jon_warwick

Many thanks for your feedback related to this question which I posted

a few weeks ago! I went to my local shop today, and tried a PM45

viewfinder .... yikes! what an improvement over the waist-line

finder. The PM45 finder was extremely bright and clear (combined with

a Accute D screen) ... but more importantly, in my opinion, it made

the handling of the Hasselblad vastly more natural, fast

and "dynamic". I like to photograph people (semi-posed) on my

travels, and now that I've tried it, I reckon a PM45 finder will

greatly help me to speed up focusing and improve composition to make

the photo look more dynamic. The additional weight is also minor at

only 360g.

 

I'm not sure how well my plain glass screen will work with a PM

finder, given the lower magnification of the PM45 versus the WLF ....

however, time to swipe the card again for the prism, and the see if

it's a problem without a split image/microprism screen.

I've done a number of images at 1/60th without mirror lock-up on my 501cm, and the sharpness seems excellent for 14x14" black and white prints. In short, even though I nearly always handhold it, the Hasselblad typically gives far better definition/grain etc than I can get with my Leicas.

 

THAT SAID, has any good research been conducted which compares a Hasselblad's sharpness within a handholdable range of 1/60 to 1/500 (when NOT using mirror lock-up) versus the sharpness achieved by TLRs such as the Rollei 2.8FX or GX or versus the Mamiya 6 or 7s?

 

ie, is there any evidence that mirror slap on a Hasselblad actually lessens sharpness at all within the 1/60-1/500 range, or could I truely achieve sharper handholdable shots with the Rollei TLRs or with the Mamiya rangefinders at the above shutter speeds??

 

Many thanks for your replies!

Many thanks for all your kind feedback so far .... sounds like a 45 degree prism would help me out a lot! As such, am I correct in thinking that:

1) The NC-2 version is pretty old, and less bright and therefore less user friendly than the PM5 or PM45?

2) Does the PM5 (3x magnification) benefit from the same brightness as the latest PM45 (2.5x magnification), but the main difference being the lack of built-in diopter? If so, are lens corrections available new from Hasselblad which would fit the PM5?

 

Many thanks again for your feedback.

I currently have a 501 CM +80mm lens. For travel photography, I hand-

hold it 99% of the time and seem to achieve acceptably sharp results.

However, 2 things about the set-up which I don't like are:

 

1) The mirror-slap ... surely, this must be diminishing some

sharpness even at 1/125 or 1/250th?

 

2) And in particular, I find good composition and fast focusing

extremely difficult to achieve with my head bent un-naturally over

the foldable focusing hood and non-microprism screen, especially when

photographing people close-up from approx 4-5 feet away. As a result,

many of my photos of people often lack any "dynamic edge" to them (I

end up with people looking posed, centred in the middle of my

photos). Perhaps a PM45 prism and microprism/split-image screen would

be the solution, despite the substantial increase in weight and bulk?

 

However, I'm also looking for alternative cameras to replace the

Blad, and have 2 in mind (note, I do NOT need a big system with

accessories):

 

1) The Mamiya 7 sounds ideal to faciliate composition and for hand-

hold photography (I've used Leica M's for years too, hence explaining

my tendency to try to always hand-hold the Blad!!). However, does

anyone know if the Mamiya 7's rangefinder misalignments occur due to

not protecting the camera properly, or do they "just tend to happen"?

Also, I presume film flatness is as good on the Mamiya as I enjoy the

Blad film backs?

 

2) Any thoughts on the (similarly vibration-free) Rolleiflex 2.8FX as

a more user-friendly travel camera to the Blad 501 CM?

 

Many thanks indeed for your help!

As a Brit who has travelled around Paris (and lived/travelled around most countries in South America as well, but that's another story), I personally am quite content to take my M7, M4P and Hasselblad equipment around the places you are planning to visit.

 

Nonetheless, I travel relatively light (1 35mm camera + 1 lens; 1 medium format + 1 lens). In addition, I am constantly amazed by just how much tourists with cameras can unwittingly bring attention onto themselves .... yes, a "decisive" moment might be lost as a consequence, but the camera doesn't have to be swinging around one's neck the entire time in full visibility. I would recommend always putting your camera back immediately into its bag after taking a shot if you're in a slightly iffy looking area (eg, standing in a quiet area at night under the Eiffel Tower would be one place which comes to mind; another place which I've often regarded, in my view, as being somewhat iffy is Les Halles). I don't know what the Domke bag looks like, but certain camera bags can look more like camera bags than others.

 

Also, and perhaps most importantly, most thieves anywhere in the world probably like to rob without the victim realizing the act is taking place. I've never met people who've been violently held up for their camera equipment. I've heard of many people in my travels who've had things stolen when they they've left the camera on a table in their hotel room. Therefore, I always (1) put the camera in the in-room safe when I'm at dinner, etc; if there's no in-room safety box, I sometimes lock it in a bag and slide it under the bed with a chain attached .... only hardened thieves (ie, not the person cleaning the room who would fancy the camera if it's was left on a table) would probably try to break through that protection .... and to get that far, "non-employee thieves" would have to get through your hotel door in the first place; 2) Cafes and restaurants are prime areas to lose things .... you're sat there with a croissant and a coffee, with the camera lying on the table in front of you, or the camera bag resting under the table ..... wooosh, that could be the last you see of the gear. I personally always loop the strap of my camera bag under my chair leg or under the table leg ... a thief would have to take me or the table with them if they were trying to snatch the bag in such circumstances. 3) Fairly universally, transport hubs (e.g, bus and train stations) can have iffy looking people hanging around. You're laden down with bags because you're travelling to a new destination, you're fiddling around with the tickets, and the bags end up off your shoulders and on the ground as you get organised. Always try to avoid putting your bags on the ground, given they could be whisked away by someone. And finally, to avoid a bag snatcher, I always wear the strap diagonally across my body like a postman. Also, don't walk around with a backpack full of equipment on your back (that provides a great way for someone to unzip it when you're standing on a bus or in a subway train without you noticing).

