jonathan brewer

I would add this aside, that of course when using the multi-angle grip that would be with the 35 degree prism, handholding this is easy as you're using both hands while able to fire the shutter with your left hand.

 

The RB can even take a digital back, and it's main two attractions being that it's way less than an RB system while giving the same image quality with KL lenses, and as mentioned doesn't jam and nothing need to be matched(any insert into any back).

 

I leave the multi-angle grip on my cameras when they're mounted on a tripod.

The weight issue of the RB/RZ has been overplayed, I've found that what makes my RB feel heavier than it is, is the fact that it is somewhat more awkward to handle the camera on/off the tripod without the grip.

 

The multi-angle grip solves all this and the multi-angle grip has a tripod hole on its base where the 'L' grip has no provision for mounting on a tripod. Things seem to always weigh more than they really do when they're awkward to handle, and with the multi-angle grip the camera is easy to handle/operate on and off the tripod.

 

The RB has a series of interlocks that I hated at first and then grew to love, the RB won't let you mess a roll of film, but some folks never get use to these, to get past all the interlocks and shoot quickly I simply leave the lens on the camera and reload film by opening the back and load a roll onto the insert. If you wan't to test your strobe/PC connection simply switch the back to multi and fire away.

 

You would save money by buying the several inserts and one complete RFB which you can just leave on the camera, nothing needs to be matched these just don't mess up, a lot has been made of the weight issue between the RB and other cameras, at the top of my list of criteria for camera selections is HOW MUCH TO MAINTAIN THIS CAMERA OFF WARRANTY, my RB's have never jammed, never failed to work, and I've serviced them all once.

 

I picked my wife not because she was heavy or skinny but on account of how much trouble she was/or was not gonna give me, same thing with cameras.

Carol.....I suggest you go here...........http://www.photographyreview.com/reviewscrx.aspx.....which will give you the hands on experiences(pros and cons) of the users of most of the camera gear being sold today. Your criteria covers several cameras.

 

The MF gear from Bronica, Contax, Rollei, Mamiya, Pentax, Hasselblad, and Fuji are all good as are their lenses and other variables like whether or not the camera is on a tripod, the print process, exposure et al will affect the final image more than the difference between the lenses of the major camera manufacturers of MF.

 

The best deals on Mamiya gear is going to be from Robert White and folks like Lawrence/'Leafshutter' who sells over the 'net. Lawrence will sell you a brand new Mamiya Pro-SD,RFB, and 127KL lens for probably less that $1750 leaving you $750 for everything else or an additional lens. A Mamiya 180KL and/or the 250KL will run around $750-$800 from Robert White and/or 'Leafshutter'. I mention this set-up as an example, by all means research the gear for yourself. Knowing what you want, checking out the reviews of other who have already used the gear, taking you time, will narrow it down to a reasoned choice of the right gear for your needs.

 

1)I'm not a pro. i'm an artist, and the prints i turn out will have to be of exhibition standard. 2)Most of the work i do is slow and considered..............I would hope you would consider that being one doesn't necessarily excude being the other, good luck.

A point of clarification, I'm not saying if somebody moves drastically out of position to keep on shooting, of course you'll have to refocus manually, also Autofocus cameras can mess up, when everybody is 'straight on' that's one thing but on a head shot where your subject is 'three quarters' and not looking straight on you have to 'play' with the focus between the front and back eye(on a tight head shot for example where the subject is looking 'three quarters'(at an angle exactly between a 'side profile' and 'straight on') an autofocus camera tends to focus the front eye leaving the back eye too fuzzy, you still have to watch out with autocus doing portraits.

I tend to shoot kids w/my Autofocus 35mm, unless I'm asked to do it in MF format in which case the price for the sitting goes up, now unless you're shooting with either the new H1, the contax 645, or the Rollei 6x6 AF, you be trying to manually follow focus kids with a MF which can be done but is tough, and the percentage of keepers to fuzzy shots will go down.

 

My technique for shooting kids/folks who can't sit still w/MF is to set focus, starting firing and then after several shots refocus at the start of a new sequence, depending on your exp. a surprisingly high number of shots will come out, the problem is they aren't always the ones you want to come out. The alternative is focusing everytime they move, which takes time, messes up continuity/is disruptive, and folks can 'stiffen' up with this method.

