider option which means you can always crop if you need to - it's harder to take that step back when you are up against a wall or edge of a ridge. You are also more likely to find a reasonably priced 50mm lens as there are lots of them out there. All three of my lenses are of the latest type as I prefer the rubberised focussing grip and the unlinked shutter/ aperture rings - on earlier lenses you set the EV which means the shutter/ aperture move in combination and you have to press a button on the lens to disconnect the link. The FLE has floating elements and you need to select on of four ranges for critical focus; this is very easy to do.<br> Although Robin is correct in giving his 35mm equivalents, the square format of the Hasselblad means that you do can have a lot more in your composition than the 2:3 ratio of a 35mm frame and so the composition can seem wider.</p>

<p>Richard - thank you. Great images.</p>

<p>Richard - do you have any examples of your star trail exposures you could share with us. I am intrigued by the 34 minute exposure you refer to; is the any problem with the sensor heating up?</p>

<p>Richard - do you have any examples of your star trail exposures you could share with us. I am intrigued by the 34 minute exposure you refer to; is the any problem with the sensor heating up?</p>

<p>To me, the Mamiya RZ Pro II is a very tactile camera; it invites you to pick it up (if you can) and 'play' with it. The wind-on lever fits my hand beautifully, the focus knobs - on both sides - make it easy to focus and adjust, the rotating back enables you to change easily from portrait to landscape orientation, the screen is big, the bellows focussing allows you to focus close with shorter focal length lenses (one of the problems of the bellows focussing is that you cannot focus the longer focal length lenses very closely and you need extension tubes - the longest lens I have for my RZ is the 350 APO). The downsides are that it is heavy and bulky. I have benefitted from professionals selling off their medium format equipment and have built up an extensive RZ collection; sadly I don't use it as much as I should.<br> When I first picked up a Hasselblad I didn't like it - although I felt I should because so many professionals use(d) it. I didn't like that the shutter speed and the aperture controls on the lens were linked - you set the EV but if you wanted to change either the aperture or shutter speed separately you had to press in a button to disconnect them, I like to be able to control them separately. I found the 'feel' of the focussing ring too sharp, some of lenses I tried may have been stiff but the effort to focus was uncomfortable. When you took out the dark slide there was nowhere for you to put it - do you put it in your shirt pocket, in your camera bag, on the table - or lose it? Then, a few years ago, I picked up a 503CW with an 80 mm CFE lens. The aperture and shutter controls operated independently (if I wanted to use the same EV I could press a button in and turn the linked combination), the focussing ring was softer - and smoother, and there was a slot on the film back to put the dark slide! It felt so comfortable. The mirror lock up is a simple lever under the wind-on knob and you can then fire the shutter normally - not like having to use a cable release on the lens. For portraits I could fill the frame with a 150 mm lens without being at the end of the bellows extension or need to use a 'half' extension tube. So now I have a small Hasselblad system (503 CW with 50 mm CFi, 80 mm CFE and 150 mm CFi lenses and a 903SWC) and, like Edward,...I use a CFV16 digital back! I recently handled the new X1D and am considering purchasing one, although a CFV-50c back is also in the mix.<br> So my advice would be to go for a 503CW with the later lenses and newest backs. I realise that is the more expensive route but, to me, avoids frustrations with handling coming from an RZ. Of course, to get the most benefit you will also need to compose square otherwise you are losing the benefit of the larger image you get with the RZ - cropping a square image to portrait or landscape seems counterproductive to me.</p>

<p>Daniel - the other Ian here - thank you, I found your review very useful.</p>

<p>Ray - this is my fifth or sixth attempt in responding to your message due to the changes in photo.net. My first replies were not posted because of the impending transfer. Then, when I managed to negotiate V2.0 I couldn't find the posting after I had made it. I was considering giving up on photo.net for a while only to discover that they have reverted to V1!<br> Thank you for pointing out the differences in Hasselblad nomenclature. I rechecked Ming's Blog and he is using a H5D-50C so I assume that uses the same sensor as the CFV-50C. I am hoping to go along to a Hasselblad event later this week to look at the X1D, and in another couple of weeks I will be going to another at which they should also have the H5D-50C and CFV-50C so hopefully I should be able to get further information. Do you have any experience of using the CFV-50C? I am trying to gather as much information as I can before committing to a purchase.</p>

