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San Juan 2008-05

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
The difference between the backs is something is really what you are shooting overall performance versus value the P25 plus is it. The P30 plus is suited to people work and it does a damn good job of it but it is a crop sensor and you really cannot use it for swings and tilt work so it does have it's limitations but ISO speed and such it is a tough act to beat. The P45 plus has the best micro detail among the Phase backs , these folks actually market there products correctly and tell you exactly what each one is good for and there actually quite correct. I like what I have seen and happy with my choice although I have not tested the Sinar, Hassy and Aptus which i am sure some of them are very good indeed. This just make sense for me at this time. I loved MF from my Hassy days and it sure is a kick shooting it again. I totally had a blast shooting these models today in under the gun pressure.
 

Terry

New member
One from last night with the GRD2. This was shot at ISO 400 but was at least a stop underexposed. Jack was teaching us some new B&W conversion techniques in the workshop yesterday.

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LJL

New member
Kurt as you know I have been avoiding this issue for too long and the bottom line is bigger is better. MF has and always will be better overall in images. WE certainly can get close, Nice files from Nikon , Leica an the others have certainly tried and we have pushed hard to get there but MF digital just freaking rocks. Once you try these you start banging your head with what the hell have we been thinking . But nothing wrong with that, certainly the DMR and M8 images have done a awesome job for us and now we see the Nikon D3 starting to do the same. But reality is time to grow up also, as Pro's you just have to deliver the best you can with what you have. These backs are just the ticket even though it is expensive and a tougher road to work in. The results are what count. As much as i have loved the M8 and it's light weight and size plus the wonderful images from it nothing will beat a MF file. The thing that eluded me is I thought bigger files meant big weight and bulk , sure there bigger but honestly my Mamiya is no bigger than your D3 and actually lighter, we have 2 D3's here plus a D300 . I still use the same bags so really not the biggest issue. The big concern is feeding it light. Seriously it is a 2 stop loss in DOF compared to FF and you need to make that up somewhere. Reason i said i need a great ISO 400 for the times you need to squeeze the envelope. The Phase backs actually all three of them will give you a nice ISO 400 file and some better than that but your best option is using C1 to do it also. These backs are fine tuned to to C1 better than any program I have seen between camera and company software. This is a real marriage , stuff that looked a little off in LR was perfect in C1 and i will explain that later but when looking at these Mf systems look for a damn system that is tight between camera , back and software. I cannot stress this enough , seriously after one minute of setup I am shooting with no issues and it just works and this is not a knock on anyone but Phase has this stuff down really well. Look for a system that has the three parts as tight as you can get otherwise it is something not sure i want to deal with.

Guy,
Not sure I would agree that you have been totally "avoiding" the issue of MF for that long, but more that you were too caught up in trying to extract the most from the M8.

Something you comment on here, the "marriage" of camera and software, is exactly the wondering that I brought up about the MF world in some other threads, and interestingly, am seeing more of that now with the 35mm DSLR folks. (Canon introduced lens correction tools into DPP, Nikon using more "tuned" things in Capture, NX, etc.)

The concern is having too many different tools needed to deliver what you need and want. Yeah, I did say "too many" :eek: What does seem very important is to find things that deliver what you want for how you use your gear. Personally, I think MF is able to deliver some really outstanding images that are for big use, holding details that we just cannot quite get with the smaller sensor cameras, regardless of how good they may be. If the M8 had its present capabilities, but with a file that could be enlarged a whole lot, I am not sure MF would be as tempting for many. Unfortunately, it does not, and frankly, cannot get there. That sensor size does matter.

Glad that you are enjoying the new stuff so much, as well as having "settled" into something that you think will do what you need.....for now :D

LJ
 

tollie

Workshop Member
This AM... still bleary from days of concentrated activity we boarded a van to visit the rainforest. Most of the team shot landscape and macro. I chose to shoot IR with the M8. Now what I used was a real low tech (no tech) system... just a lee 87 filter, hand held in front of the lens.


These images were made with the M8 28 2.8 shot wide open. I'm not sure if all lenses produce hot or warm spots in the middle of the frame... but in this case i like to think that it added a highlight to the central leaves.

This first image is IR, converted with LR and split toned.
 

tollie

Workshop Member
This image was shot with the IR filter and then converted to grayscale with True Grain. I added a moderate amount of vignetting on this and the other images in the series.
 

tollie

Workshop Member
This last image was shot as part of a test of the IR filter in the m8. One image shot with and without the IR cut filter. In a rainforest there is a big difference lol.

I decided to use as a base the frame shot without the IR filter... I did an HSL desat and then split toned it.
 

Bob

Administrator
Staff member
Todd,
What you might want to do if you want to reduce the hotspot is to in lightroom in the channel palette, see if the hot spot appears in the red channel.
If not, then just select only that channel then convert the image mode to greyscale, then to rgb if you intend to blend it with the color shot.
-bob
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
I am totally beat and about three days behind in editing images, but took a few minutes to scan them and saw these form last night I just had to share :D

First is a long hand-held shot of the belly dancer performing for us at dinner last night: M8, 28 Cron wide open, ISO 640 at about 7/10ths sec:



Now here's the really interesting one. I guess the belly dancer generated a bit of competition in the ladies at our table. ONE result (yes, there were multiple!) is this shot of our very own David Kipper getting a lap dance right after the belly dancer performed. Same stats as above, only this one at around 1/3rd sec -- check out that smile on his face!:



More to come when I have time. This was another super trip, lot's of great folks to shoot and hang out with!

Cheers,
 

Terry

New member
Thanks Mike & Charles - In our "one on one" sessions, I worked some more with Jack on B&W and he had some good processing suggestions on the shot. Bottom line the GRD2 is great for this type of shooting it was very fast from "seeing" the shot to getting the shot.
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
That camera is fun for sure. Have to get one. Sorry this is just boring rain forest shots. Shoot with a P25 and yes it does rain in the rain forest. Sorry I am a exhausted puppy at this point and ready to go home since I missed my wife's 50th BD today i need to do a little makeup. But it was a great trip and a awesome workshop with really great folks so I go home with a big smile and also have to congratulate my daughter for graduating high school today. She had a rough time in the end with geometry and it was touch and go but so proud she pulled it out. Thanks Guy
 

cmb_

Subscriber & Workshop Member
Guy - congrats to your wife and a special congrats to your daughter for her accomplishment. I will add another to you and Jack for pulling off what seems to be another great workshop. . . . and Nice images as well!!!
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
Is that Guy trying to get a few tips from a clean-shaven Ron Jeremy? :ROTFL:

Nope, it's just him sharing some laughs with Lance Schad from Capture Integration. BTW, special thanks to Lance for having an assortment of Phase-One backs and cameras on hand for our participants to demo! (This shot was taken with the M8 + 28 Cron ;) )
 
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