I'm starting to narrow down what I want to shoot, which is found abstracts and closeup scenes. Sometimes I'd need to be on my belly shooting, and sometimes the camera would be on a tripod. I'd be shooting in both urban and rural areas. Currently I'm shooting with a 50mm macro in 35mm. Occasionally I throw on a 28mm for a wider view. I usually like to get as much in focus area into the picture as I'm able.
A few days ago I posted in the WTB section for a Rollei SL66. It's still on the list, but given the price, I thought I should do some more research. I'm also taking a look at the Mamiya RZ67 Pro II. I'm also entertaining the thought of a smaller LF field camera but haven't looked too deeply into that.
These are my thoughts so far.
Rollei SL66: I'm not sure I'd like the square format, it seems kind of limiting. I like the fact you can reverse lenses and go macro, which I do occasionally. Like the close focus with the bellows. The tilt function interests me a lot, but I've never used a tilt, so I don't know how important it is. It's suppose to help add depth of focus, which would be a plus for me. Price is high, but if I have to go there, I will.
Mamiya RZ67 Pro II: Has a rectangular format, which is a positive. Negatives are, no tilt and top shutter speed is 1/400. From what I understand it has a bellows and is good for close focus. The rotating back would be nice.
From what I can gather LF would be the ideal close up camera in terms of image quality and flexibility of focus. But they also look like the most trouble shlepping around, as I wander looking for shots. I don't consider myself old, but I'm not a young guy either, and I've got a bad knee. In LF I've looked a bit at the Miniature Speed Graphic. This might work, except I don't think with a 120 back, the rangefinder would work for close focus shots. A SLR Graflex 3x4 was mentioned in another thread, but that chimney looks like it could be a pain. I also don't know if there's a viewfinder that would work with a 120 back.
Any thoughts appreciated.
Thanks,
A few days ago I posted in the WTB section for a Rollei SL66. It's still on the list, but given the price, I thought I should do some more research. I'm also taking a look at the Mamiya RZ67 Pro II. I'm also entertaining the thought of a smaller LF field camera but haven't looked too deeply into that.
These are my thoughts so far.
Rollei SL66: I'm not sure I'd like the square format, it seems kind of limiting. I like the fact you can reverse lenses and go macro, which I do occasionally. Like the close focus with the bellows. The tilt function interests me a lot, but I've never used a tilt, so I don't know how important it is. It's suppose to help add depth of focus, which would be a plus for me. Price is high, but if I have to go there, I will.
Mamiya RZ67 Pro II: Has a rectangular format, which is a positive. Negatives are, no tilt and top shutter speed is 1/400. From what I understand it has a bellows and is good for close focus. The rotating back would be nice.
From what I can gather LF would be the ideal close up camera in terms of image quality and flexibility of focus. But they also look like the most trouble shlepping around, as I wander looking for shots. I don't consider myself old, but I'm not a young guy either, and I've got a bad knee. In LF I've looked a bit at the Miniature Speed Graphic. This might work, except I don't think with a 120 back, the rangefinder would work for close focus shots. A SLR Graflex 3x4 was mentioned in another thread, but that chimney looks like it could be a pain. I also don't know if there's a viewfinder that would work with a 120 back.
Any thoughts appreciated.
Thanks,