supapong_chan

<p>AFAIK, No !!! I got both RB67 and RZ 67. I need to buy different pola back for each body.</p>

<p>Great !! Both sets are nice actually. If you can get both 65 and 180, perfect !!!!!<br>

The only advantage of Bronica is handhold ability but not much since the mirror slap on Bronica is much worse than Mamiya RB which has much much better mirror damper. Look carefully for the RB model as suggested by an expert, the RB pro and RBPro SD are the models that have several improvements, RB is too old.</p>

 

<p>I myself would prefer the ETRS kit, the supplied lenses fit all the need for portrait and landscape use while the RB67 kit lacks the 180 which I think best suits for both portrait and landscape needs (I love the landscape look from either 180 C or K/L lens). Mamiya 250 K/L is a very sharp lens but I have no idea about the C lens this focal length is a bit difficult for me to control the depth of focus for portrait use unless you shoot with fast film or you have powerful light setup. I also feel that the ETRS set is lighter to carry than the RB67 set and much much easier to work without tripods not to mention that ETRS body feels stronger than RB67. The offered prices for both sets are very cheap I paid much higher a few years back. Just my two cents!!!!</p>

<p>I don't have Epson 4180 but I have Epson 3170 and the same Scan Dual IV and both work great but not on the same format. Scan Dual IV is really good for 135 B&W and color negatives while Epson 3170 shines on 120 format. I believe there must be something very wrong with your scanner. I have recently replaced the Epson 3170 with Canon 8800F which is better and faster. </p>

<p>I will be putting stuff into gear bags and determining the weight and bringing stuff along appropriately. I'll go walk around with it for a day non-stop and see how it feels......</p>

<p>Please be reminded that the conditions should be the same eg. temp of 33-40 Celcius, uneven pavement and 80-90% relative humidity.<br>

Let's see the result !!!!!</p>

<p>Dear Allen, I am a citizen of Bangkok, aka City of (Terrible) Angels !!!! Ha, ha, ha It'll be extremely hot and humid during that period. So you need to travel light. Taking photos using rangefinder is a very good idea I don't know what kind of photos you are interested in apart from those marine life. You surely can carry two leica bodies, one loaded with 400 B&W film and the other either a slide or color film. You don't have to bring in a lot of color or slide films but you should have sufficient B&W films since it is not easy to find and the sale price is high. You can have your color negatives or slides processed in Bangkok or even have some of them enlarged, the color prints are cheap here but not traditional B&W one. I can give you some information about the places you can buy cheap color slides/negatives or have your print finished. And I believe that for rangefinder shooting 24-28 or 35 mm lenses will be suitable for the job but adding a fast 50 is good advice for low light shooting w/o tripod just push the speed up 1-2 stop or simply bring a small automatic flash like an SF-20. Instead of putting everything in the backpack-like camera bag, life will be easier if you carry a small to medium size Domke canvas case like F-5XB or Satchel F-801 and wear a belt with a few small pouch where you can store some unused films, flash, filters etc. And I still think that a small DSLR-like digital camera is very handy. Look for one with 10 MP and 8-10 times zoom lens may be better for shooting marine life. They are usually light and can be hung around your neck all the time while the expensive leicas are inside the bag. That's the way I carry my gears, 2 leica M's in my F-5XB (one with 35 cron and the other with 50/2 Hexanon-M) a small flash in belt pouch, few extra film cartridges in another belt pocket and my Panasonic FZ-18 around my neck. The whole outfits are very light and are always ready! They also won't break my back at the end of the day and during having snack or meals I can be reassured that those expensive equipments are with me all the time. Should you have any other question, please keep asking. I'll try to answer to the best of my knowledge.</p>

<p>I shoot with both M6 classic and M7. I can feel that it is faster and easier with M7. <br>

I attached TA rapidwinder II to my M7 and that even speed up the shooting but God!<br>

the whole outfit is heavy but very solid. Fitted with 'cron 90/2 gives a very good balance.</p>

