Making waves with a C330

[TheFlyingCamera]

The tripod rule may be for the mall in general, but I did ask some of the Park Service rangers about using tripods on the actual monuments, and they said no problem as long as you don't obstruct traffic. I even did a commercial portrait shoot down on the WW II memorial, tripod, 4x5, reflectors on a lightstand and all, and nobody said anything to us about it. It might have helped that I was photographing an Air Force Colonel in his dress blues, but anyway...

It sounds like some folks have been passing out conflicting information, and the rangers/police on the ground don't have a consistent story. So once again, it all comes down to the whim of the official at the time of the encounter.

 

[zenrhino]

I've had almost the opposite happen -- had someone ask me if my Canonet was a Leica, and then someone else asked me if my Rolleicord was a Seagull.

 

[mark]

An 8x10 on the side of the road damn near got me run over by a porche SUV. The guy stopped, apologized and told me I have a beautiful camera. I told him that based on his car he obviously was a man of good taste and thanked him. He then asked if it was a hasselblad. I said "aren't they all?" And he missed the joke, so i told him what it was.

Oh well some where in CO there is a rich guy with a digital picture of my Kodak 8x10 2d. Which is in no way beautiful.

The only time anyone took notice of my MF camera was when I inadvertantly asked a russian student on vacation to trip the shutter for a family shot of us and the Vancouver skyline, I had set up. He was impressed that I had a Hartblei.

 

[bmccarthy007]

Enjoy your new C330! I, too picked one up last year as my first step into MF and as we know MF is just a "gateway" to bigger things! I enjoy toting it about and enjoy the comments and questions it generates. Still think I'd do better attracting women of all ages with a puppy, however!

Brian

 

[Antje]

Enjoy your new C330! I, too picked one up last year as my first step into MF and as we know MF is just a "gateway" to bigger things! I enjoy toting it about and enjoy the comments and questions it generates. Still think I'd do better attracting women of all ages with a puppy, however!

The problem with puppies is that they grow into huge, slobbering beasts that can turn their daily 5 pounds of dog food into amazing *things* on the sidewalk, especially the puppies with these adorable big paws. A MF camera though stays cute and cuddly all its life!

Just a side note: I have always wondered if any woman actually notices the guy who's holding the puppy's leash. I know I don't. I'm far too occupied making friends with an adorable heap of fur and gleaming eyes.

Antje

 

[mgb74]

... At least no one asked, "How many megapixels?".

Cheers.

But if they did, you should tell them. What is it - about 35 megapixels for a 6x6 assuming color negative film? (I believe I once read approximately 13 megapixels for a 35mm negative assuming ISO 400 print film.)

 

[raucousimages]

When setting up an Toyo 810G in Rhyolite Nevada A guy stoped and told me "You can't do that, They havent made film for those for 50 years". I told him I buy it all the time and he wanted to argue with me. I went under the cloth until he left.

 

[Steve Smith]

When setting up an Toyo 810G in Rhyolite Nevada A guy stoped and told me "You can't do that, They havent made film for those for 50 years". I told him I buy it all the time and he wanted to argue with me. I went under the cloth until he left.

I hear the phrase 'you can't do that' quite a lot. Usually just after I have done the thing which I can't do!

Steve.

 

[walter23]

People always think my 4x5 is a piece of survey equipment

 

[Antje]

People always think my 4x5 is a piece of survey equipment

Which is cool because they don't realize you're taking their picture. Happened to me when I was shooting a cute shivering doggie in front of a store. The owner came out of the shop and asked if she should take her dog out of the way. I told her I could well work around him, and she went back inside. The dog wasn't amused:

"Where did she go? She can't be serious!"

The free 80 is working, by the way.

Antje

 

[Mike Té]

I hear the phrase 'you can't do that' quite a lot. Usually just after I have done the thing which I can't do!

Steve.

What could they be thinking? What is it they think you can't do? LOL.

 

[jonathanbennett120]

The most common question I get from stangers about my various cameras (Kodak Retina, Rolleiflex SL66, Yashica Mat) is "so does that only shoot black and white"? Not as a joke. People seem to think the old camera's only captured images that way forgetting about the role/roll of film!

My wife says my Rollei is a good as having a puppy for meeting strangers!

 

[light leak]

The most common question I get from stangers about my various cameras (Kodak Retina, Rolleiflex SL66, Yashica Mat) is "so does that only shoot black and white"? Not as a joke. People seem to think the old camera's only captured images that way forgetting about the role/roll of film!

Ya know, I've had a few people ask me that same question when out with the Rolleiflex. At first I thought it was kind of strange. But I guess I can see where they would come to that conclusion. Sort of.

Jonathan

 

[benjiboy]

Quite often when I am using my Mamiya TLRs I remember A great friend and a fine photographer Brian who sadly died a few years ago whose first reaction when seeing me use my C330F was " if that bloody thing had four wheel drive it'd be a Land Rover ! "

 

[Mike Wilde]

Yes, C330, a camera that gets noticed

We took a family vacation back in Dec 2006 to NYC just to poke around for a week and a bit. The kids are big enough to walk without needing to be carried by the end of the day (most days) so I took my C330 rig along for this holiday (Carrying/towing the backpack/rolling camera bag and hoisting a tired 4 year old both at the same time is rather tiring!).

