lyndon_smith

<p>I quite like my Golden Lizard. However, I bought it primarily because it was a great deal.<br>

My clients quite like the results too, and we invariably get some laughs about "who the heck would cover a camera with lizard skin?!" Good rapport = good portraits.<br>

The only one who loses is the poor lizard....</p>

<p>I have recently shot rolls of Provia, Astia, and Kodak E100G color reversal films with studio flash on a Mamiya 1000s 645 rig. To my eyes, Provia looks like a slight warming filter. The light-skinned model commented on how it made her look like she had a tan. It was a beautiful effect and we both agreed these shots looked great.<br>

However, if skin tone (and general color) accuracy is what you want, go with Astia or E100G. All three films are winners and are fine for skin tones. My preference right now is the Astia, but if my model was excessively pale or I wanted the colors saturated a bit in the scene I'd reach for the Provia.</p>

<p>I recently bought a Mamiya 1000s Golden Lizard. It is a great camera, circa mid-eighties. This isn't a pic of my camera, but it is very similar:<br>

<a href="http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=172605&page=7">http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=172605&page=7</a></p>

<p>From my research it seems like most Golden Lizard special editions were RB67's, some of which are going for notorious sums on ebay. I paid $400 for my 1000s Golden Lizard, including hardshell aluminum case, 3 film inserts, 3 lenses, and 3 extension tubes.</p>

That is a nice pair of cameras! Looking at Patrick Demarcheliers older work in vogue etc and in his books makes you

realize the potential of the RZ system. His recent exhibition has some huge prints that I am sure look fantastic in part due

to the large 6x7 format.

Someone once said that RZs have probably shot more magazine covers that all other camera models combined. That may

have been true in the 1980s. However, I am really looking forward to getting one of these soon and trying it out with modern lighting and scanners.

Thanks for the clarification of what that spec means David. I will check into a CLA as the camera and image quality are

otherwise great. Cheers,

<p>I recently purchased a mamiya 1000s and noticed I was getting a bit of black banding at the bottom of the frame with the flash x-sync set at the correct 1/60 sec. So I shot a roll of film of a white board with various shutter speeds noted on it.<br /> The results - at least for my 1000s - were that I got both wired (sync cord) and wireless (Chinese hotshoe trigger) correctly syncing at 1/30 sec, NOT 1/60. The sync cord showed less banding than the wireless trigger, but they both showed the slight black band at the bottom of the frame.<br /> I got similar results using both an elinchrom D-Lite 4 and a canon 580EXII in manual mode. This could be that the camera's shutter speed is a bit faster than 1/60. However, I noticed that the camera is spec'ed to only sync with flash durations of 1/1000 or faster; the D-Lites are 1/800.<br /> So unfortunately I have to shoot flash photos at 1/30 with this camera. Other than that I love it! Any suggestions? Can I get the shutter speed adjusted?<br>

As noted above, I understand I can purchase leaf lenses. But the kit came with 3 lenses and extension tubes, and I'd like to start with those.</p>

<p>I disagree with the above posters. You should sell your RZ system. To me : )<br>

Seriously, I have a couple of DSLR's and they are great, but I have been enjoying shooting on a Mamiya 645 rig lately. I plan on picking up an RZ system in the next while. I've seen near mint Pro II bodies, 2 backs, 2 lenses & WLF for $1000 or less on ebay and kijiji. That's what you'll probably get for it, and in terms of image quality your drums scans won't be beat by any DSLR.<br>

Do hang on to that rig! And if you decide to let it go, email me...<br>

lyndonbsmith@gmail.com</p>

<p> </p>

<p>The following pro photographers to my knowledge still use film for some or all of their projects:<br>

David Bailey – Kodak Tri-X <a href="http://www.davidbaileyphotography.com/">http://www.davidbaileyphotography.com/</a><br>

Steve Vaccariello – Kodak Portra & Ektachrome <a href="http://www.vaccariello.com/">http://www.vaccariello.com/</a><br>

Matthew Jordan Smith – Kodak Portra & Ektachrome <a href="http://mjs-exp.com/">http://mjs-exp.com/</a><br>

Jonathan Torgovnik – Kodak Portra <a href="http://www.torgovnik.com/">http://www.torgovnik.com/</a><br>

Brook Todd – Kodak Portra <a href="http://www.alishabrook.com/">http://www.alishabrook.com/</a><br>

Gordon Lewis – Fuji Superia Reala, Kodak Ultracolor 400, Fuji 400 <a href="http://shutterfinger.typepad.com/shutterfinger/">http://shutterfinger.typepad.com/shutterfinger/</a></p>