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More and more film fun with something other than a Leica M

Stuart Richardson

Active member
Here is a 4x5 shot that kind of worked and kind of didn't. It looks ok on the web, but it does not look good at larger sizes. It was a 30 minute exposure wide open with the 110mm SS XL. Unfortunately, I did not manage to focus correctly...something about things being completely dark out. I tried to make the lights in the distance points, but I guess it either did not work, or the camera shifted over the course of the exposure. The film was acros, which is pretty incredible for its reciprocity abilities, but unfortunately in this case, the black and white cannot give you the green impression of the aurora. You can see the glow in the sky and from behind the hills though (this is facing north/northeast).
 

Lloyd

Active member
Here is a 4x5 shot that kind of worked and kind of didn't. It looks ok on the web, but it does not look good at larger sizes. It was a 30 minute exposure wide open with the 110mm SS XL. Unfortunately, I did not manage to focus correctly...something about things being completely dark out. I tried to make the lights in the distance points, but I guess it either did not work, or the camera shifted over the course of the exposure. The film was acros, which is pretty incredible for its reciprocity abilities, but unfortunately in this case, the black and white cannot give you the green impression of the aurora. You can see the glow in the sky and from behind the hills though (this is facing north/northeast).
Too bad. It sure looks good here.
 

Stuart Richardson

Active member
Thanks Lloyd...unfortunately it is pretty mushy at print sizes. And of course with 30 minute exposures there are no retakes! I will use a flashlight to try to better nail down the focus next time.
 
S

SCHWARZZEIT

Guest
Stuart, I like your night image. It has a spacey sci-fi feel. Interesting result that you used the 110 XL wide open. Do you think the aurora was bright enough to work as as a fill light on the landscape over time?


Here's one of mine: same lens (but at f/22 for 90 minutes), same film, different scene.



-Dominique
 

Lars

Active member
Here is a 4x5 shot that kind of worked and kind of didn't. It looks ok on the web, but it does not look good at larger sizes. It was a 30 minute exposure wide open with the 110mm SS XL. Unfortunately, I did not manage to focus correctly...something about things being completely dark out. I tried to make the lights in the distance points, but I guess it either did not work, or the camera shifted over the course of the exposure. The film was acros, which is pretty incredible for its reciprocity abilities, but unfortunately in this case, the black and white cannot give you the green impression of the aurora. You can see the glow in the sky and from behind the hills though (this is facing north/northeast).
Interesting nevertheless... focusing at night is a real pain. A big 4x loupe helps - no need to bring out that 10x loupe. Reading glasses are great too :) And remove the center filter when focusing, in case you didn't.

Stopping down is obviously a no-no if you're already at 30 minutes wide open. I have skipped the center filter on my 150XL a few times - get lots of falloff on slide film but sometimes there is no alternative.

I can tell from the star trails that the left edge is facing north. :)
 

Stuart Richardson

Active member
Good eye Lars! And thanks for the advice on the loupes. Yes, I did not use a center filter here...in fact, I do not have one...I have not really found it all that necessary, but I am not that bothered by some vignetting and I often shoot black and white where it is less of an issue.

Dominique -- thanks, I am glad you like the shot. The aurora was definitely bright enough to fill in the landscape. This was at the tail end of its display, but in the strongest part, it was almost bright enough to read by. By the time I took the 4x5 shot, it was much darker, but still bright enough to provide fill.

I like your shot as well. I get the impression that it would have a very nice tonality and impression in a print. Very thin negatives can sometimes produce very beautiful photos.
 

Don Hutton

Member
I recently bought a Nikon F6 from Marc Williams and have been putting together a set of Zeiss primes for it - how lucky we are to have such awesome glass available for SLRs these days... These are my six year old son on Ilford XP2 Super - just amazing film for scanning if you haven't tried it...

The first is with the 100mm makro F2 and the second is the 85mm planar f1.4 - both at full aperture. Very different signatures.
 

Cindy Flood

Super Moderator
I recently bought a Nikon F6 from Marc Williams and have been putting together a set of Zeiss primes for it - how lucky we are to have such awesome glass available for SLRs these days... These are my six year old son on Ilford XP2 Super - just amazing film for scanning if you haven't tried it...

The first is with the 100mm makro F2 and the second is the 85mm planar f1.4 - both at full aperture. Very different signatures.

Very different signatures, for sure....both renderings are wonderful. It is nice that we such tools available.
 

bensonga

Well-known member
Renewing my interest in images I've taken with the Pentax 67 (and soon with a P67II body on it's way here from Monza). Here's an image I took shortly aftering acquiring a Pentax 300mm ED IF lens. The full image and a 100% crop section. Very happy with this lens (and Pentax lenses in general).

Gary

The Island Warrior barge at the outlet of Ship Creek into Cook Inlet


100% crop


The camera/lens on location (barge in the background)


Now that the weather is warming up here (40 degrees!) I may take the Pentax 67 with 300 EDIF and the Hasselbald 501CM with the CF350 I purchased from Fotografz down to the harbor for a "shootout" this weekend. :)
 
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Stuart Richardson

Active member
Nice work Don and Gary!
Don -- it really is apparent how different the two lenses are -- and why someone might have use for both!

