<p>continued from this post: http://www.photo.net/medium-format-photography-forum/00WDH3<br>
so I finally went to Iceland in the winter time with my dad's two Pentacons - Six and Six TL with two 80mm lenses, one 50mm and one tele lens (200mm or 250mm - I don't remember). I am quite satisfied with the results (
). there were few things I liked and few I didn't about these cameras, here are my comments:<br>
- it turned out that some of my photographs taken with 1/30 shutter speed were not very sharp (I might have used 1/15 few times as well)<br>
- Pentacons don't have build in light meter so I had to buy an external one so no quick shots (focusing is not fast as well)<br>
- I like to get my perspective straight so waist-level finder focusing was difficult in situations when I wanted my camera as high as possible<br>
- one of the cameras stopped working properly due to heavy snow/low temperatures and the other had some issues with lens. that was one of the reasons that I had to shorten my trip (the other reasons might have been: I got sick, had two car rollovers and no money left)<br>
- Pentacon Six is just too heavy, together with my Manfrotto tripod from the stone age it was hell to hike in the mountains with all that snow, ice, wind and cold<br>
- I used 80mm lens 95% of the time so didn't really need to take the huge and heavy 50mm (not even mentioning the tele lens)<br>
- I like 6x6 format but there were many times when it felt there is too much space to fill at the bottom and top and I felt it's too short on the sides<br>
- it felt magical to use these cameras: the sound, the beautiful square image (dissapearing whenever I pressed the button)</p>
<p>I sold both of my father's Pentacons (after making sure they work properly again). After that I tried Koni Omega (too heavy), Shen Hao large format (too heavy and it takes ages to take a photograph, on the other hand the results are amazing and it kind of slows you down, it's like meditation), fuji gw690II (too big, rangefinder). I don't know why but I bought Mamiya 6 even knowing that rangefinders just don't work for me (I love precise composition and straight horizons too much). I like that Mamiya 6 is so small and light though, also quick focusing + light meter. Now I'm planning two trips, one would include lots of sand and heat, the other tropical climate. I want to finally choose the right camera for my travels. Here are few things I care about...</p>
<p><em>important:</em><br>
- the camera should <strong>not</strong> be <strong>very big and heavy</strong><br>
- I need to be able to take sharp photographs using <strong>1/30</strong> shutter speed <strong>handheld</strong><br>
- <strong>sharp</strong>, high quality <strong>lens</strong> (ideally f2.8 or faster)<br>
- I'm into <strong>precise composition</strong> - what I see is what I want to get so <strong>no</strong> more <strong>rangefinders</strong> for me thank you very much (not sure about TLRs, never used one)<br>
- I'm planning to sell <strong>large</strong>, high quality<strong> prints</strong> (min 24"x30")<br>
- the camera has to be <strong>reliable</strong> and work properly in <strong>extreme conditions</strong><br>
<strong> </strong><br>
<em>less important but still:</em><br>
- <strong>built-in light meter </strong>but not too electronic (I like the feel of mechanics and magic of film, otherwise I would go for Canon 5D II)<br>
- although I'm quite adjustable with format I prefer something <strong>slightly rectangular</strong> like 6x7, 4x5 or 6x4.5 (6x9 is probably too long), after said that I could work with 6x6 as well<br>
- 80% of my photographs are in <strong>landscape format</strong> (not sure about 6x4.5 then)<br>
- when I take portraits I like to use shallow depth of field (f2.8-f4) so would be great if camera was able to shoot <strong>faster than 1/500s</strong> (incase it's sunny)<br>
- would be great if you could use the camera in a <strong>'</strong><strong>periscope'</strong> position (handheld of course) or at least on the eye level<br>
- I know usually you have to spend more if you want more but <strong>price does matter</strong> as well, although I would prefer to safe for a bit longer rather than get something I'm not happy with</p>
<p>so I guess my choice is between 6x4.5 format cameras (not sure if large prints are ok, problems with landscape format shooting?), TLRs (not sure about precise composition) and Hasselblad or Rollei (both not cheap, I don't think you can handhold them at 1/30). </p>
<p> </p>