43 years ago I had a Pentax 6x7 that had a mirror slap strong enough destroy sharpness on a tripod most of the time. I had always wondered why my photos were less than critically sharp. Surprise. The dreaded mirror slap that was designed out of later models of that camera by adding a mirror lock up. Many medium format photographers know to use mirror lock ups on their cameras when available, but how about 35mm? How many of those have that? My minolta srt-101 has that, but how many other cameras? This feature was designed out of all Minolta 35mm cameras after the early 70's, but why? I've always though the feature was very important, due my early Pentax 6x7 debacle. Confusion reigns supreme on this.
In my photography, I mostly use my SRT-101 on a tripod with a Tamron 28-200 zoom at f11 for b+w woodland photography using a yellow or orange filter with 100 speed film. In the woodland in the summer, it's quite dark, often at sunny 16-5 or 6 stops. My shutter speed are typically 1/15 to 1 second at f11. The long Tamron zoom is quite sharp at f11 and gives good depth of focus there. Medium speed film is needed for me to achieve my quality standard of having a slight amount of grain in an 11x14. I also devekio the film for moderate acutance rather than low grain, which increases the sharpness and apparent grain. I've always used the mirror lock up for shots using 100-200mm, but recently discovered that it improves my sharpness all the time. This is after reviewing my work over the last two years. It makes a fair difference.
Even though I am 75 now, I'm always learning new things, and this is one of them. But yet, mirror lock ups for 35mm SLR's are a rarity, likely because everybody thinks they have to go hand held with fast film. No, you don't. I also use a right angle finder adapter with a 2x focusing magnifier, also a huge help. Why not get a view camera? I already have two and am still building one from scratch, but don't use often due to weight and time. While trees hold still in the woodland, the light patterns are constantly changing, and often very quickly. Holes between leaves in the forst canopy move across the ground quickly enough that speed is needed to catch them. Why not get a medium format? Been there, done that, but also too heavy and slow when the bag full of lenses are included.
With my setup, I'm in compositional utopia. The long zoom lets me find all compositions fairly quickly while the tripod holds the camera and lens securely so I can carefully adjust the composition in 3-dimensional space. The compositional aid a tripod provides is rarely addressed. I also use a universal L-bracket bought on Amazon for about 10 bucks intended for digital cameras that works great for 35mm SLR's that gives quick change from horizontal to vertical format with much better balanced vertical orientation.
I'm sharing my nirvana as food for thought.
In my photography, I mostly use my SRT-101 on a tripod with a Tamron 28-200 zoom at f11 for b+w woodland photography using a yellow or orange filter with 100 speed film. In the woodland in the summer, it's quite dark, often at sunny 16-5 or 6 stops. My shutter speed are typically 1/15 to 1 second at f11. The long Tamron zoom is quite sharp at f11 and gives good depth of focus there. Medium speed film is needed for me to achieve my quality standard of having a slight amount of grain in an 11x14. I also devekio the film for moderate acutance rather than low grain, which increases the sharpness and apparent grain. I've always used the mirror lock up for shots using 100-200mm, but recently discovered that it improves my sharpness all the time. This is after reviewing my work over the last two years. It makes a fair difference.
Even though I am 75 now, I'm always learning new things, and this is one of them. But yet, mirror lock ups for 35mm SLR's are a rarity, likely because everybody thinks they have to go hand held with fast film. No, you don't. I also use a right angle finder adapter with a 2x focusing magnifier, also a huge help. Why not get a view camera? I already have two and am still building one from scratch, but don't use often due to weight and time. While trees hold still in the woodland, the light patterns are constantly changing, and often very quickly. Holes between leaves in the forst canopy move across the ground quickly enough that speed is needed to catch them. Why not get a medium format? Been there, done that, but also too heavy and slow when the bag full of lenses are included.
With my setup, I'm in compositional utopia. The long zoom lets me find all compositions fairly quickly while the tripod holds the camera and lens securely so I can carefully adjust the composition in 3-dimensional space. The compositional aid a tripod provides is rarely addressed. I also use a universal L-bracket bought on Amazon for about 10 bucks intended for digital cameras that works great for 35mm SLR's that gives quick change from horizontal to vertical format with much better balanced vertical orientation.
I'm sharing my nirvana as food for thought.
