Medium Format Street?

2F/2F · Jul 13, 2009

John Koehrer said:
On the "wide & fast" Question, ummm f4/4.5 and 50-65mm is really about it regardless of system.

...unless you go with a 645. Then there are some 2.8 wide lenses. 45mm and 55mm for the Mamiya system, to name two examples. Still not fast, but faster than f/4.

Edwardv · Jul 13, 2009

I use both a 6x6 and 645 for street photography. Who says you have to do a lot of walking. I like to pick a location where I can sit down such as a cafe, bench or steps facing my camera in the direction where I would like to photograph. The focus area is picked, aperture is set, the shutter speed is adjusted according to light conditions and attached is long cable release. While I waiting for an interesting subject or event to happen, I will drink water or eat something and pretend I am not paying attention to the surrounding area.

keithwms · Jul 13, 2009

philosomatographer said:
I am so in two minds about this - regardless of the virtues (and amazging image quality) os a 6x7 rangefinder like a Mamiya 7, I find the buggest hurdle to street photography to be the act of lifting the camera to the eyes.

Well, the Mamiyas scale focus very easily. Also the lenses really aren't so fast that minor errors in scale focusing would matter much.

I know that some people like to be able to compose through a VF or use GG or whatever, but... I find that with the 6x6 or 6x7 format, even if I do a really crappy job of composing and getting the camera level, I can still get a very effective 645 crop out of it, especially if a wide lens is used.

Now, normally I do not crop much, but for really unobtrusive stuff, why not? It works well. Once I was in a place that completely forbade photography and so I acted disappointed and just let my camera hang loose by the strap. It was set on 10 sec shutter delay, so I walked on and got the shot. Nobody had a clue. One has to put some tape over the blinking light, of course

Christopher Nisperos · Jul 13, 2009

AutumnJazz said:
How difficult is it to shoot street with an RX67 or a 'Blad? Thanks,
Jazz

Depends on how big your biceps are! But seriously, if you follow the sensible maxim that suggests, "subject matter dictates equipment choice", then —before giving advice— one question logically follows: What do you mean by "street photography"? Here in Paris, for example, my street photography is completely void of people... just "found" objects, architectural details, and the like. See what I mean? For this I use a Rolleiflex TLR. It's light, sharp and easy to compose with.

For 'people pictures' on the street— the Hasselblad and RB67 would be pretty impractical. I've owned both and used the Hasselblad on the street. Great for the famous 'peeling paint on an old door' shot. Horrible and too cumbersome for a quick shot of a couple kissing on a park bench. For this, I tend to agree with those who mention the Mamiya 7II.

If you can't make up your mind, go with the Rolleiflex. At the very least, it can serve as your back-up camera, bought first! In any case, I don't think you'd regret it.

Best,

Christopher

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jd callow · Jul 13, 2009

david b said:
Hasselblad SWC. Love it

I'd kill to shoot street with an SWC, as it is I'm forced to use a Mamiya 6.

AutumnJazz · Jul 13, 2009

At least 80° field of view, as fast as possible. I love HP5+, so it doesn't have to be insanely fast.

Colin Corneau · Jul 13, 2009

namke said:
There was a guy (Clive Boursnell) who took lots of 'street' pictures in and around Covent Garden between 1968 and 1974 - he used a Hasselblad, so it's not impossible

http://marketphotos.co.uk/photos.html

Thank you for posting this - I really enjoyed seeing those photographs. Very well-crafted and they really captured a 'moment'.

AutumnJazz · Jul 13, 2009

By the way, are there any 135 backs that allow wide "35mm" shots?

keithwms · Jul 13, 2009

AutumnJazz said:
By the way, are there any 135 backs that allow wide "35mm" shots?

Sure, look here, though it isn't a very sensible option IMHO, since you can load 35mm in almost any MF camera in a very simple way to get (there was a url link here which no longer exists)...

The mamiya 6MF can shoot pano on 135 an there is a pano adapter for the mamiya 7 and 7ii as well.

