jmg1911

<p>Workshops and such are fine, but remember HCB, DDD and his Magnum buddies made hundreds of exposures for every one you saw. A wise man once said that one great differerence between a great artist and a hack lay on the cutting room floor.</p>

<p>And, of course the incident meter must be pointed at the camera from the subject's position.</p>

<p>Are you working off a tripod? Or are you comfortable working that way? If so, depth of field should not really be a problem with the kind of light you mentioned unless you insist on ISO 50 film. Hand holding is <em>maybe</em> another matter. Most need 250th and some care to hold a Hassey with a 150. The 80 is a lot easier to hold. Hand holding, everything is still workable except, possibly, some window light. ISO 400 film, which these days is excellent, makes the whole thing moot.<br>

In any case, depth of field relates finally to the end image (the print). The smaller film and its circle of confusion is enlarged more than the MF film. It all comes out in the wash if the same aperture is used for the same (final) image size. If DOF was really a big problem, Hasselblad would have sold a lot fewer cameras.<br>

What kind of camera is a lot less clear. I love my Hasselblad and my wife, but you may feel differently about either or both. Maybe date (rent) a 503 series for a day or two and just shoot everything in sight. To my mind the only real advantage the 503s have over the 500s is that they are younger. With a little care and maintenance either will do the job for a long, long time. If that doesn't work there is always Mamiya, and the rest.</p>

<p>Just guessing, but for a long time the only readily available film in this size was Verichrome, an orthochromatic b&w film.</p>

<p>40D</p>

<p>You need some hands-on help. Michael gave you sound advice, but you should also know that the backs (you have 3 of them counting the one on the camera) are worth 150-225 each and the little tabletop tripod with ball head is worth 300 if it is Leitz - and I bet it is. I can't tell about the other items, but perhaps you get the idea that seemingly inconsequential items can really add up. I guess the first thing you need to do is positively identify every bit and piece of the collection. Perhaps the person from whom you inherited had friends in the hobby or belonged to a camera club. They might be willing to help. Good luck. JMG</p>

<p>I changed to a Beattie and am very satisfied. KEH usually has them at reasonable prices.</p>

<p>Nice shots. Focusing a Blad or Rollei is an acquired skill - maybe a Zen skill like archery. You just have to do it a lot until you just <em>know when its right. It seems like the more you worry over it the longer it takes and the less accurate it is. I think the look of an in-focus image is mostly in the contrast. If you try to see sharpness, most scenes will drive you nuts. That said, heresy tho it may be, Acute-mats are not all there is. I have a Beattie with split image that was quite reasonable from KEH that is nice and bright. And as another poster pointed out, the old "dim" Hassie screens were quite usable.</em></p>

<p>I am pretty sure the CF lenses do not link aperture and shutter unless you want them to(you can if you want). I have 50 and 150 Cfs that work like that. My 80 is a plain C and its default is to link them. It bugged the pants off me for a while, but now I am used to it and it hardly slows me down at all. The Hassie left hand grip puts a finger just right to disengage the link when necessary.</p>

<p>Go IU! And thanks for all the help.</p>

<p>Many thanks, Christopher and JDM. I gonna go for it. I had an actual ContaxII with a Nikkor 1.4 back in the 50s and liked it very much.</p>

<p>I am intrigued by the Russian copies of Contax IIs and IIIs on e-bay offered from the Ukraine. It looks as if the chance for dissapointment is great, but then we are only talking $100 or so. Are the dealers reliable? Are the lenses any good? Are the old Nikkor contax mounts compatable? Is service available?<br>

Thanks in advance for any insight you can give me. Jim</p>

<p>Thanks, guys. I guess that makes it worth about what I paid for it.</p>

<p>Okay. They all look alike to me, but I guess that's what caused all this.</p><div></div>

<p>Okay. They all look alike to me, but I guess that's what caused all this.</p>

<p>I picked up a Hasselblad flash bracket with the contoured grip without a cable at a flea market for peanuts but it doesn't fit my 503CX, The mounting screw is only about five eighths inch from the stop at the front of the mounting plate. Needs to be about one inch to fit. Any idea what this one fits? I can't sell it until I know what I am selling.</p>

<p>Call it off. I got the body to cycle by taking the back off. Then back on, slide out, wind and mount lens. Thanks anyway. This forum is priceless. Jim</p>

<p>Addendum: I fooled with the prerelease lever and now the back shutter is open and the mirror is still up. If it matters, the lens is an older plain C (with compur). The body is evidently between states as the film advance is locked but the drive shaft is pointing to 1/7 o/clock. I feel like an idiot, which is no doubt justified, but doesn't help much.</p>

<p>I think I prereleased the mirror with the lens *almost* fully seated. Now the mirror is up, the aux shutter is closed, body and back show white, lens is detatched. Lens shows cocked. Body does Not show cocked, so lens will not go on.</p>

<p>How in the everlovinblueyedworld does anyone get a negative in that Epson holder without doing it violence? Can I just ditch it and use a cover glass? Is there an accesory or aftermarket alternative? Is it just me?</p>