1 camera, 1 lens, 1 film, 1 developer

FrankS

FrankS

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a thought exercise:

suppose you had to limit your photo gear choice to just one of each of these for the rest of your days. what format would you go with? the mobility of 35mm, the quality of 120, or the ultimate in control with LF? would you go with B+W, colour film, or digital? mechanical or full-featured electronic? would you choose the flexibility of a zoom lens over the quality of a prime, and what focal length? What gear represents the essence of your personal photography?
(assume no difficulty with film availability/processing in your lifetime.)

my choice is my rugged, mechanical, rolleiflex with 75mmf3.5 planar. it is beautifully designed and quality built. while this is not the camera that i take the most pictures with, it would be the last camera i give up. for me, it is small and portable enough, like a 35mm camera, but offers outstanding MF image quality. its wide normal lens is a versatile focal length.

this choice is also affected by my gear-headedness. it's not all about the final image for me. i also enjoy the process and getting involved in the process of manipulating a quality manual camera. i am not an artist, i am a hobbyist. the pure artists among us should probably not choose to participate because for them, this is an irrelevant exercise and they couldn't care less about what gear is used to create their art.

this choice puts me in the film camp, and i'd choose b+w hp5 with ilfosol-s as a fast, versatile/forgiving, no fuss combo. with 400 speed film i can shoot indoors without flash, and there is enough real estate in a 6x6 neg to give high quality enlargements with 400 speed film.

how about you? i want you to really commit to your decision, so the rule is: you may not mention several different choices, just one of each. the more other favourites that you mention, the more watered down and wishy-washy your post becomes. what gear choice is the essence of you personal photography. (not your professional photography, if that applies.)
 
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I did this exercise last year, just for the heck of it and only for three months. I was using a black Nikon FM2n, Nikkor 50mm/1.8, Rollei Retro 400 and Rodinal. One reason for it was that before I was not at all capable of using a 50mm lens. I had to have 35mm or wider. So I was sort of forcing myself to use 50mm against my will. Now I can use 50mm without grievances so I guess it paid off for me.
 
mablo, i would never consider actually doing this. for me this could only ever be a thought experiment. :)
 
I would choose my konica hexar silver, with fuji neopan 1600@1250 and homebrew developer based on ascorbic acid. Lately, I'm just not that interested in shooting anywhere outside.
The hexar is perfect for low light indoor shots, and I like the manual exposure/spotmeter mode. It is portable, people friendly, and unobtrusive. And last but not least, it has a killer 35mm f/2.0 lens.
 
Right now.. and therefore.. for the rest of my days... Rolleiflex T, Tri-X 400 and Xtol... hands down :)

Dave
 
Also only as a thought experiment:

Bronica RF645 & 45mm f/4
Tri-X
HC-110

Definitely MF over 35mm, and this package is still fairly compact, but has some room for cropping if required.

Steve
 
Camera: M6
Lens: Late 35 'Lux pre ASPH
Film: 100TMax
Developer: HC-110

I don't have the Lux, but that would be my 1,1,1,1 kit.
 
I know this is breaking the rule, but....

1) Assuming I live long enough, it's a given that my eyesight will deteriorate over the years, and it is possible that my eyesight may deteriorate to the point where it precludes the use of a manual focus body.

Given the above, I would choose a Nikon F80 and a 50/1.4 AF(s) lens, using Tri-X (or equivalent, such as the Arista Premium 400) and XTOL.


2) Assuming my eyesight stays as it is today, then my body/lens of choice is the ZI and ZM 50mm/1.5 Sonnar.

Hope that's not too watered down or wishy washy... ;)
 
If I had to make this decision this is what I would use:

Yashica Mat 124g w/Yashinon 80mm 3.5
Neopan 400
Rodinal
 
Mamiya 7, 65mm, TX, D76

But I still like color...and other developers. This really seems like a bad idea.

One camera / one lens I can live with. One film and one developer make this utterly impossible.
 
Bessa R3M (though i'd go with a Leica M7 if I could afford one)
50mm f/2 Heliar
Tri-X

I've been doing this for about 2 months now :)
 
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