steve_whetman

I hadn’t found that one, a very helpful comparison thank you for posting the link!

if I can go for it, I think the updated viewfinders in the Gx617 would be a great help considering the price per shot and risk of bad composition.
 

Might be an expensive Christmas!

I’ve read that one, wasn’t particularly helpful…

”take a light meter reading with your external meter (I just guess)”.

I’d really just like to hear what the G617 viewfinder is like to use compared to the GX617. I can’t find anyone talking about that comparison.

jeez it's been a while 😄

 

I love landscape pics and I'm trying to work out if I feel it's worth spending a once in a lifetime amount of money on a panoramic film camera.

I currently have a Voigtlander Bessa II 6x9 Rangefinder and i love it.

In the past i've used a Fuji GW690III, Mamiya 7 and a bunch of other medium format cameras.,

I'm no expert, i just like the craft and format.

Now i'm looking at some panoramic film cameras and i hope to get some folks opinions on a few things!

1. Fuji G617 vs Gx617 viewfinder, I know the viewfinders here are tricky, are the Gx617 viewfinders really worth the upgrade? I don't think I need the other lenses the Gx617 allows, but the viewfinder and general quality of life updates might be useful, would love to hear thoughts. Specifically around viewfinders.

2. Horseman 612, the compact package is appealing. How are the lenses compared to the Fuji panorama cameras? I love Fuji lenses, are the lenses used on the Horseman really noticeably better to someone who cares more about character and less about resolution and sharpness?

3. Linhof 617, only just looking into this one. Any opinons from folks would be appreciated.

4. Any other panoramic medium format cameras i've missed? it seems hard to find them so please let me know if i missed some, only just found out about the horseman today!

 

Very best,

Steve

Thanks Arthur, and Anthony,

 

I got it repaired at jps (johnsons photopia) so I'll give them a call and see what they think. Problem is I'm going on holiday

to Japan on Monday and had planned to use it as my main camera. Thankfully I bought a Bessa ii as a back up so I'll

take both :)

After much fiddling I managed to get it to close, change the lens

and shoot a roll of film! The winding mechanism feels terrible,

very flimsy and liable to break at any moment!

 

Is it particularly flimsy for other mamiya 6 owners?

Hi folks, I have a mamiya 6 I bought from Japan and paid a fair bit taxes to get to the uk. There was a problem with the film advance lever

so sent it off to be repaired, but it's come back with a note saying the light curtain lever is cracked and I can't turn it. I'm sure it worked

before I sent it off, but it was sent from one repair shop to another, as the first place couldn't repair the film advance lever!

 

Does anyone know if there's a way around this if I unscrew the light curtain lever? I don't want to send it off again and returning it to

Japan will mean I I'll lose rather a lot of money.

 

Any suggestions appreciated!

I've found that mixing up all the chems of the 1 litre kit and storing them in a cool basement away from light means they

run for around a year and will do many more rolls than recommended.

I added 2 minutes to the first dev time and a minute to every other stage which helped but still not good. Have dumped

the chems and ordered more.

Cloudy all over, so much that its difficult to see when holding the negs up to a light. A kind of dark green colour all over

the film. Sounds like the film is a write off then a it's not just the highlights.

Hi,

 

I've got some tetenol e6 chemicals and have been having great luck with them over the last 10 months. But now I guess the first

developer is exhausted as my films are coming out cloudy and won't scan.

 

I'm ordering more chemicals but is there any way to redo the development on slide film. Probably not I'm sure but always worth asking!

Just want to know if I can rescue my film or not.

 

Cheers

Steve Mareno, don't tempt me with one of those Bessa Rangefinders, always loved the look of those and I'd be quite

happy working with them as I do like the Super Ikonta iii. Just not sure how the older lenses hold up against more

modern stuff, I've no idea really, never read or seen any comparisons.

Hey John the Fujis have definitely got me interested, in fact the GSW690 looks great. The 6x9 format is appealing and

for the price of the older models I would also be happy with the fixed lens. Not bothered about a meter, in fact i would be

happy to have a purely mechanical camera. The 65mm lens is apparently great for landscapes. Well within budget if I

can find one in the UK!

 

However the Pentacon Six has blindsided me, the body is dirt cheap and there are loads of lenses around. How is the

quality of the glass compared to a mamiya 6 or 7 or the fuji 690 series?

 

Thanks for the help so far folks.

Yes i have, it looks absolutely fantastic but as far as I can tell it's generally more expensive. I would prefer to stick to a budget of £500 to £700 if

possible.

