Trying to get back in the saddle...

Ken Ford

Ken Ford

Refuses to suffer fools
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Warning: belly button gazing ahead.

I've been away from RFF for quite a few months, and in spotty attendance for several more before that - family health challenges have caused photography and other hobbies to take a back seat. Things are starting to settle down again and I'm trying to kickstart my "urban landscape" photography anew. (The railway action stuff will need to stay in the bottle for now - I can't be two hours away in a cornfield when I'm urgently needed at home.)

One thing that my forced absence has done is significantly cool my ardor for continuing to work with film. Since there's no way I can justify an M9 I'm seriously considering selling off the majority of my current RF gear and just keeping my M6 and 35 Cron - I'd use the proceeds to bankroll a new non-SLR digital system.

Rather than taking that somewhat drastic step right now I've decided to go slow and pick up a small sensor camera that is likely suitable for my urban stuff - a Fuji X10. I plan to shoot it in RAW + B&W JPEG (as a visualization tool - I'm rusty) and see what happens. I'm hoping I can adapt my style of shooting to this simpler hardware.

I've considered going with a small m4/3 system (body with a 20 and 45), but the current EVF implementations don't do it for me - I need it internal in the upper corner of the body. I've even considered the upcoming NEX7, but I've been stranded too many times by Sony's abandonment of product lines (MiniDisc, anyone?) to be comfortable dropping that kind of cash on a completely proprietary system. A used M8 might be doable in a stretch, but I'd need all new glass.

This has been quite a quandary for me. The one thing I'm sure of is that the shooting film > commercial scan > post at home thing just isn't attractive to me anymore, and that I'm very unlikely to ever set my wet darkroom up again. It makes me feel a little sad, but there it is.
 
Yeah, but not with the FOV I'm used to and want.

No, I'm going to give the little X10 a go and see where I want to be from there.
 
Joe, is it possible to mount non-M lenses? Such as LTM or other camera mount lenses? Thanks.
Ken- missed your posts here- hope all goes well for you in the future.
 
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Ken I hope it all works out for you. I too am dealing with family health issues, wife & son. So I know a little about the situation you must be facing.
 
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Yeah, missed you, too, Ken. Good luck with moving forward in your photography endeavors.

Just remember to not let the fire go out, it takes too long and too much energy to get the flames back up again!;)
 
Ken Ford said:
Warning: belly button gazing ahead.

I've been away from RFF for quite a few months, and in spotty attendance for several more before that - family health challenges have caused photography and other hobbies to take a back seat. Things are starting to settle down again and I'm trying to kickstart my "urban landscape" photography anew. (The railway action stuff will need to stay in the bottle for now - I can't be two hours away in a cornfield when I'm urgently needed at home.)

One thing that my forced absence has done is significantly cool my ardor for continuing to work with film. Since there's no way I can justify an M9 I'm seriously considering selling off the majority of my current RF gear and just keeping my M6 and 35 Cron - I'd use the proceeds to bankroll a new non-SLR digital system.

Rather than taking that somewhat drastic step right now I've decided to go slow and pick up a small sensor camera that is likely suitable for my urban stuff - a Fuji X10. I plan to shoot it in RAW + B&W JPEG (as a visualization tool - I'm rusty) and see what happens. I'm hoping I can adapt my style of shooting to this simpler hardware.

I've considered going with a small m4/3 system (body with a 20 and 45), but the current EVF implementations don't do it for me - I need it internal in the upper corner of the body. I've even considered the upcoming NEX7, but I've been stranded too many times by Sony's abandonment of product lines (MiniDisc, anyone?) to be comfortable dropping that kind of cash on a completely proprietary system. A used M8 might be doable in a stretch, but I'd need all new glass.

This has been quite a quandary for me. The one thing I'm sure of is that the shooting film > commercial scan > post at home thing just isn't attractive to me anymore, and that I'm very unlikely to ever set my wet darkroom up again. It makes me feel a little sad, but there it is.
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Hmmm...

I have been a 24/7 caregiver for my wife the last two years since she is now disabled from heart conditions caused by a heart attack, stroke and multiple cardiac arrests. I feel for you and your family as it is a difficult experience.

Yet, photographically, things have progressed. Film was the chosen media for a number of reasons (not cost;workflow;or anything like that, just artistic reasons). This is my latest photo documentary using the M3 and the R4:

http://www.adoramapix.com/davegt/book/meanwhile-in-grantville-georgia-1

My clients and customers are quite happy as am I.

That said, I am working on two more film documentaries but will embark on a huge project in the Spring that will need to be digital, again for artistic reasons but also because of cost this time.

So, hybrid me. Just like the last 12 years, so don't hesitate to continue using film. Nor, should you throw out film just for your digital work. The wise will understand the tools they use and how to get the most out of them.;)
 
Ken, indeed only you can judge whether to continue with film or not os the best for you. If you decide to go the digital mirror less route, you may want to check out the Ricoh GXR and its dedicated M-mount module (APS-C, no AA filter) as it seems that it does very well with wide angle lenses (plus it has 28 and 50 APS-C modules, both very good). However if you are not really interested in using your current M or LTM mount lenses it seems that m4/3 has right now some very compact and well build lenses (Olympus) that are definitely worth a look.

You may want to check out the webpage of Steve Huff as he reviewed most of the mirror less cameras and has some interesting articles about that.
 
Thanks to all for the comments and thoughts.

dave lackey said:
Just remember to not let the fire go out, it takes too long and too much energy to get the flames back up again!;)
Click to expand...

Dave, that's exactly what I'm trying to counteract! It's banked to just a flicker right now, the lowest it's been for me in many years. I need it back.

This really isn't agonizing over hardware, only enough to put me in a place that I can shoot RF style in native digital. The X10 is likely enough to do this - I fully expect it to be able to equal or better what I can do now with scanned BW400CN albeit with a much different optical signature. This *is* about regaining a major part of my life again.
 
I don't think past personal history is a reason to avoid Sony. DSLRs aside, all the rest is in the same boat IMO — buy it to use it now and forgot about the future.

Sell everything and get a Fuji X100? It strikes me as the best current street solution (aside from a digital m).

The X10 may be an odd choice IMO. Zoom lens, small sensor, likely not too fast in operation. I have no doubt that it will be the best in the point-n-shoot/compact camera class, but in many ways that's not saying a lot.

Hope things work out (in all areas) for you.
 
Paddy, as I mentioned I have no doubt that the X10 can better the technical results I get with my Leica gear shooting BW400CN or other C41 and having it scanned. Why is it an odd choice?
 
Ken Ford said:
Paddy, as I mentioned I have no doubt that the X10 can better the technical results I get with my Leica gear shooting BW400CN or other C41 and having it scanned. Why is it an odd choice?
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Maybe not. I just thought it would be a significant change from the equipment you have been using and wondered if it might be disappointing both functionally and in terms of image quality.
 
And thus ends the X10 experiment. Nice camera, too small for my hands - I can't grab it without hitting buttons.

It did get me out trying to shoot, though - I'm looking for something else right now.
 
I've been using a V1 kit for the last several days and the early results are very good. I think this is the one for me to use as an everyday carry - it's as competent at shooting urban candids as it is for railroad action. I just hope they come through with their rumored fast primes; even if they don't, the V1 is proving to be very workable for me.
 
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