Recommendations for getting into medium format?

Alan Gales

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I don't shoot sweeping landscapes. I use wide angles for getting in close. I tend to use normal to long lenses for landscape. The W version may be fine for you then.
 

markbarendt

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So just use it off the shelf.

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Holga lenses are interesting, just like Leica, Nikon, or Mamiya lenses impart certain characteristics into a photo.

Holga lenses impart their characteristics on the photo and with just a little practice they can be gorgeous.
 

markbarendt

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The thing you really need to understand is that YOU make the photo, not the camera.

Mamiyas and other fancy cameras allow you lots of control across a wide range of situations and provide great reliability/repeatability.

Holgas provide few controls; just focus, point, shoot. There are many ways to screw things up and they may have good or bad light leaks and you may have to mod the camera (duct tape and other simple stuff) to get what you want.
 

MattKing

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I get very good results from my older, 50mm C lens on my RB67. Once you get into this calibre of camera, even the most mediocre of lenses is still of remarkable quality (assuming in good condition). If you are tasked with shooting bus stop display ads or anything else where the demands of your work are at the extremes, then the extra dollars for the latest and greatest versions are worth it, but if all you are doing is making enlargements to 20" x 24" the "basic" RB67 or RZ67 lenses should serve you well.
 

TheFlyingCamera

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Matt- I'd actually disagree to a certain extent with your assertion about the quality relative to print size equation. If you're printing "small" (say under 40x50 inch) then the better lens is more important. If you're shooting billboards for the side of the road, a Holga has enough resolution. Nobody is going to examine the billboard at close range, so as long as large features are visually perceptible from 300 yards moving at 60 mph, it doesn't matter.
 
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James-EG

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Thanks again for the help that gives me reassurance and to be honest I haven't been doing photography long enough to be able to tell subtle differences between lenses. Like I said in a previous comment I have found the basic components of an RZ67 from a couple of different of people a lot cheaper than buying them all together, so I should be able to get a full basic system with a 90mm lens almost new in the box for just a little over £300 which sounds much better than over £400!
 

polyglot

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Yep, 300 quid sounds much more like what the price should be.

Do you shoot many film types? If you do, I would strongly recommend having a couple of backs handy so that you can change film type mid-roll. I typically carry 2 or 3 on an outing: B&W, C41 and maybe IR, each in its own back. I haven't looked lately, but good-condition backs should be well under $100 each so it's worth thinking about once you're comfortable with the camera. It's particularly nice when shooting portraits; you can shoot a couple in B&W then a couple in colour and switch back & forth at your leisure. And you can have a stack of pre-loaded backs ready to go so that you're not spending all your time loading the camera.
 
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James-EG

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I have thought about extra film backs and would like to get an extra one or two, it seems very useful! One I've found is £67 which seems quite reasonable.
 
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