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Progressing through time and gear

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
I was searching the forum and ended up on this thread again. I thought it worth resurrection with 2011 perspectives from all involved because if I'm not mistaken ALL of you have upgraded and/or now bought technical cameras & lenses.

:ROTFL: :ROTFL: :ROTFL:

BTW: I deliberately leave myself out of this discussion because I KNOW I'm a hopeless gear slut with no pretensions of being anything else! :D
 

dchew

Well-known member
Glad you did Graham! I bring a completely different perspective because I was entrenched in Canon and the IQ announcement is what pushed me over the edge; that combined with a long-lasting desire to use a technical camera.

Most of the discussion above is about image quality, not shooting experience. From a user interface perspective, I think it is simple: None of us knew what we were missing. Well, maybe we knew, but underestimated the value improved UI would bring to our shooting experience.

Dave
 

ghoonk

New member
On the topic of gear sluttiness, I'll throw my hat in the ring here. I only starred taking photography a little more seriously than a compact point and shoot back in December 2010.

A trip to Prague quickly taught me how good location, technique and subjects, along with a good mentor, could help me actualize memories (and start ho'ing pics), but I quickly got tired of the very limited high iso performance of the D3100 that saw me through December.

In January 2011, I sprung for a D700 and was shooting concerts and Motorsports events semi-professionally, and amassed the Nikon Trinity, along with the 35/2, 50/1.4G, 85/1.4D, 105/2DC, 135/2DC, and an 85/2.8 PC-E Micro-Nikkor.

In March 2011, during a one light workshop with Zack Arias here in Dubai during the Gulf Photo Plus week, a tsunami hit Japan and I took a spot decision to grab a D3s before they became hard to come by. I had been contemplating that body for some time, due to the sort of lighting conditions that comes with live concert photography,

In May, I came into possession of a Hasselblad 500CM with the 120/4 Macro-Planar, an A12 back, A16 back along with miscellaneous accessories like the light meter winder knob. With that, I fell quickly in a love hate relationship with medium format photography, the agile 6x6 format, the insane bokeh (how much money do 35mm shooters spend to get f0.95 lenses just to get the creaminess of the bokeh we get in MF at f2.8?), the unforgiving DOF and focusing challenges, among others.

That set me down a slippery slope that found me on eBay, and within a month, I had picked up another 4 A12 backs, an extra Polaroid back, an 80/2.8 CF, and a 180/4 CF plus more accessories.

A Mamiya RB67 Pro-SD arrived in June, and I fell deeper in love, wiht the 6x7 format and even more insane bokeh. The 127mm K-L lens quickly found company with a 90 Sekor C, a 150 soft focus, and a 180mm KL lens, along with a spare Pro-SD back or two. All without putting a huge hole in the bank, and I found myself enjoying shooting for myself (as compared to shooting for clients). So much so that I picked a great deal on an RZ Pro with 110/2.8 lens and back in July. I loved the dynamic range of film, not knowing what I was going to get, the anticipation of waiting to get my rolls back from the lab (developing at home is a PITA here in Dubai), and basking in the shots I got off the RB, RZ and 500CM.

Late July comes around, and with it, an excellent deal on a Mamiya AFD II with Aptus 65 back (I was told by the seller that it was a 65S and later found out to be otherwise), along with a 55/2.8, 80/2.8, and a 150/3.5 lens. A 210/4 ULD was sourced from B&H and I was a happy puppy with Capture One and my MFD system.

Up until now, most of my MF work is portraiture, something I enjoy immensely.

So here I was, back in Singapore for a short 2 week break, when I get grubby hands on a Hasselblad H4D during the local Hasselblad User Group meeting. I'm blown away by the accuracy and speed of the AF, True Focus, the comfort of the ergonomics, the single power unit (as opposed to having one battery for the back, and 6 AA cells for the body), and high speed flash sync. I had been debating over upgrading to a 645DF with Aptus-II 6 back and 80/2.8 Schneider lens for the same price, but the ergonomics of the Hasselblad won me over, despite having to start back with one lens (in comparison, if I had stayed on with Phamiya, I would have been able to retain the use of my existing lenses, all mof which wee good enough for my purpose) and not have the ability to flash sync at 1/1600, or shoot at 1/4000s. I got a decent offer for my Mamiya MFD system sans two lenses and film backs) and the very morning that I sold it, found myself in possession of a Hasselblad H4D-31 (on hindsight, I wish I got the 40 instead, but the extra was going to be hard to justify, despite the appeal of the Upcoming firmware upgrade on 1 December).

It's been a great 10 months, full of rich learning experiences and rewarding pictures and moments. Haven't regretted any purchase yet, and looking forward to traveling more and getting better with my shooting and post :)
 

etrump

Well-known member
Guy it's a good thing your finally getting satisfied. ;) Aren't we getting close to the limits of physics with resolution, light angle, etc. The next announcement will probably be 6x7 and we'll have to start over.

Truth is, for portrait work the resolution is not necessary but the buttery looking color and dynamic range makes for a wonderfully dramatic visual.