<p>..and here is the one of a classic Ford Mustang.</p><div></div>

<p>Here is the photo taken with the CFV50 back at a test session.</p><div></div>

<p>Like Edward I have the CFV16 back. Initially I was disappointed with the results I was getting and thought there was a problem with the alignment of the back. Eventually I sent it in for service and when I got it back I felt the results were better. More recently I went to a Hasselblad test day and tried out the CFV50 back (only two shots) and was pleased with what I saw. When I checked the settings they were using in Phocus (the Hasselblad software) I noticed that the Sharpness settings were much stronger than I had been using. I have since been using these settings and have been very pleased with the results. My concern now relates to the fact that my current back is 'only' 16MP and so if I want to print to 300dpi they are not going to be that big. Having said that I have just had this photo of a derelict fishing boat at Dungeness (on the south-east coast of England) enlarged to 40cm square and it looks very good. I am considering upgrading to the CFV50 back. As Edward has noted this is a rectangular format and so you would have to turn it on its side for Portrait mode. I have read on various websites that the viewfinder magnification with a 90-degree prism may not be the best for focussing so I am hoping to have another trial run shortly. Then again the new X1D looks very interesting. As Edward has also said there are issues when using the back with a 903SWC. I had intermittent partial frames and some 'purple' images. I understand that the CFV50 back may be better - although it may be down to the linkage between the camera and the back. I have recently come across the Blog (almost daily) by Ming Thien a (young) Malaysian photographer who uses both a CFV50 back with his 'V' Hasselblad as well as a H50C. He comments that the performance of the two are very similar (it is the same sensor after all). I thoroughly recommend visiting his website. I will send a couple of other images in subsequent e-mails (I cannot work out how to attach multiple images to a single posting). The other images are of the model shoot with the CFV50 and of a classic Ford Mustang at a recent race meeting.</p><div></div>

<p>Took my Hasselblad 503CW with CFV (16mp) back on a trip to London. I liked this one of a fountain in Trafalgar Square. Sorry about the extra postings - I hadn't reduced the size of the file enough.</p><div></div>

<p>2?</p>

<p>My 'main' Canon camera is now a 5D3 but I also have a 1Ds3 and a 7D (sadly not a 7D2 - yet!). I used to shoot catwalk shows and found the built-in vertical grip of the 1D(s) series very useful when shooting the models in Portrait mode as then came towards me down the catwalk. I went back to shooting catwalk a while ago and was using the 5D3 with 70-200 f2.8 IS Mk2. I pretty rapidly realised I needed a vertical grip so that I could adjust the aperture as the models came from the back of the catwalk to the front where there was a variation of up to three stops in the lighting in some shows. I found the additional depth of the camera set up - due to the combined thickness of the camera base and the top of the grip - made it very uncomfortable as my thumb had to 'stretch' further in order to operate the rear control wheel. So, if you need to rapidly change aperture when shooting in 'Portrait' format then I would recommend a 1Ds3. However, this will mean that you will need to carry a set of different batteries with you (and the charger to go with them). If you were to purchase a second 5D3 you would have battery compatibility between the 5D3 and the 7D2 and as both cameras are very similar in their operation that is the option I would recommend.</p>

<p>Thomas - sorry for the tardy response. Yes, use the settings described above. You can also use the flash as "synchro sun" by deliberately underexposing the background but using the correct exposure for the flash, e.g. if the 'normal' exposure is 1/125s at f8 you could set the flash to f8 but have the shutter speed at 1/250s which would darken the background but keep the subject lighting correct. Maybe a whole stop would be too much and you might be better off with 2/3 or 1/3 of a stop but it was easier to type the figures!</p>

<p>The focal length markings on the Nikon flash are for 35mm coverage. The Mamiya 7 80mm lens has an Angle of View of 58 degrees which, according to the Mamiya Legacy website, has a 35mm equivalence of 39mm - so you should set the flash to its 35mm setting to get full coverage with the 80mm lens.</p>

<p>Bob - thank you for the quick response. So the only difference is the addition of a green stripe? The optical configuration and the composition of the glass are identical between the two versions? Seems all I need to do is get some green paint and add a stripe - only joking! Best Wishes</p>

<p>I've spent quite a bit of time on the Internet trying to find the answer to this question, but to no avail. I have an old Rodenstock Grandagon-N (not grandson, as the SpellChecker keeps trying to change the name of the lens to!) 90mm f6.8. It has the letters 'MC' engraved around the rim so I know it is multicoated. The Serial Number is 10629xxx and so I have been able to determine - from the Ground-Glass.net website - that it was manufactured between 1984 and 1986. However, it does not have a green band around the lens which I have seen on similar lenses. Please can anyone tell me whether there were two grades of this lens - one with, one without the green band, or whether this was a cosmetic change introduced at a later date? I have several 'red-banded 'L'' lenses for my Canon cameras, and a couple of 'blue-banded' APO lenses for my Mamiya RZ, and know that these designate a difference in construction for these lenses.<br> Thank you in advance for your feedback.</p>

<p>Danaher - you can use Fujifilm 100-C - if you can still get hold of any. Fuji have discontinued it.</p>

<p>And a third.</p><div></div>

<p>Here is another image.</p><div></div>