the 5D mkII is "obsolete" technology according to some.

I can't wait for the III to come out. I will most likely be getting it well maybe because no one knows if and when the upgrade will be out.

The dream would be raw video but let's not forget it is first and foremost meant to take pictures

well. i still use the original 5d

i would like to upgrade to the 5dm3, but i would do so purely for video purposes. i would like to have 720p @ 60fps. 1080p @ 60fps would be a bonus. was toying with the idea of getting the new 60d instead, but i can wait...

by the way. for those who have used processing labs in switzerland, are there any who will accept instructions to push process e.g. 1-2stops have you tried asking for cross processing e.g. processing slide film on c41 process.

Not on the cards until Autumn 2011

I just woke up and realised what a hilariously stupid statement this is.
Christ, I forget what a load of old wank amatuer gear heads can talk.

(not directed at you johndavid, rather at your 'some')

Anyway, de-rail over - sorry:

Gwerder, Zurich.
Foto Factory closed down: Where now?

double post

Exactly. I have the 5DmkII myself and don't feel that it is 'obsolete' at all.
I used to shoot 4x5 as well. That's hardly 'obsolete'. As my dad is fond of saying, 'You can have yer fancy carbon fiber tennis racquet but McEnroe will still wipe you off the court with a cheap wood raquet from Walmart'.

oh I realize the obsolete feeling of some is a bit silly even if it's not completely untrue.

That doesn't change the fact the 1st generation and the Mark II are both great .
It's not my style to suffer from gear lust but in this particular case I would like a speculative upgraded Mark III

my holga arrived today. was really great fun shooting with it. a very 'tactile' camera. we'll see whether i actually managed to produce any good photos when the film comes back from processing.

the mamiya 6 camera i saw on ebay sold for around £1000 in the end. a bit expensive and i didn't even bid on it in the end. not sure i'll get another chance to buy one in such good condition and with the 50mm lens. but hey, that's £1000 saved.

Am heading to Wien on Wednesday with a Leica S2 and one lens, plus a
Mamiya 645AFD w/ 40 MP digital back with three lenses. Going to a lab
that tests camera equipment before it hits the streets. Our goal is to test
the two MF cameras and see which meets our needs. A MF purchase is
in the near future. If anyone is interested I will add my comments upon
our return.

yeah. would love to hear your findings.

holga is a great toy camera. No surprise that a few pros keep one around whenever going on assignements to get that special look(David Burnett)

these mamiya cameras are awesome but the prices really aren't dropping :/



Regarding Leica/Mamiya 645 testing:

oh yes do share details when you're done testing.

I'm assuming you'll be testing the DM40 back.

From reading luminous landscape the Leica really seems to be a killer camera but the fact the system is relatively new (and lacking in the lens department) may be off putting to some.

yeah. i'm really kicking myself for not buying it when i had the chance. i'm not sure if i'll even see the 50mm lens for sale again, let alone at that price. i guess with such cameras in high demand, you can always sell them again when you get bored - and with this camera, you'd probably make a profit!

Just returned from Vienna. Amazing long-weekend with so many mega-
pixels in my hands. The report will be put together this week and sent
to a number of key responsible individuals.

However, the short story is this: The Mamiya 645AD with the Leaf 33 MP
digital back (sorry, the 40 MP was used elsewhere) was a disappointment.
The handling was unbalanced, more or less depending on which lens
was mounted. As in the next camera it felt like a plastic toy in my
hands. The buttons very small, forget wearing gloves and using this
camera body. Some of which very hard to get to. The digital back was
the next total disappointment. With an ISO setting of only 400 the
noise was visibly noticeable as if my Canon was shooting with an ISO
of 56200. ISO 800 was a disaster!

From the locals in Vienna we also had a Hasselblad H3 with a 50(?) to
110 mm zoom and a Hasselblad digital back, not sure of the size. The
performance was nice, unfortunately the handling felt like a plastic
toy. The buttons were like a cheap toy, rubber covered buttons that
were small, especially the buttons on the inside of the grip (where
your finger tips are), they were quite unexplainable. Sad side of this
tool is the limited shutter time of 1/800 second. Be prepared to stock
up on ND filters for use on a sunny day.

Cream of the crop is the new Leica S2. We had a fixed 70 mm f/2.5
lens to experiment with. With 37.5 MP, 74 MB DNGs direct out of the
body, the photo quality was outstanding - really, one to write home
about . The handling was solid, a real good feeling, sat well in my
hands and well balanced in my finger tips. Usage is different with the
S2. The menu layout was different, the button layout very large, and
best of all very simple. Many times simpler as any Canon or Nikon on
the market - yet with all the bells and whistles like the current C and
N dSLRs. Four large buttons around the screen, on/off switch, large
wheel to set the shutter time and a rotating/push thumb wheel on the
back to make the changes and confirm them... of course the shutter
release too. Shortest shutter time 1/4000 second to 8 seconds and
bulb, f/2.5-f/22 with the 70 mm lens, ISO from pushed 80, standard
160 through 1250 with very little noise at 1250. This camera looks
like a dSLR, so it does not stick out like a sore thumb and draw
attention (ie. Mamiya/Hasselblad).

