news/documentary/wedding w RF + SLR

xixi_gelly

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Perhaps a sacrilegious question here (or 50% sacrilegious) but I was wondering if any RFFers doing news/documentary type work use both an RF body and a (D)SLR at the same time?

I'm noticing a lot more newsies in town with the X100 series or M9/35 + a 50 on the company-issued CaNikon for everyday shooting. Zooms come out of the bag and the 50 comes off when there's action, sports etc.

I believe this 1-2 combo used to reign in the 70s (wide with RF and tele with SLR) but it seems RF form factor is making a comeback with folks sick of lugging the 16-35/70-200. Thoughts?
 
I still shoot some news stuff with a rangefinder, but not at the same time I'm using the Canon DSLR kit. it's either one or the other, and when it's rangefinder, typically it's film, not digital. Digital rangefinders aren't as useful as the DSLR when covering an event. When it's film, I'll scan the B&W negs and make wet prints later for the people I'm covering.
 
Yes!

I photograph corporate events & weddings, personal work, etc. with a DSLR and digital RF combo since late 2010. On jobs, I use the RF for wide to 50mm coverage, the DSLR for 50mm to telephoto coverage and where I feel AF will be helpful, or require a specific feature unique to the DSLR.

I went this route back then in part to reduce what I carried - I was tired of two large DSLR cameras and big lenses, but was also unhappy with the technical quality of wide zooms, the tendency of AF to focus on objects behind subjects with those wide zooms, and the inability to clearly see this happening in the viewfinder while shooting.

Early days with the RF and a handful of lenses (ZM21/2.8, ZM35/2.8, ZM50/2) really impressed me how sharp a good wide angle lens could be, especially when focused correctly.

It was initially an experiment but I liked the results and the shooting experience (despite some quirks), so I stuck with D-RF and expanded the kit (meaning I got sucked into the Leica RDF - reality distortion field - and spent a lot of money on lenses). It's now my primary system for personal work, covering UWA - 90 plus a 180/3.4 R for replacing the reach of the DSLR's 70-200. Sometimes it's the primary system used for jobs.

Since then DSLR AF precision has improved, as have a number of the lenses. From a purely business perspective, the end product delivered to clients could easily be done with strictly a DSLR kit, or current mirrorless (at least for corporate & weddings, though I also shoot a fair amount of sports where DSLR remains the best choice). But, as they say, YOLO and while the 'Leica shooting experience' may come off as an excuse to spend a lot of money on seemingly obsolete equipment, I've found I indeed do enjoy the D-RF shooting experience quite a lot.

Had I just stuck with DSLRs, I would have more cash on-hand, in the bank, invested, etc., but then I'm a gear head and probably would have found a way to spend it on DSLR related gear or mirrorless explorations, etc.

Before jumping into D-RF, I was about to spend a lot of money on Zeiss ZE/ZF primes, but a rational look at my kit and expectations immediately revealed that route would replace or supplement several large zooms with multiple large and heavy primes, increasing the size and weight of the kit. And I'd still be lugging around the zooms with those primes for AF and convenience, when needed.

The only small system with high image quality was D-RF, and IMO, remains the smallest full frame option currently available, unless one wants to adapt RF lenses to Sony mirrorless, which we all know has its own set of compromises... both technical and from a shooting experience perspective.
 
Yes!

I photograph corporate events & weddings, personal work, etc. with a DSLR and digital RF combo since late 2010. On jobs, I use the RF for wide to 50mm coverage, the DSLR for 50mm to telephoto coverage and where I feel AF will be helpful, or require a specific feature unique to the DSLR.


Many thanks for sharing this in depth.
What focal length combinations do you like to carry on your DRF-DSLR for scenes you usually encounter?
 
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