medium format handheld - what film?

jonasfj · May 12, 2016

Hi,

What film do you use when shooting medium format handheld?

I have been trying to shoot street photography with my Hasselblad 503cx. I use 50/4, 80/2.8 and 150/4 lenses, mostly the latter.

I have been shooting with Kodak Ektar, T-Max 100 and some Ilford FP4+. All those films give me beautiful images, but I tend to get stuck at the maximum apertures and often at shutter speeds that are too low for consistently sharp images.

Therefore I am leaning towards switching to T-Max 400 and Fuji Pro 400H.

Do you have similar experiences?

Cheers,

Jonas

Ian Grant · May 12, 2016

Depends on the weather and light, usually Delta 100 but I'll switch to Delta 400 if needed, previously I'd have used Tmax 400 )both are excellent films.

For LF hand-held work I shoot HP5 as Delta 400 isn't available in sheet film but I prefer Delta 400 for MF.

Ian

chriscrawfordphoto · May 12, 2016

The Hasselblad is a hard one to shoot handheld, and for street photography its not really a good choice, given how slow it is to focus and set exposure on. My first choice for handheld street photography would be a medium format rangefinder like the Mamiya 6, Mamiya 7, or one of the Fuji medium format rangefinders. I had a Hasselblad, sold it for a Mamiya 6 and it is great for handheld work.

I use Tri-X in bright light and Delta 3200 at EI-1600 in lower light. Delta 3200 actually gives nice image quality in medium format.

Here's some handheld street photo work i have done with my Mamiya 6.

These were both done with the Mamiya 6 handheld on Delta 3200 at 1600, developed in Tmax Developer. It was near sunset, light was fairly low daylight.

baachitraka · May 12, 2016

A mono-pod always works. Actually it offers more convenience than hand holding a camera.

Theo Sulphate · May 12, 2016

With handheld shots, my expectation is that I'm not enlarging above 8x10. Even then, I'm critical about sharpness.

If I'm shooting a subject with the expectation of larger (16x20) prints, I use a tripod and pre-release the camera.

Handheld, I've used Ilford HP5+ in RB67's with good results. I've been able to choose the sweet spots of f/5.6 and f/8 while using shutter speeds from 1/125 to 1/400.

In Hasselblads, I've used Portra 160 NC handheld in good light at f/5.6, f/8 and shutter speeds of at least 1/125 - but I've even handheld it at 1/30 (albeit keeping enlargements to 5x7).

jonasfj · May 12, 2016

baachitraka said:
A mono-pod always works. Actually it offers more convenience than hand holding a camera.

I do have a monopod. Now when you say it, I will definately give it a try!

jonasfj · May 12, 2016

chriscrawfordphoto said:
These were both done with the Mamiya 6 handheld on Delta 3200 at 1600, developed in Tmax Developer. It was near sunset, light was fairly low daylight.

Looks good! I will get a couple of rolls of Delta 3200 and test!

Svenedin · May 12, 2016

I like Ilford Delta 400 for my Zeiss folders. It gives me more flexibility than ISO 100 films. If shooting ISO 100 and I lose a stop or 2 for a filter it is just too slow for handheld.

jeffreyg · May 12, 2016

Plus 1 for Delta 400 which I use for most of my photography except for HP5 for 4x5. I use my Hasselblad with the PM5 prism.

Rick A · May 12, 2016

I prefer range finders and folders in particular for shooting MF. I have used Mamiya M645's, but not really a fan of the format, I love 6x6 and 6x9, and shoot Adox and Efke 25, Ilford Pan F+ as my films of choice.

MrBrowning · May 12, 2016

Any film that the light will allow.

David Allen · May 12, 2016

It has been a long time since I did street work with a Hasselblad (was when I worked commercially).

However, it is quite possible to use a Hasselblad and my choice of film in those days was Tri-X (I only use Delta 400 now).

Whilst a monopod can sometimes be of help when needing to shoot a slow speeds, it does not assist when the subjects are fast moving.

If I were to do street work now, I would use a rangefinder but it is perfectly possible to work with a Hasselblad.

The keys to making the Hasselblad work for you are:

Hold it correctly - the camera should be resting on your left hand with the your left index finger being used to fire the shutter. The right hand is used to focus and adjust exposure settings and then placed under your left hand to provide extra support when making a photograph. The right hand is also used to wind the film on.
Learn how to effectively use zone focussing - that is using the depth of field markings on the lens to see the nearest and furthest points that will be sharp. For example, if I was photographing some signatory doing a walk about I would position myself so that I could see them talking to members of the crowd and focus on the people before the signatory arrived so that I knew which people would be sharp at f11 and then simply waited until the signatory stopped to talk to one of the people who I knew would be in focus (with the Queen or Princess Anne that would almost certainly be a child with a gift of flowers).
Similar to number two, for more general street work you can also focus on a fixed point on the ground and then wait for someone interesting to come by and take the picture just before they reach the pre-focused point.

Have fun with your photography.

Bests,

David.
www.dsallen.de

Slixtiesix · May 12, 2016

HP5+ or Tri-X and Provia 400X

kobaltus · May 12, 2016

Yes, similar experience. For sharp photos with my pentacon six cameras and asa 100 film I must have luck or a good tripod. But for good photos this is not enough....

