Shouldn't a medium format folder give the same IQ as an SLR?

[Sirius Glass]

One cannot tell what camera was used taking a photograph, but the photographer who takes the photograph is aware of the features and capabilities of the camera and lens while they are taking the photograph.

 

[Helge]

One cannot tell what camera was used taking a photograph, but the photographer who takes the photograph is aware of the features and capabilities of the camera and lens while they are taking the photograph.

To and extent you can with say, pre 1970 cameras. Or at least you can take a good guess.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Ok. Fully agree on the 135 folders. It is my experience that 135 folders are better made/more solid/rigid than 120. All my Retinas I've had over the years (even an Agfa Solinette) are more solid than the 120 folders I've had over the years.

Yes, as I said I owned the Certo SuperDolly which used 120 film and the Voightlander Vito II which used 35mm film and the 135 was newer and better made. But neither one had interchangeable lenses nor changeable film backs.

 

[Sirius Glass]

On the subject of expensive gear...

I think you all would agree that enjoyable cameras make us use them more often. This leads to more practice, which in turn makes us better photographers. That, in my opinion, is how better gear is connected to better results.

The huge caveat is that the key word here is "enjoyable", and that is subjective. If a folder brings you the most joy, this will lead to more practice with that folder and will make you a better photographer.

However... I am going to come clean and admit, that the most enjoyable cameras in my book are, unfortunately, the expensive ones:

• Leica M
  
• Hasselblad V
  
• Rolleiflex TLR

:-(

Hasselblad ==> guilty
Leica M ==> thought about but never took the plunge, because I really prefer slrs to range finders
Rolleiflex TLR ==> Great cameras but I never liked the left right reversal

 

[MattKing]

On the subject of expensive gear...

I think you all would agree that enjoyable cameras make us use them more often. This leads to more practice, which in turn makes us better photographers. That, in my opinion, is how better gear is connected to better results.

The huge caveat is that the key word I used here to define "better" was "enjoyable", and that is subjective. If a folder brings you the most joy, this will lead to more practice with that folder and will make you a better photographer.

However... I am going to come clean and admit, that the most enjoyable cameras for me personally are, unfortunately, the expensive ones:

• Leica M
  
• Hasselblad V
  
• Rolleiflex TLR

I am extremely unoriginal in this regard. :-(

A couple of years ago I was out with a Brownie Hawkeye (which I got for free) at a nearby location I frequent, and started talking with a photographer who, like many people there, was looking for bird photos. He was showing me some of the results he had been obtaining - on the little screen on the back of his high end digital camera body - with suitably long and fast long zoom lens mounted.
I told him I was mostly using film. He exclaimed about how much money he was saving with digital. Then it came out that he had spent $13,000.00 on the kit he had with him.
It was at that point that I pulled out the Brownie Hawkeye and said that I was having to re-spool the film used in it, but otherwise it worked fine.
His response? "You are really deep into this!".
Enjoyment comes in all sorts of different flavours, and at all sorts of different prices.

This was one of the results from that day with the Brownie:


And this is from another visit to the same general location, using a relatively more expensive Mamiya 645 Pro:



I thoroughly enjoyed both experiences.
Just as I enjoy good photographic equipment generally.

 

[Donald Qualls]

Some of my favorite images are from my Brownie Hawkeye Flash(es).

And I freely admit, I've never so much as handled a Hasselblad, Leica, or Rolleiflex. The only "professional" cameras I've got from after 1950 are my RB67 and my Graphic View II -- and I love the hell out of the RB. Haven't had the GVII out yet, but my original Graphic View is great to use, and the addition of centered tilts and a Graflok back ought to make the II even better.

 

[Sirius Glass]

A couple of years ago I was out with a Brownie Hawkeye (which I got for free) at a nearby location I frequent, and started talking with a photographer who, like many people there, was looking for bird photos. He was showing me some of the results he had been obtaining - on the little screen on the back of his high end digital camera body - with suitably long and fast long zoom lens mounted.
I told him I was mostly using film. He exclaimed about how much money he was saving with digital. Then it came out that he had spent $13,000.00 on the kit he had with him.
It was at that point that I pulled out the Brownie Hawkeye and said that I was having to re-spool the film used in it, but otherwise it worked fine.
His response? "You are really deep into this!".
Enjoyment comes in all sorts of different flavours, and at all sorts of different prices.

