timber_borcherding

Response by Timber Borcherding timberborcherding

 

The weakness of the Mamiya Super 23 or Universal is in the rangefinder: If you drop the camera or give it a fair hit, it can knock the adjustment of the rangefinder out; and you'll never know it happened until you develop your film! As a result, I feel safe to use it at critical times only with the groundglass back! While I used one for years without problems at weddings, at one wedding, the rangefinder went out and I lost several frames. The others I salvaged in depth of field, fortunately. But this experience taught me the limitations of this camera. Tough it is, but have a way to check rangefinder alignment on a job.

Response by Timber Borcherding timberborcherding

 

Also consider 1/2-of-an-ellipse type reflectors. Speedotron has these. They are focusable. Their strength is evenness of wide angle light, and the ability to focus the bulb by using a movable bulb inside the reflector. In a parabolic reflector, the bulb cannot be moved, or it will create a "O" pattern light. Non-parabolics can have a bulb placement with some latitude as to focusing it. I would say there are three camps: Non-parabolics, parabolics, and 1/2-of-an-ellipse. Non-parabolics can take alot of jostling around. Parabolics must stay stiffly in focus to create even lighting.

It appears that the JTL unit is now history. Please disregard it.

 

Timber Borcherding timberborcherding

The best people to call is Holly Enterprises in Los Angeles, near Sepulveda.

 

It would seem to me that if the unit is turned off, the discharge circuit would not work, or work well. Perhaps only one bank of capacitors is being discharged when the power is off. If you change power level, you are grounding the second bank of capacitors and they will of course, arc as they discharge. Just a thought. But I am no expert. Basically, you need to have power to have the electronic intelligence to discharge all of the banks at once. If the power is off, you are on manual.

 

Somebody should put in a circuit which is a resistor or a light which is a "main discharge" to discharge all of the capacitors at once no matter what. Just an idea. The people at Holly Enterprises, Brent Hollister has all the answers.

 

800-988-7111 sales 818-892-9020 tech advice

You should be using a 20x magnifier rather than a 10x. I would use only black and white film for a sharpness comparison. You should be using a resolution chart comparing corners of the lens view and center.

 

Use a flash from a distance of about 10' to eliminate all possibility of shake. Do your tests indoors, not out. Develop the film in the same batch.

 

The 20x magnifier usually came with the resolution chart. I think I bought one from Spirotone 20 years ago.

 

 

Use a moderate f stop such as F8-f11

 

Focus slightly in front of the chart, on the chart, and in back of the chart to check all cases. Use your 20x magnifier on the viewing screen. Have a friend then check your focus.

I would like to ADD to the above!

 

I agree on the finder being liable to vibrate out of adjustment! The Koni Omega may not have this problem! The 100mm 3.5 is very sharp. I can't compare it to a 100mm 2.8, as I have no experience.

 

The film back on either the Mamiya Universal or Super 23 hugs the body with a thinner profile. This means your chin, nose, mouth are not uncomfortably banging against the film back. With the Graflex XLRF, the Graflox back sticks out more. The wind knob seems to be more "naturally" fit for the right hand than the graflox back of the Graphlex. The thumb just finds the level easier with the Mamiya. By the way the film backs on the Mamiya Universal fit on the old RB Mamiya's I am told.

 

Both cameras have holes which attract dirt. The Mamiya shutter can't be fixed with parts. They don't exist anymore. But used lenses are still cheap.

 

The finder in the Mamiya is simpler to view through; it only shows one mask at a time. The Graphlex overleafs its mask so you see three masks at the same time: confusing!

 

The finder in the Graphlex is about 1/2 stop brighter than the Mamiya.

The Mamiya Universal is the best choice over the Super 23 in regards to toughness. That moving back can become untightened with a big bang. That would through your focussing efforts off! The movable back, however is the cheapest view camera you'll find! It is great for small movements such as a group photo on roll film! Just alittle 1/8" movement will do it for a group of 40-60 people! Everyone will be sharp at f5.6!

 

The Graphlex has a very big Achilles Heel: The focusing tracking uses a plastic nib grooved into a slot on the lens barrel. If this breaks while you are mounting a lens, there is no way to fix it. There are no parts! The body becomes a disposable camera!

