David Schneider
New member
And at f4 or f5.6You know what I'd like to see? A natural light headshot from a H3D 39 by a 100mm 2.2 lens shot wide open against a D800E on an 85 1.4G at 1.6
Come on, someone....I can measure that visually.
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And at f4 or f5.6You know what I'd like to see? A natural light headshot from a H3D 39 by a 100mm 2.2 lens shot wide open against a D800E on an 85 1.4G at 1.6
Come on, someone....I can measure that visually.
You know what I'd like to see? A natural light headshot from a H3D 39 by a 100mm 2.2 lens shot wide open against a D800E on an 85 1.4G at 1.6
Come on, someone....I can measure that visually.
An important thing to consider is that with the D800 you can have several or a couple of lenses of the same focal length with very nice but different looks.but I only have the Zeiss 85 1.4 (which might in fact be better)
at some point I will do a studio test on 100/2.2 on Hasselblad Vs 85/1.4 on D800E
in fact I would hope the D800E to be so good or so close I will sell the Hasselblad altogether
I'd guess the main hope could be that Pentax/Rioch sticks with the 645D, drops the price of the current model to a more competitive level and potentially upgrades to the HD4 50/60 in a new model.I'll add that I hope the medium format industry manages to stay healthy and competetive. I think it's in danger from dslrs now, not because the d800 is as good, but because for many people it is more than good enough, certainly considering the costs. I worry that anything that eats into MF's small market share might compound its already serious problems with economies fo scale. I'd like to see the d800 act as a positive kick in MF's ***, not an injurious one.
Isn't that sort of leaving out some information Fred? Being a FP camera, can't the Phase One DF take a number of different MF lenses also? Same for the Leica S2 and Pentax 645D.An important thing to consider is that with the D800 you can have several or a couple of lenses of the same focal length with very nice but different looks.
For example lets look at 85mm.
Nikon 85mm 1.4g .... wide open it has a sort of "touch of fantasy"
Zeiss 85mm 1.4g .... more of a "realism" look.
Nikon 85mm PC-E .... perspective control, focus control
Edge Optic 80mm .... not hi res particularly hi res, but designed for beautiful soft looks and deliberate flare, with a beautiful 12 blade round iris.
If you compare this range of options compared to the limited options MFD systems give you it is a game changer IMHO.
Hasselblad only offers the 100mm 2.2 .... lovely lens, but it's the only option.
Phase One .... Schneider 110mm 2.8 .... Nice but limiter bokeh. Nice wide open, but not a king of bokeh. Stop it down even one stop and the 5 blade iris rears it's head. Stop down further and it gets nasty if you have any out of focus textures or specular highlights.
If you add to this that you can get all the options with a D800 and still have a bucket of money left over to finance some shooting projects .... well that ever smaller edge in pixel or giant print peeping is of less and less value.
Well Jan, a Ferrari is a beauty beyond compare (well Chris Fisker's Aston Martin DB9 is not that bad either, beauty wise), and nowadays they(the Ferraris) are rather functionel too. But not all dreams have to be fulfilled, then they just disappear. So I just sometimes stand half or 1 hour at the racetrack at Marenello, that's enough. Cutted down: Anything more than a VW Polo are in principle luxuries and unnecessary. Cars is often just about getting from A to B. But .....I don't know about Camaros, but my Subaru Outback is vastly superior to any Ferrari. I ca n fit five people and their gear - a Ferrari... better be five clowns, because nobody else bends that way. I can drive and park my car at a trailhead without much concern - a Ferrari, don't think so. I can haul a Kayak to a put-in - Ferrari, yeah right. I can drive in snow, sleet, mud, sand, gravel, sand, dirt - Ferrari, better get used to walking. I can fold down the back seats, roll out a pad and sleeping bag, and go to sleep - Ferrari, it's gonna be a looong, uncomfortable night. I can carry any photo gear I conceivably need in the back and have it easily accessible - Ferrari, yeah maybe carry a P&S and a bottle of water in the back seat.
Basically, if I had a Ferrari I'd sell it because it would only take up space in the garage while filling no need or solving any problem. If it got in the port, because those things are pretty wide and our house (Edwardian) has a narrow port since it was retrofitted some 50 years after the house was built.
But a lot of people also assume I use a bicycle to run errands because I can't afford a car. Or ride a MC because I can't afford a car. In reality, a car for me is a pretty crappy form of everyday transportation. It's a hauling and long-distance transportation tool; it excels at that.
I'm probably overextending the car analog more than a little too far. A MF camera certainly is more useful than a Ferrari. But regardless... I don't really need one for my photography.
Tit for tat, FredI was referring to system lenses with full comparability without adapters.
If we were to add all the 3rd party lenses and lenses with adapters the Nikon would have more options again.
Also add to that the fact that you can use live view with the Nikon for accuracy when using older manual lenses.
In comparison using a Hasselblad 110mm f2 on my Phasee One DF was almost unusable wide open due to the limited magnification of the Df viewfinder and lack of waist level or loup finder. The DF focus confirmation with the 110mm f2 was far from accurate unlike the focus confirmation on both my Canons and Nikon
The Hasselblad H to CF/CFi/CFE adapter is hellishly expensive and not the most reliable gadget out there.
Regarding high speed sync. True you get full power from a studio strobe at higher sync speeds with leaf shutters, but there are workarounds with high speed sync with Nikon and Canon cameras.
You can use multiple Speedlights in high speed sync with Canon and Nikon to increase power.
I use pocket wizard Flex TTL radio triggers with two Elinchrom AS3000 packs into a dual head and get all the power I need. The power loss using high speed focal plane sync is no problem when starting out with 6,000 w/s. When used with the brilliant SL35 Elinchrom fresnel spot I get around f22 at 1/2000 at 15 feet.
Large studio strobe packs can be found at great prices on ebay. Way less than the investment needed in LS lenses.
Another thing to consider is that if you are using flash to overpower the sun you can also use a 3.5 stop neutral density filter and more strobe power to obtain exactly what you get with the best of leaf shutters, but with the advantage of investing in flash rather than the same amount for each lens. The Nikon or Canon workarounds also work from fisheye to tele.
Marc is a working professional and as a working professional myself I value his observations a lot more than I do those of the serious amateur or part timer. I want to hear those opinions based on experience and I thank him for taking the time to present them. They are most helpful to me.It's become obvious that Marc owns/owned, every piece of equipment that one could possibly purchase in MFD, so his opinion is worth considering. Modesty not being one of his stronger traits, we aren't given much room for debate though. Opinions are not necessarily based on fact, either pro or against, but user experience is. Marc has also pointed out its only about price, and that's true - I think that's the underlying constant in this debate. For me, if I could have them all, I would...
One fact is accurate though, and that's that the D800 has generated lots of interest because of comparisons, both in utility and quality. There is no shame in schlepping around a D800. Instead let's compare backorders for MFD vs the D800!
Thanks Shelby ... I just have a hard time letting half info skewed to an agenda go unanswered.Marc and Fred... you gentlemen have the makings of a Pay-per-View fight for HBO.
Strangely, I see the two of you being more alike than most other members here on the forum in terms of what you value in photography... and your passion for the craft.
We all have our personal reasons for choosing what we want to use (be it camera gear or otherwise). Can't we leave it at that?
My Best,
Shelby