dermot_conlan4

What are your goals, what do you want to see on the light table

when you get back? A medium format image requires that you

carry a medium format camera there's no way around this, no

matter how many times this question is asked (check the

archive) the answer is still the same. I just came back from

Spain where I carried a Pentax 645N with four lenses and a

Bronica RF645 with 65mm and lots of film. Four years ago I did it

with an RZ67 and four lenses. Why don't you go and rent the

M645AFd with a few lenses and carry it around for the weekend,

figure out if it's the camera for you. You sell the M7 in this soft

market and you will loose big time, why not keep it add the

ploarizer , experiment with ND grads if you shoot landscape.

A photographer here just published a book using the M711 and

43mm lens, It'a a very long and expensive road to wander down

looking for the perfect MF camera it does not exist.

If you do a search you'll find many stories of people flying all over

the world through multiple security checks, where are the stories

of "my film was ruined by the detectors". So go to the airport with

film in baggies be polite, ask for a hand check and in the US you

are more likely to get one, not always though. In Europe most of

the time you won't. I went through six airports in Sept USA/Eur

each roll of 120 was swabbed for explosives residue going out

and returning with multiple passses through scanning

machines with NO problems.

Go to www.lewiskemper.com a long time pro LF user who's got

one advertised on his site. Lew is a good guy very patient and if

anyone can do it on line he can. Mention my name if you like

What set up are you using, I know that with my power packs the

sync cord to pack connection must be plugged in the right way or

else the heads will not fire, just flipping it around solved the

problem. Alos call Pentax tech service and they may be able to

help you.

We all have to make choices, you want medium format chromes

you have to carry the MF camera,when walking around cities I

have carried a P645 body with 2 lenses 55/150 in a fanny pack

and a carbon fiber tripod on my shoulder. I also recently started

using a Bronica RF with a 65mm handheld, I don't get as many

keepers but it's lighter than a P645 and a Canon Eos3 with

small zoom.

You were not carrying the Fuji because it was too heavy...now

you've bought a heavier Pentax but you really wanted the Contax!!

You love the Fuji trannies but you don't have many, just read you

question over a few times. Make images and forget about having

the BEST camera.

Body only ??? I've seen the 501CM body available for $795 in

mint - condition from dealers in Shutterbug (one posted for 4

straight months). I paid around $850 for the 501CM black body

before the huge crash in MF prices so look around, do your

homework.

Dick, I think it's the 150mm f3.5 lens and hey it'a a rental house

they rent all sorts of expensive items. Anything happens they

have your credit card number.

I'm renting one PCP for the rate of $35 USD per day and as most

rental houses here charge a three day rate for the week you're

looking at $105 minimum for each unit.

Thanks Don I had planned on the Gepe anti-newtons, I have lot

more 645's than 66's so I don't have much of a choice but maybe

to group them 66 first and 645's second or vice versa. I'm 100%

MF so I feel it's a waste of time and money to get 35mm dupes

and kinda of defeats the purpose of hauling the gear around

 

Dick wow three of these beasts, I'm renting it on the 17th so I

don'r get to play with it much but it's for a class and not a sales

presentation. I'm in the USA just south of Boston, pity you're in

Blighty!! How do you find them...what do you use them for, AV or

commercial presentations?

Any users of this projector out there? Need to know wheather I

can project 645 and 66 with this unit , can I mix them in the same

tray ? I 'm not sure if the 66 mounts just have 66 and 645

openings. I'm renting the unit for a presentation and the rental

guys don't seem to know.

Interesting comment, I actually own the Bronica RF645 and I'm in

the early stages so I don't have long term experience. So far i'm

impressed with it, I got it as a travel carry around, I was tired of

missing so many photo ops with my larger MF tripod bound

cameras. I need time to get used to the rangefinder thing and

turning the camera for horizontal. The meter is pretty good but

fooled by the normal stuff, overexposing images with a lot of

greens, water and such. But i'm excited with this addition to my

Hasey outfit. I only have the 65mm and I bought into the system

knowing there are three lenses available, I'm more interested in

making images than complaining about what Bronica failed to

do...think about it the body and 65mm are available from Robert

White for 650GBP or so the 45mm can be had for $400-450

used . Can't compare lenses to Mamiya 6's but I will be able to

do so with my Zeiss lenses. I 've used pretty much everything

out there and have found there's a lot of good glass out there,

some swear by Zeiss but Mamiya RZ is on par in my opinion, we

shall see with the Bronica.

Depends on where in Spain you are heading, I'm heading to Andalucia myself in three weeks. Last time I was there I shot only Velvia but this time I'm bringing a mix of Velvia and VS, the air was pretty bad there's a lot of polution visable especiaslly in the evenings. I used a polarizer quite a bit I feel early morning would be a better time to shoot.

There is an "ola de calor" (heatwave) going on right now and temps above 105F havew been common, the landscape is dry and pale yellow in color.I find Velvia is a bit less forgiving with shadow detail than VS.

