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Whoo hoo!! At long last, my Hy6 has arrived!

BradleyGibson

New member
About 6 years ago I started to think seriously about moving to medium format. I'm so excited that I think I've finally arrived at the destination on this journey.

My Hy6 arrived tonight--I've been poking and prodding it all night. My wife is laughing at me because I must look like an idiot :confused: as I jiggle the whole thing trying to see if that neck strap contraption will *really* hold (really, really) if I carry the whole thing by the strap...

In any case, I can offer some first impressions:

1) The camera (w/o lens or back) is ridiculously light and small. I was pretty surprised, even though I had read the specs (grams count when you're in the mountains!)

1.5) Add a piece of glass like a 110/2 or a 180/2.8 and you are going to notice. If you're a "camera by the pound guy" (heavier camera must equal better quality, right?) grab some big glass for this bad boy--you won't be disappointed.

2) Aside from the plasticky look & feel of the 'unlock' buttons (allowing removal of the back, finder, or movement of the handle) the build quality is superb. Nary a squeak, wiggle or other problem to be found. The fit & finish exceeds my Hasselblad H2.

3) WLF is gorgeous.

4) Camera and back are well-integrated. While I am not getting the lens in my metadata, I am getting shutter speed, aperture and ISO. I'd love to know what lens I used (or be able to search on such metadata), so if it's possible, may I humbly request this metadata in a future firmware release? :toocool:

5) Like every MFDB I've used, the white balance is what I'd call poor. Even small format DSLR's aren't great, but the sooner the WB sensor information gets used & recorded in the file, the sooner Sinar will jump to the head of the pack for out-of-the-box color under natural and variable light.

6) My back didn't have firmware v5, and so I wasn't able to select "Hy6" as my body type for a few moments until I realized I must need an update. Updater was Mac only! (Did I miss the PC version?)

7) My camera was trying to do bad things to my "half-stop-maximum aperture" 40/3.5 and 60/3.5 until I remembered Theirry mentioning the firmware update for the body fixing this issue. Updater was PC only!! (Did I miss the Mac version??)

8) I will try to post some tasty pictures later this weekend. Everything's dark here now that I've figured out what all the buttons do... :rolleyes:

Happy to answer questions if folks still have any. FYI, my revolving back and upgraded "generation 2" eMotion 75LV back have not arrived yet, so I'm still using the non-revolving plate and the "generation 1" digital back.

Have a great night everyone,
-Brad :D
 
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Dale Allyn

New member
Brad,

Congratulations on receiving the Hy6. What a treat it must be. Thank you for sharing your "out of the box" experience. I, for one, appreciate others sharing their experiences. There's always something to learn or think about when someone posts their early observations it seems.

I'd love to hear how you find the Hy6 to work with as you spend more time with it.

I'll bet you're up early in the morning. ;)

Cheers!
 
T

thsinar

Guest
Welcome in the family, Brad, and congratulations.

5) Like every MFDB I've used, the white balance is what I'd call poor. Even small format DSLR's aren't great, but the sooner the WB sensor information gets used & recorded in the file, the sooner Sinar will jump to the head of the pack for out-of-the-box color under natural and variable light.
Agreed, Brad. The default profiles are default ones: an average calculated from a few backs. For example, the "flash" profile is made with flash light, with a certain brand, at a certain power.
I never use these profiles, instead a grey card or Macbeth chart. Just throw it in the first shot, and from time to time if the light is changing. That way it can be balanced later (or in-camera if you wish). You will have a perfect starting point.

6) My back didn't have firmware v5, and so I wasn't able to select "Hy6" as my body type for a few moments until I realized I must need an update. Updater was Mac only! (Did I miss the PC version?)
Only Mac version exists.

7) My camera was trying to do bad things to my "half-stop-maximum aperture" 40/3.5 and 60/3.5 until I remembered Theirry mentioning the firmware update for the body fixing this issue. Updater was PC only!! (Did I miss the Mac version??)
Mac (or PC) 2.09 version can be downloaded from our webpage (www.sinarcameras.com): login and go to "Downloads" ---> "Software

8) I will try to post some tasty pictures later this weekend. Everything's dark here now that I've figured out what all the buttons do... :rolleyes:
OH YES!
:thumbup:

Best regards,
Thierry
 

naoip

New member
Congratulations Brad...

I love the "my cameras arrived threads" i know i'm like a 10 year old :p ,but you can just feel the excitement!!
 

David K

Workshop Member
Congrat's Brad and I am looking forward to your pictures and impressions. The more Hy6 users we have here the better it is for the rest of those using this kit. Please pass along any tips you may discover along the way so that we can all learn more quickly.
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Congrats Brad look forward to hearing more and seeing some great images. Keep us posted. I love the just arrived stuff too. Still waiting for some myself
 

BradleyGibson

New member
LOL!!