Hi folks,

 

I'm on the search for an upgrade to my 6x6 Zeiss Super Ikonta iii with Novar. So far it looks like the Mamiya 6 is a great choice in every

way except for price!

 

The Pentax 67 is appealing as its quite affordable but I'm not keen on the size.

 

I don't mind 67 or 69 but prefer 66. I also don't mind a rangefinder, but do like the option of changing a few lenses.

 

Does anyone know of any older medium format systems that are more on the compact side? No hassy for example. Did Voigtlander

ever make anything like the Prominent (not the folder) in MF?

 

Cheers!

Thanks folks, I'll shop around for a repair place then. Any recommendations for places to get a CLA in the UK?

 

I think I'll pass on the Polaroid stuff, at this stage I would prefer to just go with some recent ilford so I can learn how to use

the camera properly.

I haven't checked this thread for months.

 

Simon thanks for linking to that thread, certainly seems it was a con. This has given me the encouragement to buy a

couple of rolls from Dean who seems to be very trustworthy. That is if there is still some available when I can afford it!

Hi,

 

I just bought a lovely crown graphic with Ektar lens and as this is my first large format camera I have a few simple questions, if anyone

can chime in I would appreciate it.

 

1. the shutter (synchro compur) gets a bit stuck at 1 second and is a bit slow on some other speeds. Would it be best to send away for

repair or would this be something I could fix if I were very careful and had instructions? Do such instructions exist online? I live in the UK

so a repair shop would have to be UK too.

 

2. It has a Graflok back (the same mechanism I think as in my old RB67) but I have no holders. Can I buy any 5x4 film holders or do they

have to be of a particular type?

 

3. The camera came with an unopened box of Polaroid Type 52 film (expired 1988), while I love Polaroids 1988 seems far too old, should

I sell it or give it a whirl? It also came with a Polaroid back and pack film adaptor, not sure yet how they would all fit together. I'm thinking

the pack adaptor is not what I need or the type 52 film?

 

4. Looks like the Mod 54 holders for Paterson tanks are the way to go for developing at home, any opposing views? I have a 5 reel

Paterson tank so i guess I'll need to be careful not to be too vigorous shaking it about.

 

Happy to report the Ektar lens looks good, I can't wait to get using it! Took ages to decide on a first large format camera, I'll be using it

alongside my zeiss super ikonta iii.

Thanks for posting! Adam's work is an inspiration.

Charles that last picture in that set is great!

Hi Skip, Mine was from someone in the UK cutting it down to 35. I have e6 chemicals so I can give that a try next time.

Thanks John, Larry, you guys are always incredibly helpful on here. I've got one more roll in the freezer so I'll get a

deeper yellow filter.

Just realised I actually developed in c41, that's why I scanned as a slide then inverted, my mistake. I followed the

guidelines on the website linked above.

 

The negs just look totally normal, and having inverted them they look nothing like what the author of the article achieved.

 

It says "Aerochrome is rated at 400ISO for use with a yellow filter, which means if you use a yellow filter then you meter at

400ISO. However, Aerochrome is designed to be processed in AR-5 chemicals with E-6 the nearest easily available

alternative. If you want to cross-process in C-41 then it’s ISO rating changes to around 320. All my shots so far have been

cross-processed in C-41 and as I never use a light meter my general guide for bright sunshine is;

Yellow filter – f22 1/125 sec

Orange filter – f16 1/125 sec

Red filter – f11 1/125 sec"

 

And the authors pictures are lovely.

Hi Dan, I scanned it as a slide and then inverted it in photoshop so no correcting or processing here.

 

Larry do you think a deep yellow filter would help? Perhaps I should try orange.

<p>Hi folks,<br>

I bought a couple of 35mm rolls of re-rolled Aerochrome Colour IR film, shot one with a Nikon FE and a Cokin medium yellow filter, developed in E6 and got this result -<br>

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i249/franjipane/EIRSurrey35mmA024.jpg<br>

<img src="http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i249/franjipane/EIRSurrey35mmA024.jpg" alt="" /><br>

Which isn't quite what I was expecting having read this page -<br>

http://www.alternativephotography.com/wp/cameras-film/making-the-most-of-kodak-aerochrome</p>

<p>Anyone got any idea what happened here? Pretty much no IR effect on the foliage at all even though most of it was in the sun. I was very careful to load in low light and develop in complete darkness.</p>

<p>I've been using the Tetenal C41 and E6 kits for a while. Both great and really easy to use, I've got some lovely stuff out of them. Once the C41 needs to be replenished I will go for the more expensive kodak/fuji chemicals to see if they are worth the extra.</p>