Let's get SMALL

[johnny9fingers]

I don't know about you folks, but 35mm is the format for me. I started out, like most of us with 35mm, using an Oly XA and Yashica GN. After reading about everyone raving about larger formats, I tried MF with an Agfa folder, then a Fuji 645, and a Fuji G690. Then I made the next step to 4X5 with a Crown Graphic. As wonderful as the photos were with the larger films, I found myself making fewer and fewer pictures. And now I have a Nikon N6006 and am taking tons of shots every day. And now I have my eyes on a Nikon F5. So I guess I;ll be a photographic Tiny Tim, and I love it.......

 

[Ian Grant]

Size matters.......................................

But not a lot, perhaps you are having a crisis

I've been down the same route 35mm, stopped that 5 years ago , 120 - 645 only for commercial work, 5x4 my main format, 10x8 now my preferred but not always practical format.

I think what you are talking about is the different ways of working, and I've found it important to keep working in different ways.

Recently I've started shooting 35mm gain for personal work, anything larger is 5x4 or 10x8, and more recently (today) 6x17.

Even when you're an LF photographer it's fun to exlore with smaller formats and what better than 35mm

And going back to lets get small, I made a series of images from 5x4 negs and used my enlarger to reduce them, for a small book.

You have to balance what you are trying to say against what you perceive to be your audience.

Ian

 

[fotch]

When I started shooting 4x5 I started taking fewer pictures however, more attention is given to composition, exposure, and desire to have the photograph itself.

Now, when I shoot 35mm, I find myself using the same technique as I did with 4x5 except that sometimes I will take extra shots (not really needed) since I know I have ample film available. These extra shots rarely are the best ones. I almost never use my motor drives anymore.

I should just shoot 12 exposure rolls but thats not the normal way of 35mm.

FWIW my 2 cents.

 

[Kevin Roach]

I think you need a Minox next.

 

[johnny9fingers]

ha ha ya a Minox would be fun too. But first I have to get a shoe phone. When I have my cameras with me, I'm always looking at things differently, how to capture the shot, and even the Nikon is easy to carry around....

 

[Roger Hicks]

Well.... Dunno about big heavy cameras like SLRs. I much prefer rangefinders. Although I have LOTS of other formats, up to 12x15 inch, and like a change from time to time, I still regard 35mm as my 'base state'. I probably enjoy using it most, too.

I had a Minox B 30 years ago and found it more trouble than it was worth, so I sold it. Then Frances wanted one, so we bought another; her reaction was exactly the same as mine. For me, 35mm full-frame (I have half-frame too) is the perfect balance of convenience and size. And good ones are cheap, even if you buy them new. My M4-P cost a lot, but 25 years later, the cost per annum (I'm still using it) is pretty low.

Cheers,

R.

 

[copake_ham]

I'm fairly new to MF and trying to spend more time with 120. But today, besides taking out the Bronica ETRsi ,I just had to load a roll of Velvia into the F5 and take it along too. Almost like have two dogs of different breeds - neither of which wants to stay home when the other gets to go out!

Much as I'm liking MF - I'll always be a 35mm'er at heart!

 

[roteague]

johnny9fingers, that is wonderful that you have found what works for you. I wish you the best.

I shoot 35mm, 6x12 and 4x5, and of these formats, I love 4x5 the most, because it works for my style. I find that those images that mean the most to me, were those taken with the 4x5, with lots of consideration and forethought given to each one. So much so, that right now I am considering whether to even take the 35mm with me on my next trip. It took me a few years to come to this conclusion.

 

[Sparky]

hey - it worked for ralph gibson and lee friedlander.

 

[waynecrider]

I have an on again, off again affair with 35mm cameras. It would take me a month or more to shoot a roll for development which led me to the more immediate 4x5 format. Now days I just open the camera, clip the roll, cut a new leader and develop what I shot; b&w of course. Why wait? Color of course is another matter.

