Just souped my first 120. WOA!

[steelydam]

You can usually find 6x9 Agfa folders pretty cheap but I hear many people have problems with the bellows & need to pay for a refurb. I got one for $5 at a flea market with everything in good working order & intact bellows, but never use it. I've seen some very nice work done with them.

 

[dazedgonebye]

I love my R3A, but now that I have a Mamiya 7, if find it hard to enjoy shooting 35mm. The camera just isn't all that much bigger, but the negative sure is.

 

[bigeye]

....shooting alot with the Rollei right now but also shoot 4x5 and 5x7 and let me tell you what a treat 5x7 is to my tired old eyes

Bigger is better, but MF is hard to beat as a compromise for quality against ease of use. I thought I'd do more 4x5, but I fall back to MF as it's less cumbersome, reserving 4x5 now only for tilt/shift or something permanent and more formal. (The big advantage of 5x7 and up is contact printing.)

 

[wjlapier]

I know exactly what you felt when you pulled the roll out of the tank and saw those huge negs.

I'd be careful about the next step buying another MF camera, especially a Hasselblad. I've tried several different MF cameras, and finally have the camera that feels great in my hands--Mamiya 7II. I did enjoy the 'blad for a short while, but was too big and cumbersome for me.

 

[dazedgonebye]

I have to agree with what others have said re: medium format to large format.
a 4x5 negative is a wonderful thing indeed, but the extra time, effort, expense were not worth it in the end...for me.

 

[dfoo]

So what is an easy to transport and use (like C330) 6x9 camera?

 

[gliderbee]

So what is an easy to transport and use (like C330) 6x9 camera?

Fuji GSW690III or the like .. I own the GSW690III and just looking at the negatives with a loop makes me grin each time. You are on a slippery slope (as I am ....)

Stefan.

 

[venchka]

So what is an easy to transport and use (like C330) 6x9 camera?

The Fuji rangefinders that I have seen are a lot more transportable than my Mamiya TLR ever was. 😎 😀

 

[anitasanger]

Thanks for all the responses guys. I guess i need to just get a cheaper medium format and enjoy it for a while before I try messing with a large format. I really dig the looks of that new fuji rangefinder with collapsible bellows. A little high though. Here's a question, what is it about large format photos that make them look semi surrealistic? There is something about the focus that almost makes a subject look separated and 3 dimensional, but not in a depth of field sort of way.

 

[ellisson]

LF images

LF images

The camera movements (e.g, swing, tilt, rise) allow you to manipulate the plane of focus, not only depth of field, in LF photography. This sets apart LF from MF more than just negative size, and creates those life like images.

 

[dfoo]

There are MF (and 135 cameras for that matter) that allow movements. They are not exclusively in the domain of LF cameras).

 

[ellisson]

True - I have one, the Rollei SL66. But in general, the degree of movement with these cameras is quite limited.

 

[JHenry]

It is amazing to unroll reel of just developed MF film. Just did my first roll last week with newly acquired Mamiya 7ii....incredible.

I also shoot 4x5, but expect that camera will only be used when I'm shooting near the car from now on. Carrying the Mamiya or Leica M7/M9 when traveling is going to be so much easier and convenient.

Now, the only issue is scanning...Having a hard time getting decent scans from my V700. Should have splurged for the Nikon 9000 when I bought the 5000!

Jeff

 

[anitasanger]

Oh wow, plane of focus. This is amazing. I had no idea.

 

[Pete B]

Now, the only issue is scanning...Having a hard time getting decent scans from my V700.
Jeff

What's the problem you're finding with the V700?
Pete

 

[gliderbee]

You happend to look at the latest Fuji (aka Bessa III) and that is indeed a very expensive one.
Try ebay.com and type "fuji gw" and "fuji gsw" in the search field; you'll see the ones I mean.

Thanks for all the responses guys. I guess i need to just get a cheaper medium format and enjoy it for a while before I try messing with a large format. I really dig the looks of that new fuji rangefinder with collapsible bellows. A little high though. Here's a question, what is it about large format photos that make them look semi surrealistic? There is something about the focus that almost makes a subject look separated and 3 dimensional, but not in a depth of field sort of way.

 

[RFH]

For cheap 6x9 action I can recommend the Voigtländer Bessa I. Mine has the Vaskar lens (which is supposedly in the lower end of the range, but it produces very nice images). If you want wide angle MF on a budget, you can get a 65 mm lens and build your own camera like a couple of RFF members have, myself included. I got the recipe here and made this.
Here's one from the Bessa:

 

[kuzano]

6X8, Movements, longer bellows, often overlooked

6X8, Movements, longer bellows, often overlooked

There are MF (and 135 cameras for that matter) that allow movements. They are not exclusively in the domain of LF cameras).

The camera that I am currently eye-balling is the Fuji GX680 bellows, interchangeable lens series.

High inventory count on eBay, prices all over the place, looks like a tank to carry but movements for MF.

Currently two on auction complete with lens film back, etc at $700.

Not excited by the 6X8, but intrigued by the system configuration. GX680, not the GW680 (japanese home market camera)

 

[imokruok]

Just souped my first 120, ilford delta 100. It was my first roll through a Holga. When I unspooled that roll, i about fell down in awe. These frames are HUGE! So much detail! I can't wait to scan them.

Just wait until you shoot a roll of slide film and put it on a light table. Never gets old!!

 

[Darshan]

I felt the same way after seeing the developed negatives out of my GA645. In fact, I shoot the Fuji more than the Leica, might as well sell the 35 mm gear and only keep a m4/3 digital and the GA645.