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Whats your "Landscape Kit" ?

Karlo

New member
After something like a year without a medium/large format cameras I'm feeling the need and the burn in my wallet to get back into the MF section.

But so much has changed since the time I had a PhaseOne AF and some of mamiyas older lenses.
I'd like to hear from you about your Landscape kits, be it digital or analog, I am looking to get rid of my Leica gear and get a kit i'll be content with for at least a couple of years.
Lets say I had 7000$ to spend on a digital mf back, what would it be ?
If not , what lens/camera combo would you suggest if i'd opt to stick with analog photography ? ( I have a drum scanner at my disposal at my current place of employment so getting the most of my negs would not be a problem.)

Thanks in advance !
 

FromJapan

Member
If you have a drum scanner at your disposal, a reliable supply of your favorite films and a professional lab (or you do your own processing), the best would be a 4x5 camera and two or three lenses. Your total cost would be $1500 tops, leaving you enough spare change for film, printing and traveling for a long time.

Kumar
 

Karlo

New member
What gear would you suggest then ? I had experience with PhaseOneAF and a 500CM with digital backs what MF/LF gear would you recommend for film ?
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
Lets say I had 7000$ to spend on a digital mf back, what would it be ?
If not , what lens/camera combo would you suggest if i'd opt to stick with analog photography ? ( I have a drum scanner at my disposal at my current place of employment so getting the most of my negs would not be a problem.)
With $7,000 to spend, you are going to be pretty limited in getting a digital MF kit put together. Since you have a good scanner and film processing available to you, I would consider a decent 4x5 filed camera and 3 or 4 lenses, which you can probably assemble for half or $3500. 4x5 film still has a lot to offer if you have the patience to extract it.

OTOH, if you had $12,000 to spend, you could assemble a very decent MF digital kit: A used Aptus 33 or P45 back (~~ $8,000), then add a Mamiya AFD body and 4 or 5 lenses.
 

Shashin

Well-known member
For film?

Mamiya 6
Mamiya 7
Horseman SW612 or SW612 Pro (I really like the 55mm on that camera, but the 90mm and 135mm were great lenses too)

I loved my Mamiya 6 and Horseman SW612. But I sold those and a bunch of other stuff and I am now using a Pentax 645D. There are things I miss about the Mamiya and Horseman, but I am having a great time with the 645D and don't regret the change.

BTW, I have not had my 645D for a year and just in film and film processing costs, I would have shot about $3800 worth of film for a Mamiya 6 or $7600 worth for a Horseman SW612 and I am really not shooting full time with the camera.
 

FromJapan

Member
A Sinar F2/Toyo G monorail or a Wista/Toyo/Horseman field camera can be had for ~$400-600, lenses for ~$200-350 each. If you opt for a simpler camera like a Calumet or older Toyo you could get one for ~$200. LF hardware is incredibly cheap now.

Kumar
 
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