nat_gub

<p>Thanks guys for your answers. As far as I understand its all MF lenses on Hasselblad. I've been looking at this camera for a while. Just wondering how quick is it to focus on Hasselblas 500 series?</p>

<p>New Hasselblad is not even worth considering as I understand as it is usually for a studio work, right?</p>

<p>I would love to know what people think of rollei hy6 mod2? According to the specs, it looks amazing. Did anyone used this camera? </p>

<p> </p>

<p>Hi,<br>

<br />I've been waiting for this moment for a long time... I am ready to buy a medium format.<br>

Because for the last 10 years I've been using 35mm, I am overwhelmed with the information I find on the Internet and on forums. I would really appreciate your advice here.<br>

<br />My budget: around 20 - 25K<br>

<br /><strong>The conditions I shoot and type of photography I do:</strong><br>

1) I mostly do photojournalistic and art work.<br>

2) I shoot in temperatures ranging from +50 to -50.<br>

3) I am planning on using this camera in Artic circle in about 1.5 month.<br>

4) Mostly use the camera outdoors.<br>

5) Shoot film for long art projects.</p>

<p><strong>What do I look in the camera:</strong><br>

1) Film and Digital back. <br>

2) Interchangable lenses. I would love to invest in lenses I could keep for a longer time.<br>

3) Lenses that communicate with a camera. AF would be nice but will look into MF.<br>

4) Easy to use.<br>

5) Weight does matter for me because I hike for very long time.<br>

6) Built-in light meter would be nice as I shoot a lot hand-held.<br>

7) Very good in low-light and lenses that go to at least f 1.8<br>

8) 6x6 film back would be nice but if the camera is right I could go with 6x4.5</p>

<p><strong>What camera</strong><strong>:<br /></strong>I have primary been looking at Hasselblad (not sure what model here as the latest models are all digital and dont take film back), Rollei hy6 mod2 (not sure how much different this camera is from Rollei hy6 but love what it has to offer), PhaseOne (dont know much about it but would love to know as I read a lot of good things), Mamiya (I also know very little about this camera).<br>

I requested demonstrations with Mamya, PhaseOne and Hasselblad, not sure if I can even try to use Rollei in Australia but would be nice.<br>

<strong> </strong><br>

<strong>I would really appreciate any comments here as I need to make my decision during this week. I would love to know why you like certain camera and what camera do you think would be suitable for the conditions I work in.</strong></p>

<p>Sorry for my English as its not my first language.</p>

<p>Natalia</p>

<p>One mroe question for people out there... <br>

What kind of lenses are compatible on several different brand medium formats?</p>

<p>Thank you everyone for so much response! I really appreciate your feedback.<br>

I guess I would need to do a research on Mamiya, Pentax and Fuji before I make a decision...<br>

I am used to heavy gear, but by saying light... I mean something that weights less then (Canon Mark 1Ds Mark III, 50mm, 16-35mm, 70-200mm, 35mm, flashes, batteries, power). So for my personal work I would be happy to have just 3 fixed lenses in the end (even 2 really :-) <br>

By meaning the budget of $5000 - 6000 is for 1 lense and camera only. I will pick more lenses along the way.<br>

Personal photojournalistic work means that I would have a bit more time to focus and set up but I wont have heaps of time to do so thats why I was lookign at something that have light-metering and auto-focus (I am not sure wheather its worth considering in film cameras at all). <br>

Why I need help is mostly for what meadium cameras out there that are very solid, easy to use, quick to focus and meter :-)<br>

They may not exist but thats why I am asking...<br>

<br />Once again THANK YOU everyone for your advice. I will look more into other cameras. </p>

<p>Hi Dan,<br>

Thank you so much for your answer. I did try hasselblad and rolleiflext TLR and I found hasselblad more intuitive for me...but both were fully manual cameras.<br>

I am having a difficult time to find any of these cameras even to try in Sydney, Australia. I would love to see how auto-focus work in Hasselblad and in Rollei film cameras and whether its even worth considering (I mean auto-focus) . I definitely want metering system and Hasselblad only seems to offer it in 203FE model (only center-weighted), otherwise I need to buy prism which only adds weight :-) I also can only find 1 camera in the world and its in Hong Kong. <br>

Throughout years I found that I keep changing cameras but I keep very good lenses. So may be I should consider Zeiss lenses (I love using them) and then see what cameras can use them. <br>

The internet is full of suggestions and I've been reading different medium format cameras for almost a month now and still cant make a decision. <br>

Mostly people say: buy Rollei TRL is you shoot street photography and buy Hasselblad if you shoot in studio and controlled environment....none really says why.<br>

Mamiya - a lot of people complain how heavy this camera is. Is it true? <br>

I haven't looked at 645 cameras yet... I kind of like feel of square format for personal work. However if there are 645 that are really worth considering over 6x6, i would love to hear about them. <br>

If I need to shoot in a very controlled environment and can get there by car, I usually shoot large format which I already have. </p>

<p> </p>

<p>Hi Dave,<br>

Thank you for your response. I really appreciate it! <br /><br>

I already have a full DSLR kit with 5 prime lenses that I use for commercial and magazine work that need fast delivery. <br /><br>

I want to use film medium format for my personal projects. Why? There is a lot of reason here. I love feel and look of film photographs more then digital. I used to shoot film all the time. I love hand print my work. The film negatives dont go out of fashion as the megapixel size of digital pictures :-) I can print them very large for exhibitions :-) I dont need to change this camera every single year to keep up with technology. I want to keep this camera for a very long time.<br>

<br />I guess these are the main reasons. So I am pretty much decided that I am buying it, I just cant decide which one would be more appropriate for me and my style of shooting. </p>

<p> </p>

<p>Hi,<br>

I am really new to this forum but I really need an advice to limit my choice for a medium format camera.<br>

After a long research through Hasselblad, Rollei, Mamiya, I like what Rollei 6008AF and Rolleiflext FX have to offer... <strong>may be I missed any other camera I should really take a look at, please advice.</strong> <br>

There are several things that are important: <br>

- Light-metering is quite important for me as I mostly work as a photojournalist on assignments. Thats where I though I would rather go with Rollei then Hasselblad (I can be wrong here...Hasselblad 203FE looks good but Rollei 6008AF seems to offer more options for less price) <br>

- Camera that works in very hot and cold temperatures (dont know anything about how these cameras wrk in such conditions) <br>

- Auto focus is sometimes an advantage for me as a lot of time I find myself in the situation where I just need to point and shoot. However most of the time I shoot everything on Manual mode and focus manually. <br>

- Weight is also important as I spend a lot of time trekking to get to a place. <br>

- Like to have several fixed lenses (usually use 2-3) and several backs but never shot with just TRL, so not quite sure what are the advantages. <br>

- Definitely 6x6<br>

- Batteries! I need an option to either have a lot of them (so I can survive for 2-3 months without electricity) and preferable rechargeable. <br>

I am willing to spend around $5000 - 6000 for a medium format camera with a standard lens kit. <br>

My main doubt...TRL vs SLR. I've read very good things about both. <br>

- Is it very heavy to handheld SLR vs TRL? <br>

- Can I have several backs for TRL?<br>

- What about battery life? <br>

- Do you find a limitation of 1 lens only being a problem? <br>

P.S Sorry English is not my 1st language, so excuse me if I was not very clear. I really would appreciate any advice. </p>