 

The cropping issue is simple, shoot a square negative(6x6) and print a retangle portion of that negative and you'll lose some the image(the top and bottom portion of the image if the rectangle is a horizontal crop of the image/the right and left portions of the image if the crop is a vertical crop), you have less of this with a 645 camera or a 6x7 MF camera because they shoot a rectangular neg. in the first place, if things still aren't clear simply purchase a 'cropper' which will show you the portions on your 35mm negs that will print and what portions of the images will be lost.

 

You need to go here......http://www.photographyreview.com/reviewscrx.aspx.......these are the reviews of cameras(all formats) by the users of that gear, which will give their hands on experience before you have purchased the gear giving you a head start. Wait, research, don't impulse buy(if you end up hating the thing, you'll sell it a loss/put it on a shelf to gather dust) and then check out the gear firsthand. You've got to eventually handle the gear, there's no other way.

A 6x6 MF is a defacto 645 when cropping to a rectangular print size, the Mamiya Pro-SD/RZII doesn't have to be turned on its side since you can rotate the back, but isn't as portable as many 6x6 cameras, or the smaller 645 cameras.

Lawrence or 'Leafshutter' will sell you a brand new RB Pro-SD body, 127KL lens, and RFB, for about $1750 as of a year ago(warranty included), I figure less now, with Robert White not far behind, these cameras coming down in price is a boon for a lot of folks.

 

These cameras being dumped for digital is going to have the reverse affect that some people think it will, it is going to increase the number of folks getting into MF. IMHO the US market for camera gear has always been overpriced, these prices are now at least becoming halfway decent.

 

Any gear you got you're going to have to lift/move/hold up for long periods of time, lift some weights, but let's be real something had to be sacrificed for the big neg, I've got the RB Pro-SD becasue you get a big neg in return for a little exercise you should be doing in the first place.

I want you to remember this question after you've had a chance to take out your LF in public when other folks are around, you will then laugh to yourself, not because it's not a good question, it is, but taking out LF in certain situations and/or around other folks is like going to the beach to watch a guy juggle chain saws.

 

I can be completely inconspicious(is that how its spelled) with some of my gear, and with older gear I'm pretty much ignored('Old Geezer out with a camera as old as he is'), but take out LF when you're someplace with at least two other people around is something else.

Jay,.........thanks, that was understood, my response was not aimed specifially at you or Greenfied-Sanders, moreover it was aimed at the idea that you(anybody) have to be careful and mindful of what you tell a sitter as what you say may mean something different to the sitter than it means to you.

 

I'm in agreement about a facade/veneer/defense mechanism/clinched teeth/grimace that covers up rather than exposes which is what many folks will reach for as a kind of safety valve until they're comfortable/relaxed and trustful of you. In fact what I've just said is usually the first thing I discuss with a client before we shoot.

 

My idea is that there's the possibility of a client reacting to 'don't smile' as being the same thing as 'I need to be serious'. I myself want the cliend to feel whatever he wants to feel, while running a whole gamut if possible of whatever moods/attitudes/feelings he/she feels comfortable and relaxed enough to expose.

 

Simply put I can understand the idea behind 'don't smile', but the point is what does the client understand when you say that.

He'll let you have it for $650..................there's no way he typed this with a straight face. Between Robert White and/or Lawrence('Leafshutter' on e-bay) you can get a NEW 127KL for around $750.00.

 

It's been a while, but last time I checked with Lawrence he was selling a 'pro-pack' which was the RB Pro-SD, 127KL, and a 120 RFB for around $1750 US, brand new.

'Hi Gene.And John, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders makes portraits with an 11x14 camera, and instructs his sitters not to smile'..........If this is how the instruction is phrased when it is given, then I disagree with it. There are an infinite number of ways to smile, what I dislike is the old 'say cheese' style of clenched teeth and the old 'hand on the chin' which some photographers have had subjects do even while they are standing up.

 

Telling somebody not to smile, might be misunderstood by the subject/sitter to the extent that he/she feels they need to eliminate a number of useful expressions and nuance that could be very useful. A better tack to take is to explain what you want in detail and ask the subject/sitter if they understand and agree, discuss this at length/in detail before starting the shoot.

 

There is no way that you can tell a subject/sitter how to look or how not to look, that will equal what the subject/sitter can generate from deep within themselves, but whatever you and the sitter do together it will never be the truth, the bottom line is that whatever a photographer decides to shoot, it is a 'put on' that if you're lucky is totally convincing.

