What equipment do modern magnum photographers use ?

[Archiver]

Maxim Dondyuk, Ukrainian photojournalist, is not a member of Magnum but has been a finalist and winner in Magnum photography awards. His documentation of the war in Ukraine and other Ukrainian issues is vast and incisive. He started with a Nikon D70, went to the D700, D3S, got a D810 in 2015, and a D850 in 2023. He got a Fuji GFX100 in 2022 and Leica gave him a M11 for a year in 2023. Someone on RFF posted about him a couple of years ago, and I've been following his work ever since.

Ukraine: Culture of the Confrontation - Photographs by Maxim Dondyuk | LensCulture

The winter of 2013 changed Ukraine forever — three months of bloody clashes, tears, fear, Molotov cocktails, burning car tires, deaths, and the struggle between groups with two opposing world views

www.lensculture.com

A Long-Lasting Battle

This photo essay contains graphic images. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

www.truthinphotography.org

 

[JohnWolf]

Maxim Dondyuk, Ukrainian photojournalist, is not a member of Magnum but has been a finalist and winner in Magnum photography awards. His documentation of the war in Ukraine and other Ukrainian issues is vast and incisive. He started with a Nikon D70, went to the D700, D3S, got a D810 in 2015, and a D850 in 2023. He got a Fuji GFX100 in 2022 and Leica gave him a M11 for a year in 2023. Someone on RFF posted about him a couple of years ago, and I've been following his work ever since.

Ukraine: Culture of the Confrontation - Photographs by Maxim Dondyuk | LensCulture

The winter of 2013 changed Ukraine forever — three months of bloody clashes, tears, fear, Molotov cocktails, burning car tires, deaths, and the struggle between groups with two opposing world views

www.lensculture.com

A Long-Lasting Battle

This photo essay contains graphic images. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

www.truthinphotography.org

Thank you for that. Very moving pictures and interviews. The things we do to each other, and for what? Heartbreaking.

 

[Out to Lunch]

The things we do to each other

Uppsala University has identified 285 distinct armed conflicts since 1946.

 

[Out to Lunch]

Martin Parr

Analog: Leica M2 with 35 and 50mm lenses; Plaubel Makina—he found them unreliable and switched to Mamiyas and Rolleiflexes; a Nikon SLR.
Digital: various Canon 5D models and, more recently, Fuji mirrorless cameras.

 

[Godfrey]

Well executed SLR viewfinders are excellent, and in particular: the larger the format, the better. However, light transmission when you get down to APS-C and FourThirds format really suffers, and it is with these formats that the EVF really comes into its own as a "better" tool for focusing and framing ... as long as I'm not in very bright sunlight, they work fine.

I use the Visoflex 020 on M10-R/-M quite a lot when I'm doing negative copy, tabletop, and indoor work, and of course it gives me access to using Macro and long lenses that an RF camera doesn't ordinarily work well with.

No one camera is perfect for everything. This is why I still have a complete FourThirds system alongside the Leica M system and the Hasselblad V-plus-X system setups. They all have their uses and purpose. 😀

G

 

[JohnGellings]

Martin Parr

Analog: Leica M2 with 35 and 50mm lenses; Plaubel Makina—he found them unreliable and switched to Mamiyas and Rolleiflexes; a Nikon SLR.
Digital: various Canon 5D models and, more recently, Fuji mirrorless cameras.

I never knew he used Rolleiflexes... for which project? A switch to a Mamiya 7 would make sense based on the aspect ratio of known projects. Never heard that he uses Fuji either, but honestly I haven't seen anything since the Canon DSLRs.

 

[wlewisiii]

I found Leica M lenses seized up less than AiS Nikkors. I had not tried MF Pentaxes, but the HD Limiteds will go with me on my next trip.

The Limiteds are why I am really loving my recent foray into Pentax. The HD 20-40 limited is easily the finest zoom I've ever used but the primes are exquisite.

 

[Bob Michaels]

I had and interesting discussion with a Magnum photographer just before the opening of his exhibit. He had spent time as a part of the White House press pool but did a personal project "behind the velvet rope" of everything that went on behind the scenes. His personal work was b&w. In a group conversation, he told of his camera bag being run over by a truck and needing to replace his Leica and lens. He knew his camera was a M-6 but when asked what replacement lens he paused, them finally said "the Leica 35mm lens" When probed as to which Leica 35mm lens, it became apparent he had no clue. He could not has held his own in a RFF discussion of the different models and versions of Leica 35mm lenses.

Someone asked him in that discussion about the time it took at shoot a full manual camera. While never glancing down at the M-6 hanging around his neck, he quickly set shutter, aperture, and focus, all by feel in about a second. Then he handed his camera to the guy who asked the original question and asked "slow like this?" The questioner commented not only was the exposure set, but the focus was dead on between the two of them. So Mr. Magnum may not have know much about the lens but had used the camera enough so it was totally reflex to use.

In the formal presentation, he mentioned Tri-X by name several times. I asked him about that later. His comment was "Kodak has been very good to me".

 

[Archiver]

Someone asked him in that discussion about the time it took at shoot a full manual camera. While never glancing down at the M-6 hanging around his neck, he quickly set shutter, aperture, and focus, all by feel in about a second. Then he handed his camera to the guy who asked the original question and asked "slow like this?" The questioner commented not only was the exposure set, but the focus was dead on between the two of them. So Mr. Magnum may not have know much about the lens but had used the camera enough so it was totally reflex to use.