As a large format landscape, I too am finally getting results I envisioned when I dove into MF. Seeing a 10' wide print from the IQ180 is a sight to behold considering half the people take their reading glasses out to explore every inch.

I am in love with the look of the HR32 and HR23 files, they are so sharp and have a photographic look that is incredible. My SK 72 and 150 are plenty sharp but the micro contrast or something seems lacking compared to the HR glass. Not intending to bash SK because the 35XL has similar clarity to the HR. The 72L and 150 create great prints but they are not up to the fantastic level of the super glass wides.
 

atanabe

Member
Guy,
Did you hear about the new MFDB with 200 mpx resolution and 24 stop DR? Clean images up to ISO 24000 at 25000 it starts to get noisy but a firmware fix is on the way :LOL:

It will image a black cat in a coal mine and get the filaments in the hanging bulbs.

My friend, true gear sluts will never really be satisfied. :salute: enjoy the glow

-Al
 

Professional

Active member
Guy,
Did you hear about the new MFDB with 200 mpx resolution and 24 stop DR? Clean images up to ISO 24000 at 25000 it starts to get noisy but a firmware fix is on the way :LOL:

It will image a black cat in a coal mine and get the filaments in the hanging bulbs.

My friend, true gear sluts will never really be satisfied. :salute: enjoy the glow

-Al
100% very true, and i am sure after 5-10 years if i am still alive the latest gear will be shown off no doubt.
 

ghoonk

New member
Guy,
Did you hear about the new MFDB with 200 mpx resolution and 24 stop DR? Clean images up to ISO 24000 at 25000 it starts to get noisy but a firmware fix is on the way :LOL:

It will image a black cat in a coal mine and get the filaments in the hanging bulbs.

My friend, true gear sluts will never really be satisfied. :salute: enjoy the glow

-Al
How soon can I get my hands on one? I heard that rumour as well, along with the expected RRP of USD5,000 :)
 

djonesii

Workshop Member
I will chime in ......

The ZD is gone. A good year and some cash in hand led to a P30+, and my MFDB woes were almost gone :poke: Gosh darn crop factor. We are a small community, and I wound up with Guys 35mm third hand. I shoot almost exclusively in the studio, and this suits me just fine, great frame rate, a tethered solution that works, very useable ISO 400, and ISO 800 in a pinch.

My APS-C and Micro 4/3 world is about to change radically. As we all know, print/output size matters, and in this part of my photographic world, Nikon is sucking wind through a bleeding chest wound. In my photographic life. The D300 will not be replaced by a D400, but rather a Panasonic G3, the lenses are good enough, and the IQ/DR/Tonality is just fine below 8X10. I have just completed two studio sets, and the few shots where the MF system does not work well are filled just fine by the G3. ( I have the PP done, and will post links in the right board soon ) Think ultrawide, 18mm FF equivalent.

For the kids running around, family sports and snaps, the G3 + 14-140 is great, add the 20mm, 100-300 and a 45 1.8, and I'm selling the Nikon kit at some point ( or parts of it ). If you look on this very board, one member even took this type of kit on a once in a lifetime safari. For the occasional bit of street shooting that I do, this is a fine platform.

My film world has simplified, I'm down to one 4X5, and soon will have only one Nikon film body. I inherited a Zeiss folder, and had it CLA'd. The Fuji may go or not ....

The only place where things are not clear is that special place in my heart that I have for the RD-1. A M9 would be great, but for 300 frames a year, sorely underused. Ditto M8. The Sony NEX-7 and Ricoh are offering some interesting fodder, but I'm no early adopter in this market.

Dave
 

kdphotography

Well-known member
I was searching the forum and ended up on this thread again. I thought it worth resurrection with 2011 perspectives from all involved because if I'm not mistaken ALL of you have upgraded and/or now bought technical cameras & lenses.

:ROTFL: :ROTFL: :ROTFL:

BTW: I deliberately leave myself out of this discussion because I KNOW I'm a hopeless gear slut with no pretensions of being anything else! :D
Naughty, naughty, Graham! I hope everyone caught the dates of the posts. (May significant others never ever read the leading posts in this thread feigning contentment...)

Okay---September 2011, one year later, I can now truly say I am almost content with my MFDB system (only because my pocket book says so). I will add that I do think some consideration should be given to personal choices in equipment used, after all, a significant part of the enjoyment in creating images is the actual photography, and using equipment that you enjoy is what adds to that experience. For example, I have/use a full Canon DSLR set-up, not because I enjoy it, but because some of my work calls for it. It's nice but no real love. But I really enjoy photographing with a MFDB rather than a DSLR.

