VICTOR BT
Member
following my questions on the forum about MFD system, and my first impression from hasselblad h4d-40... heres my first impression about HY6/Afi.
from the first few minutes, it was obvious, this is the best camera ever made. yes, i know, not the best for everyone/everything. lets put it this way, whether this camera answer ones needs and taste, it is simply the most amazing.
the real man's machine, a frontier in design and engineering, a modern industrial jewel in the hand.
what a poetic unjustness that only short after its development, its production stops because of business mess etc. poetic - because it is obvious that some one was sitting there (in germany and in a way in israel too) with one clear thing in their mind - to do what they know best and to refine it further, without much compromises and full of vision. u just feel how it was made when u have it in the hand.
some little stuff after this poetry...
- built like no other camera, quality that is especially out of scale considering that this is a modern digital machine (things like alpa/linhof are always super built but they are purely mechanical instruments).
indeed, in spectacular way, it is the refined version of rollei 6008.
- auto-focusing is fast (afd lenses, 50 and 80), but based on first impression, i think hasselblad gives more confidence, both in general and for "true-focus" function of course. from the other hand, unlike hasselblad, the hy6 is a amazing (best!) for manual focusing, surely with weist level finder (for which my eye-correction was exchanged) and equally good should have been the 45-finder, but there was no eye-correction for me, but from a few snap looks with glasses on, it seems that no issues at all.
- the new lenses (afd) are slightly different than the original 6008, but it takes a short to get used to the feel it gives while focusing manually. no issues at all, actually sometimes even nicer as they feel a bit lighter and more responsive, compared to smoother but more solid classic ones.
- the rotating sensor is so cool. better than anything for camera orientation. also, if one decides to use it with monopod, the camera will probably be even less bulky than mamiya/hasselbald with rotating devices. moving sensor seems so positive and smooth (mechanically, just like the whole camera). the way the lines on the screen were drawn/painted for horizonatal/vertical crop of the sensor are very good, but i think simple and well visible lines would be even better, especially if a 6x6 film back is also in the game.
- the grip and its little monitor is amazing, it shows all the information in any condition, includes histogram (small one, but well informative). everything is easily viewable in any case. the camera, while heavier than others feels super balanced in the hand with this grip. i think a day or two with it and the camera will be more balanced for handheld photography than any other camera. also, it is amazing how a 6x6 has no vibration. of course there is a mirror-lock conveniently placed for the thumb on the grip, but i think for practical use, mirror is no issue even at 1/60 even 1/30 when needed.
in my perspective, hy6 and h4d are very close, both are amazing, their image quality is in the same league too.
of course there is an issue of hasslebald with its consensus in mark-place, and hy6 with its production stopped, but i ignore those issues at the moment, cause i dont really care about marketing position (even if the camera is great anyway), and for hy6 there is a plausible solution basically (at least for those who really want it).
hasselblad is probably the peak of hi-end digital system (integration etc). rollei hy6 / leaf afi is the frontier in design and engineering - a contemporary industrial JEWEL of photographic instruments. and with leaf and supreme lenses it is equally top in IQ too of course.
hasselbald gives additional flexibility by giving a a little bit of handeling (and iso) similar to 35mm format too. but hy6 is surely superior in controlled situation, and it is great for relaxed spontaneous work too.
actually, it is not about choosing between equally great cameras. more likely, it is about revealing the true character - a conformist making wise choices or an eccentric lad following passion
from the first few minutes, it was obvious, this is the best camera ever made. yes, i know, not the best for everyone/everything. lets put it this way, whether this camera answer ones needs and taste, it is simply the most amazing.
the real man's machine, a frontier in design and engineering, a modern industrial jewel in the hand.
what a poetic unjustness that only short after its development, its production stops because of business mess etc. poetic - because it is obvious that some one was sitting there (in germany and in a way in israel too) with one clear thing in their mind - to do what they know best and to refine it further, without much compromises and full of vision. u just feel how it was made when u have it in the hand.
some little stuff after this poetry...
- built like no other camera, quality that is especially out of scale considering that this is a modern digital machine (things like alpa/linhof are always super built but they are purely mechanical instruments).
indeed, in spectacular way, it is the refined version of rollei 6008.
- auto-focusing is fast (afd lenses, 50 and 80), but based on first impression, i think hasselblad gives more confidence, both in general and for "true-focus" function of course. from the other hand, unlike hasselblad, the hy6 is a amazing (best!) for manual focusing, surely with weist level finder (for which my eye-correction was exchanged) and equally good should have been the 45-finder, but there was no eye-correction for me, but from a few snap looks with glasses on, it seems that no issues at all.
- the new lenses (afd) are slightly different than the original 6008, but it takes a short to get used to the feel it gives while focusing manually. no issues at all, actually sometimes even nicer as they feel a bit lighter and more responsive, compared to smoother but more solid classic ones.
- the rotating sensor is so cool. better than anything for camera orientation. also, if one decides to use it with monopod, the camera will probably be even less bulky than mamiya/hasselbald with rotating devices. moving sensor seems so positive and smooth (mechanically, just like the whole camera). the way the lines on the screen were drawn/painted for horizonatal/vertical crop of the sensor are very good, but i think simple and well visible lines would be even better, especially if a 6x6 film back is also in the game.
- the grip and its little monitor is amazing, it shows all the information in any condition, includes histogram (small one, but well informative). everything is easily viewable in any case. the camera, while heavier than others feels super balanced in the hand with this grip. i think a day or two with it and the camera will be more balanced for handheld photography than any other camera. also, it is amazing how a 6x6 has no vibration. of course there is a mirror-lock conveniently placed for the thumb on the grip, but i think for practical use, mirror is no issue even at 1/60 even 1/30 when needed.
in my perspective, hy6 and h4d are very close, both are amazing, their image quality is in the same league too.
of course there is an issue of hasslebald with its consensus in mark-place, and hy6 with its production stopped, but i ignore those issues at the moment, cause i dont really care about marketing position (even if the camera is great anyway), and for hy6 there is a plausible solution basically (at least for those who really want it).
hasselblad is probably the peak of hi-end digital system (integration etc). rollei hy6 / leaf afi is the frontier in design and engineering - a contemporary industrial JEWEL of photographic instruments. and with leaf and supreme lenses it is equally top in IQ too of course.
hasselbald gives additional flexibility by giving a a little bit of handeling (and iso) similar to 35mm format too. but hy6 is surely superior in controlled situation, and it is great for relaxed spontaneous work too.
actually, it is not about choosing between equally great cameras. more likely, it is about revealing the true character - a conformist making wise choices or an eccentric lad following passion
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