<p>You won't be disappointed, both M6 and M7 are very good indeed. M7 shutter is definitely<br>

more accurate especially the slow ones not counting less noise it makes.</p>

<p>Ivan, the ETRSi is 6x4.5 cm format it cannot take bigger formats eg 6x6 6x7.<br>

But there is one other option, you can add 135w back and that makes wide-panorama<br>

with 135 film possible. For portraiture this camera is fine but you need additional<br>

accessories like a prism (AE or plain one), a speed grip for aiding vertical shot unless<br>

your ETRSi comes with a swivel prism (still a little aukward in vertical shot). For<br>

portraiture lenses are more important. You may need 75, 105, 135, 150 or 200 mm<br>

lenses but not the 40, 55 unless you want to shoot group portrait/landscape. <br>

From my own experience the old MC 75/2.8 is too sharp while the newer PE is nicer. <br>

There should be no problem for you to use this fine camera for lanscape shooting.<br>

Their 40 and 50 are more than sharp enough.</p>

<p>Yes, I can finish the grinding the flange off in less than 30 minutes using hand tool (not power tool). <br>

Now I can use it with my MZ-6 (ZX-L) and K100D. Thanks again.</p>

<p>Thank You! Peter.</p>

<p>I also have a Viv 28/2 in PK mount. But mine cannot be mounted on newer bodies like ZX bodies or my K1ooD due to protruding rear metal part. I have no idea about the function of that part and dare not remove it. Anybody with an answer? I can now use it with the old film bodies. That's sad.</p>

Just acquired a new M7 and two months later a new BMW 3 series.

 

I just cannot afford a 7 series.

The electromechanical shutter release in the SQ-Ai is venerably prone to malfunction. While the similar unit in the SQ-B, ETR-Si or GS-1 are much much more reliable. I can't leave my SQ-Ai in "cocked" state, only wind up just before the picture is taken, if it is left for several hours in cocked state the shutter cannot be released and I have to send to my repairman. I have had three episodes of similar dysfunction and my repairman told me not to leave it in cocked state, then the problem solved!!!

I think the EII and PE 75 are the same lens base on glass element configuration. I now have only the PE 75, I used to own an MC75 which has 58mm filter thread size, that one was a really sharp and very contrasty lens. I have made several portraits blown up to 16x20 inch which are very sharp indeed. The PE is almost as sharp with moderate to soft contrast.

If you do not really need to work with AE prism an SQ-A or B are more reliable. 80 PS and 150 PS are great for portraiture work. You may need a C.U.L. (close-up-lens)No. 1 for tight head shot.

Another pic. from the same lens shot with M7 on Tri-X EI 1600.<div></div>

The Hexanon-M 50/2 should fit your need. There will be much much less flare than the Summicron-M and almost as sharp from wide open. The built-in hood is very handy and makes it very compact. The front cap design facillitates the hood extraction when the cap is removed which is better than Summicron-M one. Get one before the price goes up. It's my favourite 50 among the rest which consists of Summilux, Nokton 50, Jupiter 8. Cheers!!!!!!<div></div>

Bob! I use 50-65-90-127-150-180-250 on my RB bodies. I love them all. If I were in your seat, 180 would surely be the next best choice. I use 180 for both portrait and landscape shooting like Buzz did.

I found that a GS-1 is the most handholdable among the other 6x7 cameras in my collection, the others are Pentax 67, two RB 67 (Pro S and SD). Not only it is lighter but also ergonomicwise. I have only one finder for GS-1 it is a revolving AE prism which has spot/average AE metering mode which is accurate enough for general use. The mirror slap is lowest in RB bodies while Pentax 67 it is like shooting a shotgun!!!!

I never use P67 but my SQ-B is easily controlled in the field w/o tripods.

 

With WLF I just simply pou up the magnifier and counter the force of

 

pushing up with both hands against my forehead I believe I can manage

 

with the mirror slap vibration as evident by sharpness in most shots at or

 

over 1/30 sec.

Vodka in the assembly plant could be the reason behind that defect !!!!

