Anyone still shoot with their SLR's?

[schaubild]

My Canon 1D2, 5D and the Hasselblad 501 are regularly used. Different requirements, different tools.

 

[jan normandale]

I still have an OM1 and OM2 nice sized cameras, nice glass too. Good size for my smaller hands. Still I like the 'un-fussy-ness' of a RFF not complicated and a sort of less is more thing.

 

[sf]

my slr is . . .

my slr is . . .

Not used as much as it used to be. I do use the AE-1 when it gets to me, but the Crown Graphic and the D70 have pretty much become my arsenal along with my little RF and my huge monorail. I'm an extremist, and there is nothing extreme about the SLR. . . . hmmmm. . . . .whitecastle.

But, the sound of the AE-1 is so classic. It feels like the natural state of a photographic machine, because it has been "the camera" since I was too young to read. I actually inherited it. So I can't very well let it disappear into the camera graveyard.

 

[sf]

I still use my canon 1D Mk II for sports and general photojournalism, but have been using my Leica more and more. I am pretty new to rangefinders but I love the feel of the M4-P and have used my Canon less these past two weeks. The Canon is great, a real workhorse, but the Leica has a little more finesse. I have noticed that I tend to "feel" the camera less, in other words the camera does not seperate me from the subject or scene as much. It may be the lack of information in the viewfinder or the fact that I can see outside the 50mm framelines and get a better sense of what is happening around me. I wonder if anyone else who has recently made the transition from an SLR has had a similar experience.

hmmm, yes, the organic, spiritual quality of the Leica. Nothing else feels so good. And it looks like nothing ever will.

 

[jlw]

I had to use my Nikon D100 for a headshot a few weeks ago, while my R-D 1 was still off at DAG's for a tuneup. The pictures came out fine, but bleah... the whole experience reminded me of just how much I dislike using an SLR: the bulk, the weight, the flappy/clacky mirror, and especially the finder blackout.

(Seriously, how much sense does it make to show you the moment before you took the picture, and the moment after you took the picture, but blind you for the moment you actually are taking the picture? They call this a "viewfinder"? It's more like a no-view finder. If the SLR had been popularized first and the RF had come along later, people would realize how nutty this is.)

 

[cp_ste.croix]

I still have my EOS 1VHS, and use it as to not use it would make a pretty expensive paperwieght. I would love to trade it on an RF or Hassy and go back to using my AE1 for SLR stuff.

Anyone interested? 😀

 

[RML]

Not using my Eos 3000 ever since I got into rangefinders. But I'm using my Eos 300D more since I got my R-D1. It complements the R-D1 in those areas where RFs don't shine too well. I'm pretty pleased with this combination, though when I'm off to Mongolia I probably won't bring the Eos as I find it too big and bulky.

 

[Gerold]

my Nikon FM and splendid Nikkor 50/1.4 get regular workouts when I play with the children at home. The close focus distance of 0.45 allows for close-up portraits of unrivaled immediacy, to which the spectacular out-of-focus area of F1.4 adds very nicely. None of my RF lenses can go that close, or produce similar OOF effects. For such portraits I set the lens on 0.45 or 0.6 meters and then just shift the set into focus - a very intuitive, subtle and fast process in which I can compose and focus (anywhere on the focussing screen!) at the same time. Very effective and enjoyable! But I must say, the Nikkor 50/1.4, which is one of my smallest SLR lenses, feels like a hunk of glass in my hands since I got used to those elegant small RF lenses, which just seem to perfectly fit my hands.

The first example posted is not quite a portrait, but shows the result of my 2-year old's passion for cooking me lunch. Couldn't do that with the RF without breaking my neck. The second example is really close and shows my son playing hide and seek.

So, for me, SLR is for that one thing my RF can't do. But for that thing, it's unbeatably capable !

I should also say: I attribute a certain affective value to my SLR set. After all, it's a tool I've been using since twenty years, and which hasn't changed (much) over all these years. The new FM3A conceptually is precisely what the FM was when it came out in the early eighties (!).

 

[thmk]

Sometimes I take my Minolta XD-7 with 3.5/50 or 4/100 Macro out to shoot a roll but my Leica-R kit (2 cameras, 5 lenses) gathers dust in the closet.

 

[Socke]

I shoot with a Canon D60 at least once a week, just got a used EF 24/2.8 which I will try tonight and on saturday I'm invited to shoot a capoeira workshop. My Contax SLRs haven't been used for nearly two years.

 

[jrong]

I'm fairly new to rangefinders, but since I love doing landscape photography most of all, my main cameras are still SLRs. I tried using a medium format rangefinder for landscapes but utterly hated it, just couldn't get used to composing with it and getting used to the yellow framing lines.

