645

CraigH · Apr 13, 2007

If I remember correctly, 645 will make 8x10's with no cropping. What do the 645 enthusiast's suggest.

Craig

Nick Zentena · Apr 13, 2007

6x7 doesn't need cropping for 8x10. 6x4.5 is 4:3. 10x8 are 5x4

Are you looking for a 645?

Bronica ETRSI cheap but it seems many have been sold off. KEH pickings are much slimmer then last year.

Pentax 645 comes with motor drive and meter in the body. Added cost for the bronica.

Mamiya wide range of ages and bodies.

Bronica RF 645. Seems rare and expensive. Portrait format when held normally. I think.

Various Fujis

If you are looking for something in particular I'm sure somebody could suggest more.

david b · Apr 13, 2007

I was looking at Mamiya 645 Pro TL cameras last night. Wow are they cheap.

CraigH · Apr 13, 2007

Sorry, then it's 6x7 I'm looking for.

Craig

Roger Hicks · Apr 13, 2007

CraigH said:
If I remember correctly, 645 will make 8x10's with no cropping. What do the 645 enthusiast's suggest.

Craig

Dear Craig,

Remember that the formats are all nominal, and vary from maker to maker. For example, I love Linhof's 56x72mm format which at a 3x enlargement is 168x216mm i.e. almost exactly whole plate. Other '6x7' formats go as low as 56x68mm in my experience, and lower for all I know. '645' is typically 56x41-43mm, but can be more or less.

Cheers,

R.

Nick Zentena · Apr 13, 2007

CraigH said:
Sorry, then it's 6x7 I'm looking for.

Craig

Then it's Mamiya RZ/RB
Bronica GS Isn't one for sale here?
Fuji Rangefinders

But what else are you looking for? Between cameras and rollfilm backs you've got plenty of different choices.

Roger Hicks · Apr 13, 2007

CraigH said:
Sorry, then it's 6x7 I'm looking for.

Craig

Dear Craig,

'Baby' Linhof. Graflex XL. Koni-Omega. Do not be deceived by big, heavy reflexes...

Cheers,

R.

MattKing · Apr 13, 2007

My Mamiya M645 Pro and M645 Super offer a negative area of 56mm x 41.5 mm.

This enlarges to approximately 10 3/4" x 8".

That's not a heck of a lot of cropping.

It requires even less cropping if you print to 5 x 7 or 11 x 14.

IMHO, it would be a mistake to make your decision on formats based on this issue alone.

Matt

reellis67 · Apr 13, 2007

I use 6x4.5 as my primary format, although I have been moving toward more and more 4x5, and 8x10 recently, and I have to agree completely with Matt. Don't make the choice based on something like that - choose the system that does what you need for the price that you can afford.

- Randy

Travis Nunn · Apr 13, 2007

I have both a Mamiya 645 and a Mamiya RB67 (I love 'em both). You're going to need to do some cropping regardless of which format you choose if you want an exact 8x10 print.

CraigH · Apr 13, 2007

I know, I'm not making a decision based on format size, just looking for something different from the 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 I already have.

Craig

Roger Hicks · Apr 14, 2007

reellis67 said:
Don't make the choice based on something like that - choose the system that does what you need for the price that you can afford.

- Randy

Dear Randy,

If we all based our decisions on what we could afford, a lot fewer of us would be photographers at all. Quite a few would avoid marriage, too. I've been lucky in both regards...

Cheers,

R.

Nick Zentena · Apr 14, 2007

Make a list of what your current camera doesn't have. Then rank the features in order of what matters to you.

If you get a 6x7 with removable backs/inserts you likely can shoot 6x45 to.

David Brown · Apr 14, 2007

CraigH said:
... just looking for something different from the 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 I already have.

Craig:

I shot 2 1/4 square (or 6x6) for 30 years. Enlarging to 8x10 required cropping and one ends up essentially using the equivelent of a 645 neg out of the 6x6. A few years ago I got a 645 rangefinder, and my prints were comparable (not counting the difference in lenses - another thread ).

