RB67 or Nikon F5 for a student?

Markok765 said:

Henry's here only has 35mm.

Ross, how much would a system be with 1 body, 1 lens, and a back?

I'm thinking of going to 35mm as I can bulk load then, and save a lot of money.

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You might want to try the APUG classifieds:

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Standard not affiliated, etc. etc. comment.

Matt

keithwms said:

Tim Hortons

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Get em sloppy on donuts and who knows wht you will get.

RBs are great for close work since they have bellows and a quick exposure compensation nomograph on the side of the camera. Easy to use.

But the choice really depends upon what one wants to do with the camera. Keep your eyes on Craigslist too. Deals come up there.

C

Marko, I use RB and something simillar to F5, that is I use Canon EOS3. In previous times, when I carrying camera aroud and snapping on this and that, I used EOS3. Now, I bought Bessa R2A for carrying around, and almost all other photography I do with RB. RB is camera for slow work, that is setting a tripod, metering with handheld meter, and thinking whow and why you photographing that subject.

What I want to say, both cameras are good, but thing is in approach. There are different philosophical approch for using those cameras. Are you fast moving, automated photographer, or slow, contemplative, manual working photographer. Answer on that question is answer on question which of those cameras to get.

When I was younger fast moving photographer excited with automatization I used EOS3. With years I changed as person, became relaxed, and now my EOS3 is in bag using now and then (for example I plan trip to Jordan later this year, and I will carry EOS3, not RB, weight and space reasons), and my RB is in full use.

Whatever you decide, good luck.

In terms of image quality for color photography, the RB67 will spank the Nikon F5, but it's a mechanical camera more comparable to the Nikon F or F2 or FM. Mamiya lenses are excellent.

For B&W photography, you can already get extremely high quality from 35mm (with slow speed microfilms) so there is not much point in moving up in format. In that case I would get the F5 and invest in some manual focus lenses like the Zeiss ZF series. Actually I would get the Fm3a, but that's another story.

With the RB67 you can shoot from the hip, which I thought was pretty cool. If you want to save money buy a "broken" Nikon FG on the bay for $10. I always buy the broken ones and 100% of the time they are not broken, the seller simply did not know how to operate the camera.

Marko. I am getting confused here. You have posted at least two threads involving the purchase of an F5. In one thread on the 13th April you said you had decided to get a F5 then in another you posted a picture of the camera you were going to get and it was the F5.

It appears that you haven't actually purchased the F5 and are now less certain about whether to get one or switch to another format, namely MF.

So, can I ask what made you postpone your decision to buy the F5 and what do you think you will gain by switching to MF? If we knew the answers to those questions, it might help us give advice that will enable you to come to a decision.

You may of course simply enjoy "chewing the fat" about cameras with fellow users and like the rest of us cannot unfortunately have a direct group conversation as we live 100s and even 1000s of miles apart from each other.

No shame in this but let us know if this is your actual agenda. Might be worth looking at Thom Hogan's site. That guy has written an awful lot of good stuff about Nikons and especially F5s

pentaxuser

Pentaxuser, I haven't collected the money for the F5 yet, and I was looking on Keh.com, and saw a RB67 for only $200. I thought that I could try MF.

I think I will get the F5, as fast is more my shooting style.

Marko. The vibrations from your previous posts all say to me that the F5 feels as if it fits more exactly what you want a camera to be than any other camera and this feeling has lasted some time. I'd go with my instincts. If it feels right then it is right.

pentaxuser

Markok765 said:

Pentaxuser, I haven't collected the money for the F5 yet, and I was looking on Keh.com, and saw a RB67 for only $200. I thought that I could try MF.

I think I will get the F5, as fast is more my shooting style.

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If your budget is 200 bucks and wanna try a mid-format camera with a lens as a starter, why not Mamiya Press 23 Standard or Universal? You can get a body, lens, folder/film back, grip for that money. You can get a 6x7cm back instead of 6x9cm if you want.

I use my Mamiya Press once in a while to shoot landscape, and when I do that I usually carry my Nikon FM with a 50mm lens as a light meter.

I rented a F5 kit for a job once, and that was the only time I felt needed that monster. The gig was shooting at a party, and that could've been done with other cameras as well. But I was just curious about the camera at that time.

I mean, it's not worth it if you don't shoot that often and/or desperately need that quality all the time. It's got way more features and weight that you probably desire just to make photographs. I mean the price is a secondary issue no matter how low and reasonable it gets.

If you're not sure, borrow it or rent it and try out for at least one day.

For a student, I'd say the Nikon, it will be more flexible, but the Mamy will give significantly better image quality. Sell your soul: get both.

David.

Im a student so if it was me Id get the medium format though I may consider a 6x6 or 645 but Im not that keen on the 67 ratio (id like a 6x9) Ive noticed some of the bronica 6x6 going really cheap. If you dont have a good 35mm go for a low priced nikon canon etc body like someone else said they can be bought for peanuts on the bay. I picked up a f55 with a cheap zoom for £10 and an f801 with a nikon flash and another cheap zoom for £15. I would not buy an F5 unless it was sub £100 but I dont do sports and I dont need hyper fast af.

Student here as well. I'd go for an FE2 and get a TLR for about $200.00. Can't go wrong with a Mamy or YashicaMat 124. You won't break the bank going for both and you'll have sharp image quality from a 6x6.

Have you considered an F4?

I have, though it just seems that it has slower AF and less features.

It also doesn't come with a vertical grip[stock], which is something I would really like.

An F4s has a vertical grip, and although the AF is not as fast as on the F5 – in my world it is plenty fast. It is also a good platform for manual lenses.

But then again I’m probably not the one to give advise in this matter; I traded my F4 for a F2A…