Strangley drawn to MF

[dustym]

Cant explain why, but I feel I need to try MF, I have been into photography for a while mainly digital for my work (not professionally I hasten to add) and I really enjoy using my OM1 with my 28 mm and 35mm lense shooting local landscape, but it feels something is missing from what I view to what I can produce as a photograph. Does MF really give you that much more scope,or is it such a change in perspective that it has to be tried and experimented with.Im toying with a Bronica etrs camera with 120 back but only seem to be able to purchase with 70mm lenses which I don't think will be wide enough for what I want to photograph.

Any thoughts would be very much appreciated

 

[Dave Parker]

Oh my god, alls I can tell you is that it is a long and winding road!!, everyone should try it at least once in their photographic life, bigger negs, have such a way of making you feel good! I would suggest going to it, the more equipment you have the better, and then wait until the LF bug bites ya....and 8x10 on the light table is breath taking....I think I spent 2 days just looking at it...

Bigger is better!!!

LOL

Dave

 

[eric]

Cant explain why, but I feel I need to try MF,

You won't be disappointed. I think, IMHO, that one should start with a system that you can at least change lenses. Having a fixed lens medium format is nice, but sometimes, you want to changes lenses and you can't do that with a TLR or something like that.

Its so easy to process medium format and its awesome looking at the negs. 35mm is soooooo tiny compared to it. I process my 35mm now with no regard getting it right. If I have odd film that I need to process and have only 1 tank, I'll put it in with the rest of them. Either its a tiny bit under or a tiny bit over. But with my medium format, I have to get it right.

 

[stephen]

Agreed, you ought to try it. The 70mm lens won't give you the same angle od view that you are used to, but try it anyway. I found that with 35mm I used mainly 21mm and 24mm lenses, but with 6x7 I rarely use 50mm (about equivalent to the 24mm on 35mm). On 5x4 I never feel the need to go below 150mm (the standard length lens).

Dave is right; you are on a slippery slope to larger and yet larger negatives. Once I saw the improvement 6x7 gave over 35mm, and then realised that going from 35mm to 6x7 was the same increase as going from 6x7 to 5x4 I was lost...

 

[John_Brewer]

It's a slippery slope dustym, we'll have you rigged up with a large format camera quicker than you think

J

 

[Chuck_P]

I switched from 35mm to 6x7 with my RB67. Stop thinking about, just do it!!

Chuck

 

[Nick Zentena]

.Im toying with a Bronica etrs camera with 120 back but only seem to be able to purchase with 70mm lenses which I don't think will be wide enough for what I want to photograph.

Any thoughts would be very much appreciated

I'm not sure what you mean by that. First of all I assume you mean 75mm. The 40mm isn't too hard to find. The 50mm even easier and cheaper. The 60mm would be similar to the 35mm you're used in 35mm film. Plenty of wide choice. If you're willing to stick with older lenses models both the 40 and 50mm can be under $200 from Keh.

If you can handle buying from the US Keh is who I'd suggest. Just click on thier link in the sponser section. Prices are cheaper then Ebay. Much cheaper then Ebay.Uk. Better product to.

 

[eric]

from 35mm to 6x7 was the same increase as going from 6x7 to 5x4 I was lost...

I am anticipating this myself. Although I learned backwards with LF then MF then 35mm, I never had the funds to buy a LF or the room. But now, I look at my sadly unused Nikon gear and wonder if I should trade the whole shebang and do more medium format. I have other 35mm that I use as well, just that when I was assisting, it HAD to be Nikon that you get. But I like my Minoltas for some reason. And I like medium format. I'll have an 8x10 by end of year and I'll have a hard time justifying my 35mm gear.

 

[Gay Larson]

I went from 35mm to a Pentaz 645 and I just love it. The bigger negative makes all the difference. It did take me by surprise, the difference in dept of field though. Had to get used to that. Go for it.

 

[MattKing]

1) If you do your own darkroom work, you will be amazed at how much extra satisfaction there is in printing from the larger film;
2) Even if you have to rely on labs, the output from a well exposed MF negative printed carefully (even using machine printing) is clearly better.

Quality films have tremendous capacity to record detail and tone and colour. A larger negative reveals that capacity.

IMHO, the only advantage of 35mm and smaller film sizes (as compared to larger film sizes) is that it is much harder to project larger slides.

Even my wife agrees (see (there was a url link here which no longer exists) thread)

 

[Rebekah_Pope]

I know what you guys are talking about moving up to larger and larger formats. Currently, I have a 35mm system and a medium format system. When I shoot film, it is clearly with my medium format camera. Now I'm lusting after a 4x5 camera. I just need to buy it.
Rebekah

 

[Robert Hall]

What is it about the resolution of LF? To me it's not that you can see things so real, it's that you have so much more information on the film to render tonality. It can run forever.