Thank you, everyone, for the warm welcome. My wife and I were planning a summit attempt of Mount Rainier this weekend, but the weather looks dangerous... As such, that leaves me with an open weekend... Gee... what to do? What to do....:thumbup:

The weather down here will also be cloudy & rainy, but I'll be out shooting something, anyway. It's usually a good time for macro work, but I don't yet have a macro lens and my extension tubes haven't arrived, so I may end up doing some urban photography in Seattle--something that's a bit unusual for me, but something I definitely enjoy.

A special thank you to Thierry who has been tirelessly supporting me, my questions, requests for raw files, etc. for going on 15 months now. It took some time to get all the answers, but in the end, I'm glad we stuck to it. It wouldn't have happened without you, Thierry! Thank you. :salute:

Looking forward to posting photos and experiences as I get up to speed.

Take care,
Brad
 

David Klepacki

New member
Bradley,

Welcome to the club and congratulations! It looks like you are already loving this system. Good luck on your Rainier summit.

David
 

BradleyGibson

New member
Haha--well I tried to bend it to take a picture of itself but I couldn't get it much past 90 degrees!! :)

I'll post something salacious this weekend in hopes of redeeming myself! ;)

-Brad
 

BJNY

Member
For those curious how the eMotion digital backs are able to revolve with 45º prism attached.

See the scalloped area of the prism base:
 

David K

Workshop Member
I ordered that prism last week and it's shipped already. I was concerned about a long delay but it turns out not to be an issue. I think I mistakenly posted that I selected the 45 degree prism in part because the image was reversed in the 90 degree version. This is NOT the case and so should not be a consideration in choosing one over the other. With regard to the revolving adapter it is important to select the correct tripod mounting plate. Prior to having my new revolving back I was using a spare Wimberley plate which worked just fine. Unfortunately, it did not provide clearance for the back to revolve which I discovered after mounting the new back. Reversing the plate solved this issue until I tried to mount my 180mm 2.8 lens and found that the flanges on that plate interfered with mounting this lens (and only this lens). You really want to be careful if your plate has flanges that it doesn't press up against the back as you tighten it down. It seems to me this could cause some damage to the back and camera. This is really a non-issue if you use the correct plate but I figured it was worth mentioning as long as we were on the subject.
 
T

thsinar

Guest
Thanks for this feedback, David. Very interesting to know about the tripod mounting plate.

Best regards,
Thierry

I ordered that prism last week and it's shipped already. I was concerned about a long delay but it turns out not to be an issue. I think I mistakenly posted that I selected the 45 degree prism in part because the image was reversed in the 90 degree version. This is NOT the case and so should not be a consideration in choosing one over the other. With regard to the revolving adapter it is important to select the correct tripod mounting plate. Prior to having my new revolving back I was using a spare Wimberley plate which worked just fine. Unfortunately, it did not provide clearance for the back to revolve which I discovered after mounting the new back. Reversing the plate solved this issue until I tried to mount my 180mm 2.8 lens and found that the flanges on that plate interfered with mounting this lens (and only this lens). You really want to be careful if your plate has flanges that it doesn't press up against the back as you tighten it down. It seems to me this could cause some damage to the back and camera. This is really a non-issue if you use the correct plate but I figured it was worth mentioning as long as we were on the subject.
 
I have a Rolleiflex Hy6 version of the 45 degree prism and I would like to warn you all that it does not have the " scalloped area " as BJNY named the modified rear part of the prism.
I do not have a revolving back yet and cannot comment on the use of the Sinar revolving adapter with the Rollei 45 degree prism.
Yevgeny
 

BJNY

Member
Good to know, Yevgeny.
This most likely means the base (with the scalloping/groove) is a Sinar-specific part 711.54.011
another way Sinar is differentiating themselves,
in addition to their interchangeable camera interface plates,
and Hy6 revolving plate.
 
Good to know, Yevgeny.
This most likely means the base (with the scalloping/groove) is a Sinar-specific part 711.54.011
another way Sinar is differentiating themselves,
in addition to their interchangeable camera interface plates,
and Hy6 revolving plate.
There are four screws on the bottom, and I think that I will try to find a good machinist locally to modify the plate as soon as I have a new revolving adapter.
The Russian Rollei dealer is sure that I will be able to send the prism to Rollei factory for modification. I don't want to do that; it took them 4 months to repair a lens.
Yevgeny
 
D

DougDolde

Guest
For the life of me I can't understand why someone would choose the Sinar Hy6 over the Leaf AFi7. Especially after hearing all the Sinar software horror stories AND having a great experience with my Leaf 75S.
 
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