The weather was nice and mild, and there were great clear days and nights for photo opportunities. We got down to a park in Brooklyn that was once a ferry dock near the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge, and I carefully set up and exposed a panorama, overlapping 5 exposures as the sun was beginning to set. Several folks stopped to talk or watch as I pulled the C330 out and levelled it on the tripod, and hung around until I packed it up. There were quite a few 30 second or so delays, as I waited for a time when a river boat would not be near the edge of a frame to chat with them, answer questions on what kind of camera it was, take thir picture with thier digicams, etc. One couple commented that it was the same type of camera that they had their wedding photos taken with over 45 years earlier. I said they were quite correct for this camera line began in the 1950's

On Times Square and in Rockafeller Plaza I also had people ask me what the C330 was, or comment on what a nice camera I had. One group in the Rockafeller area actually presumed that I was one of the itenerant photographers that work the area. I explained that they all used digital now, and steered them to a guy with the camera, laptop, inkjet printer and ups system mounted on a cart gizmo near the curb.

While lining up the shot of the illuminated tree with the rink in the foreground, I waited for a break in the queue of people awaiting photos shot by a crew set up under a 'Kodak' banner. There one of the photo assistants, a kid of perhaps 19, said the likes of 'what kind of camera is that?'. I told him, and he asked why I didn't buy digital if I liked cameras so much. I told him I am still awaiting a 35 megapixel digital camera that does well at at taking pictures at night under available light conditions. He understood what I was saying, and smiled, with the comment 'sweet' returned...

I have over Christmas printed the Brooklyn Bridge panorama series and carefully trimmed to almost seamlesly butt them together and have mounted them to make a 14" high by 60" wide photomontage that now sits atop the piano in the front room.

I had a crowd of friends over for a house party for the weekend, and a number of people were admiring the photo. They asked how I made it, and in explaining, got out 'the Brick', as I call it. There were oh and ahs aas it was passed around and looked into. I got out my metz CT60 mega flash, attached a bounce card, and did a short chat on the benefits of off camera flash as I shot a short series of impromptu B&W portraits with the 180mm lens set attached. I intend to print these, and send them out with the thank you cards that my wife mails after a party.

Yes, the c330 isn't something that you put in your pocket, but it sure brings home great images when it is used carefully.

 

[CraigH]

It would have fit in Harpo Marx's pocket.

Craig

 

[JJC]

We took a family vacation back in Dec 2006 to NYC just to poke around for a week and a bit. The kids are big enough to walk without needing to be carried by the end of the day (most days) so I took my C330 rig along for this holiday (Carrying/towing the backpack/rolling camera bag and hoisting a tired 4 year old both at the same time is rather tiring!).

The weather was nice and mild, and there were great clear days and nights for photo opportunities. We got down to a park in Brooklyn that was once a ferry dock near the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge, and I carefully set up and exposed a panorama, overlapping 5 exposures as the sun was beginning to set. Several folks stopped to talk or watch as I pulled the C330 out and levelled it on the tripod, and hung around until I packed it up. There were quite a few 30 second or so delays, as I waited for a time when a river boat would not be near the edge of a frame to chat with them, answer questions on what kind of camera it was, take thir picture with thier digicams, etc. One couple commented that it was the same type of camera that they had their wedding photos taken with over 45 years earlier. I said they were quite correct for this camera line began in the 1950's

On Times Square and in Rockafeller Plaza I also had people ask me what the C330 was, or comment on what a nice camera I had. One group in the Rockafeller area actually presumed that I was one of the itenerant photographers that work the area. I explained that they all used digital now, and steered them to a guy with the camera, laptop, inkjet printer and ups system mounted on a cart gizmo near the curb.

While lining up the shot of the illuminated tree with the rink in the foreground, I waited for a break in the queue of people awaiting photos shot by a crew set up under a 'Kodak' banner. There one of the photo assistants, a kid of perhaps 19, said the likes of 'what kind of camera is that?'. I told him, and he asked why I didn't buy digital if I liked cameras so much. I told him I am still awaiting a 35 megapixel digital camera that does well at at taking pictures at night under available light conditions. He understood what I was saying, and smiled, with the comment 'sweet' returned...

I have over Christmas printed the Brooklyn Bridge panorama series and carefully trimmed to almost seamlesly butt them together and have mounted them to make a 14" high by 60" wide photomontage that now sits atop the piano in the front room.

I had a crowd of friends over for a house party for the weekend, and a number of people were admiring the photo. They asked how I made it, and in explaining, got out 'the Brick', as I call it. There were oh and ahs aas it was passed around and looked into. I got out my metz CT60 mega flash, attached a bounce card, and did a short chat on the benefits of off camera flash as I shot a short series of impromptu B&W portraits with the 180mm lens set attached. I intend to print these, and send them out with the thank you cards that my wife mails after a party.

Yes, the c330 isn't something that you put in your pocket, but it sure brings home great images when it is used carefully.

Nice going! It sounds like you did a great job promoting film photography as well.

 

[walter23]

Today I was out shooting with my new-to-me Mamiya C330f. Id used it before, but this was the first time I was outside downtown with it.

Just composing on the sidewalk, I thought I was going to cause an accident... people were amazed at the old thing. I was surprised that they were surprised. At least no one asked, "How many megapixels?".

Cheers.

I get the odd interested onlooker with my 4x5, but mostly people ignore it. The only place I regularly shoot with other people around is my university though, and I think the current generation of late teens and early 20-somethings makes even more of an effort to seem disinterested in everything that mine did (I'm 31).

 

[Bryce Parker]

I dressed as Clark Kent this last Halloween, and put a flashbulb setup on the "tiller" as I call it.
Well, I got a ton of great pictures of halloween costumes in use, lots of comments, and 3rd place in the costume contest.
Over the course of the evening I lost count of how many times I was asked if that thing worked, if you could still buy film for it, etc.
I doubt 1 in 10 of my "victims" that evening believed their pictures were being taken. Weeks later I showed the pile of pictures around the bar... Well, I doubt the costume would work so well again next year in that place!
This talk of surveying equipment gives me an idea- paint tripod yellow, get yellow vest, be invisible. Could be very useful.

 

[benjiboy]

What a great idea for street photography, people wouldn't take you seriously.