Medium format system with the best lenses?

flavio81 · Oct 30, 2015

Theo Sulphate said:
Actually, M. Weintraub was saying that after using the Bronica and the Mamiya RB67, it was the Hasselblad that was finicky by comparison.

My bad. Ooooops!

Sirius Glass · Oct 30, 2015

mweintraub said:
After using a Bronica SQ-A and Mamiya RB/RZ I find the system of having to make sure everything matches between the body and back annoying and make the system finiky.

Not finicky, just RTFM. If one does not RTFM any camera is finicky.

Slixtiesix · Oct 31, 2015

flavio81 said:
I don't find it that way.

The Mamiya RB interlocks are pretty easy to understand once you take time to read the instruction manual. And thanks to those interlocks, when you hit the shutter button and the machine goes "ka-chlotshk", you can be damn sure, 100% sure, that the image reached the film emulsion. So no film waste and no blank exposures.

It is very simple, to be honest:

- If the film magazine dark slide is in place, then you cannot shoot.
---> Advice: Remove the dark slide once you put the film magazine in place, and store it in your camera back.

- If the shutter is not cocked... you cannot shoot. But if it's not cocked, you won't see anything in the viewfinder, so this is not a problem.

- If the shutter is not cocked... you cannot take out the lens or insert a new lens.
---> Advice: On a shooting day, cock all your lenses. In this way, they are always ready. After your job is done and you are about to store the camera, you can uncock all the lenses (so the shutters are stored without tension).

- If the rotating back is not fully rotated... you cannot shoot.

But where is the difference to Hasselblad then? Sounds exactly the same (apart from the revolving back of course).

Theo Sulphate · Oct 31, 2015

Slixtiesix said:
But where is the difference to Hasselblad then? Sounds exactly the same (apart from the revolving back of course).

Safer method of un/mounting lenses without jamming.

weasel · Oct 31, 2015

I would humbly suggest after more that 4 decades of experience, that all the makers have lenses that are capable of producing results that exceed our abilities. Most of the lenses we are using now are older, and sample variation can be huge. Makes more sense to choose a body/system you like and go from there. Paying attention to film flatness, properly adjusted/collimated screens, film backs, etc. will go a long way to maximizing performance.

Kyle M. · Oct 31, 2015

Theo Sulphate said:
Safer method of un/mounting lenses without jamming.

I could be mistaken because I haven't handled a Hasselblad since April, but I thought that like the RB/RZ you could not remove a Hasselblad lens unless the shutter was cocked? Also isn't there a tool that pretty much resembles a flathead screwdriver that you can insert through the rear of the body to unjam a Hasselblad? The only minor inconvenience I can think of with the Hasselblad and it is a very minor one is that you need a coin or other tool to cock the shutter in an unmounted lens. Whereas on the RB/RZ you simply rotate the pins on the back of the lens, like I said a very minor complaint.

Alan Gales · Oct 31, 2015

Here you go, Kyle. A Hasselblad lens tool.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...hassy_tool_camerakey_tool_for_hasselblad.html

Kyle M. · Oct 31, 2015

Alan Gales said:
Here you go, Kyle. A Hasselblad lens tool.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...hassy_tool_camerakey_tool_for_hasselblad.html

So it's pretty much a shrouded flathead screwdriver so that you don't slip and mar anything, much better idea than a screwdriver for that matter.

Alan Gales · Oct 31, 2015

Kyle M. said:
So it's pretty much a shrouded flathead screwdriver so that you don't slip and mar anything, much better idea than a screwdriver for that matter.

Yep!

Theo Sulphate · Oct 31, 2015

Well, yes, the "jamming issue" is overblown. But those not familiar with it and who don't know what to do, they panic.

I'd first heard of the solution back when Robert Monaghan had his wonderful "medium format mega site" around 1998. Shortly thereafter, a writer for Shutterbug trashed the Hasselblad because he jammed it and didn't know what to do. That got far more exposure.

Alan Gales · Oct 31, 2015

Theo Sulphate said:
Well, yes, the "jamming issue" is overblown. But those not familiar with it and who don't know what to do, they panic.

I'd first heard of the solution back when Robert Monaghan had his wonderful "medium format mega site" around 1998. Shortly thereafter, a writer for Shutterbug trashed the Hasselblad because he jammed it and didn't know what to do. That got far more exposure.

That's what's great about the internet. Today if you screw something up, you can quickly find out what you did wrong and hopefully how to fix it.

Sirius Glass · Oct 31, 2015

Theo Sulphate said:
Safer method of un/mounting lenses without jamming.

Kyle M. said:
I could be mistaken because I haven't handled a Hasselblad since April, but I thought that like the RB/RZ you could not remove a Hasselblad lens unless the shutter was cocked? Also isn't there a tool that pretty much resembles a flathead screwdriver that you can insert through the rear of the body to unjam a Hasselblad? The only minor inconvenience I can think of with the Hasselblad and it is a very minor one is that you need a coin or other tool to cock the shutter in an unmounted lens. Whereas on the RB/RZ you simply rotate the pins on the back of the lens, like I said a very minor complaint.

