slecoanet

Hi,

I am currently traveling in mexico and would like to have my slides

and films processed in Mexico city.

Do you know a lab I could trust for that kind of work.

I once asked the same question for NY and was very pleased with the

answers (I went to Dugall, it s just great) but it may not be that

simple in Mexico city.

Thank you in advance for any tip about this subject

Stephane

Hello everyone!

I'm about to spend 1 week holidays in NY and intend to shoot

Manhattan by night. I browsed the guides to try to find some places

to get nice views, but it's hard to guesstimate it on maps!

I'd need any advice to shoot:

- isolated skycrapers (Woolworth, Chrysler, Met Life, UN

headquarters ...) from inside Manhattan, and I don't know how to find

places where they wouldn't be hidden by other buildings.

I intend to shoot from ground, I already tried from the Empire State

building but it's not the kind of view I like for architecture shots.

- side wiews of Manhattan, either from Brooklyn or New Jersey (or

from any place else I don't know yet)

I already shot some pics from Brooklyn heights but now that I have a

rather wide angle (FOV=90 degrees) I'd need to get as close as

possible of Manhattan, and still see interesting things.

Is it too much asking?

Thank you in advance for any hint!

Stephane Lecoanet

Hi everyone!

I have a question for those who have already shot with the 43mm for

the Mamiya 7 (II): is it hard to compose?

I intend to buy one but I'm not sure I'll be skilled enough to use it

well.

For me the first issue is the use of the finder: could you trust it?

The other issue is how to guess the result: i fear the subject (or

what you think is near) will be pushed far, far away.

I had this perspective problem even with my 65mm, shooting a

medium/big castle (100m away) with a tiny tree in the foreground

(10m away). The result was a "huge tree" almost hiding the castle (-;

I checked afterwards, the f.o.v occupied by the castle was not as big

as my brain thought,so the 65mm did no trick, but my eye+brain did.

Maybe I should rent the 43mm before buying it...

Thank you in advance for any hint and links to sample picture shot

with the 43mm

Stephane Lecoanet

Hi!

As a newcomer to MF I think I should take care about UV (intended as

protection layer) and polarizing filter's quality.

I wouldn't like to ruin the lens' performance with poor quality

filters.I use a Mamiya7 so I thought about linear polarizing since

they seem cheaper.

It seems Heliopan is among the best but they are not easy to find in

shops (i'd like to see the filters before buying it)

What about BW? Are they much better than Hoya or Tiffen?

In other words, is the extra money worth it?

I'm interested in your feedback (I'm interested in landscape shooting

with Mamiya 65mm for M7)

Thanks in advance for your answers

Stephane

Hello Everybody!

Some of the members of this forum might think i'm insane, since I

change my mind every two days about what used MF system to buy.

What hasn't changed: I want to use sharp lenses to shoot landcapes

(including street scenes)

If it could be inexpensive, that would be great (I know I'm

demending!)

I thought about RB67, Hasselblad and Mamiya7. Each system has

advantages and drawbacks (keeping my constraints in mind): format,

prices, weight, compatibility,being reflex...

My feeling is that the Mamiya7 has the advantage of 6x7 format,

lenses seem to be sharp and WA lenses are affordable (as I said in

another post, if you are ready to sell a kidney (-;)

My question is: where could I find used Mamiya7 in New York city?

I'll spend one week there and plan to buy my MF system during these

holidays (for much cheaper than in Paris where one tried to sell me

used M7II+80mm for more than 2500$ !!!)

I know B&H and Adorama but if I'm unlucky, they won't have any at the

time...

So I'd need backup plans (maybe also better price? I don't know if

it's possible) maybe Mamiya specialists

Thanks to those who hade the patience to hear my story.

Best regards

Stephane

Hello everybody!

After many hesitations, I'm ready to step up from 35mm to MF.

The other big step is that I plan to buy a used Hasselblad system.

500 bodies seem to be a good deal in many stores.

I red documentations, but it was not old enough to describe the 500

serie.

I searched info on the internet about the 500xx and found out there

are many type, some being quite old. Not that I'm afraid of old

bodies, but I'd like to be able to detect traps when choosing my

equipment (non compatible lenses, backs, accesories...).

I know Hasselblad is famous for keeping up and downwards

compatibility, but I wouldn't like to spend much money in a system if

I have a risk to get stuck somewhere.

I plan to shoot mainly landscapes or street scenes, so I'd like to

buy wide angle to standard lenses (in case you'd warn me I can't use

a the Zeiss 300/2.8 T* or something like that, it's no big deal, by

the way I should consider selling a kidney to buy it (-;) so would

the choice be wrong? Should I buy a more expensive 501 or 503 body?

I thank you in advance for any advice, and I apology in advance if my

questions are silly or have already been asked.

Stephane

Thank you so much to all of you who answered my questions, it really helps me to (re)think about what I -really- need.

What I meant about prints is that I scan 35mm slides with Nikon LS 5 scanner, always keeping 300dpi (or at least 250dpi above 10"*15"=20cm*30cm) for final print. Playing carefully with RGB and Y curves allowed me to get the results I'd like as far as tone and shadows are concerned, but I wouldn't dare stepping up to bigger sizes (50cm*70cm) since the few slides I really like (2 or 3 out of hundreeds) are 35mm and were taken with a rather decent but not outstanding lens.

That's the reason I thought about MF, but I had no clue about system and lenses quality.

If I understood well, most MF systems have good optical performances and I should think about the ease of use: focusing and using filters seem easier on SLR for a MF beginner like me.

It's good for me to have all the parameters in mind, since I plan to buy my system during my next trip to New York (I live in Paris and retailer seem to want to steal my money: for example a USED Mamyia7II with USED 80mm for more than 2500$, no joke)

Another addition to my initial post: when I meant "I'm ready to spend 6 month", I mean 6 month to manage to have a technically decent picture, and maybe 60 years to have a picture I could be proud of (at this time I hope I would be old and wise enough to know one should never be proud of a picture, but rather thankfull to the sun and the chance)

Thanks again to all of you for you patience and understanding

Stephane

Hi there!

I plan to switch to MF system for landscape shooting, since even

Velvia 35mm slides don't allow me to get the prints I'd like...

I'm interested in 6x7 format. Mamiya seems to have pretty interesting

solutions.

I know SLR and RF are different (for many reasons), my question is

rather: what would you choose for a sharp lens giving you around 60

degrees (or more, but no fish eye like...) field of view?

Given the fact that I plan to buy used and couldn't afford 'Blad

system with Schneider optics, would you choose anoter system than

Mamiya (Rx67 ou 7II) to get sharper lenses?

I could get used to any sytem (even twin lens reflex I guess) since

my aim is to shoot beautifull and well lit landscapes, even if I need

6 month training (-;

I thank you in advance for any hints on MF, it will help me to spend

my money well!