andrew_ito

Hello. I've been reading this forum for a couple of years and

post questions and responses occasionally. The forum has

been of great help to me in my learning process and I thought

that it would be great to be able to join up with other landscape

photographers and shoot together, critique each others images,

talk gear, etc. Do any of you get together on a regular basis and

do any of this? I'm located in the LA / Orange County area in CA.

I am also a backpacker and would enjoy going on shooting

excursions with other photographers. Please post your

responses and whether or not you'd be open to meeting up to

talk shop. Thanks for your time!

Elaine,

I've had Canon EOS & Nikon 35mm's, a Rollei SL66 (6x6), and

currently have an Ebony 23s (6x9 view camera). But, what I take

for travels is my Fuji 645zi rangefinder.

The 6x6 format is nice but I found that I normally shoot to a 6x4.5

aspect ratio anyways, so I wound up wasting a good portion of

the frame. In addition, you get 16 shots out of a 120 roll of film

vs. 12 out of 6x6, I mention this because you save money on film

and you can carry more shots with less film. Most 645's are also

lighter and more compact than the 6x6's, especially

rangefinders. If you really want a handholdable camera, I'd

definitely go with a 645 rangefinder. It handles like a 35 and

gets the resolution of a 645.

Now, about the Fuji 645zi. It's got a fixed 55-90mm zoom, so it's

a bit more flexible than their fixed lens models. It also shoots in

manual, aperture priority and full auto modes when you need to

catch a quick shot and don't have the time to meter with a spot

meter or handheld meter. I have found the metering to be

extremely accurate. I have a digital spot meter, but don't take it

when weight is of concern because the metering in the Fuji is so

incredibly accurate. The viewfinder has lines that light up to

show your cropping when focusing and zooming so that it gives

you a more accurate view of what your frame looks like. The

body is titanium and the lens is very sharp and contrasty. It is

truly an incredible camera in a small, light package. They go for

around $1000. US used and you can find them occasionally on

eBay. I would definitely consider this one having shot all formats

from 35mm to 4x5.

Sorry this is so late, but...

I shoot with the 105, 5.6 Nikkor all the timeon my Ebony 23S 6x9

camera and it has more than enough movements for what I

need. It's a sharp, contrasty lens. I'd definitely recommend it!

Andy

Pat,

I've had the Fuji 645zi for around a year now and I think it's a

great camera, especially for what you want to use it for. (Travel,

various people shots, etc.) Basically it's a medium format point

and shoot that can be shot completely auto or full manual.

The 645zi is a 6x4.5 rangefinder with a 55-90mm zoom lens

(35-60 mm equivalent for a 35mm camera). The lens is very

sharp and contrasty. The body is constructed out of titanium and

is very sturdy and light. I take it backpacking with me and it's

considerably lighter than my EOS 1 with booster and lens. The

camera has auto focus that can be overridden, however, using

the manual focus is VERY slow on this camera. It also has auto

exposure, aperture priority, slow-sync aperture priority, and

manual exposure modes. The metering is pretty good in it as

well. For travel it's one of the best and lightest around. It also

has a small built in flash, but I wouldn't use it for much more

than a fill light or to shoot people in close quarters. I have used

the camera for weddings as well and it's great for that too,

especially with a Sunpak 120J bare bulb flash!

Now for the cons... The lens is slow. It's f/4.5-f6.9 depending on

what your zoom is set at. It's also relatively expensive. B&H has

them running around $1800-1900. I bought mine used on eBay

for $900. You can find them there for right around $1000.

All said, I'd definitely give the 645zi some serious consideration if

you want quality images in an easy to use, lightweight package.

Good luck!

Andy

I don't have any personal experience with this, but Ebony

Camera in Japan makes a combination raincover / focusing

cloth / lens shade. You can check it out at ebonycamera.com.

They also make an incredible view camera. I've got one of their

23s models and it is impeccably made and is perfect for my kind

of shooting. Good luck!<div></div>

I'd like to suggest Charles Campbell's The Backpackers

Photography Handbook. It has some good information on a

technique called Chroma-Zone. You can get a glimpse of it on

his website.

http://www.photonaturalist.com.

He has lots of good info in the book. Well worth the $7. or so I

spent on amazon .com. I hope this helps.

I'm interested in buying a Rollei SL66 and have some questions

that I'm hoping someone can answer.

1. How much does the camera & individual lenses weigh?

2. Is the front tilt feature useful? In other words, does it have

enough movements to get good depth of field for landscapes?

3. How are the lenses' optics compared to current Hasselblad

lenses?

4. If you own or have owned this camera, please give me your

opinions on it. I'm planning on taking it backpacking / hiking for

landscape and for some portraiture.

5. Are there any reliability issues with the SL66? Problems?

Thanks.

Help!! I've just purchased a Fuji GA 645zi and am excited by the

possibilities. However, I just don't know what to do about using

Graduated ND filters. After some research on this site, I figured

out that you can use polarizers by positioning them visually and

using the same positioning after placing them back on the lens.

How do you use a Graduated ND filter though? Do I have to

resort to experimentation or does anyone have any techniques

that work. Please let me know if you have something that works

for you. Thanks.