Alan Gales said:
Here you go, Kyle. A Hasselblad lens tool.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...hassy_tool_camerakey_tool_for_hasselblad.html

RTFM!! Any camera can be screwed up by not RTFM!! Try getting over your inability to follow instructions. I have not had a Hasselblad camera or lens jam in years. If you drive like you operate a camera you will soon wrap your car around a light pole.

Alan Gales · Oct 31, 2015

Sirius Glass said:
RTFM!! Any camera can be screwed up by not RTFM!! Try getting over your inability to follow instructions. I have not had a Hasselblad camera or lens jam in years. If you drive like you operate a camera you will soon wrap your car around a light pole.

So, you don't own the tool?

film_man · Oct 31, 2015

Sirius Glass said:
RTFM!! Any camera can be screwed up by not RTFM!! Try getting over your inability to follow instructions. I have not had a Hasselblad camera or lens jam in years. If you drive like you operate a camera you will soon wrap your car around a light pole.

My 501 was very easy to jam. It did it the very first time I went out with it. You hang it with the strap over your shoulder, then you walk around and eventually the shutter button catches a belt or whatever and is pressed just a tiny tiny bit, enough to trigger part of the sequence but not all of it, ie you couldn't just wind on and lose a frame. Nope, you had to remove the lens and do the procedure. Or take the back off and use a screwdriver. And before you say it that camera was serviced and was working perfectly. Was it a big deal? No, it took two minutes to do. Was it annoying? Yes. Is it idiotic they made the camera like that? Yes.

Say what you want, the Hassy is a great system and the lenses are superb but in practical use it is far far away from perfect compared to other cameras. It is also the only system I ever used that I had to remember which way to take the tubes off. Reading the manual and adhering to some idiotic operating sequence does not make said idiotic sequence any better.

I suppose you baby all your gear, as far as I'm concerned I buy cameras to go out and take photos, they are here to serve me, not me serving their baby needs.

Sirius Glass · Oct 31, 2015

Alan Gales said:
Here you go, Kyle. A Hasselblad lens tool.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...hassy_tool_camerakey_tool_for_hasselblad.html

Sirius Glass said:
RTFM!! Any camera can be screwed up by not RTFM!! Try getting over your inability to follow instructions. I have not had a Hasselblad camera or lens jam in years. If you drive like you operate a camera you will soon wrap your car around a light pole.

Alan Gales said:
So, you don't own the tool?

I own the tool. I learned about it on hasselblad.info. I used it once and I keep it with the Hasselblad to remind me to stay with the program so that I do not need to use it again.

Alan Gales · Oct 31, 2015

Sirius Glass said:
I own the tool. I learned about it on hasselblad.info. I used it once and I keep it with the Hasselblad to remind me to stay with the program so that I do not need to use it again.

I had the tool too. I took the Hasselblad and 80mm lens in on trade. I only had the one lens and never had any jamming issues. If I would have kept the camera i would have added the 150mm lens. By the time I got the Hasselblad I had sold all my medium format gear in favor of large format. I owned the camera about a year but ended up selling it to a young guy who was thrilled to get it. It's being used and loved like it deserves.

lxdude · Oct 31, 2015

wiltw said:
In the case of the Bronica ETRS lens, for example, there were three versions of the 75mm normal lens (E, E-II, PE), and three versions of the 100-105mm macro, and the E vs. the PE full series of all lenses.

And the earliest E series were marked E, while the subsequent E series were only marked, and were generally called MC.

If the E lenses called MC had been for the SQ series, that would have meant E equals MC squared.

trondsi · Nov 11, 2015

ic-racer said:
In 6x6 format I'd say Rolleiflex. Throughout the years they have had a large assortment of high quality Zeiss and Schneider lenses. Long, wide, fast, and slow...something for everyone.

In 6x9 format I'd say Horseman. They made a great selection of cam-matched lenses for both rangefinder focus and view-camera focusing.

I have to agree on the Rolleiflexes, although I should mention that these are the only medium format cameras I have (I also have 35mm and a 4X5 LF Crown Graphic camera). The rolleis I have, even with a somewhat scratched lens, often surprise me in just how good they are.

flavio81 · Nov 12, 2015

Sirius Glass said:
RTFM!! Any camera can be screwed up by not RTFM!!

Agree with you. In fact i'd say the "golden rule" when handling ANY camera is:

1. Don't drop it (if it has a strap, use the strap)
2. Never force anything
3. RTFM.

Texsport · Nov 12, 2015

"Best" has different definitions and depends on intended use, of course.

Since practically no system is perfect for everything, we get to select the cameras and lenses which are the best tools for our job.

Good and bad - love to collect/ hate the cost.

Jobs that only a few lenses, and therefore few cameras perform for me are: wide angle close-ups, isolated head portraits, portrait bokeh, low light.

Texsport

Medium format system with the best lenses?

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