Medium Format ... long may it live!

[Arvay]

I see the discussion turned to quality of the tonal range and the smoother tonal values that a MF negative will deliver. Again so much is the basic size of the original negative. I too, also believe that as much as I love my Leica. The MF negative gives a better tonal quality. As this was my first roll on my then new 500 cm. Oh yes developed in D76. The only developer I knew of at the time.

Mr Atkiens was a missionary in South Africa for most of his adult life. I met him at age 107. I was very young at the time. He was the British "liasion" for the Boar War Treaty !! This is shot in 1974. He died at age 114. He was also a client of WD Gann ! We played chess many times. He lived at Mount San Antonio Gardens in Claremount Ca.

This is excellent shot . The face of the man is like a number of roads he has walked.

 

[P C Headland]

Certo Six + Efke 25:

Moskva 5 + Agfa Optima 200:

 

[Roger Vadim]

grmblll, looking at all the Hasselblad pictures I want to sell my RB67 and get that fine Zeiss glass. the RB is just too heavy to lug around... and, maybe its just me, i am not sooo keen on the glass, although the 127 KL is sharp, it sort of lacks character (well, maybe its just me who lacks the character, being in this promiscuous mood 😉)



RB67, 127mm K/L

 

[FrankS]

How about a Plaubel Makina?

 

[dazedgonebye]

How about a Plaubel Makina?

Tempting...but I'm wanting to be able to get the 43mm lens as well and make the Mamiya my primary camera.

 

[Windscale]

May be I have a certain degree of bias against Japanese lenses. They are sharp and high contrast, in fact, sharper than many German lenses. But somehow they don't produce the kind of creamy effect as older German lenses. And their pics will cause eye fatique if viewed for a long time. So, it may be a good idea to consider Schneider Kreuznach 47 or Rodenstock 45. An SWC with 38 Biogon would be tops but it is too heavy for me.

 

[david.elliott]

And their pics will cause eye fatique if viewed for a long time.

Uhh....what?

 

[larmarv916]

Both of these images really speak to the aspect of MF's benefits for delivering greater fine details and smoother transitions of tonal range. The beach shot just screams textures of all types, back up by one of my favorite films Efke 25. The color night, I assume is Geneva. Really delivers endless hue's of color.

The high values in the Beach shot are really excellent. The quality of the again just of sharpness is almost knife like in it's definition. Great Job. Best Regards... Laurance

Certo Six + Efke 25:

Moskva 5 + Agfa Optima 200:

 

[Windscale]

Uhh....what?

It is not easy to put into words. And it is very much a matter of personal taste. Some people like things to be sharp and contrasty. A prime example would be the 65mm on Fuji 690s. Some, like yours truly, prefer more creamy with more shadow details, like 75/3.5 Planar or Xenotar on Rolleiflexes. Of course, these effects will be much more apparent when pics are blown up to 30x30 or 24x36 which I have done many. Also I think that anything smaller than 12x12 cannot do justice to medium format. I am not bashing Japanese lenses by any means. Just personal preference after many years of using medium format gear. I have friends who would swear by high contrast lenses. Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder! Try as many cameras as possible and enjoy your photography the way you like it.

 

[david.elliott]

I guess I was just confused by the comment that lenses give eye fatigue. I see now that you were more referring to sharpness and contrast.

For me, the subject of the image (rather than lens characteristics) is what causes eye fatigue. i.e. optical illusions and zombies.

 

[5:00 PM]

One more...the cool thing about this one is that it's Portra 800, which goes a long way toward solving the speed issue. Compare to the same film in 35mm!

 

[larmarv916]

It's nice to see the wide variety and that so many MF shooters are not affected by the digital craze. The big studio's now days are all super large sensors. But I so far have not seen major shift of fine art shooters to carrying around a 20 ton battery just so they can have some mobility. I am sure that down the road the power issue will go away.

 

[hans voralberg]

From my Mamiya 7 + 65mm f4 on Velvia

Mamiyaflex C2 + 65mm f3.5

Neopan 400 + DD-X

Triple exposure fun Provia 400F

 

[wclavey]

Arvay, the B&W shots you posted are just fantastic! I especially like the columns in relief - - they show exceptional texture and detail. And the bicycle looks timeless. Thanks for sharing.

 

[chasfreeland]

Greetings fellow medium format lovers. I hope my pic uploads OK. This is my first attempt at uploading a photo for a thread. The picture was taken in 2000 with a Hasselblad 500c, 80mm Planar lens, a camera I purchased new in 1971 or '72 and have kept and used over all these years. I have lived in Thailand for 23 years and went to Angkor Wat carrying only this camera and a film back. Shot only black and white. I used an old Weston meter from time to time but mostly just relied on gestimate metering. I think the simplicity of that set-up made the trip most memorable from both a touring and a photographic point of view. I also use Mamiya 7ii and a Horseman 612, plus I now have a 503cw. Long live medium format film because the cameras themselves can go on forever, or so it seems.
Best regards to all, Charles

 

[Arvay]

larmary916 and wclavey I appreciate much you liked some of my pictures 🙂

 

[larmarv916]

Arvay...as long as you are online. What is it like trying to shoot in Moscow these days. I have considered a trip to Moscow just for photograpy, but concerned about the basic situation for shooters from another country. You feed back would be interesting. Best Regards...Laurance

 

[jan normandale]

Arvay the image of the bike in front of the two burgundy doors is exceptionally tasteful. The tonality is just plain "delicious"

 

[jan normandale]

Mamiya 6 RF... sometimes "Japanese sharpness" is what the image is about and my CM + 80mm Planar won't cut it. Bethlehem PA , interior shot of Furnace C

 

[Arvay]

Arvay...as long as you are online. What is it like trying to shoot in Moscow these days. I have considered a trip to Moscow just for photograpy, but concerned about the basic situation for shooters from another country. You feed back would be interesting. Best Regards...Laurance

Laurance, the question is quite difficult.
These days people in the streets are more agressive due to crisis I think and you probably should consider "stealth mode".
But traditionaly foreigners are being loved in Russia very much. 😱So nothing dangerous will happen probably.

Try to keep your eye on your photobag every time you are in metro (subway, underground, tube - whatever🙂)

If I am in Moscow I will accompany you some Sat or Sun if you like and show you some interesting places of the city ordinary tourists are not being shown .
Just send me a PM before and I'll try to arrange smth.