A real treat to use the S2, I took about 350 shots total with the S2,
only about 40 or so with the Hasselblad and Mamiya. My Canon 5DM2
enjoyed a relaxing 60 exposures. The main advantage (besides the
resolution) over the C and N dSLRs is the excellent dynamic range,
focus and shortened DOF.

We also had access to the laboratory to test the equipment. The
Mamiya lenses were good, Leica and Hasselblad lenses clearly the
best quality. The Leica had a sensor failure on one of the green
channels that is NOT visible in the photos. If I had paid out 22
thousand for the Leica S2 and found this failure, I would insist the
body be replaced, immediately.

We had a battery powered dual-head 400w/s flash with us... the lights
shut off at midnight while taking some long-exposure shots of the
museums on Saturday night. So, for the next hour, we pulled out
the flashes and lit up a statue at the Kaisers residence... for fun

Once the photos are prepared and the report is ready (in German), I
will post a link to it here. In the mean time, if you have any specific
questions, please do reply.

thanks for the write-up. i almost ended up buying more MF equipment from ebay last night but decided to sleep on it.

my motivation for MF is not so much resolution but rather to be able to shoot slides and be able to view them directly on a light table without projection. 35mm is a bit too small and 6x9 is a bit better (but large format better still).

there's some kind of magical quality about being able to hold and view the slide directly. esp. if you have a very manual camera and develop the slides yourself - you have intimate control of the entire process from capture to final slide. anyway, i decided to buy a slide projector instead and shoot on 35mm for convenience (and it's also much cheaper!).

i shot a lot of film over the week and the weekend both on my holga and also canon film body. enjoying the minor film revival and will try not to buy any more equipment.

__________________
By replying to this post, you hereby grant Phil_MCR a royalty-free license to use, in any way, anything posted by you on the internet. If you do not accept, stop using EF and delete your account.

I do know of a complete set of Mamiya RZ67 for a very good price. Not
mine, but from the specialist of the laboratory in Vienna. 2 Bodies,
complete set of lenses, all kinds of backs (film and viewer, no digital),
prism-viewer and much more... he told me 8000 Euros. Everything is
in great shape, new seals and bellows on both bodies.

Just in case anybody is interested... I am not going to push it here on EF
since the interested audience is very small.

Personally, to get that film-feeling, I am considering the purchase
myself. Will see... At that price, add another 20k for a digital back and
adapter and you have a quality digital MF.

Just saw this thread.

I'm regularly shooting medium format in my job, using mostly tungsten balanced film.

I recently ordered the last 90 rolls available in Europe.

I've also been field testing a Hasselblad digital camera to purchase. What you say about "most of the quality" ( on a 5d2 or 1Ds) is true however, the pixels aren't as tightly packed on a larger sensor so you get better shadow detail etc without the accompanying noise problems.

For my work stuff, I use a lab in Basl called Chromobyte. They turn it around ion the same day.

Phil, I still love seeing transparancies on my light table at work as well. See this:

http://flashmansmusings.blogspot.com...to-change.html

With regard to what I mentioned earlier about ordering the last rolls in Europe, see this:

http://flashmansmusings.blogspot.com...use-in-my.html

I have a Mamiya RZ67 with 90mm and 180mm lenses. I have also built a darkroom at home.

I am new to film and I am blown away by the difference. I am not sure if it is film or the medium format that sees things my digital camera just doesn't see.

I am hooked on it now.

If any of you MF people would like to get together, shoot and share then please let's set up an event. I understand that most commenting on this thread are professionals and might find this leechy and/or boring - also if any of you are looking to share a darkroom let me know, I am happy to trade the opportunity for some tuition.

I have a jobo enlarger with both 50mm lens for 35mm dev and a 90mm lens for MF.

I got my first set of films developed by ars-image.ch in Zug. They also scanned the negatives for me. I can see a scanner on my shopping list.

__________________
The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few

Just found this post.

I have recently entered the world of MF. I got a hold of a Hasselblad 503CW with 80/2.8 and the 120/4.0 Macro, extension tubes and magazines included, all for a song and 3.5k. Not bad considering everything was in perfect condition, then owner told me he only shot 20 rolls with the gear. First thing I did was rent a CFV 39MP back from Light & Byte to try it out last weekend. All I can say is wow!!! I am just amazed at the quality versus my Canon 5D Mk III. Attached a some quick edits, of course, these are not full res.

I would be interested in meeting up with other MF shooters, I could host at my studio at Albisriederplatz.

Let me know

Bryon Paul McCartney

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