Chuck Jones
Subscriber Member
Wow, one day it is the ZD, the next day is a PhaseOne P21 or P30+, the next a Hasselcon something or another, and in the next breath it is the latest upgraded Sinar product. Meanwhile, where is the voice for the number two selling MF digital solution in the world? The Leaf. So I decided to go ahead and post some shots I took just last night, at my fiancée debut in Santa Fe at the Santa Fe Brewery. Me photographer, she the talent in the family. :lecture:
I've heard several people, even other working pro's, say "You can't shoot fast action, low light or nighttime with a MF back." Bullpucky. I can shoot ANYTHING with a MF digital back. Is it my first choice for this type of work? You bet your bippy it is! There is simply put, nothing technological made today for photography that can top a well crafted, well designed medium format digital camera system. And I don't care which circumstances you care to set for test purposes. Give me any of the top three or four backs made today, and I will go against whatever you care to bring forward as a contest, and honestly mean that I can get at least as creative a vision image as anyone can. Give me light, or give me dark and let me create my own, and nothing is going to beat MF digital.
So these shots I hope will put to rest once and for all the notion that you "Can't Do" whatever it is your own inner "critical voice" tells you can't be done. These images were all shot at ISO 200 or ISO 800, depending upon what the particular effect was I wanted to use. This is the Leaf Aptus 75S at doing what I feel it is uniquely qualified to do. It is mounted on my own personal favorite body, a Contax 645. These images were all shot using the Contax - Zeiss 80mm f2 lens. A lens that sells today for a couple hundred bucks. And frankly, in my opinion is one of the finest medium format lenses ever made. This lens, and my Hassy 110/f2 FE are pure sex to me with the look they both give... And before anybody asks, yes, I KNOW some of these are blurry or out of focus. :toocool: Sharpness is often WAY over rated, in my opinion. It's all about freezing a very short moment in time. Just think for a moment about how dang SHORT 1/250th of a second really is! Too darn fast for this West Virginia boy to comprehend. So I try to "slow it down" in my personal work. To capture the flow of the scene in front of my lens. The magic of the moment in all it's colorful movement and glory. For me, it's not about what you may choose to use for a tool to do it. Take your choice, the choice that works well for you, and you can afford. It's really all about learning to "see" using a mechanical eye... and the artist's perspective.
I've heard several people, even other working pro's, say "You can't shoot fast action, low light or nighttime with a MF back." Bullpucky. I can shoot ANYTHING with a MF digital back. Is it my first choice for this type of work? You bet your bippy it is! There is simply put, nothing technological made today for photography that can top a well crafted, well designed medium format digital camera system. And I don't care which circumstances you care to set for test purposes. Give me any of the top three or four backs made today, and I will go against whatever you care to bring forward as a contest, and honestly mean that I can get at least as creative a vision image as anyone can. Give me light, or give me dark and let me create my own, and nothing is going to beat MF digital.
So these shots I hope will put to rest once and for all the notion that you "Can't Do" whatever it is your own inner "critical voice" tells you can't be done. These images were all shot at ISO 200 or ISO 800, depending upon what the particular effect was I wanted to use. This is the Leaf Aptus 75S at doing what I feel it is uniquely qualified to do. It is mounted on my own personal favorite body, a Contax 645. These images were all shot using the Contax - Zeiss 80mm f2 lens. A lens that sells today for a couple hundred bucks. And frankly, in my opinion is one of the finest medium format lenses ever made. This lens, and my Hassy 110/f2 FE are pure sex to me with the look they both give... And before anybody asks, yes, I KNOW some of these are blurry or out of focus. :toocool: Sharpness is often WAY over rated, in my opinion. It's all about freezing a very short moment in time. Just think for a moment about how dang SHORT 1/250th of a second really is! Too darn fast for this West Virginia boy to comprehend. So I try to "slow it down" in my personal work. To capture the flow of the scene in front of my lens. The magic of the moment in all it's colorful movement and glory. For me, it's not about what you may choose to use for a tool to do it. Take your choice, the choice that works well for you, and you can afford. It's really all about learning to "see" using a mechanical eye... and the artist's perspective.
