DB_Gallery

Gary Peck wrote: "A wise man once said, "If you shoot what you love - the money will follow". That is what I did, took a long time to make really good money at it but now I do and best of all, 80% of my work is shot in black and white film and wet printed in my darkroom. But I have always had great people skills and a relentless entrepreneurial spirit since I was on my own at age 15, no fancy schooling or any degree for that matter, entirely self taught and self made. I am lucky in that the business and networking part comes easy to me and makes earning a living in photography more fun and rewarding than ever.

Ah, that's a bummer, makes me even more grateful to be continuing to succeed in my career as a photographer, I'm amazed every year I am still doing it. The journey is yours, not everyone will share in that, especially with photography largely turning into just another choice of font in the grand scheme of communication. For a number of years now enthusiasts have basked in the glow of the big share- your-photos-fest.....enjoy, now folks are drowning in them, lol! For the masses, the social and monetary value of the photograph will continue to plummet like an asteroid....not all change is for the better.

Besides needing a much bigger and harder to find enlarger, welcome to the number one reason I shoot 4x5.

Film is going to outlive digital as we know it and anyone who has posted on this thread. Of course I am talking about black and white, unless Ferrania really takes off with what they are trying to do, color will eventually go away. I would never buy a new Leica when there are so many nice used ones for thousands less. In fact, a friend of mine has put me in charge of selling a set his father gave him years ago. It's an absolutely mint M6TTL with a 35mm Summicron Asph and modern 50mm Summicron. PM me and I will get you a good price on it, a great camera by the way. I ran into a guy shooting a medium format Contax the other day, after a good ten minutes of conversation he told me that almost every wedding photographer he knows in LA now shoots at least part of the wedding using medium format color film, some shoot all film. So there is definitely a noticeable film revival going on, especially with the younger set who just love the whole process. And if you are unconvinced by these replies for some odd reason, then join APUG and talk directly to Ilford via the very approachable Simon Galley, he will put your mind at ease.

"Analog Film is bound to disappear as everything else that is old" Right.....just like oil paint and canvas. How about you ask Ilford Harmon's Simon Galley what he thinks of this statement? While color could likely go within ten to 15 years, black and white film and the associated paper will outlast even digital as we now know it. Film, in general, is not going anywhere. And I know some young film makers, they tend to be very well educated in the arts including art history, there is a lot of appeal in using film to young people, we should let them speak for themselves, literally and creatively. For those like me, a professional using less and less digital and more film each day, this is good news because Kodak still films ride on the coat tails of motion picture offerings. Art is not about technology, it is about what drives you to be an artist, to emote. Life is not about birth or death, it is about the journey between the two points, I look at how I arrive at my final images in the same way and prefer the journey be on film. Oh, there is also this: http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/08/04/martin-scorsese-kodak-film-letter/

The corners in mine are great, but I never stop down any lens to minimum aperture either.

<p>I'm not sure I can really help you as I shoot advertising and corporate journalism, in the middle of a big 8 day shoot actually, but I can say I think for what I wanted out of this camera, it is a big, BIG improvement over the D800. I have put about 1,800 frames on it:<br /> <br /> I have yet to use AF fine tune with any of my lenses, no hunting, no misses, the files look great, nice and sharp in term of revealed detail and dude....it is soooo quiet, more so than the Df and D610. My Eyefi Mobi 32GB is working great, I copy select images over to it from the regular CF and move them right to the eye-cloud via my iPhone, that way pubs like the NYT have been able to just grab the selects right away and do page layout. Clients are mucho happy about that! The 5 fps is really, really nice too, 4 was just too slow even for lifestyle ad work. High ISO is indeed much nicer, and I run mine with low noise reduction, much better than the D610.<br /> <br /> My only beef with it right now is that it is hanging a bit on activating things like info on the display, displaying images, some things like that I am sure they will address in a firmware update although I wonder if it is my 90mbs cards, the eyefi is a slower one so who knows. Also, I really do wish they would have put a bit of an angle on the 10-pin remote connection. Like the 800, it's near impossible to get in there and get it threaded let alone tight, a 10-15 degree angle away from the mount would have made a huge difference, especially with gloves on.<br /> <br />But overall compared to the 800, a night and day camera for me...</p>

<p>Although I largely agree with John above, I find adorning my self with a certain "look" in certain deep pocketed circles is *awesome* marketing. My vote is my 1956 M3 with a 2012 50mm 1.4 aspheric, stunning camera that allows for stunning photos, it is especially engaging for people work...there is nothing "stealth" about it though..:-)</p><div></div>

<p>Well I bought the 50 and 150 lenses for the 6, it did well on this 14 mile hike on Saturday, in actual use it is a lot faster and smaller than the Hasselblads...</p><div></div>

<p>Andrew, I currently have the D800 and D610, will likely have the 800 for a few days and then it will likely be sold after that. What is meant by thermal noise and line skipping? </p>

My 810 has shipped, can't wait to take it for a spin!

So I ran a test roll of Delta 400 through the Mamiya 6, the 75 is plenty sharp, even wide open and the camera functions fine, handles great. While a bit smaller and lighter than one of my 501 CM's with a WL finder and an 80mm CF, it is not as much as I was hoping, sure is a lot quieter though. So far I like the 6, the AE is a treat, never had that in an MF cam before but the whole size difference compared to a Hasselblad thing seems a bit overblown. That said, I think the lenses on the Mamiya 6 are where most of the size and weight is shaved off, it would be especially true of the 50 's. Some don't like RF cameras, being a Leica and Xpan shooter I get along well with them so the Mamiya handles great in that regard, the VF is huge and the RF patch nice and bright. Time will tell if I keep the 6, not being able to swap backs is a big consideration as I often like to shoot TMX and IR on the same outings. Often times the shape of a camera will dictate it's pecking order on a particular outing, the Mamiya is very different than the Blad so there is that to consider...