Sirius Glass · Jul 13, 2009

keithwms said:
Now, normally I do not crop much, but for really unobtrusive stuff, why not? It works well. Once I was in a place that completely forbade photography and so I acted disappointed and just let my camera hang loose by the strap. It was set on 10 sec shutter delay, so I walked on and got the shot. Nobody had a clue. One has to put some tape over the blinking light, of course

When I was in college I worked for a while in Italy. I was visiting the Sistine Chapel and I wanted to photograph the ceiling. I set the camera for a long exposure with self timer. I estimated the focus using the hyperfocus and placed the camera on the floor. The guards came running over to me shouting, "No photographa, no photographa!" Just before they would have been in the photograph the camera gives a long loud c-l-i-c-k. I look at the guards and in halting Italian I tell them that the camera is broken and it just keeps taking pictures, so what am I to do? The guards shug their shoulders and walked away.

Steve

David R Munson · Aug 1, 2009

David Brown said:
Fuji 645.

Late to the thread, I know, but THIS. The Fuji 645s are small, quiet, well-designed, and their lenses fantastically sharp.

narsuitus · Aug 1, 2009

If forced to shoot candid street photography with the medium format camera I own, I would be shooting with a Fuji 6x7cm rangefinder with a 90mm f/3.5 normal lens. However, rapid focusing is too difficult for me with this camera.

If given a choice, I would perform candid street photography with one of the following cameras (in order of preference):

1. Rolleiflex 6x6cm TLR with a normal lens and a waist level viewfinder
2. Mamiya 6x7 rangefinder with a normal lens
3. Almost any 645 rangefinder with a normal lens

I would avoid an SLR because it is too noisy for my taste.

Sirius Glass · Aug 1, 2009

narsuitus said:
If forced to shoot candid street photography with the medium format camera I own, I would be shooting with a Fuji 6x7cm rangefinder with a 90mm f/3.5 normal lens. However, rapid focusing is too difficult for me with this camera.

Use the hyperfocus to set the focus range to the distance of interest to you. That is the method that Weegee used for his work and he did take some very remarkable street photographs. "Most of his notable photographs were taken with very basic press photographer equipment and methods of the era, a 4x5 Speed Graphic camera preset at f/16, @ 1/200 of a second with flashbulbs and a set focus distance of ten feet." from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weegee

To see Weegee's work:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/09/arts/design/09weeg.html
http://museum.icp.org/museum/collections/special/weegee/

Steve

narsuitus · Aug 2, 2009

Steve,

Thanks for the focus range tip. I have successfully used this method with my manual focus 35mm cameras but never tried it with the 6x7 because I was afraid that depth-of-field would be too shallow (especially when shooting without flash). I will, however, give it a try.

Also, thanks for the Weegee links.

arch996677 · Aug 3, 2009

I'm new here and just joined because I really enjoyed this topic and... I was wondering how load the mamiya c330 is? I imagine the shutter is quiet but how about winding?

I currently have one of the newer versions of the Yashica TLR and I really like the camera. The main reason I got into medium format was because I wanted to try a TRL to do something new and gain a new prospective on photography. What i've noticed with this camera is that people act much differently around it. Like others have said, if people notice your taking a picture they aren't as intimated because you aren't looking at them with a huge lens. I've also had a lot of people show interest in the camera, they all think it's really old or their grandpa had one or something like this. When people do notice the camera it's normally positive.

Recently I've been thinking about getting a new medium format so that's why i'm reading this forum. I'm debating whether or not to get into a SLR system like a Hassleblad, very tempting but also a serious investment, or should i look into another TLR particularly the C330. I'm planning to use it on a trip to Japan so that makes it harder to decide, considering size and versitilty etc.

I will look forward to future reading on here.

Sirius Glass · Aug 3, 2009

arch996677, welcome to APUG.

You can find many manuals at http://www.butkus.org/chinon/ Please remember to donate $3 if you find the download useful.

Search my user name and C330 and you will find (should find because the search route has attitude issues) why I traded a C330 with the 65mm, 80mm and 250mm lens, with Paraminder, Porroflex and a ton of C330 equipment in for a Hasselblad. The short version is that I found the fiddle factor too great [read: for a very experienced photographer it took way to long to set up the camera to take a photograph]. I have never regretted making the move, accept for the later drain on my wallet [see signature line]. FYI I now have the Hasselblad 503 CX, 50mm CF lens, 80mm CF lens, 150mm CF lens, 250mm CF lens, 2x extender, extension tubes, and a Hasselblad 903 SWC.

Like the old ads for Packard said, "Ask the man that owns one."

There are others on this website who absolutely love the C2, C220, C3, C330, ... . They do have the advantage of low cost relative to the Hasselblad or Rollei, TLR interchangeable lenses [frankly, I think the term changeable lenses is sufficient, but whatever], and built in bellows.

