I was wondering if others are experiencing what I have been and how they might be dealing with it.
In the old days, when I was interested in a piece of equipment, I would go to the stores and try it out to see if it fit my needs. This would give me a good idea about the perspective of the lens or if the viewfinder would work for me, how the item fit in my hands, how the mechanics functioned - I got a feel for the lens/body/prism etc. Problem was, my budget back then was strictly in the 35mm amateur range, so medium format was something I would only admire from afar.
Nowadays, with the manufacture of medium format gear in a severe decline generally, trips to the store are not possible, especially if you live in an area where medium format gear inside camera stores was not prevalent even in the old days.
What I have been doing is trying to research as much as possible on the internet and then making the plunge and buying something used and evaluating it this way. If it works, it finds a place in one of my camera bags, if not, I just sell it and use the proceeds to find some other piece of equipment to evaluate.
I guess camera clubs/groups are another way of doing this, but I am unfamiliar with a medium format shooters group in my area. The ideal for me would be a rental company with loads of medium format gear. Does such an entity exist in the USA?
I shoot with Pentax 645n and Pentax 6x7.
In the old days, when I was interested in a piece of equipment, I would go to the stores and try it out to see if it fit my needs. This would give me a good idea about the perspective of the lens or if the viewfinder would work for me, how the item fit in my hands, how the mechanics functioned - I got a feel for the lens/body/prism etc. Problem was, my budget back then was strictly in the 35mm amateur range, so medium format was something I would only admire from afar.
Nowadays, with the manufacture of medium format gear in a severe decline generally, trips to the store are not possible, especially if you live in an area where medium format gear inside camera stores was not prevalent even in the old days.
What I have been doing is trying to research as much as possible on the internet and then making the plunge and buying something used and evaluating it this way. If it works, it finds a place in one of my camera bags, if not, I just sell it and use the proceeds to find some other piece of equipment to evaluate.
I guess camera clubs/groups are another way of doing this, but I am unfamiliar with a medium format shooters group in my area. The ideal for me would be a rental company with loads of medium format gear. Does such an entity exist in the USA?
I shoot with Pentax 645n and Pentax 6x7.