<p>Ask me in a few days, I have a 3 body, 10 back and 8 lens Hasselblad system that is my go-to for most work. But I have needed a much smaller and lighter body for when I am on location shooting digital and still want to shoot some MF film. So the Mamiya 6 is "Out for Delivery", can't wait to check it out although mine will have the 75....</p>

"Makes me glad I got the 800E in the first roll-out. So far so good. My medium format has been sitting on the shelf June 2012." I only use my digital gear for 4 months out of the year, then it is either my Hasselblads or 4x5. That said, I did just put in an NPS order for the 810 since my 800 has 103,000 clicks on it...busy week for my B&H account, I get a new 610 on Wednesday...

Out of all the cameras I have ever used, the D800 is eclipsed in sheer noise only by my Hasselblad 500 series. It is by far the worst designed mirror assembly Nikon has ever made, the fact they redesigned it in the new 810 should say it all. Between this and the fact they snub film users in their stupid contest, they get less and less of my money as time goes on....

So I really enjoyed the Df, put about 12,000 frames on it in two weeks. In the end I compared it to my friend's 610 and the shutter noise was the same, nice and quiet, the files were really great too. But in actual pro use the D610 was a lot faster to drive and since I mostly use medium and large format film for all other work, saving a grand in getting a D610 made a lot more sense. I returned the Df early and ordered a D610 from B&H, it pairs nicely with my loud as heck D800.

<p>Been wearing it all week, when you need a photo vest, not much can touch the Domke...</p>

I sure hope it is a lot quieter than my D800.... It might be the worst sounding 35mm camera I have ever used, it sure is the loudest. I have seriously been contemplating getting rid of it in favor for a 610. Why they put such a crap mirror in the D800 is beyond any logic and the darn thing blew during a shoot last year, the AF is still not right, the Df I am renting just smokes it. Maybe they actually put a decent mirror in the 810, that alone would be worth the upgrade, I could care less about much else.

For sure, there is already a good amount of stuff out there but these vests in particular felt better to wear and the pocket layout is simply superb. I love the back pockets for 4x5 film holders. Since they did not make a formal announcement, I thought I would share the news...

<p>If this belongs in another section, by all means...<br /> OK, I know not everyone thinks the fly fisherman style photo vest is a thing of fashion beauty, but they do serve their purpose and have for decades. I bought an khaki XL a few years back for use in Winter and vowed to get a slimmer fitting large for the warmer seasons. I use them for specific events and love them for landscape shooting since I have all kinds of filters, step up rings, film holders and film backs with me.<br /> <br /> So I decided it was time to get the large khaki before it is too late. I went to order one from B&H and it said discontinued. I immediately wrote Tiffen's tech support and got back this response:<br /> <br /> "Yes the vests are being suspended until further notice"<br /> <br /> I found one elsewhere and will take good care of it, they fit great and the pocket layout is amazing. I suspect once existing stock is depleted, they are done. Maybe they will bring it back but for now, RIP the Domke Photo Vest.</p>

<p>Ellis, of course it has one, it is just considerably slower to use as you have to lift it up and then turn it rather than use the *super* fast action of a command dial and button to toggle it like most Nikon bodies.<br> <br /> It does not make a "bad" camera, so far I like it but had never really heard about any complaints of the mode dial, I just discovered it being much slower my self. I have quite a few shoot days and on the order of 20,000 frames to make on the Df before I am done with using it this Summer, I am sure I will have greater insight at that time...</p>

<p>During advertising shoots, editorial & corporate journalism, I flip through M, A & S all the time, have since the F4s. I think *exceptionally* fast when I see converging circumstances that will make a great photograph and being able to change modes, factor in exposure compensation instantly pays off like you can not believe, especially when my eye never leaves the viewfinder.<br> <br />Trust me on this one Don, among other quick thinking features, pros use the mode dial like a gear shift knob on a race car...all the time.</p>

<p>Had the Df for about 5 hours now, all set up for work. I could see it being a great travel camera although I don't know that the shutter is a whole lot quieter than a D600/610, I'm spoiled by the X100S in that regard. With respect to ergo / controls, it seems to fit nicely in-between my D800's and FM3A so far, same goes for size and weight. <br /> I think I can work pretty fast with it although the mode dial and exposure comp will be a couple of speed bumps. I'll check back in a month when I have given it a fair shake..</p>

<p>One thing I would like to see change in the analog movement is that instead of darkroom equipment going to the landfill, someone like Ilford & Freestyle team up underwrite a restoration and retail operation of this otherwise usable equipment. <br> At some point, a lot of what can be bought new as high priced gear will no longer be available and it would be a shame to not have as much used gear to employ if it all gets prematurely discarded. <br> It could even be made to look cool, new paint jobs, fun "classic car" like restorations. I sure hope this happens sooner than later, a lot of great darkroom equipment is out there for the taking. </p>

<p>Shun, you did not specify color film only when you said "In these days film price and processing alone are very expensive."<br> And as far as being a "specialist in obsolete photography technology and equipment", you do realize there is a LOT of money to be made in offering customers unique products and services that rise well above the rank and file digital garbage that is out there now, right? <br> I do get it though, the FM3A is misunderstood because most photographic gear enthusiasts simply are not working in the realms that the FM3A is best at.</p>