No way that a GS-1 will handle nicely like a Blad. You may need a prism a hand grip for the GS-1 since it works on rectangular format unless you put on a 6x6 back (but what for), those things really add hefty weight. I never use a GS-1 though I'd very much love to own one but I own three SQ bodies two ETR bodies and three Hasselblad bodies. If I want a negative of similar size (6x7) I will work with my RB67 system.

 

Nothing beats Blad for its handling and the line of lenses, superb!!!

I would be more incline to SQ body which is so close to Blad in terms of functionality and handling but lens quality is another issue.

Do you have any visual problem?

 

You may need a consultation with an ophthalmologist.

I second Mag about the 180 quality.

 

I own 50C, 65 K/L, 90 K/L, 127C, 150SF-C and 180 K/L. All are

 

fantastic pieces of glass.

 

50 is handy for group photo in a tight space or studio setting.

 

65 is fine for environmental portraiture shootout.

 

90 is for two-to-three people studio portrait.

 

127 is sharp and good for 3/4-1/2 length portrait.

 

150 SF-C is a little bit difficult to handle but it can

 

create a "dreamy soft" pictures suitable for 1/2 to full length

 

wedding photos or glamour photos.

 

180 is my favourite for head and shoulder portrait.

 

It is also excellent for landscape, believe me.

Hi Kevin,

I was in your position years ago. Since then I've been searching for a nice MF outfit to suit my need. It started off with a Bronica SQ-A with 80 and speed grip, then 150 followed by 50 and 250 all PS line. I found that adding an AE prism finder makes my life easier with a little added weight. Later, I added an SQ-Ai body, an ETR system and found that the standard 75mm, old MC lens for ETR body is sharper than my PS 80! This was judged from an enlargement to 16x20 in. That's the only distinguished feature of the ETR system, it lacks the smoothness and beautiful colors of the PS lenses. I moved on to a lighter system, I bought a Rolleicord Vb, wow!, this little camera produced very sharp pictures, I added a Rolleiflex T which is also very nice and the last one of the family, a Rolleiflex 2.8D. The 2.8D with Carl Ziess lens is not as sharp to my eyes as the other two at F11,16 but it is really good wide open. I decided to enter the world of B&W, so I have my own darkroom set up, processing the films and printing the photo myself. This drove me to a bigger negative system. No I am not yet into LF. I found a nice set of used RB67 ProSD with 90 K/L 3.5 which I have been very pleased with, I added 50C, 65 K/L, 127C, 150SF, 180 K/L and another cheap ProS body, a chimney finder with unusable built-in light meter, more and more backs 645s and 6x7s. I thought that my wish was fulfilled. I did enjoy the big negatives and nice prints from RB67 system. Until I got a hold of a hassy 500 C/M with 80 CF lens. I love the craftmanship and nice little touch and details of this camera and lens. The negatives and trannies exhibits vivid colors and contrast clearly better than those produced from my Japanese MF system. Bronica definitely gave out muddy colors when compared to the ones from Hassy Carl Zeiss. I acquired a used, in fair condition, Sonnar 150 F4 CT* lens, this one really shines. Carl Zeiss lenses are amazing!!! I have the screen replaced with an acute-matte with central split image and gridlines. I put in a cheap but nice NC-2 clone prism from Kiev factory and the whole set is still very light and handholdable especially for those familiar with RB67 system.

Kevin, every piece I bought is used and most are very cheap and in nice condition. I cannot say that Hassy is the best. Every brand has its own merit and drawbacks. If you just enjoy taking pictures and not do it for a living then don't care much whether this brand is better than those brands or this lens is sharper than the others. Go find the system that you can afford and live with. I believe a nice RB is more reliable than a newer RZ if you are going to use it out of the studio setting. The high humidity in Florida will surely kill the RZ circuitry very soon. Think carefully, if you have to carry a big system for quite a distance, a Hassy is really lighter and it can be found very cheap these days! I wish you found your own dream system and live happily with them. Cheers!!!!!