jbcrane_gallery

February 7, 2011

Cool Frank. Thanks very much.

Please do post when you get your rolls back. Was it difficult to replace the seals? I just picked up a RZ Pro (not II) 120 back and it seems the foam's a little chewed up toward the left. I just ran my first few rolls through it (with some of the same pensiveness) and they were fine. But at some point I'll probably need to do the same thing.

Also, FWIW to the RZ Pro/Pro II guys, there are some subtle differences between the Pro and Pro II 120 backs. I picked up a coupe used ones from Adorama and they sent 1 Pro by mistake. At first I was going to send it back but decided I'd give it a try. There was a different feel to the Pro 120 vs the Pro II 120 that I actually liked better than the Pro II. It felt, somehow, better machined. Like there were a few metal parts replaced with plastic on the Pro II and somehow you felt it when you advanced the film. Aside from that the only noteable difference is the seals, and the vertical-oriented counter window (which I don't care about).

Sorry to change the subject... ;-). Talk about your seals triggered the thought. Good luck with your rolls and thanks for your comments.

February 7, 2011

Hi William, Thanks very much. At the moment I don't shoot anything wider than the 65L-A on the RZ. I know it's not exactly apples to apples but if it's indeed true that the 50mm is the 35mm equivalent of 24mm I expect it'll be close. I don't get vignetting on my D3S with the 17-35mm at 24mm, nor on my F6 - but it starts very soon after, like 23/22mm. If so, I'm ready to move to X-Pro. It just hasn't been necessary quite yet and there's a pretty big cost increase over the P-series stuff.

At first I was longing for the 50mm ULD, but after getting the 250APO I'm having a blast getting tighter again. I'm hoping to add it sometime this year.

Hope that's of some value and thanks again.

February 7, 2011

Hi Guys- Doing my best to promote our favored format and camera, I'm happy to say I just learned one of my RZ-shot film images won first place in Wyoming Wildlife's 2010 Photo Contest, the Scenic/Pictorial category. Unfortunately when they mentioned the credits at the bottom of the image it appears I made the image on Velvia with a Mamiya R267... oh well. Baby steps, right?

Anyway, if you're interested in seeing the image and reading the long, rambling story of its creation, <a href="http://www.outdoorphotoblog.com">you can do by clicking here</a>. It was interesting to me... there were 369 photographers submitting 2,390 images. The only two non-digital images I saw in the finalists were mine and a gentleman by the name of Don Zippert who made his image with a Nikon F100 on Velvia as well - it's quite beautiful (there may have been others but they were not noted as either film or digital).

This saddened me a bit. Then I read this in the contest summary: "A note to photographers working in the digital mode: Photoshop is a powerful tool that makes it possible to adjust many attributes of a digital image. Like any powerful tool, it can be used to create beautiful things... or destroy them. Some of the images we saw this year suffered from color that was too intense, sharpening that was overdone, or contrast that was enhanced until the image was surreal. Go gently with Photoshop." -Wyoming Wildlife

All that to say, keep on keepin' on with your RZ/RB. In many instances, the results stand out from the rest of the digital pack. Not that we didn't know that already ;-). Kind regards, John B. Crane

February 4, 2011

Hi Desmond, It's fun to have no limits imposed by the glass. Having come up through the ranks of art school and done a good bit of painting, I've always equated a lens and its unique properties to that of unique and specific paint brushes; each one contributing a little something to the influence of the photograph. It's a joy to "get to know" the characteristics of a superior addition to the line up.

Thanks for your comments,

John B. Crane

February 4, 2011

Thank you Ed. I have the 65 L/A and am in complete agreement. I've been amazed at what that lens is capable of - especially with the correct use of the floating element. I've said it before and I'll say it again: to have such superior quality glass available at such low prices is such a wonderful thing after having bought so much digital kit over the past few years. I'm having a ball ;-)... The Mamiya is all I want to shoot now. We're heading out in a week to shoot some ice climbing and I'm trying to work the RZ into the pack... don't know if it'll make the cut (the D3S is pretty compelling for this kind of work), but that's immediately where I go... "wouldn't it be cool to shoot the RZ like that?"

Thanks again,

John B. Crane

February 3, 2011

Thanks Andre. I'll agree completely. One of the reasons I moved to MF film in the first place is the extraordinary level of detail potential while still allowing reasonable shooting/portability as compared to a view camera set up (not trying to start an argument to any view camera shooters unencumbered by the system...). So any step I take deeper into the system needs to be in line with this objective. I'll admit the 250W is attractive because of the low price, and I'm sure it's a fine lens. But if there's "something better," I'll take it ;-). That said, honing my technique for this fine piece of equipment seems like a good use of time. I'm looking at the 350 next and the 50ULD at some point. And of course, that 10X loupe. My 8X is lacking and in need of replacement. Thanks again for your comments.