 

[johnny9fingers]

I guess I was always looking for the "perfect shot" with the larger formats as there were only 1 (4X5) or 8 (MF) shots available at a time. So much time was spent looking and figuring the composition few pictures were made. While with a 35 mm I'll rip through a roll in no time. It's freed me up. I understand and respect everyones preference, but this is what I like. And of course black and white is the way too go too, blast through a few rolls and run to the darkroom and see what I caught... photography is so cool...

 

[Sparky]

No - I think it's a HUGELY valid point. There's SO MUCH setup time. I shoot medium and 4x5 formats - I find it much more beneficial to shoot with the medium format for those reasons. WAY quicker to get the shot. 4x5 (or larger) is great if you have the shot already planned, etc.. I'm trying to find a handheld camera with the biggest neg I can get using rollfilm for these very reasons.

I think everyone's become a large film snob lately because it's antithetical to digital.

 

[ricksplace]

I shoot mostly med format (Century Graphic, Pentacon SixTL and Rolleiflex). I still enjoy shooting 35 for all the reasons mentioned by previous posters. Love those Retina folders! I really need to shoot more 4X5.

 

[Brac]

The format may be small but I wouldn't call the Nikon N6006 small. In fact it's quite a handful though I like it as a camera. And underneath the plasticky exterior I believe there is a metal chasis.

 

[Gay Larson]

I shoot mostly medium format now although for many years I shot 35mm. I have to say I think I had more fun shooting the 35mm. I miss the excitement of shooting quickly. I think it is much easier to travel with and easier to use on the street. You don't get questioned so much without a tripod. However, I love the bigger negative. If I could find a medium format camera that was the size of a 35mm and I could use it like a 35mm I would be in heaven.

 

[bjorke]

If I could find a medium format camera that was the size of a 35mm and I could use it like a 35mm I would be in heaven.

Bronica benedictus

 

[johnny9fingers]

Oh, thanks a lot. Now how am I going to afford an F100 AND this beauty???? When will these gas attacks end..... ha ha ha....

 

[roteague]

I've long considered dropping 35mm altogether and sticking with 4x5. There is just something about that format that satisfies me.

 

[Gay Larson]

Well I just knew someone would come up with my dream!! Now I have to look for it. My husband will really be pleased....not.

 

[Philippe-Georges]

Perhaps a APUG sponsor can bring the answer here, have a look at Littman...

 

[seawolf66]

Lets get small:

Well some of us have been small now we need to get big : the reason, we need this either way is we tier from doing the same thing day in and out so some of us need to change , those who look in a 35mm viewfinder after a while go to 6x6 or 645 then up to 4x5 after that who knows: Its just human nature there a lot of us are never satisfied with what we got , we need to do something different: : do your thing and enjoy your selfs as long as the wife does not break out with a suitcase ,you know your in trouble then!!

 

[firecracker]

I shoot 35mm mostly (and I don't crop my images) and don't have much interest in other formats. 6x9xm is the only other format I like because of its aspect ratio that's close to the 35mm. I use it for some experiement, but that's about it.

For the 35mm, I use a couple of SLRs, a rangefinder and a couple of P&S cameras, but the sizes of these cameras don't seem to matter as much. As long as I can lift a camera and a lens with one hand and one arm, that's good enough.

The most important thing for me is that I stay with something I can handhold to get shots. I'm not a tripod guy. If I use a tripod or even a monopod, I feel I've lost something, which is not about how fast I can snap or anything at all. It's just something more as a personal take on what photography is to me and why I started doing it when I did. In a sense, the camera is really a part of my body, not belonging some sticks set on the ground, and so on.

 

[johnny9fingers]

Since Kevin posted the pic of the RF645 I was reminded of the GAS I had for the Mamiya 6. I know I'm wishy washy as heck when it comes to cameras, but now I think the Mamiya 6 might be a future addition to my camera bag...

 

[johnny9fingers]

No, no no..... I like 35mm. I have a SLR. So now finally I can look for the Hexar AF I've wanted for a long long time....