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Selling up and moving on

All,

I hope it's ok to post here. Just to point out that all my MF gear is for sale on the forum HERE.

If it were one or two items I wouldn't post but as it is a LOT of gear, I raised this one.

Paul
 

jotloob

Subscriber Member
Paul

If I read your list , I get tears in my eyes .
This is because I have probabely too much emotions for all that wonderful gear , including my own equipment .
Therefor in my signature you find "way toooo much gear" .
I can't sell any , even if I do not need it any more .
I envy those guys , who can easily sell their gear .
 
Jürgen,
I can't say it's easy, but at the same time it is true it does not have the emotion for me that my Toyo 45AII, my Noctilux or my Mamiya 7II would have. I think for repro work I may be better off with a scanning back and stick with 4x5 for landscapes. I don't know what I will do next to be honest, all I know is that for me photography used to be a wonderful experience but since I got this gear, I don't enjoy it, it even makes me miserable and stressed.

I know it's all wonderful equipment, For that reason I have pushed really hard to use it and enjoy it, but it doesn't fit me and photography is a passion not my full time job so no point to get stressed over it. I know someone out there can enjoy this equipment very much so better it goes to someone who will get pleasure out of it than sit in a dry box at home.
Paul
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
The one thing that maybe a better idea instead of the Alpa Max and TC have you thought about the STC. Since it fits right between them and is a smaller more compact solution to the Max. I know functionally it's less but a lot of Alpa users seem to like that. You could also drop down to a 160 or even a IQ 140 and sell off the DSLR side and go all tech by adding a few more lenses. Rodie 28 and SK 120 or something like that and keep your leica's . Just thinking out loud.

This also lowers your investment which maybe causing the stress
 
Thanks for the suggestions Guy. I have indeed thought long and hard about the STC. I love the IQ160 and I love the HR40 and HR90, two of the best lenses in the world. Your comment "Alpa users like that" really hits the nail on the head. I'm too used to the freedom and flexibility of 4x5, I can't make the transition and have come to the conclusion it's just the wrong platform for me. Regarding the DF, I'm not a SLR person either. My setup before was M6. Mamiya 7 and Toyo 4x5 (all of which I still have and cannot part with). Actually my handle 'wentbacward' was chosen because I tried digital (D300/D3) when my daughter was born 5 years ago and hated it, then went back to film for another 2 years. I got to grips with digital in the end though and love my M9.

Just silly things really, I need to swing and tilt the lens around and rack focus in and out. I want to go from macro to landscape. In fact one of the reasons for the IQ160 instead of the 180 is that it can tolerate more of that sort of thing. I can't stand focusing with a helical. I'm pretty clumsy and I knock things then have to go round the front to check everything. Proabably my way of working would drive an Alpa user to insanity, but that's why your comment sums up the situation.

It was all not helped that the dealer in HK totally ripped me off. You guys are lucky to have such good support in the US and also in Europe. Alpa of course put things right, but personally I never really recovered from it.

I'm thinking maybe I should keep the IQ for now and maybe go for a Linhof Techno, a friend has one out here and I like it, but I'm on the limit of my patience.

I hope I'm posting something useful to people that come by here.
 

gerald.d

Well-known member
Seems to be a bit of a groundswell for the Techno of late. I see more and more people talking about it.
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Well I hate seeing you sell the IQ as there is nothing better out there in this realm. Reason I said something and actually a tech cam is just like a 4x5 as far as lens functionality so maybe more time with it or the STC maybe a thought. I mean you have the 2 great Alpa lenses today and i wonder if you could try a STC somehow first and see if it fits you better. I totally get the uncomfortable to work with thing so understand exactly where you are coming from. I have the Cambo AE model and I love how that functions myself. Just some more thoughts, I just hate seeing people leave MF when it took a long time to get here. I know for myself that is the case I waited it out to go MF digital for quite awhile. Now its really hard to leave and believe me I thought about it. It was tough enough going back to the 40 mpx of the IQ 140 but I needed to do that.
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
Paul,

I shoot with the STC and the IQ160 myself and use the Schneider 35/47/150 & Rodie HR-W 90 on that platform, also with the T/S adapter that you have too. Regarding the workflow and fumbling with control/helicoid, I can understand what you mean in terms of how you use the system and I don't think that this would really change if you were to use the STC. Yes it is smaller than the Max and slightly larger than the TC but I suspect that you'd find yourself missing rise/fall in addition to shift - you can do one or the other but not both as you do on the Max. I also suspect that given your description of how you feel about shooting that rotating the body for rise/fall vs shift might bother you too (I've been tempted by another Max at times myself because of this - sometimes I want to stitch a pair of images with rise/fall ...)

