Is F4 too slow ?

K

kex

Guest
good day to all,

i will be buying my M7ii after i sell off my F5,pampered the speed my nikkors provides (F2,F1.8) will the speed of the 80mm F4 be enuff ?
2)Since i love to shoot slides,any high speed film to recommend ?
3) there are no mirror in the M7ii,how many stops can the average guy gain ?
4)Any nice and fast B&W film for streetphotography ?
5)Does any of u find the 1/500s speed too slow ?
6)how well does the M7ii hold up against rain ?
7)how many rolls of film can one set of fresh batteries shoot ?

Regards
kex
 
greetings kex and welcome to the forum.

i have a mamiya 6 so i can't speak directly about the 7.

i have not found the slower lenses a real handicap. i use delta films, 400 & 3200 for b&w.

i rarely shoot colour but i have, and the slides are glorious. i wish i could afford a projector.

the top speed of 500 seems to be ok for me. without a mirror slapping about you can handhold a little slower than with a slr.

i normally don't shoot in the rain. not so much for the sake of the camera but i'm like a soggy cat when i'm wet - in a poor mood!

i change the batteries in my cameras once a year. it's cheap insurance knowing you have fresh power.
 
When you are dealing with medium format lenses, depth of field becomes an issue. For a given angle of view, DOF becomes much more shallow with MF than 35 mm. An 80 mm f4 lens at full aperture provides as much (little) DOF as a 50 mm at f2 (approximately). That doen't mean much at landscape distances, but for medium and closeup, focusing becomes a real challenge. The semi-solution is to use faster films or stronger lighting. Slower films an/or greater DOF requirements means using a tripod or plenty of electronic flash, not the best use for RF cameras, IMHO. Actually, it's a different kind of photography than 35 mm, even though the M 6/7s are about as portable.
 
Is F4 too slow ?

good day to all,

i will be buying my M7ii after i sell off my F5,pampered the speed my nikkors provides (F2,F1.8) will the speed of the 80mm F4 be enuff ?

Yes (see previous post).

2)Since i love to shoot slides,any high speed film to recommend ?

Ektachrome 200 is the highest speed film I like, but I usually load up with Fuji Provia 100F for slides, regardless.

3) there are no mirror in the M7ii,how many stops can the average guy gain ?

Not sure how you mean this. If you are talking mirror slap, there is a big difference in hand-holdability between M 6 (7 is the same in this regard) at slow speed. I need 1/125th sec. minimum to get a sharp Hasselblad pic and am more comfortable with 1/250th. OTOH, if everything is right I can get sharpness with my M6 at 1/30th and occasionally down to 1/8th (something to brace against, no coffee etc.) That's one of the big reasons I like it so well.

4)Any nice and fast B&W film for streetphotography ?

Lately I have been using Ilford HP5+ because it comes in 220 rolls. But I have used TX, TMX, Ilford Delta and Fuji Neopan. They are all good. For hard core low light use, Delta 3200 is the only film available and it's okay. I usually rate it at EI 1200.

5)Does any of u find the 1/500s speed too slow ?

No.

6)how well does the M7ii hold up against rain ?

Don't know, but I rarely photograph in the rain. I am not confident about running electronic stuff in the wet, anyway.

7)how many rolls of film can one set of fresh batteries shoot ?

An unbelievable number. Like backalley I normally change batteries yearly for safety's sake, but with the last change I decided to see how long they would go without rreplacement. It has been 2 1/2 years now with lots of exposures and my spare batteries are still in the camera case. I have heard from M6/7 users that typically batteries reach the end of their shelf life before giving out with use.
 
hi,

thank you for all ya replies,will get one straightaway after my F5 sale.:D


cheers !
 
kex said:
good day to all,

i will be buying my M7ii after i sell off my F5,pampered the speed my nikkors provides (F2,F1.8) will the speed of the 80mm F4 be enuff ?
2)Since i love to shoot slides,any high speed film to recommend ?
3) there are no mirror in the M7ii,how many stops can the average guy gain ?
4)Any nice and fast B&W film for streetphotography ?
5)Does any of u find the 1/500s speed too slow ?
6)how well does the M7ii hold up against rain ?
7)how many rolls of film can one set of fresh batteries shoot ?

Regards
kex
Click to expand...

The 1/500th speed is not excessively slow as long as you're shooting slower film and stopping down during daylight. The f/4 should be plenty, as you're essentially gaining a stop or two with the lack of mirror movement. The shutter is also very quiet, making it a great street shooter.
 
jaredangle said:
The 1/500th speed is not excessively slow as long as you're shooting slower film and stopping down during daylight. The f/4 should be plenty, as you're essentially gaining a stop or two with the lack of mirror movement. The shutter is also very quiet, making it a great street shooter.
Click to expand...


Mate, you were 13 when this thread started ;)
 
Depends on what you like to photograph.

1) Inside with natural light f4 is becoming slow even with iso400 film. This holyday I was inside a church regulary at 1/4 and f4 when a bit cloudy and 1/15 and f5.6 with full sun. So f4 can be an issue. Outside with a bit of light it isn't an issue. This made me decide that taking the RF645 as a holiday camera was a mistake.

2) high iso slides in 120 format are an issue because Fuji stops Provia 400x. And that was the only iso400 slide film around. (Please correct me if I'm wrong because I really want 400 slide film)

3) It won't be the mirror that makes the difference. Mirror slap with modern camera's is very well damped, mirror return is where the most shake happens but that doesn't matter. I find I can go to 1/15 without much trouble. But a bit of weight helps. Read a bit (or ask them) how gunmen do to stabilise themselves. Different tool, but same problem and solution.

5) Rarely is 1/500 a problem. Even in full sun with iso400 film you'll be at something like 1/500 f11 or f13. Won't be a problem for the lens, unless you want to shoot full open.

4, 6 and 7) no idea as I don't have a M7.
 
f/4 is not ideal but I found the M7 to be the best camera for handheld long exposures. You gain at least a stop over other non-RF MF cameras. Then you will have the bigger neg compared to 35mm so less grain (so underexposure is more acceptable) and less visible camera shake. I boldly like to say a 65/4 on the Mamiya7 is like a 35/2 on my Leica for lowest handheld E.V.


Try pushing Tri-X to 1600 or Neopan400 (if it would be still available) for results like this:

Untitled by Kay__K, on Flickr
 
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