This was one of the results from that day with the Brownie:
View attachment 294949

And this is from another visit to the same general location, using a relatively more expensive Mamiya 645 Pro:

View attachment 294950

I thoroughly enjoyed both experiences.
Just as I enjoy good photographic equipment generally.

I really have to load the one roll of Verichrome Pan that I have, stupidly I misplaced the other, and get my Brownie Hawkeye out to see if I will enjoy it as much as when I was 10 years old. I even have five rolls of FP4+ 120 to use in it.

 

[CJG]

Those are really nice Matt, they have a wonderful air to them,.

A couple of years ago I was out with a Brownie Hawkeye (which I got for free) at a nearby location I frequent, and started talking with a photographer who, like many people there, was looking for bird photos. He was showing me some of the results he had been obtaining - on the little screen on the back of his high end digital camera body - with suitably long and fast long zoom lens mounted.
I told him I was mostly using film. He exclaimed about how much money he was saving with digital. Then it came out that he had spent $13,000.00 on the kit he had with him.
It was at that point that I pulled out the Brownie Hawkeye and said that I was having to re-spool the film used in it, but otherwise it worked fine.
His response? "You are really deep into this!".
Enjoyment comes in all sorts of different flavours, and at all sorts of different prices.

This was one of the results from that day with the Brownie:
View attachment 294949

And this is from another visit to the same general location, using a relatively more expensive Mamiya 645 Pro:

View attachment 294950

I thoroughly enjoyed both experiences.
Just as I enjoy good photographic equipment generally.

 

[CJG]

On the subject of expensive gear...

I think you all would agree that enjoyable cameras make us use them more often. This leads to more practice, which in turn makes us better photographers. That, in my opinion, is how better gear is connected to better results.




I guess I care more about making the image and less about what I did that with. I've shot (and shoot) with a wide array of cameras. I didn't "hate" any of them but each had it's own set of strengths and weaknesses.

 

[Arthurwg]

Helge - My own MF SLR system is Pentax 6X7. Yes, compared to 35mm these are somewhat heavy, and not ideal for handheld holding with long lenses at least. Tripod recommended much of the time (not always - they're excellent for shooting from an airplane, for example). And the optics are superb, very bright with large maximum f-stops in several cases, and often less expensive than current 35mm equivalents. Focus is generally easier and faster than with 35mm because there is a bigger screen.

But for handheld use where a wide-normal perspective is suitable, or greater portability with tripod usage, I use a "Texas Leica" Fuji 6X9 RF. But anything med format is a "mini-cam" to me. I'm addicted to 8x10 and 4X5 formats too. It's all relative.

Just discovered that Diane Arbus used a Pentax 67 toward the end of her career. Hand held obviously. At some point she felt that the square was too static and wanted a rectangle to include more dynamism.

 

[gone]

All my Retinas I've had over the years (even an Agfa Solinette) are more solid than the 120 folders I've had over the years.

I agree, especially the little Retina Ia, which is my favorite but doesn't qualify because it's scale focus. I had a few Voigtlander Bessa II folding cameras w/ Heliars, and their build quality and design were as good as it gets. The amazingly tiny Zeiss 120 folders are very solid too, and are possibly the smallest 120 6x6 cameras around w/ full rangefinders.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Arthur - I wasn't aware of that. But I haven't followed the life of Arbus much. Brilliant artists are often those who know how to translate their own inner conflicts and contradictions visually into their work, even when seeking a mirror of themselves in the oddities and sufferings of others. Sadly, her pursuit of solving the riddle ended in tragedy. But she left some remarkable photographic examples of the conflict itself. I figured that much of it was MF work, but never researched the specifics.