Thomas Bertilsson · May 12, 2016

Any ISO 400 speed film will do fine in most circumstances. As David Allen points out above, how you hold the camera matters.
Having an idea of what the lighting will be like BEFORE you make exposures is key, so if you have some spots you want to shoot in, go meter before hand so you can preset the camera. Use zone focusing and set an approximate focus, and simply be ready to fire away.
I won't say I've done this a lot, but I've done it enough that I can say with confidence that a Hasselblad is a fine camera for street photography, especially with an 80mm or even a 50mm lens.

I use Ilford HP5+ for just about everything, and when I photograph in this way I use a developer that gives full emulsion speed, like Ilfotec DD-X, Kodak Xtol, Kodak TMax, or ADOX FX-39.
I can actually shoot HP5+ at 640 to 800 using DD-X. That extra stop of speed helps with zone focusing, as I can add a stop and increase my depth of field.

Sirius Glass · May 12, 2016

chriscrawfordphoto said:
The Hasselblad is a hard one to shoot handheld, and for street photography its not really a good choice, ...

Poppycock! I would bet that you think that the whole world is out of step in unison with you too.

The Hasselblad was designed to be used hand held. The only time I use a tripod for my Hasselblad is when I am using the 500mm lens. I use ISO 400 films at box speed and I do not have any problems shooting hand held.

williaty · May 12, 2016

I shot for a lot of years with a Mamiya C330f TLR. All the way through art school and the beginning of my career immediately after. I handheld nearly everything and made enlargements up to 30x30. The only films that ever went into it were Plus-X and NPC. The key is knowing your system and knowing how to get what you need out of it. Respecting the limitations of what you can or can't handhold for sharpness is a critical skill to learn.

JBrunner · May 12, 2016

Thread moved to correct forum, carry on.

paul ron · May 12, 2016

TMY-2
RB67 n ETRS hand held

Ian Grant · May 12, 2016

Sirius Glass said:
Poppycock! I would bet that you think that the whole world is out of step in unison with you too.
The Hasselblad was designed to be used hand held. The only time I use a tripod for my Hasselblad is when I am using the 500mm lens. I use ISO 400 films at box speed and I do not have any problems shooting hand held.

I agree most MF cameras were designed to be used hand held, however there can be benefits using a tripod and with SLR's mirror lock.

Surprisingly I don't think I've lost shots when using MF hand-held, however I did have poor results with an MF SLR on a tripod when I didn't use Mirro lock.

Ian

jonasfj · May 12, 2016

jeffreyg said:
Plus 1 for Delta 400 which I use for most of my photography except for HP5 for 4x5. I use my Hasselblad with the PM5 prism.

Nice pictures! I think I will pick up a PM5 prism. Seems very convenient!

jonasfj · May 12, 2016

David Allen said:
The keys to making the Hasselblad work for you are:

Hold it correctly - the camera should be resting on your left hand with the your left index finger being used to fire the shutter. The right hand is used to focus and adjust exposure settings and then placed under your left hand to provide extra support when making a photograph. The right hand is also used to wind the film on.

Learn how to effectively use zone focussing - that is using the depth of field markings on the lens to see the nearest and furthest points that will be sharp. For example, if I was photographing some signatory doing a walk about I would position myself so that I could see them talking to members of the crowd and focus on the people before the signatory arrived so that I knew which people would be sharp at f11 and then simply waited until the signatory stopped to talk to one of the people who I knew would be in focus (with the Queen or Princess Anne that would almost certainly be a child with a gift of flowers).

Similar to number two, for more general street work you can also focus on a fixed point on the ground and then wait for someone interesting to come by and take the picture just before they reach the pre-focused point.

Nice advice! Thank you!

Kawaiithulhu · May 12, 2016

Old trick to avoid using a solid monopod is to attach a length of string or light chain weighted at the bottom to your tripod socket. When you want to shoot and you need the extra stability just drop it and stomp it and holding your camera up against the chain will drastically reduce random shake. Also, though I have not had my hassy for long, the standard WLF makes it very easy to brace the camera against the body which removes all that arm muscle strain that happens when holding even a common DSLR up against your face.

jspillane · May 13, 2016

MrBrowning said:
Any film that the light will allow.

That pretty much sums it up.

I do handheld work most often with a Rolleiflex 2.8D, but also regularly with a Hasselblad 500c. Rolleiflex is easier to get sharp at under 1/60th of a second, but otherwise I find them both entirely comfortable to use.
Sometimes I use a monopod but usually only if I am shooting with the 250mm. If you need to use low shutterspeeds with a Hasselblad handheld, mirror pre-release can help (it's still not as easy to do as with a TLR or rangefinder though).

If I expect a lot of varied light situations I usually would take the Hasselblad with 80 2.8, one back with FP4+ and one back with HP4+ or Tri-X, sometimes pushed to 800ISO.
Color I shoot Portra 400 or 160 depending on light and subject.

On Tripod my favorite film is Pan F+, but I usually don't go with it if I am working handheld.

digital&film · May 13, 2016

I use the Hasselblad 500cm for street shooting with no problems. I upgraded the focus screen to accumat, and use prism finder.

medium format handheld - what film?

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