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Hip to be square (A900 pics)

douglasf13

New member
The CFV II is essentially a 1.5x crop in square mode. To give you an idea about what the crop is like, here is a Hassleblad V focus screen that has the CFV square marked off in it:



Here is the screen for the CFV II rectangle with the square marked inside of it:

 

Arjuna

Member
"Also any idea what the correct crop factor is in square mode and what effect it will have on focal lengths?.Say I want an 85mm in 35mm format equivalent ..."

When I was looking at the 1.5 crop factor backs, I decided that the combination of the medium format equivalence plus the crop factor meant that the lenses ended up matching their 35 mm lengths: e.g. an 80 mm lens on 6x6 has a horizontal angle of view of 38 degrees, which corresponds approximately to a 54 mm lens on 35 mm format, 54 x 1.5 = 81!
 

douglasf13

New member
That makes sense, because the old 1.5x crop rectangle MFDB sensors were actually 24x36mm. In other words, they were 35mm sensors stuck on the back of a medium format camera. So 80mm = 80mm. The crop of the CFV II square is just SLIGHTLY different, since it's 36.7mmx36.7mm. Even though I'd have to rethink my lens lengths (a 50mm f4 would be the fastest standard lens on the CFV II in square mode,) I'd certainly love a CFV II, but not for $14K.


Here is a fun equivalency chart:
http://lensn2shutter.com/35mmchart.html
 
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jlm

Workshop Member
used as a sq format, the CFV 39 is really a CFV-29, or similar to the phase 30mp backs, squished into sq. then you have the added ability to go to rectangular and 39mp.

the bigger problem is the V bodies never needed to go to "portrait" mode so the ergonomics of that are troubling
 

Eoin

Member
Edward, Douglas & Arjuna, Thanks for the replies, now I'm embarrassed to say you've lost me. I was never good at the whole crop thing with 35mm and quite frankly never liked the results with regard to depth of focus at given apertures with various focal lengths. I guess that's why I've really come to enjoy my a900 and 85 & 135 lenses. At last an 85 is an 85 and 135 is ..... sublime.

Don't worry though, it's only been a thought running through my mind, I've seen a few CFV-II's pop up for very reasonable money over the past few months and fantasy has taken over :ROTFL:. I'm beginning to think a CFV-II with a 203FE and 85 & 110 FE's won't give me much more than I have already with the ZA 85 & 135 on the a900.

I've always wanted to try MF and in particular Hasselblad V/FE. I've sworn to myself never to return to film under any circumstance, so digital MF with crop is the only alternative. I wonder if the CFV-39 is the last of breed for the V's?.

Thanks again everyone
 

jlm

Workshop Member
i shot with the CFV-I, 16mp and loved it. widest lens I had was a 40. when you need wider stitching is an easy alternative, if conditions allow
 

douglasf13

New member
jlm, I certainly think the CFV's are great camera backs. Outside of the money, my biggest issue with the 1.5 crop back that I used to own was with difficulty in getting a shallow depth of field with a standard lens. A standard 80mm lens of a 6x6 system at f2.8 gets you about the same depth of field as a standard lens on the A900 "square" at f1.4. However, when you use the crop CFV square, Hasselblad 50mm lenses become the standard lens, and they are only f4. So, in essence, the A900 in square mode with an f1.4 standard lens will get around 2 stops or so shallower dof than the CFV square with a 50mm f4 standard lens. Whether or not that's a big deal depends on your shooting style. Once a fullframe, square MFDB is available, using the 80mm 2.8 lens as a standard lens again will alleviate this issue for me.
 
S

Shelby Lewis

Guest
fantastic work douglas....

I'm about 2 weeks away from chucking most of my canon gear and coming back to sony... these fantastic pics make me want to hurry all the more!
 

douglasf13

New member
Thanks, Shelby. I apologize to everyone for posting so many of the picks at once, as I rarely have the chance to post anything. :LOL: I tell ya what, I've been really enjoying the Sony 50mm 1.4 and using it the majority of the time over the last several months, and, now that I'm shooting square, it's even better due to the lopped-off corners. It is doing good at f1.7 and above, and, by f2.8, it is OUTRAGEOUSLY sharp across the whole square frame.

Great to here you're coming back to Sony, Shelby, although I think we all know that you're shots are wonderful regardless of the system used. :thumbs:
 
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