mikestacey

<p>I can confirm the pre-wash also. I use 2 minutes. Also, check the dilution strength of the stabiliser.</p>

<p>Interesting Eric. I recently tested my Mamiya 7 with Portra 400 against a D800 on a portrait shoot. Exactly the same shot on both cameras. The thing I noticed with the D800 was the severe lack of dynamic range and the colour palette is nowhere near as pleasing as Portra + Mamiya lenses. So my comparison and preferences have not much to do with resolution. Your results are superb, but to my eyes they do have a very digital look to them - again this is purely subjective and a personal preference.</p>

<p>This is true Joe. The digital marketeers have been extremely successful in creating a very big illusion and getting the public to subscribe to it. At the current time, unless you can afford an 80Mpx back, film is the superior picture taking medium. This is evident for anyone who requires prints larger than 30 inches. This is just fact, there's no debate I'm afraid.<br>

If I only ever printed to less than 24 or 30 inches, didn't require 10 stops of dynamic range and didn't enjoy the aesthetic and palette of various different films, I might consider buying (another) digital camera.</p>

If you want quality, go for either MF film, LF film or a Phase One back. I know which ones I can afford.

I'd say convenience plays a large part. The Mamiya 7 lenses are some of the best money can buy and I happily print to 24 x 30 and even 40 x 30 on some occasions with no visible loss in quality.

 

Digital does seem to have a "plastic" look to it in general - the only digital images I've seen that do not look this way are those shot with one of the new digital backs; Phase One etc. Velvia's fine in the right conditions in experienced hands, people just have atendency to ramp up the saturation slider in PS. Astia is better though and more useable in my opinion. Even better is colour neg film, if you want a result that is distinctly different from a digital look, try Fuji 160S or Portra 160NC. The results with these films are quite distinct and will separate your images from those of digital shooters - in general of course.

Can't say I've ever had the need for a polariser with this camera. The glass is so good it just doesn't need one.

I agree that the Mamiya 7 lenses are absolutely the best that money can buy, and they'd want to be at the price. I use 4 x 5 most of the time, but the times when it's not practical I use the Mamiya 7, and find the results are up there with 4 x 5, except for DOF issues. I really love this camera and would never part with it. I admit the build is kind of quirky though. On one hand some elements of the camera's construction are well thought out and strongly built, on the other hand, some things seem like last minute add-ons. I love the ergonomics of the body though, the way it fits snugly and firmly into the hand. Enough from me, you can tell I would never part with it.

Sounds like you do have a problems then. When I mentioned I can't meter dark areas I wasn't referring to shadows in daytime scenes rather dark areas in dark scenes like you get half an hour before sunrise.

I have the L-608 and it has the same problem. The EU stands for error under. ie the meter doesn't have the sensitivity to read light at these low levels. I can get readings of 2 minutes but no more. It is a limiting factor in my opinion but having never used a different meter I don't know if other meters suffer the same problems. In low light conditions, I generally meter for the bright and mid areas of the scene and hope for the best.

I'd agree with the above re. cumbersome. Large format photography is, what most digital photographers would call 'cumbersome'. An entirely different mindset is required to use a LF camera effectively. They take some time to set up, require alot of fiddling and loading/reloading film into and out of holders etc. (unless money's not an option and use quickloads) and are expensive in terms of scanning, processing and cot of film.

 

Having said all that I wouldn't use anything else. The results are incomparable - the difference in quality is far above medium format and miles beyond digital. If you are a perefctionist - patient and stubborn type of person you'll love large format.

 

Check out the Horseman Woodman and Tachihara cameras which are quite cheap to buy new. Also keh.com, mpex.com for 2nd hand lenses, meters, film holders etc.

Have a look at the Horseman Woodman also. I've used one for about 2 years, no problems, light, great camera.

I wouldn't think the result would be anywhere near as good Phyllis. I use an Epson 4990 flatbed for scanning my 4 x 5s for web output but I wouldn't print from them, Imacon scans are the way to go for that.