I'd also recommend taking a look at the Techno. I've heard great things about it and know of a few folks who picked them up and shot with them recently. Heck, I've even looked at it seriously myself too. The only thing to watch for would be the focusing of wide angle lenses with the wide angle bellows & GG/sliding adapter. The Rodie 40 probably would be ok but I know of at least one person who had some issues with the Schneider due to the closeness and compactness of everything to focus easily with the 35. It is closer to the 4x5 experience though, albeit with a fixed rear back assembly.

If my piggy bank were full right now I'd relieve you of your Rodie 40 ... sigh. I could easily consolidate my 35/47 for that one lens.
 
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Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Yea luckily for me that 40 is not in a Cambo TS mount. I may do something crazy. LOL

Paul you may also look at the Cambo and switch your lenses to that mount about 1200 each but you do get rise/fall and left/right stitch on the same back plane and you can have Tilt and swing on the lenses and still very compact. Just another thought as well.
 

Shashin

Well-known member
Jürgen,
I can't say it's easy, but at the same time it is true it does not have the emotion for me that my Toyo 45AII, my Noctilux or my Mamiya 7II would have.
Paul:

I totally get that. I have a Phase P25 back on a view camera, but it is not the same as a 4x5. It is almost like a miniature toy--no the same look, not the same movements. And I really miss my Mamiya 6--more compact than my 645D and certainly a bigger image area. And the Horseman SW612 was just a very special camera.

Unfortunately, film has become impractical for me. I have been enjoying the 645D, but it has taken a while. In a way, it was a good move as I have had to approach photography in a different way which has broken me out of a rut of sorts and certainly there are some real benefits to this digital workflow. But I do miss my film formats/cameras.

To old friends...:chug:
 
Guy, the cambo does sound interesting. I'll take a look.

I'm not looking to raise funds for anything here, and indeed have no idea what I'd use next. So very willing, perhaps even prefer to do an exchange with someone who wants to get into Alpa.

The IQ160 is now on hold in the sale for the time being.
 
The HR40 is one of the best lenses I have ever had. Has a bit of room for movements and just a nice general purpose length. Almost certainly will get the same should I move to another system. The HR90 is equally impressive but the focal length seems somewhat unloved (I like it).
 
Hehe, robert I've even toyed with the idea of getting a colour processor from a lab shutting down and exclusively shooting C41 with scanning in mind. Kodak are fully geared up for it and the few good labs in HK seem to be overrun.
 
So cambo seems interesting indeed, but I need to make the transition to Cambo or Linhof without this costing me another penny. I've been checking new lens prices, they've jumped a lot! So this means I remount my lenses. Selling the Alpa bodies would need to fund a new body and the lens remounts.

I'm updating the available list with lowered prices on the Alpa bodies
 

robertwright

New member
Hehe, robert I've even toyed with the idea of getting a colour processor from a lab shutting down and exclusively shooting C41 with scanning in mind. Kodak are fully geared up for it and the few good labs in HK seem to be overrun.
Yes film seems to have hit a firm floor for now anyways and portra scans very well. If you don't need to push out a lot of frames the workflow of scanning is not arduous, in fact it is the smallest part of getting to a good print which is the bulk of the time spent; ie; physically printing till it looks right. For myself I've really started to question the labour saving of digital capture and whether or not the convenience is real or imagined or at the end of the day useful. For work of course, digital likely rules, but personal work can be whatever works, and I see that for me film is holding its own.

not sure i'd want a stinky c41 lab in my house tho....
 

Shashin

Well-known member
So cambo seems interesting indeed, but I need to make the transition to Cambo or Linhof without this costing me another penny. I've been checking new lens prices, they've jumped a lot! So this means I remount my lenses. Selling the Alpa bodies would need to fund a new body and the lens remounts.

I'm updating the available list with lowered prices on the Alpa bodies
The Techno uses just regular Linhof lensboards and so you can mount your own lenses, which is really simple. I use a Linhof C679 and mounted my own lenses. I have, regardless of how a company rebadges their optics, film era lenses and they are very nice, not to mention cheaper, at least from 55mm and up.
 
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