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Fun with MF images - ARCHIVED - FOR VIEWING ONLY

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jmvdigital

Guest
Re: Fun with MF images, part 2: What are you shooting with that MF back?

Stuart, great stuff! I'd love to visit Iceland to photograph for a few weeks, but man, that looks cold! Post some more?
 
J

jmvdigital

Guest
Poudre Canyon

Another shot from Poudre Canyon last week.

EDIT: The color on this shot is funky depending on which monitor I pull this window to. On my MBP (the default main screen), things look great, on my secondary Eizo, it looks too purple and blue. YMMV. I think it must be because Safari only uses one monitor profile (the main screen's) regardless of which monitor the window is on.

EDIT #2: For some reason the top of the rocks all look dark. Kinda like a bad mask job on the sky, but this is straight from LR, no local adjustments made. Strange.
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
Re: Fun with MF images, part 2: What are you shooting with that MF back?

Stuart:

Great images and I would DEFINITELY love to come photograph Iceland. Maybe we can make it a GetDPI workshop destination?

:D,
 

Stuart Richardson

Active member
Re: Fun with MF images, part 2: What are you shooting with that MF back?

Thank you guys.

Jack -- Guy and I had talked about doing something in May, but I am not sure if that is still on. I do have my work visa now though, so I will be here. Frankly, this is probably the best year in a long time to go -- their economy is in total shambles, so everything costs about 40-50% less (in dollars) than it did last year. It is still more expensive than it is in the U.S., but that fast food value meal that was 15 dollars last year (seriously), is now a bargain at 8! Similarly, the price of a watery beer at a bar is down from 10 dollars a pint to 5.

As for more pictures, there are a number on my website. I don't really have many medium format digital though, as I just got that recently and I have only been here two weeks or so. But here are some medium format film shots:


Mamiya 7II 43mm

Mamiya 7II, 43mm
It gets pretty nice and green in the summer though...doesn't get much about 60 degrees though:

DMR, 19mm. Some of the white you see there (the brightest part at the bottom) is actually glacier, not clouds. The glaciers are usually covered in clouds, so it is not too often that you get to see them clearly.
Obviously, someone did not like the guy who lived here:


Actually, it means something like "Ridge Hill". Anyway, that's enough for now...I was trying to find some that I don't think I have posted before or a lot anyway...
 

Don Libby

Well-known member
Re: Fun with MF images, part 2: What are you shooting with that MF back?

Stuart

Keep this up and you'll get me back into an airplane! Great images.

don
 

Graham Mitchell

New member
Re: Fun with MF images, part 2: What are you shooting with that MF back?

I posted this inside another thread as an example to someone but it belongs here :) Stitched pano.

 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
Re: Fun with MF images, part 2: What are you shooting with that MF back?

Agreed, very nice image Graham!
 

sinwen

Member
Re: Fun with MF images, part 2: What are you shooting with that MF back?

Sorry I don't have D back, cannot afford, so these two are scanned with a cheap Epson 4870.

501cm + 80mm



 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
Re: Fun with MF images, part 2: What are you shooting with that MF back?

No need to apologize here sinwen --- those are great images!
 

sinwen

Member
Re: Fun with MF images, part 2: What are you shooting with that MF back?

Could you give me a hint ?

I see you all selling your 35DSLR once you step into MF digital because it is so much better and I believe so indeed.
But do you think these top DSLR compete with 120 film ?
Behind this question : is it worth selling my 501 gear to move to let say the new 5D ?

Thanks for your answers, will appreciate.
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
Re: Fun with MF images, part 2: What are you shooting with that MF back?

But do you think these top DSLR compete with 120 film ?
Behind this question : is it worth selling my 501 gear to move to let say the new 5D ?
Oh boy, tough call and different for everybody based on their personal needs....

I would first say it all depends on how much you shoot. If not a whole bunch, it might be more economical to buy a better film scanner --- like maybe a dedicated Minolta or Nikon MF film scanner?

I think the 5D2 will probably at least equal the image quality of properly scanned 6x6 or 645 film, however larger MF formats like 6x7 and 6x9 may offer something more. Those film cameras are cheap and if you already own a good MF scanner, then might be a viable consideration if you don't shoot much...

But, if you do the per-frame-captured cost analysis, the DSLR gets very cost-effective pretty quick. It's biggest advantage is its per-frame operating cost: Take the cost price of the DSLR minus its resale value over say 2 years, and then divide by the number of frames you'd expect to shoot over those two years. Even if it's only 1000 frames in 2 years, you can anticipate your $2700 5D will probably be worth around $1700 two years later, for a per-frame cost of $1. By contrast, MF film is what, $6/roll plus $6/ roll to process or $12 total for 12 frames --- so they'd be equal. Now if you move the DSLR captures up to 2000 over the 2 years, its per-frame cost drops to 50 cents, or half the cost of MF film...

Cheers,
 

fotografz

Well-known member
Re: Fun with MF images, part 2: What are you shooting with that MF back?

Could you give me a hint ?

