Okay, which camera took *THIS* picture?

[rogue_designer]

so... was it taken with the mamiya?

 

[Finder]

So I was close...

 

[aad]

Is that Persian restaurant still in business? And do you work for First Data?

 

[dmr]

Is that Persian restaurant still in business?

If you mean the one in the food court which would be one block north of where the photo was taken, no, it didn't last very long.

If you mean the one in the Market area, maybe 1/2 mile SE of this photo, yes, last time I was by there it was. Forget the name, though.

And do you work for First Data?

OMG no!

 

[keithwms]

Sorry, I see nothing characteristic in the photo. Just guessing....

It looks somewhat like an slr shot to me. The snow tones look digital though... something about the fact that I am looking at it on a computer screen perhaps.

 

[Bryce]

"If you don't like my driving, get off the sidewalk!"
Is that common practice in Omaha?
Any of those cameras seem possible, but the digital probably not. Highlights give out smoothly (no sudden clipping or artifacts around fine dark detail surrounded by white) and the parallels are probably too parallel. Wrong?

 

[dmr]

"If you don't like my driving, get off the sidewalk!" Is that common practice in Omaha?

Omaha drivers are something else!

Omaha really does not have as many traffic issues as many other cities, so the drivers tend to be not as alert as you would want them to be.

Back when I worked in midtown, we used to say that rush hour was like the Coney Island bumper cars (Skooter, Dodgem), except there was no operator with the "Emergency Stop" switch!

But back to the subject ...

Any of those cameras seem possible, but the digital probably not. Highlights give out smoothly (no sudden clipping or artifacts around fine dark detail surrounded by white) and the parallels are probably too parallel. Wrong?

I'll let the cat out of the bag now. This was taken with the Mamiya, using the Walgreens/Agfa 200 film.

My point of this, inspired by the "Which Camera, Leica or Ansco box?" thread, was to show that it's very difficult to tell by looking at a specific photograph as to what camera, lens, film, etc. was used.

Several people have referred to the "quality threshold", the point at which any further improvement in the technical details will have negligible effect on the finished photo. I see this principle related to the fact that it's very difficult to tell what was used.

And yes, I should have added a "No Clue" type of answer.

I expected the similar thread on "which film?" to be more accurate, but I was wrong.

 

[fWord]

Well, you should have put 'Digital PnS' on one of the options...or better...'$2000 DSLR system with good prime lens'!

Speaking of the Mamiya SD rangefinder...I bought a Mamiya SLR from an antique store about a couple of months ago. That lead me to read up more about the elusive Mamiya stuff and their mysterious SLRs and rangefinders (unlike the medium format stuff they're famous for).

There is a Mamiya SD sitting in the shelves of that same camera store right now, selling for only $5 Australian. Display only. My guess is that it's not working. But one of these days if I am feeling lucky I might try to see if there's a way to get it working.

 

[burninfilm]

I'm glad to see that others are proving the point that lens "signature" and other factors have little actual effect upon the resultant photograph. Check this out:

Which lens has been used for this picture?... Part 2

In this thread, I posted the image and asked forum members to guess which lens produced the result. They had some difficulty guessing the age of the lens, and even some problems with guessing the focal length. After some hints, they did manage to nail down which TYPE of lens (the Summicron). However, I did tell them the lens was "vintage", a RF lens, mounted to my M2, and obviously produced fantastic results, so it's not like there were too many options. I could perform the same test with a 1960's vintage Contax mount 50mm f2.0 Sonnar, and I'd likely recieve guesses of "Summicron" for that lens too. Even the Anastar on a Kodak 35 RF is capable of stellar results that would fool most people.

It's my belief that we could benefit greatly from replacing the time we use discussing lens "signatures" and rendition to instead go out and shoot some pictures! Let's face it, experience is a far greater teacher than any single person on this forum. Or any lens. Or any camera....

 

[dmr]

Check this out:

Which lens has been used for this picture?... Part 2

In this thread, I posted the image and asked forum members to guess which lens produced the result. They had some difficulty guessing the age of the lens, and even some problems with guessing the focal length.

I must have missed that thread for some reason.

It's becoming increasingly obvious that it's very difficult to tell what camera, what film, what lens, and even what focal length and what format, or even to assert that a photo is film or digital.

 

[Trius]

I couldn't have picked the camera with any certainty, though I didn't think it was the Stylus or the K1000. But the film ... yeah, that Agfa Vista 200 look is pretty distinctive and pleasant. I love the stuff!

 

[Al Patterson]

I must have missed that thread for some reason.

It's becoming increasingly obvious that it's very difficult to tell what camera, what film, what lens, and even what focal length and what format, or even to assert that a photo is film or digital.

Once we scan a print or negative, it IS all digital, in a sense. Looking at prints on a desk we may see more difference than looking at them on a computer monitor.

 

[manfromh]

Im guessing its the Olympus Stylus. My gut feeling told me that

 

[ErnestoJL]

Some time ago, a fellow from the Ancient Camera Users Club (to which I too belong), here in Buenos Aires showed Us a small (6x9 cm) B&W print, and asked if any one of Us was able to tell which camera and which lens was used.
Many answered it was a Tessar or Tessar clone, others said Sonnar or Ektar...some others gave different answers.
The Camera was a nicely kept Agfa Box of early fifties, which lens was a real good one.

This simply proved that not allways the lens or the camera is decisive for a good shot.

Cheers

Ernesto

P.S. I still keep my Mamiya SD.

 

[Olsen]

This was taken with the Mamiya, using the Walgreens/Agfa 200 film.

My point of this, was to show that it's very difficult to tell by looking at a specific photograph as to what camera, lens, film, etc. was used.

Well, half of us guessed right. Was it that difficult...?

 

[dmr]

Well, half of us guessed right. Was it that difficult...?

At the time I posted which camera it was, only 3 out of 30-some had selected the correct camera.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

At the time I posted which camera it was, only 3 out of 30-some had selected the correct camera.

I still don't see a post with a definitive answer.

Or is it just to tease further?

 

[dmr]

I still don't see a post with a definitive answer.

Posted at 5:22am CST:

I'll let the cat out of the bag now. This was taken with the Mamiya, using the Walgreens/Agfa 200 film.

Or is it just to tease further?

Me? Tease?

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Ahhh. I certainly missed it. Hmm.

 

[jlw]

If you mean the one in the food court which would be one block north of where the photo was taken, no, it didn't last very long.

If you mean the one in the Market area, maybe 1/2 mile SE of this photo, yes, last time I was by there it was. Forget the name, though.

Ahmad's, and yes, it's still there.

So, did you go up to King Fong (yellow sign in bkgnd) and have some egg foo yong? The atmosphere has to be seen to be believed... you half-expect Sam ***** to rush through on the trail of the Maltese Falcon... if I ever get into fashion photography, it would be a terrific location for a shoot.

[additional] Coming back to edit this post, I was surprised to learn that the name of Miles Archer's partner is apparently objectionable to the board's naughty-words filter! For those of you unfamiliar with either the works of Dashiell Hammett or the films of Humphrey Bogart, let's say that his name's not Sam Heart, nor Sam Diamond, nor Sam Club, so it has to be Sam _____.