snommisbor

I had the 4x5 model and they are great. Probably double what you are looking at. The only thing I did not like about them are they are pretty light and the bellows aren't as long as I wanted. Light of course is good when backpacking but sometimes is not good when shooting long exposures. But get one they are great and when you feel you want to move to something else you should be able to get your initial investment back on eBay if you take care of it. So a safe camera to purchase and pretty much try for free.

I have the SV45Ti which I love. I shoot from a 90-300 and the other day I was able to focus with the 300 to within 3 feet of my still life I was doing some testing with. I like the versatility of the camera being the bellows have a section on the front that are more like a bag bellow that allows you to go fairly wide angle. I shoot my 90 and still have room to focus in more. Yet I can stretch the bellow out far to get those closeups with a longer lens if need be. For most shots though there is not much taxing the camera at all. There are some wide angle Ebony's that won't fold up that many say deploy faster as well but honestly with LF nothing is that fast and adding an additional 10 seconds to unfold the camera is not a big deal to me. I like the options of more lenses should I choose to go longer with the more standard folding field cameras. At the moment there are about 15 cameras on eBay to choose from. I would look at those and then google the ones that look like something you would want. there are usually reviews out there for most of them.

<p>I really like the Mamiya 6, it is such a compact camera and is very easy to handle and focus. Of course it would just be film, but great nonetheless. I could never master the Hasselblad CM system just too slow. I would wait to see what Fuji will announce. Heard they are going to come out with a MF digital to rival the new Hasselblad but at a cheaper price. Could be cheaper than a digital back.</p>

<p>Midwest photo exchange has it. They have pretty much everything you need for Large Format. Got my Tachihara from them. MPEX.com is the site.</p>

<p>I would also look for books that are in the field you are wanting to pursue. If you are wanting to do portraits , find books in that direction. I always go to Amazon and read reviews on books to see if they are what I am looking for. Some can be really hard to follow and reviews will help. They even will have a few pages on some books for you to read to see how it is.</p>

<p>Any other film that is good for night photography that would be readily available?</p>

<p>I'm going on a night photo shoot in a week and was looking to get some T64 for my 4x5 camera because I read that really is better for night photography than Velvia. But looks like the T64 is not available. What would be a good film for night photography that is color, I already have B&W so just looking to get some color.</p>

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<p>Could you not get a pano head with a D700 or whatever full frame digital you have and take 4 to 6 or however many you wanted and then stitch it together to one frame that is equivalent to a 4x5 transparency. I was wondering this because I was thinking of getting a pano head for days when I am out shooting and trying to be a little quicker than setting up my Tachihara for a few shots.</p>

<p>Thanks, I am wanting the AFD version so it gives me the option of adding a digital back someday.</p>

<p>Wanting to get into MF and was at my camera store yesterday and they had a Mamiya 645 AF-D with the 80mm lens and a 120 filmback for 799.00. Is this a good deal to jump on or should I shop around more?</p>

 

<p>On the hot shoe for the flash it will say TTL with a lightning bolt. </p>

<p>Don, It is WWII in HD on the History Channel.</p>

<p>I watched WWII in HD on the History channel last night and it was incredible. The show was nothing but color footage that had been transferred and cleaned up to in many cases a almost High Def quality. The pictures were quite moving. Not trying to start a Film vs. Digital argument but it is amazing how as technology improves the photos and film that were taken with simple film cameras from that era look better then they did back then and you have to wonder would digital photos or film have been improved upon like the, I would assume 8mm and 16mm film footage, way the old film was. <br>

Just always remember to back up those digital files and save the film we take because you never know what it will be like in another 30 to 50 years.<br>

The show is haunting when watching in color, it is going all week I highly recommend it. If you have seen it tell what your impressions where on it.</p>

<p>I shoot a 1940's Crown Graphic, a 80's F4, a 90's M6, and a now discontinued D300. Everything I hang on my wall comes from these old worthless cameras. Of course I have never hung a test chart on my wall. Keep shooting with what you are happy with.</p>

<p>I have been 3 times and every time I bring less and less because I found I never used a lot of things. I have a D300 and I found the best kit is the 80-400 VR and a wide angle type lens for shooting around camp, although this last time for my around camp type shots I just carried a small P&S for the wide angle shots. You don't need a flash because the one on your camera will work fine and for the times you would actually use one it was not worth it to me carry it across the world for the maybe 1% of shots you would use with a flash. Believe me less is more and makes it more enjoyable and trying to use teleconverters on 70-200 2.8 type lens just adds more weight and doesnt get you any better then what the 80-400 will get you. I carried mine all through the bush and it performs well.</p>

<p>This is really cool. </p>

<p>http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/09/the-150-space-camera-mit-students-beat-nasa-on-beer-money-budget?npu=1&mbid=yhp</p>

<p>Some MIT guys made a camera and a balloon that took pictures of Earth from 97,000 feet.</p>

<p>I took my D300 and the 18-200VR and I bought my little 50 1.8 but used it only a few times. I would leave the flash because you can set the flash to slow and still get the ambient light at night. I bought a small lowepro explorer bag and was set. If you have young ones going the best thing to do is the stroller rental for the whole trip, best thing I did because it will hold your bag and I just would leave it open with the camera sitting in the bag and could grab it real quick. A P&S is great but sometimes capturing the split second moments are not possible with those because of the lag time. When I go back I am taking my D300 and the 18-200 again that is all you need.</p>

<p>Sergio,</p>

<p>I have thought about a ND filter but my lens does not have a filter thread. I am looking to get another lens here soon, maybe even upgrade to a true view camera from the Crown Graphic.<br>

I also shot Velvia 50 on the same trip with my M6 TTL and a 35 Summicron and I just metered off the blue sky and those came out much better. Thanks for the advice everyone.</p>

<p>I have a Crown Graphic with a 127 Ektar lens. Trying to shoot a sunset over a small lake on our ranch and I have tried to meter 2 different ways with no success. Both times shooting Velvia 50 4x5<br>

First I spot metered off the edge of the sun low about to set where you start to see the blue sky and then spot on a dark tree and took the average and shot. I don't remember the settings for that shot but it was blown where there should have been the nice orange colors where the film was clear. Last weekend I tried using the incident light reading. This is Sekonic 758DR and the sun was setting again and the reading was at F/16 for Velvia 50 to expose for 1 second and it again blew it out to clear film where the sun was supposed to be.<br>

Any tips on how you would shoot a sunset would be greatly appreciated. </p>

<p> </p>

<p>and one more</p><div></div>

<p>Here are 2 examples with the 80-400</p><div></div>

<p>I use the 80-400 VR for wildlife. I have taken it to Africa twice and use it all the time at home for wildlife. I have gotten many shots of birds in flight and everything else from Elephants to Lions and Impala and many more from walking and riding around and the focus, while not blazing fast, it has gotten me the great shots of wildlife I have blown up and framed on my wall.</p>

<p>Mine was not metering correctly in AP so I sent it in and Nikon fixed it and put a new LCD in the finder and it works like a brand new camera. Was about $180 to fix but not bad to have something built like a tank and is still considered one of the finest 35mm cameras out there. I would definately try to get it fixed. Film is still a lot of fun to shoot. I use it when I want full frame instead of my D300.</p>

<p>Sometimes when shooting wildlife you have to take what you can get. But the fact that both photos have good bokah which helps separate the background from the subject is good. With animals that have antlers you want to have that be your focal point so the line does take away from that. </p>