 

The Graphlex is light weight, it seems to weight about 2/3s of the Mamiya. The body is tough as the Mamiya's. The focussing handle makes it easy to focus. The Mamiya does not have this feature.

 

The only way to own a Graphlex XLRF is to never remove the lens. This way, you will probably never hurt the focusing nibs. The Mamiya does not have this problem.

 

My suggestion is to buy the Mamiya. I have owned both and used both. Buy extra lenses for the Mamiya as you wear them out. Each lens will give you about 30,000 clicks. Have it oiled, but you will wear out the lens. I am told a Compur 00 could be fitted in the Mamiya barrel. But why, since there are still so many lenses around.

 

The Mamiya, in Japanese fashion, solved many user problems of the Graphlex XLRF. Koni-Omega came along and made the system alittle faster and more foolproof than either. But the Mamiya has the Super 23 movable back. And that is a real plus.

You are likely to have an HC-3/70: this has the extra rubber to cover the corner of your eye. It also is restrictive to eye glasses. I know nothing of RM-1.

JLT Electronics of France has a unit which takes a speedotron 1200 and mates a battery to it. The result is cheaper than the profoto system, but operates the same.

I am a professional wedding photographer since about 1973. I have shot over 600 weddings. I will propose a legal solution to the matter of weddings:

 

Brides want you to 'guarantee their fantasy'. This means that through your picture taking, the wedding will be perfect. This means you are indirectly 'taking responsibility for the acting of the guests.' It is illegal and impossible for you to take responsibility for the acting of the guests. But the Bride FEELS that you are taking responsbility when you are a picture producing. This problem leads to litigation and angry mis interpetation of the contract and, well, life. Simply explaining that you, the professional photographer aren't RESPONSIBLE FOR HOW THE PICTURES LOOK is a weak arguement in her eyes. Legally, you have many points to argue.

 

In the following post, (I have limited time at the computer) I will point out other factors and solutions.

 

The point of this post is, however, that when you are a wedding photographer, you are dealing with people's fantasies. You, the photographer are always dealing with realities. This is a mismatch which will land you in court arguing over. This is expensive. There are several solutions.

 

'Making the sale' is a conflict area because you are selling a fantasy oriented service. Pulling people down into reality before the wedding may lose you the sale as the people may feel you are a marginal photographer who is making excuses for yourself, not merely 'covering yourself'. People don't want to hear that you are 'not responsible' since that is what they are paying you for.

They want to making SOMEONE RESPONSIBLE.

 

This is where the stress for the photographer comes in. It is not merely having back-up equipment or film: rather it is the whole program of devising a way to make the expectations reasonable on yourself. Good Luck! This is #1 fantasy day for any female. The groom, however, is not usually sharing the fantasy the same...he just wants to party...

 

I will later add more to this post.

Portable flash will create a sub-average result for architectural photography unless you use many units.

 

Using only one or two strobes? Put a white card behind the reflector while the reflector points up to the ceiling for a "bounce" shot. The result will be more depth to your weak lighting attempt. I would use ASA 400 film to gain depth of field, in addition.

 

Using two units, not mounted on your camera, perhaps 4 feets on your right and left; with reflectors about 3-4 feet from the ceiling and pointed about 20 degrees forward with white cards attached behind the reflectors will give you a 3-D feeling.

 

If the ceiling is not white, paste a white card up there to bounce off of. Don't bounce off of a color surface!

 

If you are not photographing at night, you are going to have problems with the blue sky providing light mixed with your flash. A solution is to put filters over the windows! This is the technique used in cinematography. ROSCO is the product!

 

There is a reason much equipment is used for architectural photography. I hope your client is not very particular!

 

Timber Borcherding

Parabolic is a mathematical formula which determines that light will be evenly reflected from the edges of the reflector forward in a straight line. Think of a finely focused, expensive flashlight. The result is a fine spot of light 100 yards away! A non-parabolic reflector has a "hot" spot in the center, the edges are "gray area". The result here is that the reflector "operates" smaller: effecitvely it is a "smaller" refector with that hot spot. The result is an out-of focus spot of light 100 yards away.