 

Your lens focuses on something, and everything else is left out as is whatever you have framed, you've shot in B&W, Color, or Infrared or Infrared Color, you have recorded a thin slice of the truth filtered through your individual perceptions.

 

Other than specifically telling the sitter that I have never asked someone to 'say cheese' I talk about moods, feelings, past experiences and how we can tap in to those kinds of tools, you can many times get exactly what you want by never specifically/directly asking for it, doing this many times makes the sitter feel like they need to please you and/or give you what you want instead helping to peel away the layers of self-conciousness.

 

Put two people together with stools very close to each other and then asking them to sit down, gets them close, if they are a couple it will not take them long for one of them to put their arm around each other, you won't have to ask them to do it, so you work situations where things come naturally, somebody likes jazz, I've asked them to bring their favorite CD's, sooner or later without asking for it, this will probably create an ambience that will lead to a priceless and indiscribable expression, verbal commands pale as to what they can accomplish compared to what a sitter can create for himself given the right inspiration.

 

You set up an atmosphere by work and/or deed to help the sitter to relax and be themselves, how they look when they can relax and be themselves will have a richness of nuance that comes from within and is therefore much more compelling/convincing than anything in a book of poses or you telling them how to smile, not to smile, or to look serious, and so forth.

 

After you onto something that the sitter has come up with, of course there's nothing wrong with fine tuning it, provided the sitter is aware what you're doing.

 

A smile can be so many things other than a forced show of teeth, the variation nuance regarding any mood/expression/attitude in any combination is infinite and will defy description in terms of what even non-professional sitters can come up once they've relaxed and caught on to the act.

 

When you do a portrait, the photographer, the sitter, and anyone looking at the print knows this is an 'act', the idea is to tap into something so convincing that for seconds at a time you're swept up by what the image has to say and not the technique.

Selective focus is an art in itself, nothing is more frustrating that letting an autofocus camera do its thing on a shot, and then when you get the proofs back you find you framed the shot perfectly, caught the right moment, but the camera focused somewhere else not necessarily ruining the shot, but didn't make the decision you'd make.

 

None of my MF gear is AF, I have an AF 35mm for when I shoot portraits of kids and my 50+ eyeballs get tired or can't keep up, but even with that camera I like to pick and choose my spots.

 

I think using a camera on auto everything all the time is a dismal proposition for anybody serious about photography and it's going to rob you of some great shots that the auto-everything camera turned into just some good shots.

Same old argument.....a guy tells you, 'look at this woman I just picked up, she's young and pretty, don't she make you just want to dump that "old bag" you've got your arm around, how long you been with that nag, 20yrs.?'

 

Never mind that he's only known her for a week and she may not even be around in 3 months, he cannot see the value of the tried and true, your lady may be a little older, but everything still works, she's got a mature mind, and she'll stick by you through 'thick n thin'.

 

The opening question is a loaded question which also suggests its own answer from what is really a faulty premise, my Mamiya 330 and Minolta Autocord are not Dinosaurs, how can they be, they still work!!

 

The Dinosaurs are the digital gear of just a few years ago, as will the digital gear of today, 'here today, gone tommorrow, and for big bucks'.

I can understand a camera being 'rough-housed' if somebody was in Desert Storm and had to get the shot no matter what, but other than that is doesn't take the least bit of effort to treat a camera with decent care. Camera gear in terms of precision are the equal of medical equipment, open up a well made camera and you will see pride in workmanship that you wont find inside of many computer towers and digi-cams.

 

I just hope that this poor RB that everybodies dribbled like a basketball isn't pawned off on anybody via e-bay after it has outlived its usefullness.

Put $3000.00 of you $6000.00 and pretend like you don't have it, they have a Toyo AII on e-bay represented by the seller as 'never used' with bidding presently @$1000.00, and they'll be others around this price and condition, I believe you can get a mind/like new/never used Toyo AII for less than $1200, leaving $1800.00 of a $3000.00 budget for lenses, tripods, and everything else you need, but I do not believe you will spend the whole $3000.00 for a Toyo AII system/w 2 lenses.

 

I'm not suggesting you immediately spend that money, WAIT AND RESEARCH this to death, you'll kno infinitely more weeks or months from now and you'll probably have a better handle on what you want. They'll always be good deals along, always.