Now that's skill. Love it. There was a similar article on Luminous Landscape some years ago like that, where someone dialed in the focus of his Summicron 35 by feel and handed it to someone on the other side of the table, and it was spot on.

In the formal presentation, he mentioned Tri-X by name several times. I asked him about that later. His comment was "Kodak has been very good to me".

I wonder what that meant, whether Kodak sponsored him financially, if they gave him boatloads of free Tri-X and processing, or both.

 

[Godfrey]

...Someone asked him in that discussion about the time it took at shoot a full manual camera. While never glancing down at the M-6 hanging around his neck, he quickly set shutter, aperture, and focus, all by feel in about a second.
...

This is kinda what I expect of a professional photographer. It is, in large part, how I handle my cameras ... I rarely spend more than a second or two adjusting anything. I know what settings to use for most lighting and scene conditions, and I've been setting focus distance by estimation and scale for 50+ years...

Which is why most fully automated cameras often just annoy me and get in my way. 🤷‍♂️

G

 

[gzisis69]

I had and interesting discussion with a Magnum photographer just before the opening of his exhibit. He had spent time as a part of the White House press pool but did a personal project "behind the velvet rope" of everything that went on behind the scenes. His personal work was b&w. In a group conversation, he told of his camera bag being run over by a truck and needing to replace his Leica and lens. He knew his camera was a M-6 but when asked what replacement lens he paused, them finally said "the Leica 35mm lens" When probed as to which Leica 35mm lens, it became apparent he had no clue. He could not has held his own in a RFF discussion of the different models and versions of Leica 35mm lenses.

Someone asked him in that discussion about the time it took at shoot a full manual camera. While never glancing down at the M-6 hanging around his neck, he quickly set shutter, aperture, and focus, all by feel in about a second. Then he handed his camera to the guy who asked the original question and asked "slow like this?" The questioner commented not only was the exposure set, but the focus was dead on between the two of them. So Mr. Magnum may not have know much about the lens but had used the camera enough so it was totally reflex to use.

In the formal presentation, he mentioned Tri-X by name several times. I asked him about that later. His comment was "Kodak has been very good to me".

Thats a great story that shows that the most important thing in photography is to photograph. I have a friend who changes his equipment every 6 months or maybe earlier and is never happy with what he has. He takes many photos but all of them are crap. He once gave to a common friend a pentax mx he didnt want with a 50 or 35 lens i can not remember exactly. The guy had no clue what to do with the camera since he was using his phone mostly. He invested 1 week to learn the camera and how to use it and he took some great pictures in his first 2-3 films. One has to got the eye for photography but he has to train it too to evolve. Everyone can learn light, composition distance if he trains a lot. But very few have the eye to take a photo.

 

[xayraa33]

They probably now use the latest iphone in their pocket.

 

[JamQwert12]

I met yesterday an old friend and we talked about photography and some new books about it and the discussion came to some newer great photographers that got the last 10 years in magnum. It would be interesting to know the equipment they use to make those great photographs that are a combination of talent great eye dedication and deep understanding of photography. Do they still shoot in film ? Leica brings me boredom so id like to know what else they use on their daily basis.

Honestly, it’s all over the place now. Some still shoot film, but a lot use digital just because it’s more practical.
Leica is popular, yeah, but plenty use Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fuji — whatever they’re comfortable with. It’s not really about the brand.
Most of them just stick to simple setups and focus on the story. Gear doesn’t matter that much at that level

 

[Bolo Kukus]

Nikons, Canons, Leicas, Contaxes, Pentaxes, Olympuses, Panasonics, Sonys et al etc etc etc

Even Smartphones. Especially Smartphones. Many of the big stock agencies have finally! woken up to the truth of Smartphone quality images.

But not monochrome. Everything for commercial use is now done in color. Converting to B&W tin post processing akes maybe a minute with all the fine-tuning included, and the colo>monochrome 'converts' are in every way as good as those originally made in B&W. I've had this at first hand from a successful stock image photographer.

As for gear, a well-known pro I know owns two cameras (one a recent model, the other 10 years old) and three lenses. All zooms. That's it. Less is best when you have to carry a gear bag across a tundra, veldt or jungle.

If it takes a good photograph, and it sells, the pro photographers use it. Magnum would be no exception, they are after all a business.

 

[Archiver]

Documentary photographer Patrick Brown posted a photo of his kitchen table festooned with gear in preparation for a work trip. There was a Fuji GFX100 and two Canon DSLR bodies with zoom lenses, one being the 70-200mm f2.8.

Patrick Brown photographer

Patrick Brown is an Emmy Award-winning documentary producer, photographer and visual storyteller with over 30 years of experience creating human-centered stories, the environment, and social impact. Based between Australia, Copenhagen, London and Bangkok, he works with NGO's media organisation, Film

www.patrickbrownphoto.com

 

[bcostin]

Very interesting thread. I can see smartphones being handy now, especially if you don't want to call too much attention to yourself as a photographer. Though I'm sure there times when "looking like a photographer" and acting like you belong there is an advantage, too.