Gary -- that is monster of a lens. I like the "discreet" pentax labeling on the hood. I would be curious to see that shoot out you are planning.

Here is a rather banal shot of a banal place. This is a gigantic shopping center that opened right before the present fiscal crisis in Iceland. It has a gargantuan parking lot, which I have never seen more than 1/100th full. Here is what it looks like on a regular day...


The insides of the building are just as empty (of people...not stuff). There is an Ikea like place that had 4 or 5 people working in it, and 5 or 6 customers. I am not sure how they are going to last.
 

bensonga

Well-known member
Gary -- that is monster of a lens. I like the "discreet" pentax labeling on the hood. I would be curious to see that shoot out you are planning.
There's no blending in with a crowd when using that lens or camera!

I will post images here when I've got them for the Pentax/Hasselblad 300/350 shootout. Something I just enjoy doing. I've compared 85-105mm lenses with my Canon EOS 1V (also from Marc), Leica R8 and Nikon F3HP....amazing how good they all are....it's really nits and quibbles to my eyes.

Here is a rather banal shot of a banal place. This is a gigantic shopping center that opened right before the present fiscal crisis in Iceland. It has a gargantuan parking lot, which I have never seen more than 1/100th full. Here is what it looks like on a regular day...
I love these kind of documentary type photos Stewart. It really helps to illustrate the reality of what we read about in the papers (or online)....especially the impacts of this global economic recession etc. I always enjoy your photos from Iceland.

Gary
 

Cindy Flood

Super Moderator
Nice work Don and Gary!
Don -- it really is apparent how different the two lenses are -- and why someone might have use for both!

Gary -- that is monster of a lens. I like the "discreet" pentax labeling on the hood. I would be curious to see that shoot out you are planning.

Here is a rather banal shot of a banal place. This is a gigantic shopping center that opened right before the present fiscal crisis in Iceland. It has a gargantuan parking lot, which I have never seen more than 1/100th full. Here is what it looks like on a regular day...



The insides of the building are just as empty (of people...not stuff). There is an Ikea like place that had 4 or 5 people working in it, and 5 or 6 customers. I am not sure how they are going to last.

Stuart,
This really illustrates the world-wide "slowdown". I hope things turn around before those few workers lose their jobs.

Gary, I'm looking forward to your shootout. Isn't it amazing what wonderful film cameras there are out there at affordable prices?
 

Stuart Richardson

Active member
Thank you both! I will be putting up some new photos in the Leica M (film) thread pretty soon. I have come back to 35mm a bit recently -- it has an interesting way of drawing compared to larger formats and the new ultra-clean digital files we are used to...
 
S

SCHWARZZEIT

Guest
Dominique -- thanks, I am glad you like the shot. The aurora was definitely bright enough to fill in the landscape. This was at the tail end of its display, but in the strongest part, it was almost bright enough to read by. By the time I took the 4x5 shot, it was much darker, but still bright enough to provide fill.
That's interesting. I wasn't aware that the aurora can be that bright. I figured that the nights are much brighter the closer you get to the poles. Even though you've got these long dark winters it's more like a constant twilight because the sun doesn't sink that deep below the horizon.
I like your shot as well. I get the impression that it would have a very nice tonality and impression in a print. Very thin negatives can sometimes produce very beautiful photos.
Thanks for your comment, Stuart. I like how the tonality turned out on this shot but the Acros film has a very low density base fog making the shadows almost transparent. The problem is the micro dust within the scans that fall into that extremely low density range. Usually that kind of dust is masked out by higher densities. It would take days to clone out all these tiny specs from the file if I wanted to print it really big. Next time on a long shot like this I'll try a pyro developer.

I agree that there's no need for a center filter on the 110 XL on 4x5".

-Dominique
 

tjv

Active member
As a total aside, I'm pretty sure I was lucky enough to buy your Mamiya 7 50mm lens on ebay, Don... Have been out using it in the harsh NZ light the last few days and I love it already.

Thanks,

Tim
 

Don Hutton

Member
As a total aside, I'm pretty sure I was lucky enough to buy your Mamiya 7 50mm lens on ebay, Don... Have been out using it in the harsh NZ light the last few days and I love it already.

Thanks,

Tim
Glad it's working for you Tim... I didn't see your WTB post on here until after you had grabbed it off Ebay! Oh well...
 

tjv

Active member
If you ever need a sellers reference here Don, I'm happy to help out. I was amazed how well the lens and finder were packaged and how fast it arrived. The box was seriously overkill. It could have fit a medium size family van!
Thanks again,
Tim
 

tjv

Active member
Hey Cindy,

no worries. Will post something when I get some processing back. My impressions thus far are in comparison to the 43mm lens which I borrowed off a friend but found too wide for my tastes. I have the same other lenses as you, the 80mm and the 65mm and those they would be used for about 90% - 95% of my work, even now that I have the 50mm. I've taken some pretty mundane photos to test the 50mm performance and to see how the perspective looks on film vs. the viewfinder so I will post those results soon. From popular account sharpness to the corners and distortion won't be a problem. The more I use the Mamiya 7 system the more I love it. I just need the 150mm and a spare body for B/W to complete my kit. Oh and... And... ending with an X5 Flextight (which I'll NEVER be able to afford!)

Watch this space...
 
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