 

Put $3000.00 away and forget about that money.

Domenico, you used WAY TOO MUCH diffusion!!!

You can hand scripts to people who know nothing about acting and tell them to rehearse a scene, you'll get awkwardness, nervousness, and self-conciousness to the max, they are not experienced at doing that, but you can tell those same folks to huddle together and let them know that you want to play a pratical joke on a pal coming in through the door, that they can understand, and you'll get very natural performances/improvisation from folks who are not professional actors.

 

It's all up to you/depends on how your approach in peeling away the layers nervousness/getting someone to relax while they sit in a room full of strange gear, while you fire a blinding light in their face, they can do it and get very good at it if you play it right.

The more relaxed your models are in addition to how natural the positions they can settle into will determine how long they can hold a position, if they are professional models, singers, actors, entertainers, they will be able to help you with this.

 

If they are not professional models, then it will be up to you to set up an atmosphere, music/people skills/humor to engender their trust and confidence in you and whatever you want to do, they then will relax even more, self conciousness then melts away.

 

When people do things that are forced, that are not really them/touches something in them they tire quickly of any one position/it becomes difficult for them to stay focused, when they can find a very relaxed and natural position for themselve, and express something that comes from them, they can stay that way for long periods of time.

 

I don't tell folks how to look, how to position their body, we start a discussion about moods, feelings, situations they can relate to and when they come up with something regardless of whether it is a 'sweet', or a 'serious', I ride with it, no inducements to mug, or my presumption of how they should express themselves. If you work it the right way people who are not professionals can pick this up quite quickly.

 

An example of what I'm talking about involved the CEO of a company called DocVentures who asked me to do portrait/head shot for a brochure for his business, he asked that the shot portray him as 'sincere', 'straitforward', 'someone people would want to trust', so we set up a shoot.

 

He was nervous and fidgety and pretty much lost at the beginning of the shoot as to what to do, and because of this he would become quickly exhausted and we would have to take a break.

 

He began to understand what I was trying to do, he began to relax and hold his positions for longer periods of time, he got in a groove, a comfort zone, so I told him I wanted him to dig down and imagine he was sitting with a close relative who has just told him that they have terminal cancer, 'I want you to take some time and just imagine that', ......................................'now I want you to look at the lens, and imagine the lens to be that person, I want you to look at the lens and look like you would look if you had just told the individual, we're in this together no matter what, I love you and were going to fight this together'.............................and this worked, he swung his stool around away from the camera, crouched over for something like a minute, and then he swung back around looked into the camera with intensity with just the look that he wanted. He held this position for as long as I wanted because he was giving me a real piece of himself, I hope this helps.

I am in basic agreement with you Douglas dealing w/e-bay is just like loaning a woman money, never loan out more than you can afford to lose. I have done close to 40 deals, had three go sour for substantial money and was lucky enough to get that cash back on all three deals, and when these deals did go sour, my phones calls to the folks running this were not returned, to get my cash back on two of these three deals I resorted to the authorities for Mail fraud and e-mail fraud, once the folks who owed me money saw that I wasn't going to let go, I got my cash back.

 

I'm very strict on following my own guidlines now because the folks selling on e-bay have changed in the two or three years I've been dealing, and I agree that like many HMO's the folks running this are around to rake in the cash from transactions but are very hard to track down when things go sour.

 

I think it's the other way around with the price of gear issue, prices going down with affect these dealers with these ridulous mark-ups more than the MF manufacturers, witness that these mark-up are now/and will be shifted over to digital gear. Mark is right, if you can make money and pay for one of these backs quickly and then make even more money fine, but I don't believe there are that many folks that can afford these backs outside of working professionals and I would say that digital is relevant for some more than others.

 

The price of film gear going way down is going to help a lot of photographers make more purchases, it's going to encourage the purchase of more film, it's the way it should've been in the first place.

I would suggest buying the Polaroid back I use on my RB Pro-SD's which is the NPC equivalent of the Quadra 72, the difference I saw at the time of purchase was $200.00 between the backs. The NPC is way less than the Quadra 72, very well made, and you get a lot of negative, there's nothing to these backs, the only to break 'em is to drive over them with a truck.

Douglas, thanks for the clarification, I didn't understand the comment, as to my comments, I intended them as advice for anyone not all that experienced/just starting out on e-bay, and not as some 'red flag' regarding this seller.

