Anyone know anything about medium format? (1 Viewer)

[RSJ]

Thinking of gettig a medium format camera to use for portraits and have a go off some macro food photography. Would also like something i could bring to gigs on very very special occasions. MrsRsj suggests getting a russian job off ebay for about e150, i was thinking maybe going for an old Mamiya, was looking at the RB67 and RZ67 models...

Could anyone suggest where to get something cheap or what to look for?

 

[Wilbert]

macro food photography.

You mean macrobiotic food.

Oh, I'm so funny!

Answer me this, RSJ, do medium format cameras require longer exposures than smaller formats and what would be the advantage over a digital camera that has a really high megapixel count and a good lens?

 

[ICUH8N]

The RB will be less than the RZ. They're both solid, dependable, bodies, with a whole load of great lenses available for them. The RB is a bit older than the RZ, so should be cheaper.
As a rule of thumb, the focal lengths are about 2x the equivalent field of their 35mm ones; a 100mm on a 6x7 is the equivalent of a 50mm on a 35mm
Medium-format lenses are expensive. You'll probably end up paying as much for a single decent lens as you will for the body, mags, and finder combined, if not more. Depending on what you like to shoot, maybe something like a 50mm for landscapes, 100mm for everything else, and a 150mm or 180mm for portraits. I have no idea about Macro stuff.
As regards bringing them to concerts - don't. They're bulky, heavy and impossible to handhold at any kind of slow speed, and I've never heard of anyone mounting a flash on the body - they're designed with studio-type lighting setups and tripods in mind, or at the very least a mobile lighting setup.
Your other option is something like a Mamiya 6 or 7, which are medium-format rangefinder cameras. They look like oversized Bessas/Leica Ms. You can pick up a Mamiya 6 fairly cheap on ebay, but again, lenses are not cheap. These are much more of a "walking around"/street/concert photography type camera, and a lot more flexible, I think. Not really suitable for macro stuff, though. They're also 6x6 (ie square format) cameras, so that might take a bit of getting used to. You can pick up a Mamiya 7 II + 80mm lens new from Robert White for around 900 sterling.

 

[ICUH8N]

You mean macrobiotic food.

Oh, I'm so funny!

Answer me this, RSJ, do medium format cameras require longer exposures than smaller formats and what would be the advantage over a digital camera that has a really high megapixel count and a good lens?

MF lenses tend not to be as fast as 35mm lenses, for a variety of complicated optical reasons, so you usually need to shoot at a slower shutter speed.
The advantage over a digital camera is the size of the negative, and the huge amount of detail it captures compared to a 35mm neg; a medium format negative is about 3-4 times larger than a 35mm, so you can get larger maximum print with good detail, or you can get a beautifully smooth-toned, sharp 8x10. The difference is especially noticeable if you view two enlargements side by side.

 

[Wilbert]

MF lenses tend not to be as fast as 35mm lenses, for a variety of complicated optical reasons, so you usually need to shoot at a slower shutter speed.
The advantage over a digital camera is the size of the negative, and the huge amount of detail it captures compared to a 35mm neg; a medium format negative is about 3-4 times larger than a 35mm, so you can get larger maximum print with good detail, or you can get a beautifully smooth-toned, sharp 8x10. The difference is especially noticeable if you view two enlargements side by side.

Cheers ICUH8N, how do you think a top digital camera would compare?

 

[ICUH8N]

In terms of resolution and detail, a medium-format camera will kick a Canon 1ds MkII's ass - it's capturing four times as much information. Whether you actually need all that information is not a question I can answer, it really depends on what you're doing with the photo, and what size the print is going to be. There's also the convenience factor; medium format cameras are a fiddly pain in the ass, and there's a definite learning curve, and it costs money to buy and develop all that 120 film. You don't have that problem with digital, and digital can look really nice these days, even at picture-in-a-magazine (About A4@300dpi? Print people?) sizes.

 

[Goff]

All that ICUhaGn says. Definitely don't bother gigging with Medium format. It's a completely different form of photography. And expensive on a long term basis. AND awkward.

However, done right, it's a joy.

Most photographers seem to be switching for high end digital cameras these days. They'll still have their Medium's stuck in storage for the just in case's though. No matter what they say.

Stick with digital. Though the problem with THAT is it's more expensive to get a decent camera of anywhere near the quality of medium.

If you do choose to get a medium format one, there's usually rakes on ebay.

 

[piratio]

Ask emer. She's got [and gone through] loads of them. PM me if you don't got her email.

B

 

[JohnnyRaz]

Thinking of gettig a medium format camera to use for portraits and have a go off some macro food photography. Would also like something i could bring to gigs on very very special occasions. MrsRsj suggests getting a russian job off ebay for about e150, i was thinking maybe going for an old Mamiya, was looking at the RB67 and RZ67 models...

Could anyone suggest where to get something cheap or what to look for?

medium formats good fun, but cameras are too big for gig stuff, unless you can set it up on a tripod or something

 

[hugh]

Thinking of gettig a medium format camera to use for portraits and have a go off some macro food photography. Would also like something i could bring to gigs on very very special occasions. MrsRsj suggests getting a russian job off ebay for about e150, i was thinking maybe going for an old Mamiya, was looking at the RB67 and RZ67 models...

Could anyone suggest where to get something cheap or what to look for?

I had one of those russian jobs. Was unreliable and not great all round.

You're not really gonna get an MF camera that will do all of those things you want.

For potraits and macros you could go for a 6x6 Bronica (they are kind of cheapy hassleblad clones). You can get a macro lens for it for a reasonable price and a potrait lens too. The body wont cost you much if you buy it second-hand on keh.com or one of those places ...

 

[magicbastarder]

you can pick up a hasselblad with an 80mm lens, and A12 back, for between €600 and €700 these days; it's €2.20 for a roll of neopan 400 in gunns, plus about €4.50 (i think) for dev only; €3.60 for sensia, and about €6 for dev; i.e. with the latter, you're looking at about 80c a shot.
note that neither of these leaves you with prints; you'd want a film scanner too. i've got a canon 8400 (€175) which is a flatbed with a tranny hood - for the price, the scans are very good.

add to that that you'll need a meter - either an existing camera (awkward) or a handheld ambient meter, which will set you back about €40.

so, all in all, not cheap. but a good blad is a joy to use - feels like it's hewn from granite, and i've found that they're easy enough to handhold at low speeds - their weight means that they're more steady (to a certain extent) in your hands.

 

[JohnnyRaz]

have been idling with the idea of picking up an old-ish hasselblad (500c); you seen to be able to get good deals with them alright

you can pick up a hasselblad with an 80mm lens, and A12 back, for between €600 and €700 these days; it's €2.20 for a roll of neopan 400 in gunns, plus about €4.50 (i think) for dev only; €3.60 for sensia, and about €6 for dev; i.e. with the latter, you're looking at about 80c a shot.
note that neither of these leaves you with prints; you'd want a film scanner too. i've got a canon 8400 (€175) which is a flatbed with a tranny hood - for the price, the scans are very good.

add to that that you'll need a meter - either an existing camera (awkward) or a handheld ambient meter, which will set you back about €40.

so, all in all, not cheap. but a good blad is a joy to use - feels like it's hewn from granite, and i've found that they're easy enough to handhold at low speeds - their weight means that they're more steady (to a certain extent) in your hands.