So it might be kind of fun to note what you're using now, and your feelings---and than Graham can catch us with our pants down in about a year or so... Right Guy? (hey, btw, how's that Cambo RS, IQ160, and new RRS tripod coming along?) :ROTFL:

I moved up from a P65+ to an IQ180 and 645DF. Gorgeous wall portraits. The IQ180 is a joy to use. UI makes all the difference. And I'm almost content. I really want Schneider to offer a wide angle Phase LS lens ala 28 or 35. The IQ180 could be my last MFDB. Dangerous words, huh?

ken
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Okay Ken pulled me off my forum break. Trying to get some real things done. LOL

Well it is a year later and yes some things changed at least for the better but in a way they stayed the same. Yes I have a IQ 160 but I guess it is a testament to the sensor since I bought the same one as my P40 only bigger. Frankly it was a Very smart move on my part and I fought off the you should get the IQ 180 instead and I'm happy I did. In the end this was what I was after and yes I did replace my wide angle with a tech cam and so far that has actually turned out to be pretty dang good. I actually shot a group photo yesterday of 200 people inside a plant from a scissor lift with the Cambo. If anyone knows me well enough i will do what your not supposed to do with a cam. I did buy a RRS tv 23 series 2 tripod and kudo's to Ken and Stephen for a little arm twisting although been thinking of switching for awhile from Gitzo to RRS. So I have the travel pod and it is frankly kick *** over the Gitzo. Now I want to get the TV 34l but I see Mark did a review on it, now they will never be in stock again. LOL Damn him he let the secret out.
Seriously great tripod but very pricey and stock right now is the pits on them. But even the tv 23 which is small is rated at 40 lbs and the Gitzo equal is 26 which I played with in Yosemite that Bob has but wanted to give the RRS a try and so far it's a gem. I bought a leveling base for it too and going to instal that today. It's only 52 inches but with leveling base and Z1 head it put my Cambo actually above me which is what I wanted. But look for my Gitzo 3 series to be sold I want the TV 34L next.
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
I'll just quote myself with updates cause it's easier than 'splainin; just substitute P65+ with IQ180, and P45+ with P65+ :ROTFL: :D

Okay, got my morning chores done and decided I'd add my comments for posterity. If I wrote everything I was thinking, it would be so long nobody would read it, so I'll give an extremely abbreviated version.

My P65+ generates more file than I really need for most of my imaging; I could have easily made do with the P40+ or even stayed with my P45+ and remained "satisfied" for quite a while. (No, I will not give a definite time-frame for the duration of that satisfaction!) But then it was the same when I shot 4x5 film and I still went on to 8x10 as well, so there you go. IMO there's always more satisfaction to be had from more image. And more justification.

We can niggle over the file traits of color and DR too -- as with everything else about the image, "more" here is usually better too. Better for what though? Our own satisfaction, our ability to justify the purchases, or some real measurable improvement to our images? I submit the former are more likely when we should be focusing on the latter...

Next we can wax poetic over lens traits. We love various characteristics such creamy Bokeh, smooth rendering, laser sharpness, roundness, or any of a dozen other terms that make us sound like wine snobs at a tasting convention. Heck, I've even heard "great plasticity" whatever the heck that means! Point is, we often use these traits to justify our purchases rather than a desire to put them to serious work for us.

My point is I think I have grown a little with age (finally). I now actually try and put the traits I tout to work for me to make better and better images. (Novel concept, I know, but admittedly not one I have always focused on myself...) The upside is I can actually see it working now, usually seeing results on multiple images from any given shoot, so get encouraged and continue pursue that track. And surprise, the more I pursue it, the more often it happens, and the more often I am satisfied with "what I already own" which is a good thing I think.

Of course then I sometimes get hit with an alternate reality --- like making a pretty nice image from a camera and lens that cost me half what a basic MF 80 prime would, all while using it on one of its in-camera jpeg setting :rolleyes:. That's when I start to wonder how important the gear is relative to artistic vision...

One recent MF shot I spent some time working and one recent 4/3rds cam shot basically straight out of the camera. Not really similar so you can't compare them, but I like them both pretty equally and one was a lot easier to make:




But I love my P65+

:D,
And now I also love my Arca RM3D!

IQ180 on DF with 55LS:



IQ180 on Arca with 40mm HR-W:


PS: And my P&S camera got even smaller :ROTFL:
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Went out last night and my wife said bring the little camera. Hmmm honey sold that thing. Want me to bring the Cambo. LOL

Did not go over to well. LOL
 

Ben Rubinstein

Active member
I remember laughing at this thread a year ago, laughing all the more to read it now! :ROTFL:

Still shooting the same pair of 5D's since they were released some 7 years ago, two out of my three main lenses haven't changed in that time at all either. Am I allowed to continue on the forum? :ROTFL:
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
I remember laughing at this thread a year ago, laughing all the more to read it now! :ROTFL:

Still shooting the same pair of 5D's since they were released some 7 years ago, two out of my three main lenses haven't changed in that time at all either. Am I allowed to continue on the forum? :ROTFL:
Not only can you continue, we may have to elevate you to "Enigma" status!

:ROTFL:
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
Went out last night and my wife said bring the little camera. Hmmm honey sold that thing. Want me to bring the Cambo. LOL

Did not go over to well. LOL
"Honey, where did you park my Camry?"

Oh, just use the SUV.

"So where is it?"

Ah ...

:ROTFL:
 
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