 

Good luck, and have a great trip!

This is perhaps an obvious question to many of you, but I've never

tried pushing a film before .... I want to do some HAND-HELD dusk

shots with my M7, and would like to know if I will get better

sharpness and less grain if I use a regular 3200 film, or if I use a

slower speed film which I rate at 3200. If it's the latter, how many

multiples can one push a slower film, ie, what would be the best

speed film that you would suggest pushing so that I can "pretend"

it's a 3200? Many thanks.

Thought you may find the following web address interesting ... interview with Mr Waite regarding his printing process, specifically relating to the exhibition i attended.

 

www.photo-i.co.uk/Interviews/CharlieW/cw1.htm

I'm not sure about near London bridge ... Vic Odden's on the walkway next to the station say they can send stuff off to a pro lab (i don't know which one), but i cannot comment on the quality because i've never used that particular service. Regarding MetroImaging, they have a number of drop-off locations for printing other than clerkenwell, such as Great Malborough Street (off oxford street), and just off king's road in chelsea. Both of those 2 locations also do their own E6, i think.

 

All that said, i was about to ask around places like Joes (too late now, apparebtly) and Metro to find out what they can do regarding digital printing from a transparency. I have always been disappointed with R-type prints (even from good pro labs), given the contrast and general lack of colours reflecting the quality of the transparency itself ... but then I went to the Charlie Waite exhibition recently, and was highly impressed by the quality of his drum scanned and EPSON printed pictures that i thought i'd better investigate.

 

Given i don't intend to buy a computer/printer etc, does anyone know where I can get 6x6 trannies printed into prints to the highest quality possible in this digital fashion (i've heard drum scanning is important in this regard)? Many thanks for any feedback!!

I have an M4-P, and there appears to be a hazing (almost like a

whitish cloud) on the front piece of glass of the viewfinder. I can't

rub it off, so I presume that it's on the inside of the glass. Has

anyone seen this before, and know what it could be? If it's something

as bad as fungus/mould, do I need to be careful in storing my M4-P in

the same bag as my M7 and Hasselblad? Also, has anyone ever had a

camera serviced at Leica in the UK ... any idea on how much a full

inspection (re-lubrication etc) typically costs, and was the service

good? Many thanks.

I have regularly used 2 places in London called Metro Imaging (www.metroimaging.co.uk) and Joe's Basement (www.joesbasement.co.uk) for black and white developing and printing, E6 and C41. The quality is extremely high in both instances, and they provide an extensive service. I think both are open 24 hours a day for drop-offs and collections. I presume they will also provide service by mail if you request. Suffice to say, the quality is infinitely higher than places you might find walking up any high street .......

Has anyone here bought a new Leica camera in the UK, and attended the

Leica free 1-day training course (in Milton Keynes, i think). If so,

do you think it would be useful for someone who has used a Leica M

for quite a while, or is it more a case of, "this is the focusing

ring" sort of course?

I got an M7 recently, and I think it's fantastic ... as such, I do not see where the "crisis" over AE versus manual comes from when many people discuss the M7 and M6. If you fail to use a handheld lightmeter, and you're using manual metering on an M6, or manual or AE on an M7, you are still putting your trust in an electronic metering device to evaluate the aperture/shutter combination. Obviously, you need to think about what light source seen through the viewfinder which you want the spot meter to measure in manual mode. This is no different in AE in the M7 ..... you STILL need to carefully THINK what part of your final picture you need to meter, and you select a shutter/aperture combo ((ie, via help from the same sort of Leica "electronic" light meter which would help you in manual mode in the M6) and then recompose with a touch on the shutter prior to taking the picture. My conclusion: We've been reliant on "trusting" the meter in the "oh so manual" M6 for years, and it gives identical readings (of course) as the M7 in AE when we apply the same thought to the picture taking process. I thrashed the camera around recently in Peru for a few weeks, it got rained and snowed on (and no, the camera didn't pack up because it's a bit more electronic than the M6, and no, I wasn't stranded in the Andes with no operable camera because the batteries failed - I always thought that was a ridiculous argument against the M7: after all, if you don't have spare batteries with an M6 and you forget your handheld meter, you're hardly gonna be able to get good pictures when it's difficult lighting, unless you're brilliant in assessing exposure by eye) ... but when I only had time to "point and shoot" at some amazing event unfolding in front of me in neutral light, the exposure was bang on on slide film ..... yeah, i would have needed to expose in manual mode on the M7 and M6, or better still used a hand-held meter, if the light in the viewfinder was tricky, but then I would probably have missed the unique shot altogether. My 2 cents worth! :)