 

Most of my deals on e-bay have been great, I have however gotten a dog from a dealer who had a pretty fair reputation(luckily got my money back), bought gear from a woman who says she only used her camera for two weeks before going digital who in fact turned out to be a man who had used, abused, and ran the camera that he sent me into the ground,I've had a dealer who has his own repair shop send me a lens whose shutter was about to 'crap out'.

 

My suggestions are just that, suggestions, things to insist on(at least for me), that are sure ways to keep an individual from getting burned/to elimnate misunderstandings/cut through the double talk when it occurs/gives you a clear idea of how willing an individual is to stand behind his gear, and knowing what I now know, regardless of reputation, I insist on a 'no hassle' return on anything above e-bay's limit of $200.00 from them on a deal gone bad.

'Digital SLRs produce better images in most situations than a 645 camera'..................then you woke up.

I took a look at this camera you mentioned on e-bay and I would share these thoughts, this is a good deal if the buyer got a no/hassle money back guarentee and/or a grace period/warranty where he can have the camera checked out, there could be a million things wrong with this camera and the lens, the rack focus could have been bumped/a heavy lens slung on the camera without a support rod/hairline crack of the mirror from the damping having worn out/'old type'shutter on the lens is sagging or about to go and on and on.

 

The person getting this camera should send this camera to a technician who should give it a complete bill of health before accepting the deal.

 

One of the things the seller said doesn't make sense, he said something to the effect of 'I have two cameras that don't look as good as this one for $1200.00'........and if his remark is accurate, then why is he selling the other cameras for more?

 

On the bright side would be the fact that this would be a good deal if the camera needed another couple of hundred to put it into good shape with no major overhauls, putting your total up to $650.00, with the prospect of several years of good service.

 

I've dealt on e-bay enough to get a feel for what folks say without actually saying it, this guy kinda hints that this camera is a little rought around the edges, he mentions a couple of repairs to put you at ease, but he is not really that specific about all the cameras functions and whether they've been checked out/calibrated/serviced/overhauled, this guy is a smooth seller and while he may be honest about the camera, he also may be trying to finesse the sale of a camera in worse shape than he says it is, don't think a dealer is above pulling that, business is business although I think many if not most dealers are up front and honest.

 

A lot of folks think that honesty in business is the maxium that 'you had your chance to ask questions'........'you had a chance to demand this and that, you didn't, that's not my fault'...in the case of this camera, my question would be is the seller telling everything he knows about the camera.

Prices going down/being forced down with MF is a good thing, Some gear here is a 100% mark-up from what guys like Lawrence and Robert White sell it, if the current market does anything it will reduce gouging, this gear is not getting ridiculously cheap, it is going down to the realistic price it should've been in the first place.

 

How many photographers are making serious money w/digital gear/$7000.00 digital backs? I don't believe that total is a big percentage against the total number into MF, so the prices going down can only help.

 

You justify a $7000.00 digital back by having a job/jobs that pay for that back, having said that, these $7000.00 backs will eventually sell for $700.00 and the $700.00 back will be a better back.

A lot of folks on e-bay tend to be unrealistic about the worth of their gear, Lawrence who goes by 'Leafshutter', will get you a Pro-SD,120 back, and 127mm for around $1750 last time I looked(that's brand new with a warranty).

 

When Mamiya gear has been taken care of properly, it's good, when it's been bounced around and neglected, it's a miserable proposition, I think somewhere in this is that people can afford to be choosy and will pass until they see the right gear for the right money.

 

None of my MF gear is AF and except for my 645 ProTL is all mechanical, my Pro-SD's have never malfunctioned, which is more important to me than any 'bells n whistles' particulary since two of my cameras are off warranty, fixing electronic cameras off warranty is a fortune, of course if you need the 'bells n whistles' that one thing, but a lot of photographers will give into that 'little boy' inside of all of us who get excited my that next new toy.

 

The doctors and lawyers and rich photographers will snap up the latest gizmos not because they need it, but because they want it, these new widgets will start showing up on the market used, and ultimately the price will be driven down, in a matter of months I suspect.

 

There's nothing you can't do with a H1, Rollei AF, Contax 645, that's you can't do with a Pro-SD, or 645 Pro-TL if you have the time and/or patience.