Interchangeable backs on medium format SLRs - when/what/why do you use them?

wiltw said:

When I used to shoot weddings...

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If I were photographing a wedding I think the only thing I'd shoot is myself. It just seems like a thankless job that would destroy my love of photography, but I it seems a number of people here have survived that gauntlet.

eli griggs said:

A12, A24 and A70 backs takup space but im shooting out of my car most times and can take out what I don't want to carry at a short distance from my transport for a best chance of getting my shots.

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I'm more sensitive to bulk than I am to weight, and I've figured out ways to fit my Bronica ETRSi in some tiny bags, and still have space for mutiple backs.

I have three camera systems that take interchangeable backs , Kiev 88 , Bronica ETRSi and Bronica SQ-Ai and have several backs for them.
Depending on what I'm doing , where I'm going and what time of day I'm going , decided what film I'm carrying.
When I go away on holiday in my campervan , I'll have one back typically with FP-4 for typical daytime use .
HP-5 for evenings or areas of low light ( inside use etc ) , Rollie infrared and very occasionally, colour film .
That doesn't mean when I go out I carry them all , I might just have one on the camera , and another type in a bag or pocket .
Sometimes if I'm near the end of a roll when I'm going out , I'll have a spare back loaded ready to take over , so I'm not changing film on a mountain or somewhere.

Sometimes if I'm shooting a TLR I might have regular B&W loaded , but I'd probably have a second body loaded with either IR or colour .

I tend to use TLR's when I know I'll only want to use one film type , it's easy to just carry a separate film back than a full camera .

abruzzi said:

If I were photographing a wedding I think the only thing I'd shoot is myself. It just seems like a thankless job that would destroy my love of photography, but I it seems a number of people here have survived that gauntlet.

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I'd imagine it's good training to operate a camera quickly, but other than that I share your view. I was friends with a family who did wedding photography and they were always complaining about the demands of their clients and the drama involved.

neilt3 said:

I tend to use TLR's when I know I'll only want to use one film type , it's easy to just carry a separate film back than a full camera .

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TLRs have never really worked for me, but I did a test on a trip last summer. I brought two cameras--my ETRSi and a Fuji GA645Zi. Each day, when we left the apartment, I'd pick one camera or the other. Mostly, I preferred the ETRSi and the ability to change backs (I also preferred that the long lens I brought for the Bronica was a 150mm, while the Fuji only went to 90mm.) I guess the other point worth making is how frequently people press the shutter button. One of the reasons I stopped shooting 35mm is I >hate< 36 exposure rolls because I'm very selective with my shots. Over the course of a day walking around Budapest, I might shoot 2 rolls (30 exposure) of 6x4.5 total but usually less. If I was shooting a lot faster it might be easier to time my completion of a roll to move from an outdoor setting to an indoor setting without wasting film, but a interghangable back solves that issue.

Mainly for different films. I have three for the RB. One for a slow ISO, one for fast (usually HP5), and one for Rollei IR... or all three will be fast films. Depends on what the plan is.

abruzzi said:

If I were photographing a wedding I think the only thing I'd shoot is myself. It just seems like a thankless job that would destroy my love of photography, but I it seems a number of people here have survived that gauntlet.



I'm more sensitive to bulk than I am to weight, and I've figured out ways to fit my Bronica ETRSi in some tiny bags, and still have space for mutiple backs.

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Yeah, dealing with the bride/mom can be problematic, but fortunately I never ran into bridezilla. I found that the enjoyment of such shooting came from encountering a wide variety of photographic challenges that one needed to quick come up with a solution, and do so with satisfaction, particularly those in which the bride had no idea were problematic! These were an opportunity to grow as a photographer, much more than shooting without such challenges to solve.

Pieter12 said:

I directed a photo shoot once where the photographer had two (maybe more) Nikon F4s with the same lens and an assistant always ready with a loaded one by his side. It was one of the very few shoots I had where the photographer used 35mm.

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This was a common practice for wedding, fashion, even some news photographers. There a many photographs of Vietnam era JP with 2, 3 even 4 cameras hanging off them to keep up with the action. The weight an size of bulk film backs kept use to sports and science applications.

abruzzi said:

If I were photographing a wedding I think the only thing I'd shoot is myself. It just seems like a thankless job that would destroy my love of photography, but I it seems a number of people here have survived that gauntlet.

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I used to really enjoy it. The relationship created with the couple and many of their friends and family was often one of the highlights.
But it really is a young photographer's domain - the energy required is huge!

wiltw said:

Yeah, dealing with the bride/mom can be problematic, but fortunately I never ran into bridezilla. I found that the enjoyment of such shooting came from encountering a wide variety of photographic challenges that one needed to quick come up with a solution, and do so with satisfaction, particularly those in which the bride had no idea were problematic! These were an opportunity to grow as a photographer, much more than shooting without such challenges to solve.

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