John B. Crane

p.s. here's another one with the 250APO that just left me muttering something like, "wowww..."

every tiny rib on every bend in each ribbon is razor sharp, as is every minute hair on each weed... it's really something.

February 3, 2011

Hi Andre-

I usually shoot mirror-up, as was this. I also have purchased the magnifier for the AEII and shot this at f8, so I'm really trying to get all I can out of each exposure. This image is incredibly sharp at full resolution... these smaller versions weren't exactly optimized for web presentation... how do they look to you? If soft, do you have something you'd consider sharp I can use as reference? Thanks very much!

John B. Crane

February 2, 2011

So this isn't a question - more of a thank you. Recently I picked up the above lens (from KEH) and had my first outing with it this past weekend. It's an extraordinary lens. Contrast, clarity, sharpness are all there. No complaints. It is going to take a bit to develop my ability to see in this focal length, but I'm up for the challenge. Here's a shot from about 20 feet away, made on Ektar, scanned with the V500 @ 2400. It's just crazy how much detail there is in this frame and this little image doesn't come close to doing it justice - but... <img src="http://jbcrane.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v24/p10300693-3.jpg" alt="" /> (you can see it a little larger here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jbcrane/5406968658/) Thanks to all who encouraged me to spend the extra dough on the APO over the standard 250W. It was well worth it. John B. Crane

January 25, 2011

Hi Wim,

I remembered this thread and wanted to contribute something that may be useful...(?). I've been having issues with my 140, picked up used last year. It worked fine at first, but began to randomly give me the orange light and 3 rapid beeps. After I was sure there was something not quite right about it (deduced by controlled testing between it and 2 other lenses with multiple backs, etc.), I sent it in. Come to find out during the CLA there's a magnet in there that needed to be replaced,and I believe they replaced shutter blades as well. I expect it back Thursday in top-form. I hope your new (to you) lens fares better than mine did, but in case your issue is unresolved, this may be of some use to you (?). I'm OK with the repair because I paid so little for the lens. Good luck.

January 25, 2011

All I know is, I just picked up a $4,700 lens for about $600 and after spending a fortune on my digital kit from 2006 through 2010, that equates to heaven. And regarding Marc's point on MF scanning... a little food for thought: I just did a apples-to-apples scan between my Epson V500 and a drum scan from West Coast Imaging. Both were outstanding. As suspected, the West Coast Imaging drum scan was of course higher quality, but I was truly surprised at how well the little $200 scanner did in comparison. All that to say, I'll be pulling perfectly adequate pedestrian MF scans with very little cost or trouble from the comfort of my own home, and drum-scan the premium images, for quite some time to come. In agreement with Marc again on "no time like the present..." My vote would be to just dive in. Have fun.

John B. Crane

January 23, 2011

Hi Tony,

In the short term perhaps you could get a cable release and screw it into the M-up socket in the lens, and use the silver button in emergency mode to raise the shutter only... with the cable release in I believe this should prevent the shutter in the lens from firing until you tell it to with the cable release. Whether it would still fire at 1/250th or not, I don't know.

Been there and it's frustrating. I just sent my 140 to Elmsford for repair at the Mac Group. Don't have it back yet but am hoping for the best. Here's a link to their information. They're not going to be your least expensive solution, but in theory should be able to solve any problem. If you got a good deal on the body and a little CLA is all it needs, it'll be money well spent. Good luck.

http://www.mamiya-usa.com/customer-service-service-repair.html

January 19, 2011

Thanks Charles, Gerry...

I packed it up and sent it into MAC Group for servicing on Monday. They will have it tomorrow and I'll know my fate. In my short time with the 140 I saw it's clearly capable of spectacular images - especially accompanied by the extension tubes - something I'm really looking forward to exploring when it returns all smooth n' perfect. I paid very little (comparatively) for the lens so investing in a little TLC with a good CLA seems well worth it to me.

Thank you both for your replies. John B. Crane

January 15, 2011

Good Evening All, It appears my 140Z is in need of a little TLC. It won't cock and fire reliably, and upon manually cocking and un-cocking the shutter while unmounted, the aperture feels "stiff & sluggish" as compared to my other lenses' smooth and springy response. When I mount the 110 or the 65, they cock and fire reliably. I've cleaned contacts on both camera and lens, double checked all the safety's. switched backs, replaced batteries, etc. yet the problem persists. Can anyone recommend a excellent repair resource in the US? Is sending to Mamiya my best bet? This is a first for me and I'd like to start off on the right foot with a reliable partner. It's an old lens but new to me... I'm hoping a simple CLA will do the trick. Many thanks in advance, John B. Crane

January 13, 2011

Hello Ed, Andre,

Thank you for your replies. I pulled the trigger on the 250 APO today. I'm not sure when it will arrive here due to weather but, needless to say, I'm looking forward to getting my paws on it. If I were to use available samples to judge popularity of this lens is I'd suppose it uncommon. This peaks my curiosity even more. Also, the 50 ULD is one of the few remaining lenses on my list and hopefully soon will add that to the bag.