YMMV

Steve

Q.G. · Aug 3, 2009

[You can change those lenses into what? ]

Hasselblad manuals can also be found here.

arch996677 · Aug 6, 2009

Sirius Glass said:
arch996677, welcome to APUG.

You can find many manuals at http://www.butkus.org/chinon/ Please remember to donate $3 if you find the download useful.

Search my user name and C330 and you will find (should find because the search route has attitude issues) why I traded a C330 with the 65mm, 80mm and 250mm lens, with Paraminder, Porroflex and a ton of C330 equipment in for a Hasselblad. The short version is that I found the fiddle factor too great [read: for a very experienced photographer it took way to long to set up the camera to take a photograph]. I have never regretted making the move, accept for the later drain on my wallet [see signature line]. FYI I now have the Hasselblad 503 CX, 50mm CF lens, 80mm CF lens, 150mm CF lens, 250mm CF lens, 2x extender, extension tubes, and a Hasselblad 903 SWC.

Like the old ads for Packard said, "Ask the man that owns one."

There are others on this website who absolutely love the C2, C220, C3, C330, ... . They do have the advantage of low cost relative to the Hasselblad or Rollei, TLR interchangeable lenses [frankly, I think the term changeable lenses is sufficient, but whatever], and built in bellows.

YMMV

Steve

Thanks for the welcome. I appreciate your prospective on the C330 and the Hassleblad system.
One question for you on the C330. How loud is that cameras operation? I imagine the shutter is quiet but is the winder louder?
How about the Hassleblad? is the winder loud or is just the shutter?

In the next couple weeks I'm going to meet up with a camera friend who has a C330 and a Mamiya SLR so I can hopefully get a better feel for this medium. though i unfortunatly don't know any Hassleblad owners.

Thanks again for your suggestions.
Stephen

Sirius Glass · Aug 6, 2009

arch996677 said:
Thanks for the welcome. I appreciate your prospective on the C330 and the Hassleblad system.
One question for you on the C330. How loud is that cameras operation? I imagine the shutter is quiet but is the winder louder?

The C330 has a very quite sound. If you are not listening for it you may miss it. C330 winding sound? I do not remember.

arch996677 said:
How about the Hassleblad? is the winder loud or is just the shutter?

Hasselblad sound?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkKcbyh2CrA

Hasselblad winding sound? Not particularly load

I hope that helps.

Steve

MattKing · Aug 6, 2009

The ratchet sound you hear when winding the C330 is quiet but noticeable. I used to use a C330 for weddings, and if I was taking shots during a church service, I'd be careful to turn away from the congregation and wind it slowly so as to be as unobtrusive as possible.

Or wait until someone coughed, or a baby cried .

Matt

arch996677 · Aug 7, 2009

Thanks Matt and Steve.

That Hasselblad has a nice sound to it. I think I will end up debating between the Mamiya 645 and the Hasselblad.

Stephen

Sirius Glass · Aug 7, 2009

arch996677 said:
Thanks Matt and Steve.

That Hasselblad has a nice sound to it. I think I will end up debating between the Mamiya 645 and the Hasselblad.

Stephen

Remember that 645 is not great for portaits without a tripod and that a Hasselblad can shoot 6x6 or 645.

Steve

benjiboy · Aug 10, 2009

Mamiya TLRs are quiet in operation, the shutter and winding noise is about the same as a Rollei, with the big advantage of interchangable lenses.

arch996677 · Aug 12, 2009

Steve and Ben,
Thanks for your input again. This weekend, I'm going to meet with one guy that has a giant Pentax (6X7 SLR) system and a guy i know well who has the both the Mamiya TLR and the 645 i will know more once i get a chance to talk with these guys. I'd still like to try out a Hasselblad system because the square format is really growing on me and I think that system makes a lot of sense to me. Eventually i need to decide if i want to travel with medium format and which system will be best. I tend to like traveling light, shooting with existing light and rarely use more then 2 lenses. Last trip I spent 2 months traveling through the Balkans with a 50mm and a 28mm but i felt i could have used a medium long, 100-200mm for more candid street pictures. But since i've been using the TLR I've really liked how people interact with the camera so i'm wondering if a hip level view on a medium format SLR will have similar results. If it does that could be better and more versatile options for a trip. Otherwise I will be interested in the Mamiya or some other faster higher quality lens TLR (something 2.8 would be nice).
I will keep you'll posted.
Thanks again for the input,
Stephen

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