Yes, i think this is the main problem with 6x7 medium format... DOF is very narrow.
Try using HP5 pushed to 1600. In 6x7 it looks really, really good (even in 6x6), especially if developed with Microphen.
Resulting grain is smaller than using a ISO 400 HP5 on 35mm camera, sharpness and definition better.
Shadow detail is still good enough, believe it or not.
HP5 @ 1600 with the Mamiya RB67 opens up a lot of possibilities.
I always use that camera handheld, by the way.
That need not be the result of lugging it around. RZ with 2 lenses, film back, film and meter fits in a F-stop Small pro ICU in a Guru back pack and doesn't put that much weight on your shoulders. Add a carbon fiber tripod and youre good to go.I would only buy an RB/RZ67 to use as a studio camera, for which I know it would be wonderful, but I don't need a hernia from lugging one around.
Soeren I'm not far off 78 years old although I'm in good health I don't want to push my luck, anyway I think I'm the Worlds worst landscape photographer, and I gave up carrying heavy backpacks over rough terrain when I left the Royal Marines more than fifty years ago.That need not be the result of lugging it around. RZ with 2 lenses, film back, film and meter fits in a F-stop Small pro ICU in a Guru back pack and doesn't put that much weight on your shoulders. Add a carbon fiber tripod and youre good to go.
Ok so that apply to your personal situation but overall 7kg total can hardly be considered a heavy backpack.Soeren I'm not far off 78 years old although I'm in good health I don't want to push my luck, anyway I think I'm the Worlds worst landscape photographer, and I gave up carrying heavy backpacks over rough terrain when I left the Royal Marines more than fifty years ago.
That's true Soeren but I can only see equipment in relation to my circumstances I know it isn't heavy for a young fit man I used to be able to carry an 18.4 kg backpack and a rifle weighing 9lb 30 miles over Dartmoor in 20 hours as part of my military training, but I was in my 20's then and I certainly couldn't do it now. I'm a keen portrait photographer and would like a RB or RZ to use in the studio or to use outdoors to shoot portraits on a tripod where I know these cameras are gentle giants, but not too far from my car.Ok so that apply to your personal situation but overall 7kg total can hardly be considered a heavy backpack.
Thanks for the tip! I last shot hp5 in the summer and it looked great at box speed....I've been using TMY-2 for most of my medium format and haven't tried pushing it yet but that will be my next experiment for using the rb indoors.
TMY-2 has the capacity to present such a long straight section of its characteristic curve that it is ideal for circumstances that call for under-exposure with an accompanying compensation of an increase in contrast through increased development ("pushing"). But you probably don't need to increase development as much as for other films.I think TMY-2 has greater contrast so it's not so suitable for pushing. Of course it can be pushed and many people do it, but you want a low contrast film for pushing.
Wauv 9kg rifle!! We travelled light with the H&K G3A3 (M66 and M75) only putting 4 kg on the weight though the LMG (The Buzzsaw) was 11,5 kgThat's true Soeren but I can only see equipment in relation to my circumstances I know it isn't heavy for a young fit man I used to be able to carry an 18.4 kg backpack and a rifle weighing 9kg 30 miles over Dartmoor in 20 hours as part of my military training, but I was in my 20's then and I certainly couldn't do it now. I'm a keen portrait photographer and would like a RB or RZ to use in the studio or to use outdoors to shoot portraits on a tripod where I know these cameras are gentle giants, but not too far from my car.
That's true Soeren but I can only see equipment in relation to my circumstances I know it isn't heavy for a young fit man I used to be able to carry an 18.4 kg backpack and a rifle weighing 9lb 30 miles over Dartmoor in 20 hours as part of my military training, but I was in my 20's then and I certainly couldn't do it now. I'm a keen portrait photographer and would like a RB or RZ to use in the studio or to use outdoors to shoot portraits on a tripod where I know these cameras are gentle giants, but not too far from my car.
I have the L grip with trigger release Allan, it's the same one as the one for my C330F.That's what I used an RZ for. They are really nice for portraiture with their revolving backs and large focussing screens. If you get the RZ then get the 110mm and the 180mm. Great lenses! With the "L" grip and 110 lens it is manageable hand held. I mostly shot with a tripod and studio strobes. I turn 55 this month so I'm younger than you but I have had my back fused together so I have trouble with heavy cameras too.
I have the L grip with trigger release Allan, it's the same one as the one for my C330F.
You can always make yourself stronger. When I first got my Pentax 67 to shoot some weddings I realized I was going to have a problem with stamina in my arm. So I got some weights and when working in the darkroom, which was most every day, I would exercise my arm with camera lifting motion and by holding the weight out at head level until I couldn't hold it anymore. Very quickly that Pentax 67 started to feel light to me. Even so putting it in a bag with 3 lenses and carrying it over my shoulder is tiring. Whereas with my Rolleiflex in a bag I can walk all day.
Carrying an RB67 around is less taxing and awkward than carrying around a well fed hedgehog.
That's a winder grip for the 645E.I saw a Mamiya grip but it had a really thick bottom and a thick grip portion as well as a sort of winder mechanism that attaches to the side of the camera body.... I think that's not an RB67 grip.
Carrying an RB67 around is less taxing and awkward than carrying around a well fed hedgehog.
Sorry Soeren, I meant 9lb not 9kg. but when you had lugged it 30 miles it felt like 9kg.Wauv 9kg rifle!! We travelled light with the H&K G3A3 (M66 and M75) only putting 4 kg on the weight though the LMG (The Buzzsaw) was 11,5 kg
I have the L grip with trigger release Allan, it's the same one as the one for my C330F.
So right now I'm debating on a few things:
1) Keeping the prism on. The collapsible hood is really cool and really light but sometimes the left/right thing throws me off compositionally...
Does anyone use the Fuji GX680 hand held? Amazing camera with an amazing array of lenses and accessories. I have carried mine all over Canada and it is heavy but the results are worth it.
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