Best regards,

John B. Crane

January 12, 2011

Hi Wim,

I'm a little late to the party-sorry, but noticed this question. I picked a Lowe Pro Commercial shoulder bag for my RZ kit (at present, 3 lenses, 2 backs, cable release, FE701 finder, 1 RZBody, G43 bellows, Cokin filter holder/filters various caps & accessories and lots of film. I was fortunate enough to get what the gentleman at Lowe Pro said was the last set of MF dividers for that bag - he found in the back beneath some other stuff. Now you can only get it with the D/SLR divider set. I'm happy with the bag thus far, though it is a bit awkward for my gear. I've resigned myself to making do. The padded divider sets for D/SLR may be flexible enough to allow contorting them into something suitable. Or, perhaps get lucky and find a used MF padded divider set. It consists of lens sleeves, square, partitioned back pouches and a barely large enough, rectangular, padded "cup" that the RZ with the 110 snugly fits into - with the FE701 attached (no winder - but Kirk mounting plate affixed to the bottom). I take the eye cup off the finder sometimes allowing the bag to zip up more easily. Have fun.

January 7, 2011

Enrico,

Thanks for the input and the samples. I enjoyed clicking through your flickr gallery and the samples helped me make up my mind to go for the ULD. You have some beautiful work. Keep it up.

Happy New Year back to you from Colorado.

John B. Crane

January 7, 2011

Patrick,

Thanks for the input. I believe after reading yours and Enrico's post above, it seems the quality money is on the ULD.

Happy New Year,

John B. Crane

January 7, 2011

Oops. Sorry about that ;-/

January 7, 2011

Here's why:

http://www.outdoorphotoblog.com/2009/04/back-outside-beating-film-drum-loving.html

AND,

http://www.outdoorphotoblog.com/2011/01/i-appreciate-that.html

Sorry for the redirects, but I've thought about this a lot, and have a lot to say... too much to re-type here ;-). Long live film!

January 7, 2011

Here's why:

http://www.outdoorphotoblog.com/2009/04/back-outside-beating-film-drum-loving.html

AND,

http://www.outdoorphotoblog.com/2011/01/i-appreciate-that.html

Sorry for the redirects, but I've thought about this a lot, and have a lot to say... too much to re-type here ;-). Long live film!

January 7, 2011

Here's why:

http://www.outdoorphotoblog.com/2009/04/back-outside-beating-film-drum-loving.html

AND,

http://www.outdoorphotoblog.com/2011/01/i-appreciate-that.html

Sorry for the redirects, but I've thought about this a lot, and have a lot to say... too much to re-type here ;-). Long live film!

January 7, 2011

above: 65LA, RZ

Morning All,

I have some cash to spend on lenses and I'm seriously considering rounding out my "collection" with some new focal lengths. I'm interested in quality and have been eyeballing the 50ULD, 210 APO, etc.

Alas, there's only so much room in the bag and beans in the coffer, and I start looking at all the brand new W's available and start to think, hmmmm... how disappointed would I be if I got the 50W vs the 50ULD... how bad can that 250 W (new for $200) be vs. the 210 APO..." etc.

There's no way to qualify w/o buying the lens and testing it myself, unless of course anyone has samples and opinions to share. I'd love to hear them. Buying the lenses, testing and re-selling is not a cycle I care to go through unless necessary.

Many, thanks in advance.

John B. Crane

November 27, 2010

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August 16, 2010

Thanks Christoph - I went ahead and ordered the 140 because I found a great deal on it, but I'll add the 150 as well. Having the 65 LA, after a number of botched shots I'm now programmed to check the floating element...

It's such a welcome relief to be able to pick up two superior quality lenses for so small a cash outlay - compared to my digital gear. I'm sure I'll eventually wind up with just about all of them ;-). When you're in a position to post images I'd love to see them, but of course no urgency. Thanks very much for your quick response.

Kind regards,

John

August 16, 2010

Greetings Fellow MF devotees,

I have a birthday coming up and have gotten the green light on one of these lenses. I have a good deal lined up on the 150, but haven't heard much about it, usually in the shadow of the venerable 140 macro. Can anyone provide insight on how these 2 stack up? I'm interested in general shooting, not so much the macro capabilities of the 140, though it might be nice to have some times. I guess it's a cost vs overall quality thing mostly. Anyone have any samples shot with either of these two monsters??

Thanks in advance & happy shooting.

JBCrane

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