which camera - not what amount of fuel or size of d/room
Well it is very fascinating to be thinking of using LF a lot more, with $ no problem.... but once you start carrying one around the whole glamour soon turns to sore muscles! Well done to the ones who can and wanna do this, but it is really very very demanding work. You gotta be good to justify the format. It is very rewarding though, but I only used other people's LF cameras.
Medium Format is the best option for general nature and people shots - just the speed of using roll film and its durability and practicality make it a clear winner for landscape and business use. The old adage of using it to impress clients on the light box is somewhat obsolete now, with schmigital's dominance. The sheer practicality of the relative size of most specs of dust on MF compared to 35mm make it more attractive. I am very happy with my SL66, with the tilt function leaving the Blad in the dust. With an unlimited budget I would just keep on buying SL66s / lenses
As for impressing people on the street with your LF $$$$$$ camera, that is more of a millstone around your neck than many would realise. In Australia nowadays more n more 'authorities' are banning tripods and anyone looking even half-professional. From Ayers Rock to the Sydney Opera House, anyone who wants a sharper than average image by using a tripod is harrassed by the 'authorities' for presumed professional image use and making millions out of a photo of a public building, or a big hunk of rock that was not made by human hands and is therefore the property of NOONE!!! The attention is just not worth going the full-hog with any MF or LF these days.
"Something is happening here and you don't know what it is, Do you, Mr Jones?" Bob Dylan
We are getting screwed for being the documenters of society and the landscape, as if we are all making a fortune out of it. Anyway, that is another topic, sorry.
The best 35mm camera to have depends totally on the type of photos you want to make. The F6 is the king of SLR film, as it is built to last forever ( a crucial factor in saving the environment ) and feels so fantastic in your hands. It kicks but in front of clients too, especially portrait subjects, helping to make them feel special. But the M6 rules for documentary / people - especially kids. I like using mine for time exposures too, so you can see thru the viewfinder during exposures. That is real helpful to see aircraft / satellites at night before they enter the frame. But the fact that the tripod attaches to the removaable bottom of the camera makes for a bit of looseness that worries me sometimes. Plus I have had the camera drift on the tripod during vertical shots too. That is annoying. The minimal battery requirements is a fantastic feature. But you can't have the perfect camera all the time!
So, really it is SL66, M6, F6 for me