My two pennies worth, I've used pretty much every MF system out

there from RZ to P645/N and 501cm. Get the N version the

viewfinder is much brighter, the battereis last for ever. N11 has

mirror lock up if you need. The lenses are great I would not worry

about going to 16x20, I scan mine on a Imacon and print to

13x19 and they are pretty good...I spent over a dozen years in pro

labs and I've looked at a lot of work over the years... I can make

better prints on my Epson than I was getting from one of the top

Ciba labs on the East Coast four years ago.

I also use a H501cm and I have some pretty good glass for it

(some jobs I need the shutter in lens and I like the square), but

would not hesitate to use the Pentax for a job. The 35mm AF

55mm 120mm 150mm and 300mm manual focus are all great

performers, and look at the used prices a steal...don't fall for all

that zeiss mularky, they have some great tele lenses but so does

Mamiya . I have a series of eight posters 22"x28" published in

the past few years I used RZ, P645 and 501cm systems, side by

side no one can tell which system was used.

I would go for the 35mm AF (yeah 82mm front but stops down to

f32) it's fun lens I find myself reaching for it more and more...be

careful with polarizers they've ruined many an image.

I'd like to put the P300f4 up against the zeiss250SA wow would

that set the hassie-krishnas all a flutter

Have to disagree with the above I used this model for a year and found that f16 was the max for me, after this my chromes suffered from difraction. The Linhof 617s 90mm SA was better and I regularly worked at f22-32, so if you stick at f11-16 as stated in the Fuji manual you will be fine also as advised above try composing images that flow from left to right.

My advice is to head for the north rim and wait until September.

Less crowds a bit cooler and the thunderheads build up in the

afternoon and can lead to great storm light images. I found I

used my normal lens a few times and my telephoto's most of the

time, I thought it would be a great wide angle place but it's so

wide I found everything looked really small with my 50mm (6x7).

Definitely bring a few grads and a polarizer too. Go to my site at

www.dermotconlan.com the opening image was made in Sept

at around 6:30pm over Mount Hayden on the north rim.

The manual focus 300mm f4 IF-ED is a great lens, sharp and

really cheap used nowadays $7-900. Only downside is no tripod

collar so it strains the lens mount a bit....but the AF version is

over $2,000 (same formula but with collar).

Rent the camera for the weekend, it's a very specialized

formatand it will take you a while to see. Panoramic images

need to flow from one side of the frame to the other L-R. The

90mm for 617 is not as wide as the 35mm in 645 (21mm in

35mm terms) I've used them side by side, it's looks closer to a

24mm . The 617 format is 3:1 ratio unlike the x-pan so your

making different types of images, also you do not get that

squashing of everything in the frame with the 617 wide angles

you get with 35mm. One thing that will frustrate you is having to

keep the camera or film plane completely level, this is where

shift would be great. Many times you see an image set up but

you want a bit more sky or you want to avoid something in the

foreground, you can cheat with your 35mmm and tilt the camera

this won't work with the 617.

There is a company out the making a shift option for the Fuji can't

remember the name, someone here will know it. So rent before

dropping $3-4000 you'll be glad you did, just loading the camera

will be an adventure coming from 35mm.

Pedro I use the Pentax 645N and have used the Mamiya Pro645

in the past, I was very suprised by the Pentax great handling very

bright viewfinder and underrated lenses. Many of the images on

my site at www.dermotconlan.com are with the P645N. If I were

you I'd try to pick up a used model for under $1200 plus the

lenses go for a song used.

Which boat trip are you taking, there are two guys operating and

the best guy to go with is Bara Norton...he prides himself on

getting onto the island (weather conditions permittimg). Bring

good boots and a hat / hood. I brought my tripod and mounted

my RZ 67 with 180mm telephoto, yes it was tight but I worked. I

shot 5x 220 rolls (100 exposures) in the time I was there so with

36exp bring at least five rolls ten would be better, 100asa. My

180 =90 in 35mm terms and I'd say a 70-200 would be perfect.

There's a lighthouse there too but you are close to it so a wide

lens would be needed. Between trips into the blind you might get

a chance to shoot it. I got a couple of good shots and ended up

with one calendar publication out of it...so it more than paid for

my trip.

It depends on how you compose, I do it in the viewfinder or on

the ground glass that's where I make my crop....to me it defeats

the purpose of the square.

Self respecting AD's? hmmmm have not met many. Have had

several squares published recently as rectangles even though

we discussed how much better they looked as squares.

You could use a flatbed but if you are going to exhibition you are

going to want the best quality possible...reasons for carting

around all this MF gear is that one day we can the chance to

show some nice big prints. Imacon, at least, you can rent at

some rental houses for around $200//8hr (see Photovillage in

NYC) day, so depending on how fast you can scan??? or you

can call say West Coast Imaging or similar place and ask for a

volume discount on scanning. The cheapest Imacon demo will

set you back around $4K.

Thanks for the responses, seems I was giving it the old kid glove treatment not turning the knob fully.

 

Dcp

I have the use of a Flexbody for the week and need some help.

Trying to figure the sequence of making an exposure I guess I

went throught the cycle completely by pressing on the cable

release too hard, my shutter is closed in lens and I can't figure

out how to re-cock it. Should be something simple I just don't

want to force anything.

Any ideas appreciated.

Thay will work like a charm.