Who shoots with both an RF & SLR?

c.poulton

c.poulton

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I have just been given a Chinon CE-4 & a bunch of lenses by my father who no longer shoots film any more.

Now, I am a die-hard rangefinder type of guy who has been using RF's for over 20 years. OK I started my photographic 'journey' using an SLR in the early 80's, but I haven't used one since then.

I own a M2 which is my main camera, and I have toyed with the idea of getting another body so that I can easily and very quickly swap between films / focal lengths. Having been given the Chinon it seems crazy not to use it. So I have the idea that as a complement to my M2 I use the SLR as a second body - M2 for the shorter focal lengths, SLR for anything longer then 50.

The question is this - does anyone else shoot with the two formats at the same time - would I find it difficult switching on the fly between the two or is it a case of "never the twain shall meet", either shoot exclusively with an RF or an SLR but not both?
 
I shoot both, also D-SLR and film SLR, and switch on the fly when I'm out taking photos.
For me there is definitely a difference in taking photos, composing seems more natural with a (D-) SLR, maybe because you're looking straight trough the glass? but focusing seems easier with a RF.
 
Me. A Nikon D200 plus various lenses - mainly a 17-55mm f2.8, an 85mm f1.4, 105mm f2.8 macro and a 50mm f1.4. Plus a Leica M8 with 35, 50, 75 and 90mm lenses. It sort of depends on a whim which ones I use on a given day unless I go out with a specific focus in mind. Sometimes I will carry both at once but even if I am very selective about lenses on the day its pretty heavy given the Nikon has a battery grip and its pro lenses are big.
 
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I think most of us do. There are some things, like Macro and Telephoto work, that SLRs excel at, and other things that rangefinders excel at. Best to have both! I use Leica M6 rangefinders and Olympus OM-4T SLRs.
 
Nikon SLR and DSLR; Leica film & digital RF. Obviously the Nikons for the longer lenses; but I use both systems for wide angle work, as well as a Hasselblad with 40, 50, 60, 80, 100, & 150. Sometimes I wonder why I put myself through all that! Answer: they all feel like an extension of my own hand, eye, and brain.
 
After start using rangefinder few year back I have been shooting less on SLR with wide angles. I use 15, 21, 28, 50 and 85 most on my rangefinders, occasionally 35 and 40. On the SLR mainly 16 fisheye, 28, 50, 100 macro and 135, and longer focal length tele.
 
I shoot with ahything that fits the job the most. Mostly though RF and DSLR. Since a week also the Fuji x100 a lot.
CHeers,

Michiel Fokkema
 
RF & DSLR...and also various other mirrorless, and scale focus, view cameras and hybrids like the x100 or the Hexar AF.

It does get confusing, sometimes I have to stop and think what I'm doing or take a few moments to get in the "mode" of each camera before I start shooting it.
 
DSLR for work, RF's and compacts for personal photography. After getting the M9, I found myself using my DSLR exclusively for work, or if I have a personal task that requires precise framing and/or long zoom.
 
In addition to my RF's(Canon 7 & Kiev 4AM) I shoot a Pentax MX and Pentax K20D. I use the Pentax, primarily for macro and nature photography
John
 
all film: bessa r2m, now a iiif, plus two two nikon bodies - fe2 and now an f2a. i seem to shoot much closer with an slr, particularly on abstracts. RFs are more people/walk around/always with me kit.
 
I don't use 35mm RF that much. I do use MF RF some, and may well have a 35mm SLR kit along. So I use all as the mood dictates, and may combine with 35mm and MF.
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
I think most of us do. There are some things, like Macro and Telephoto work, that SLRs excel at, and other things that rangefinders excel at. Best to have both! I use Leica M6 rangefinders and Olympus OM-4T SLRs.
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This is how I feel. I tend to not want to be dragging around both though so I grab one or the other when I go out. I am finding that the way my vision is changing focusing a MF SLR is not that easy. So, for me a RF is a much better option. I did just pick up an Elan 7ne again, very cheap, obedient in that it will focus quickly on what I am looking at and light for easy carry. I still like my M6 and 35 Ultron though. It just works for me.
 
setyotomo said:
i know Sebastiao Salgado is... R6 & M's... see here http://youtu.be/QOUvjLDBym8
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Not any more he doesn't, unfortunately! The film is from nearly two decades ago. Due to having film regularly lost and destroyed in airports and security-checks he switched to mainly digital slr many years ago - still post processed for the same 'look' though. He's not doing the volume of international work he used to either, but increasingly ecological stuff in Brazil.

EDIT: I use SLR, rangefinder, TLR, point-and-shoot, pinhole and recently even DSLR. As to when, 'it depends'.
 
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I also use both, frequently. Unless I'm just out working on a personal project or taking a photo walk, I'll almost always have an Olympus SLR in hand and one of my RFs in my bag. Each is suited to different needs. The SLR, for me, is the workhorse, but for events and fast moving street shots, the RF cameras are really useful. Another benefit: since my RF's are, for the most part, meterless, the SLR meter keeps me up to date on light changes.
 
Those Chinons are great cameras. The CE-4 has a Pentax lens mount and you can find lots of good lenses cheap for it.

It is an aperture-priority body that is also fully metered when used manually. Electronic shutter makes it excellent for shooting slides, it will simply set the shutter speed to any intermittent speed if that is what it takes to expose correctly.

For many years I used a Chinon CE-2 Memotron, which is brass&black paint (built like a tank) and had M42 lenses and a top speed of 1/2000th. Recently I switched over to Nikkormats and non-AI lenses because the Nikkormat shows a meter readout on top. With a 105mm Nikkor I can use it as a spotmeter without bringing it to my eye. Still have the CE-2, it will be good for years to come and sells for peanuts so I'm hanging on to it.

My setup was: a 100mm or 135mm lens on the CE-2 and two meterless Leica M's with a 50mm and a 28mm, now 21mm. CE-2 provided the meter and longer-lens shots in one. I now use the Nikkormats for that. Just have the CE-4 dangle from your shoulder with the lens inward, it will be under your elbow until you need it.

I'd say give it a try, if it's not for you, you can always decide against it.
 
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