Last year, I moved "up" to 6x7. Now I can print bigger! (as it were)

But, the most important thing I've "learned" is that there is nothing sacred about any format. If my 6x6 negs need cropping, they get cropped. Otherwise, I've started to print them square. Does it waste paper? Matter of opinion. Does cropping waste film?

I just finished making 15 or 16 "exhibition" prints on 11x14 paper. Some 6x6 and some 6x7 negs. The actual images are 9x9, 9x11, 9x12 and one 8x12. It's all in what the neg required.

Cheers

papagene · Apr 14, 2007

What David said!!

gene

CraigH · Apr 14, 2007

I crop most of the time, but it would be nice to compose properly & not crop.

Craig

Roger Hicks · Apr 14, 2007

CraigH said:
I crop most of the time, but it would be nice to compose properly & not crop.

Craig

Dear Craig,

Why can't you compose properly AND crop?

Cheers,

R.

Lee Shively · Apr 14, 2007

"Cropping" is a dirty word. Has been since Cartier-Bresson started having his negatives printed with a black line around the image.

Roger Hicks · Apr 14, 2007

Lee Shively said:
"Cropping" is a dirty word. Has been since Cartier-Bresson started having his negatives printed with a black line around the image.

Dear Lee,

In my book, that makes H C-B a dirty word.

Cheers,

R.

copake_ham · Apr 14, 2007

Roger Hicks said:
Dear Craig,

Why can't you compose properly AND crop?

Cheers,

R.

I have to agree with Roger on this.

I cannot consider cropping a "dirty word". After all, there are times when it is physically impossible to locate yourself in the exact "right" spot to compose a shot just as you want it.

Cropping sure helps there.

And, when you are shooting "street"; there are times when an inconvenient butt gets in the way on one side. You're never going to get the shot again - so it's either live with the annoying butt or, crop away!

CraigH · Apr 14, 2007

I don't mind cropping. It's just that I'd like sometimes to have the entire frame with no cropping on a 8x10.

Craig

Lee Shively · Apr 14, 2007

Roger Hicks said:
Dear Lee,

In my book, that makes H C-B a dirty word.

Cheers,

R.

Mine too. Kinda. Sorta. Well...ah, shit.

Bandicoot · Apr 15, 2007

CraigH said:
I crop most of the time, but it would be nice to compose properly & not crop.

Craig

Slavishly following the proportions of the camera you happen to be using at the time is not "composing properly". The world isn't 'designed' always to look best in any given shape frame!

For me, making the best picture in a given shape - ie. fully using the dimensions of a given format - is a good training exercise and a useful skill when shooting to a brief, but the real artist gets beyond that. The point is, surely, to decide what shape best fits the subject at hand, when making the exposure, and crop accordingly, if required.

Peter

mikeklensch · Apr 15, 2007

t_nunn said:
I have both a Mamiya 645 and a Mamiya RB67 (I love 'em both). You're going to need to do some cropping regardless of which format you choose if you want an exact 8x10 print.

Greetings,

I'm also a fellow Mamiya 645 user (ProTL), and thinking about adding an RB to my outfit. I was wondering if you think having both systems is worthwhile, or if one or the other would do just fine. In your experience, is the 67 a real jump in quality over the 645?

Thanks,
Mike

Travis Nunn · Apr 15, 2007

When I first got the RB67, I honestly thought of selling my 645 kit because I didn't think I'd use it anymore. Well, I was wrong. There are times when the actual size of the 645 makes it more practical than the RB67. And then sometimes I just want to shoot the 645 just because I like it

That being said, I do use the RB67 most of the time. I like the bigger negative and I like the ability to change backs in mid roll (the 645 1000s doesn't have that ability).

As far as quality goes, I think both are top notch so that shouldn't be a concern.

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