 

The parabolic reflector will give you about 1/3 to 1/2 f stop more light on your subject matter than a non-parabolic reflector. I use a Lumedyne reflector on a Norman 200b/200c/400b for this efficiency. However, I prefer Norman for the powerpack.

 

A parabolic reflector does not give "bare bulb" effects as the person above stated. What he neglected to say was that this particular reflector can BE REMOVED, thus making it into a bare bulb. Both the Lumedyne and Norman have heads which can have removable reflectors.

 

Parabolic reflectors must have a light which can be exactly placed, focused, in place. If the light is not perfectly placed, the light will become "O" ringed. In a non-parabolic reflector, the light does not have to be focused and a "O" ringed light will not occur.

 

So, Parabolic reflectors must be used with care and focused. Adding a dimpled, rough surface to the reflector reduces the need for focussing--but it also reduces the efficiency of the light output.

 

Timber Borcherding

I have used two SLX's for high speed wedding work. I love them. But, try to have them repaired! My first SLX failed when the battery went dead. I believe that the system locks in a funny position and will not torque forward with a good battery. This equals a $500 repair. Or perhaps a spike ran through the system... So, I have recently purchased a Hasselblad. Rollei has cleaned up the problems of operation with Hasselblad, making many conveniences, such as the removable film holder. With Hasselblad, I have to buy another $1000 32 exposure back, with Rollei, its just about $70 for another holder. Although Contax has a nice system, there is no leaf shutter, only focal plane... There is talk that Rollei lenses are not as sharp as Zeiss Hasselblad. Well, Maybe so...maybe 3% less sharp...but the Hasselblad has mirror bounce, the Rollei has a locked-up mirror mechanism controlled by electronic "plunger". The SLX is more convenient to look through compared to 6006 oweing to the slimmer back. But the 6006's model 2 only...have a reputation for better reliability. Money wise, buy a 6006 model 2 or the newer PQ variety. The hinge on the door of the magazine on the SLX will not easily break, and this hinge is on the 6006...but you must be careful when opening the camera, it is made of cast iron so it cracks...not bends. I loved my SLX's, they were quiet and fast loading and fast using, especially with the focusing lever. I suggest you not buy a SLX though. Use your money for a Hasselblad EL. It will be an investment...the SLX has known reliability problems and the repair bill is enough to make it a disposable camera. I have two that need repair...

I used a Super 23 for weddings for several years until I simply wore out the shutter. This was about 1976. I also own a XLRF. I have owned Rollei SLX, and now Hasselblad. Mamiya Super 23 has very sharp lenses. But the shutter has no respect with my German camera repairman. Therefore, purchase a Super 23 because you will run only a few dozen pictures through it per week. Use it as a specialty camera, and do most of your work through a durable 35mm. I could see no obvious difference in resolution between XLRF Planar 80 and my 100 3.5 Super 23. It is easier to view through the Super 23 because the magazine is thinner than the XLRF. The viewfinder in the super 23 shows only one grid at a time, whereas the XLRF shows 80mm and 100mm and 150mm at the same time adding to visual confusion. The XLRF is lighter, but has a plastic nib which cams against the lens mount--once broken the camera can not be repaired. The Super 23 Mamiya backs are easier to load than the Graphloc backs. The movable back on the Mamiya super 23 gives it a great advantage over XLRF when you are taking that picture of a big group with 5 layers of people--about 1/8" movement of the back will change your focus plane to do this kind of photo; and the results are dramatically sharper. XLRF is neat because you have that Zeiss Planar on the lens. But in action, the Mamiya is improved over the XLRF. If you use flash, the big round and wide ring around the lens allows you to tape on F stop distances: 5.6, 8, 11, 16 so that as you focus, it reads out the proper F stop for flash exposures. You will have very accurate negatives flash/fill using this trick known to wedding photographers.

Honestly, its that "Zeiss Planar" on the lens, and the lightness of the XLRF that attracts you to XLRF. But Super 23 has more to offer.

There is a guy at 8508632972 that repairs Super 23s in great manner. He may also put copal shutters into the mamiya lens as a replacement.

Super 23 is alot of camera for very little money.