Personally I'd rather meter at 50 and work out if there is extra compensation required for the particular scene however I don't think the 20% extra exposure obtained by metering at 40ASA would hurt too much. I'm heading toward Astia 100F in preference for Velvia these days due to its better rendering of shadow detail and softer colour pallet. The new Velvia 100 is fine in normal daylight but when exposures get longer than a few seconds the heavy magenta cast is not very attractive.

Matthew I use one of these lenses all the time, a great lens. I've never used a centre filter on it and have never found that I wanted one. You can see some images taken with it in my gallery at http://www.photo.net/photodb/member-photos?include=all&user_id=1094402

 

Mike

What sort of roll film holder is it? The ones I use (Da Yi and Shen Hao) have a flat metal back which fits into the back of the camera with the ground glass removed and is secured via 2 slide down tabs (one on top and one on bottom) on the back of the camera.

I have to highly recommend the Nikon LF lenses. Amazingly sharp and very good tonal range. I use the 65mm, 75mm and 90mm versions. The 90 is a great all round lens with high performance. They are also very good value for money compared to Schnieder etc.

Eve, I also have a Mamiya 7 and I cannot focus to closer than about 4 feet if I want an infinite DOF using the 43m lens. I can highly recomend the Nikon LF lenses and I currently use the 90mm, 75mm and 65mm lenses. These are unbeatable in terms of value for money - don't like using that analogy as it implies "cheap". <a href='http://www.mikestacey.com'>www.mikestacey.com</a>

Hi Agustin,

 

I don't know much about the Linhof cameras but I'm sure you'll love the format. I've been using a 6 x 17 back on my 4 x 5 camera and just love it. Inspiring, if not overly commercial, panoramic work can be found at www.kenduncan.com and www.maxtaylor.com.au Duncan uses a Linhof but I don't know which model.

 

-Mike

The cheap fresnel is a good idea. Yeah the slides are pin sharp. My tripod is a lightweight Manfrotto 390 I think. The whole rig wobbles a bit but with a firm hand on the centre of the tripod it all seems fine. I also have the 6 x 12 Da Yi back and it works well too, probably better but I don't like the format nearly as much.

Stewart, I have the Da Yi back on a Horseman Woodman and I love it. Having movements with 6 x 17 format is great. The back itself is heavy and solidly constructed. I had some trouble with the film not winding off tight enough onto the spools but have gotten around this by tensioning the first few winds. I can use my 75mm Nikon f4.5 and 90mm Nikon f8 by detaching the front standard from the rails and letting it pivot. This gives extra movements, just have to tighten the screws properly.

Kryn, I have the exact same back and also the same lens, on a Horseman Woodman. I can just see the edges if I move my head around a bit under the dark cloth. Otherwise, I love this back with the LF camera as I have enough movements to tweak focus most of the time.

Norman, I use a 6 x 17 back for my Horseman 4 x 5 camera. It's made by Da Yi and it works great. Go to http://cgi.ebay.com.au/6x17-617-Roll-Film-Back-for-Linhof-4x5-Camera-72-150mm_W0QQitemZ7610334565QQcategoryZ29979QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

I have a Horseman Woodman and am very pleased with it. It is very light, probably not built to last forever but I have had no problems with it being flimsy on the tripod and subject to movement or whatever. The camera itself is much lighter than your average SLR, vene with a lens attached it is probably around the same weight as an SLR although I haven't actually weighed it.

I started with the Nikkor 90mm SW f8.0 and find it to be excellent. It is not as highly priced as some of the others, is as sharp as anyone would need it to be, excellent colour rendition and it is light. I don't have any trouble focusing with my Horseman Woodman and the image circle is also larger than some. I gues it to be roughly equivalent to 28mm in 35mm format but with the movements of large format, you can make it 'appear' much wider. I got it from keh.com for a bargain. All the 4 x 5 images on my photo.net page are taken with this lens. Happy hunting.

I'd go for the Nikkon SW 75mm f4.5. A very good lens, light and not as expensive as some.