 

[Ole]

I have a Bronica ETRS - with 75, 150 and 40mm lenses. I bought it after having run 2 rolls through an old folder, and discovered I loved the format.

The 75mm is slightly wider than a 50mm on TF, but the angle is about the same along the long side of the neg. The 40mm is GREAT! So is the 150, but that's not a WA...

 

[dustym]

Overwhelmed with the response, seems like I better give it a try, thankyou verymuch for taking the time to reply.

 

[Woolliscroft]

Having a fixed lens medium format is nice, but sometimes, you want to changes lenses and you can't do that with a TLR or something like that.

Except for Mamiya TLRs, where you do have interchangeable lenses.

David.

 

[Bighead]

One small thing that I found nice about MF, that many do not talk about, is the handling of the film... I have large hands and rolling and just basic handling of the film is easier. That may mean nothing to some but it makes things like archiving, scanning, cleaning etc. just a lot easier...

Then, as far as quality, not only do I get bigger negatives, I shoot better negatives... Even while shooting photojournalistic stuff, I wait just a hair longer for that shot... Since I only have 15 frames, I am more aware of everything. I shoot less, and get better results and since I have a larger neg, I can use high speed films, more often.. My iso 3200 stuff, looks just as good as 400, shot on 35mm.. I get to keep the flash packed away.. Thats awesome.

 

[Lee Shively]

I used to hate printing my 120 negatives. I really couldn't put my finger on it but I just preferred to print 35mm.

Then it hit me. The reason I hated printing 120 was that it made my Leica's 35mm negatives look second-rate in comparison.

I still shoot 35mm but my emphasis is now more on medium format.

 

[Robert Budding]

Take the plunge! I'm shooting a Mamiya 645 - it's an excellent camera and it handles like a slightly large 35mm. And used lenses are cheap!

Robert

 

[BBonte]

MF is fantastic, but watch the limited depth of field even with a 80mm lens. Can be problematic.

 

[jimgalli]

Consider a Fujinon fixed lens 6X9 camera with the 65mm lens. Those negs will blow your hair back. 65 on 6X9 is eqivalent to 28 on 35. Just a thought.

 

[Daniel Lawton]

I recently took the MF dive a few months ago and regret nothing about it. I'll throw my 2 cents in and recommend a mamiya 645 system. The quality is excellent and it is one of the most prevalent MF systems around so you'll have less of a problem finding accessories and equipment at a good price. Interchangable backs are also something I would never be without when considering a MF system. (avoid the newer 645E if this is something you want) Some of the early model 645's also lack this feature. Being able to rapidly swap film midroll alows for great flexibility and experimentation. The Mamiya RB's, RZ's and other larger MF SLR systems are desirable for the even larger negative size but they are considerably more expensive (budget-dependent of course) and higher maintenance due to their leaf shutter design. The lenses are considerably more money and their shutters need to be periodically adjusted in order to be 100% accurate. The Mamiya 645's electronic focal plane shutter will pretty much stay accurate for eternity if treated with reasonable care. Either way take your time looking around and consider your needs and uses before committing to a system.

 

[nihraguk]

I've just printed my first roll of Ilford HP5+ from my M645 Pro, shot entirely with the standard 80mm f/2.8 N. Was blown away by the negatives. I've developed a reasonable number of 35mm black and white rolls, but the detail and tonality of merely the *negatives* was mindblowing. I think the larger negative size and the higher resolution and tonality that you get gives you more room for creative experimentation - and boy does it reward you when you get things right.

No more squinting at piddly little 35mm frames.

But in cases where you need to shoot off multiple frames in the hope of capturing that elusive moment, etc, or where every gram of weight counts, that's where 35mm fits I guess.

 

[rexp]

You should have signed up for the "MF Loaner Program". Cheapest way to find out if you like the format, although you will have to wait a couple of months now....

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

 

[Changeling1]

If you're going to go MF, why not all the way with a Bronica GS-1? They are great cameras and selling cheap on eBay and elsewhere. I bought my first GS-1 almost twenty years ago and it's been great. I picked up a couple of extra bodies on eBay in the last couple of years in case I lose one or need parts in the future. GS-1 PG lenses are nothing short of superb. With a Speed-grip, the GS-1 handles almost as easily as a 35 mm. A 6x7 cm negative is 4.5 times larger than a 35mm and you will be amazed at the quality of the enlargements you can make with a big negative.

 

[Curt]

I earned a BS using mostly my Mamiya 645. I have two lenses, 55, 80, 150 and Kenko 2x extender. I even used it at Brooks along with 35 and 4x5. I have a special feeling about the 120 format though, I guess it was the larger size over 35 when I first started. Now its a great freedom from my 11x14.
Curt