Having said that, a rangefinder is great for street work, which I do because I'm stuck in the city 99% of the time! But I don't think a rangefinder is necessarily more discreet than an SLR, because the one time I'd been openly abused for taking a photo in public was when I was carrying my Bessa R around. 🙁 The click was loud enough for the person to hear it, across the room... I still don't know how.

Jin

 

[taffer]

I'm fairly new to rangefinders, but since I love doing landscape photography most of all, my main cameras are still SLRs. I tried using a medium format rangefinder for landscapes but utterly hated it, just couldn't get used to composing with it and getting used to the yellow framing lines.

Having said that, a rangefinder is great for street work, which I do because I'm stuck in the city 99% of the time! But I don't think a rangefinder is necessarily more discreet than an SLR, because the one time I'd been openly abused for taking a photo in public was when I was carrying my Bessa R around. 🙁 The click was loud enough for the person to hear it, across the room... I still don't know how.

Jin

Pretty much my case, being stuck in the city for that much made rangefinders my no-brainer choice for daily shooting. Didn't miss the SLRs until I stumbled upon some work where they are way more convenient.

Btw, as for your 'problem' with the R 🙂 makes me remember a thread on photo.net S&D forum where someone mentions his experiences on street shooting with a SLR... a Pentax 67 ! 😱 Probably nobody will question why are you taking pictures there once they see 'how much' camera you're using 😀

Oh, and last but not least, I also love my black SRT 303b, but to be honest, sometimes Nikkor non-AI glass goes cheaper than their Minolta conterparts

 

[bruenhilde]

I am using nikon F2AS with manual AIS lenses mostly. DP-12 prism head has nice feature that enables lightmeter coupling with nearly every lens ever made by Nikon...and its silicon cell LM is probably the most sensitive of all DP heads available...

For normal shooting occasions I prefer RFinders, but for Macro (and Tele), I believe there is no contest...

As far as beauty of F2 is concerned, I have to agree that plain prism F or F2 are the winners...

 

[lubitel]

I recently rediscovered my old AE-1 and even bought it a nice FD 50mm 1.2 lens. Very fun to use. Just got my Rebel XT and I am also having lots of fun with it.

But, on my vacation this summer, I only took with me 2 RFs (minox and revue) and a Holga. Only missed my SLR once when I saw very cool medieval knight competitions and needed that 200mm zoom.

 

[RObert Budding]

I use my Mamiya 645 a lot - Excellent lenses and I can handle it easily. But now my Contax IIIa is lonely - and I will eventually find it a good home (but not quite yet).

Now I have a new addition to the stable - a brand new Bronica RF645, which is still off getting service to convert to 100mm frame lines and to adjust the rangefinder. Because sometimes an SLR is too big and obtrusive.

Robert

 

[Daniel Unkefer]

I have rediscovered the black Minolta SRT, bought four of them quite reasonably. And the MC Rokkors, 16mm to 300mm, just great to use as a complement to my CV system. Recently bought a nice XE-7, wanted something auto exposure, I do believe it's Leitz quality 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀 , using it with the 58mm f/1.2 MC Rokkor.

-Dan, also playing with the 135mm f/1.8 Spiratone in MC mount. What a fantastic lens!

 

[markinlondon]

My main reason for buying a rangfinder, like Hoot, was that when I looked at what I was shooting, 95% of it was with short primes and 80% of that was with either a 40 or 50. I still like my k-mount bodies and glass but they don't get a lot of use, 6 months with a Bessa R and a 35 Ultron was my undoing to the point that I now find SLR finders like peering into a dark tunnel. I also get frustrated with any form of automation in a camera and find the time I spend trying to outwit the little computer distracts me from the picture.

Also my M6 seems to attract a lot less attention than a Pentax SLR, odd isn't it? I suppose funny old-looking cameras can't take decent pictures, can they?

Mark

 

[thpook]

My F4s doesn't get so much use anymore, but I still have it for when I need to drive nails or something. I've decided to keep it, because it's nice and quiet when it's set to continuous silent and there is something to be said for the incredible viewfinder and battleship build quality.

Otherwise, I use my bronica etr or my Kowa 6.

 

[terrafirmanada]

I spent the past few weeks mainly using my Canon F1's while the M3 was in the shop. Really fun for a change, and the built-in meter is nice. I love the pictures that camera and glass produce (at a fration of the price). It is nice to not worry at all about my camera, while I am jumping around with my four year old son. But now we are back to jumping with the Leica.

 

[kubilai]

Long lenses

Long lenses

SLR usage according circumstances :
- Performances, concert, sport : 80-200mm f1:2.8
- Home precise work : 90mm Macro
- Nature/hiking : 90mm Macro

I also have a 17mm and use it occasionnaly : still indoor, or opposite : walking fast shooting.

Except this, all "normal" photo is made with 35mm or 50.