I see you all selling your 35DSLR once you step into MF digital because it is so much better and I believe so indeed.
But do you think these top DSLR compete with 120 film ?
Behind this question : is it worth selling my 501 gear to move to let say the new 5D ?

Thanks for your answers, will appreciate.
Sinwen, if you like to shoot a lot of frames and love low light photography then something like a 5D is a nice option.

However, if you like to shoot the kind of images you posted, then stick with what you are doing because you're doing it very well.

I shot a 5D for years ... and have always shot a 503CW with film, and still do.

I'm not sure what the criteria people use when they say a DSLR can equal or beat a MF film camera. Whatever that criteria is, it isn't the same as mine ... because my 5D never equaled the Hasselblad film camera to my eye.

I find most, if not all, 35mm DSLRs with CMOS sensors to be lacking in depth and tonal graduation ... and many, including the 5D, to produce a plastic look to the mages. Not until you jump to MF digital with CCD sensors do the files start to compete with MF film or beat it.

Keep that Hassey, and save up for a CFV digital back. Then you can shoot both film and digital.
 

Stuart Richardson

Active member
Re: Fun with MF images, part 2: What are you shooting with that MF back?

I agree with Marc -- for my money, 35mm digital cameras don't have the look of medium format film. To me, film looks better than digital regardless of format. End of story. But it just has a look that I like -- I like the tonal range, color palette and black and white tonality better. That said, digital is far more convenient, more flexible, it has higher resolution per image area used, it is more efficient and in many cases more cost effective. Furthermore, above ISO 400 (in 35mm digital anyway), digital trounces film. So I would say that if you are happy with the 501cm, stick with it. If you want the same thing, only digital, the 5D is not it.
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
Re: Fun with MF images, part 2: What are you shooting with that MF back?

because my 5D never equaled the Hasselblad film camera to my eye.
And for the record, I didn't say that either.

What I did say is the 5D *2* will likely at least equal the image quality (resolution) of well-scanned 6x6 and 645, a very different statement than the saying 5D *original* does that now...

Even at that, the tonality, look, feel, signature, palette, grain characteristics, halation and response curve will all be different between the mediums --- those differences may or may not be preferred over the "look" form the DSLR, but they are a different consideration than resolution.

~~~
 
J

jmvdigital

Guest
Re: Fun with MF images, part 2: What are you shooting with that MF back?

Just my $.02, even given the fact the 5D2 has 21mp, and may equal a 120 film frame, there is still so much missing. For me, my 1Ds3 (also 21mp) could not hold a candle to my new MFDB, even if it was the same pixel resolution. These new Canon bodies, while they have huge great sensors, the rest of the "solution" betrays them, namely the lenses. If you head over to Fred Miranda and DPReview, there are constant threads battling about lens sharpness, lens-to-lens quality control issues, etc. So many people are fed up with Canon's dismal optics, that they move to adapters and using Nikon and Zeiss glass. Just something to keep in mind. A camera system on paper is very different than the reality, even with that pricey L glass.
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
Re: Fun with MF images, part 2: What are you shooting with that MF back?

And I agree that no current DSLR can come close to competing with a MFDB on IQ, including tonality --- at least on a single exposure. Stitching multiple frames is a different story.
 

carstenw

Active member
Re: Fun with MF images, part 2: What are you shooting with that MF back?

How do you get better tonality with stitching?
 

fotografz

Well-known member
Re: Fun with MF images, part 2: What are you shooting with that MF back?

And for the record, I didn't say that either.

What I did say is the 5D *2* will likely at least equal the image quality (resolution) of well-scanned 6x6 and 645, a very different statement than the saying 5D *original* does that now...

Even at that, the tonality, look, feel, signature, palette, grain characteristics, halation and response curve will all be different between the mediums --- those differences may or may not be preferred over the "look" form the DSLR, but they are a different consideration than resolution.

~~~
Yep, Jack. Agreed. Resolution is one thing, all rest that makes an image is another.

IMO, the only thing that really counts is what the print looks like.
 

fotografz

Well-known member
Re: Fun with MF images, part 2: What are you shooting with that MF back?

Interesting side note on "Stitching".

I'm way into MFD Stitching for commercial applications these days (still learning about it) ... most recent application was an axel testing Dynamometer room using multiple panning shots with the H3D-II/39 and HC/28mm. Not enough room to get back and use a longer focal length ... and the 28 was too wide causing too much regular W/A distortion. These shots will be potentially used for 6 to 10 foot wide wall graphics that will be viewed close up by engineers ... ( the ultimate pixel peepers? : -)

My point is that stitching proves that we want, and sometimes need, even more resolution ... and full frame 645 with 65 megs or more isn't a ridiculous desire.

Not exactly "fun with MF" being that it's hard work to do these under time constraints, really bad lighting and "factory" filth. I did learn something on this job ... I stitched processed DNGs straight from ACR and lost the DNG corrections available in Phocus ... resulting in some distortion in the crane rail at the back of the room. Next time I will go through Phocus and stitch the processed Tiffs with DAC applied. Ya learn something every day :rolleyes:
 
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