fred_mueggelhopper

<p>Try a Gossen Luna Star F, they are inexpensive these days but work very well.</p>

<p>Just something to think about here, you can buy a Pentax 645D 40MP for $6998. You can make beautiful images with it for about half of what the Phase one will cost. It is at the very least worth taking a look at. YMMV.</p>

<p>If your camera is a recent purchase, try to return it and get you money back if you can. The camera has multiple problems, focus is off, may have been dropped. If you want to experiment with medium format film, try a Pentax 645, or a Mamiya 645. Both are a good entry camera to the medium format world and will not break the bank. They are good cameras to learn with. Or if you have a little more money to spend, you could get a Hasselblad 500 series complete for well under $1000. It could last you a lifetime. Make your first rolls of film Velvia, and see what you think. Save the Portra for portraits. For all kinds of prints try a roll of Kodak Ektar.</p>

<p>Curt it sounds as if you are afraid that your apprentice could turn into a better photog than yourself. You could have learned a lot from Monte Zucker.</p>

<p>Could I use an SD card from a D5000 that has pictures on it in a D7000 without any conflicts? The pictures on the card have been saved elswhere, but I do not want to delete them, and still want to use the card in the D7000 body. Thanks for your help.</p>

<p>After using the Hexar RF with the Hexanon M 50, and an M6 classic with Summicron 50 since each was introduced, I have never had issues with either body or lens. I like both bodies and both lenses. I use the Hexanon more on both bodies. It is the equal of any Summicron 50, and just feels nice to use. Save your money.</p>

<p>Graham, have you thought about borrowing or renting a Haselblad to try before you buy? If you are used to using a Pentax 645, there is a considerable learning curve ahead for you. It will be slower to load, and operate, and will be more prone to vibration while working handheld than the Pentax. But if you take the time to learn to use the Hasselblad properly, the resulting images will be very rewarding. Switching from rectangular to square framing is easier than one might think though. Start saving now for one of the CFV digital backs. :-)</p>

Yes, but my projector has broken. Not many new ones out there now, so

I will probably buy a used one. I like to shoot Kodachrome 64 and

some Velvia. Mostly with an M6 and a M Hexanon 50.

Pentax 645 works very well for me. My original from 1992 has been 100% problem free. They are priced low, but perform very well. Try one, you will like it.

My main reason would be as follows... Have you ever seen good medium format transparencies projected? Nothing else comes close. Unless it is 4 x 5 's projected. Digital is fine for some things. But MF still rules in many areas.

Bel Park Camera was a great place to shop. Barney and Davida were

very nice to deal with. I wonder what they would think of the M8 if they

were alive to see it.

The Pentax 645 will meet your needs very well.

It was engineered to be a handheld camera from the outset.

When you have mastered the camera, learn to visualize the

field of view for a few lenses. You can have them pre-focused,

and get some discrete shots without raising the camera to your eye.

The comparison of the SL66 with the TLR, as being like a Porsche and a Vega is way off the mark. If you need to call the SL66 a Porsche that is fine, although it does not handle like one. The Rollei TLR would be more appropriately compared with a Jeep. It will go anywhere, and do just about anything that you can ask of it "if" you learn to handle it properly, just like the Rollei TLR.

Look for one that is fully functional.

There are a lot of P645's for sale out there.

The $10.95 a roll for E-6 seems high, but the labs that I had previously used have closed. The area is Chicagoland. Maybe it is time to try the Walmart E-6 processing, and bite the bullet and buy a Coolscan. The scans are needed because I would like to print up to 13 x 19 on a Canon 9000 printer.

It seems to be getting more costly to shoot medium format film cameras these days.

Transparency film at 5 or 6 dollars a roll for 120. Processing at 10.95 for

those same 120 rolls. If you would like to scan that film it is $2. per scan. Or

you can spend $2000. for a Coolscan 9000. So for 2 120 rolls shot in a 645

camera, $94.00 for film, processing, and scanning. That is a little over $3.00

per shot. Hmmmm.

Would there be any notable difference between images made

with a 6006 or 6008 compared to those made with the GX

both using the Zeiss 80 lens and comparable film. The

differences I am wondering about include image quality and

metering differences from the in camera meter. I have used

6002 and 6006 models, but would like to try a GX because it

is much lighter and not battery dependent. Any user experience

would be appreciated.

Take a peek at Central Camera if you ever get to Chicago. It dates back the the 1890's held by the same family. It is neat old place. High pressed tin ceiling, lots of used gear along atmosphere and the new stuff.

50 rolls of Kodachrome 200 is a very nice gift. You can always shoot a few rolls and have it processed by Dwaynes, who does a superb job. If you like it keep it and use it. If not I am sure that it would sell easily. Try it for neon at night! The film that I keep coming back to is Kodachrome 64. It just works for me. The cameras that I like to use it in are a trusty old Pentax LX, and my old friend the M6 Wetzlar with an M5 era Summicron 50.

If I were your friend, before I would go 6 or 7 thou into debt for a camera I would first look at a Canon G7, or a Digilux 2 of an Epson R-D1. But I am not a professor, so that is probably common sense talking.

When I use flash, which is quite rare with the M6, it is an

old Rollei Beta 5. It will work in the shoe or with its flash grip,

direct or bounce, or even bare bulb. It was an amazing flash in its day,

and still does anything I ask of it.

It might not be so bad to get a used R body that will let the lenses function as they were intended to, instead of fooling around with adaptors and stopping down. An R4sp would not be too much more than the adaptor.

Paul, which 50mm lenses do you have that you are interested in trading? I saw a M8 image from the Noctilux that was very nice. But it weighs a ton. If I could have two 50's , they would be the Noctilux and an M Hexanon. YMMV.

One that has not been mentioned yet is the Pentax 645. These are very inexpensive these days, and make very nice images. They were made to be field cameras, are very hand holdable, very low vibration. About the square format and Hasselblad, the only way to know for sure is to try one. You can rent one in any major city.

Be very careful about entering your name and password to a link from an

unknown entity! Anyone can go directly to ebay and do a completed item search safely without the need for an external link.