Trip to Scotland an Iceland, Lenses?!

gmfotografie · Jun 16, 2013

hello my friends, i plan this year trips to iceland an scotland.
actually i use only the 80mm planar cfi on my hasselblad 501cm.

for landscape photography like kenna, hoflehner does:
would you go for the 180mm or the 250mm?
for wide angle the 50mm or the 60mm?

thx michael

Alex Muir · Jun 16, 2013

I have a Bronica 6x6 and use the 50mm and 150mm lenses. I use them both for landscape work here in Scotland. I don't have the 80mm, but my Rolleicord has a 75mm which I find to be of less use for landscape shots. I hope you enjoy your trip. Alex

tony lockerbie · Jun 16, 2013

I will lend you my 50 and 250 if you take me

wildbill · Jun 16, 2013

hoflehner uses a digital back so make sure you pick up one of those as well.

gmfotografie · Jun 17, 2013

thx, for your reply.
actually i will also take my 5dii with me...

my question targets more (hope this is the correct spelling ) on the quality and usability of those lenses.

tony lockerbie · Jun 17, 2013

Fortunately all the Hasselblad lenses are great. I take a 50, 80, 150 and 250mm lenses when I travel. The 250 could be left behind, but you should have a 50 and 150 for sure.

jeffreyg · Jun 17, 2013

Depending on where and how I am to travel and what I expect to photograph determines the equipment I will bring. For Iceland and Scotland I would bring my 50FLE, 150, 2x and a couple of extension tubes along with two bodies, a light meter, some filters and a tripod. Don't forget plenty of film.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

David Brown · Jun 17, 2013

I, too, am going to Iceland in September. Another local photographer who has been there suggested that I would want the widest lens I could take. I am going to be shooting 35mm for the most part (But will also have a 645 Fuji with a fixed 60mm.) I have a 28mm, which is approximately equivalent to your 50mm for the Hassie. I'm still undecided about getting either a 24mm or a 20mm, both of which are available for my Minolta AF. But, I digress ...

More to the point, I also shoot an RB67 (NOT going to Iceland due to weight!) For the RB, I have both the 55mm and the 65mm. If I had to choose only one of the two, my personal choice would be to take the 55mm, if for no other reason than it is farther from the "normal" 90mm.

Allen Friday · Jun 17, 2013

Be sure to try the Puffin. They taste great.

Alex Muir · Jun 17, 2013

You should check out the work of Thomas Joshua Cooper, if you are not already familiar with him. He has made landscape images in both Scotland and Iceland. His pictures are black and white landscapes made, I believe, with large format cameras. Alex

cliveh · Jun 17, 2013

Allen Friday said:
Be sure to try the Puffin. They taste great.

Are you seriously suggesting eating those cute little puffins?

Allen Friday · Jun 17, 2013

cliveh said:
Are you seriously suggesting eating those cute little puffins?

They're not nearly so cute once they've been skinned and roasted. Very tasty however.

The Puffin appetizer at http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...kkar_Hja_Ulfari-Reykjavik_Capital_Region.html is very good. The Puffin makes a nice lead in to horse or whale for the main.

Sparky · Jun 17, 2013

the 250 will get you out of more scrapes than a 180 will, as nice as the 180 is...

DanielStone · Jun 18, 2013

I went to Iceland back in 2010, GREAT PLACE!
8x10 and 35mm were my formats of choice when I went(8x10 for "serious" work, 35mm more as a walkaround camera). I found that I used my longer lenses most of the time(on both formats).
IIWY, I'd bring the 80mm(if you have one) as a normal FL, and a longer lens(250mm would be my choice). This is for me and MY vision however. We're all different and how we see "photographically".

****I'd also make sure to bring a 2nd body and (at least) a 2nd film back as backups, it's cheap insurance and not THAT expensive.****

-Dan

gmfotografie · Jun 19, 2013

this is hard for me because i dont' t know if i should take the "sharper" 180mm or the longer 250mm.

because i only print 8x8 inch; would it be better to use the sharper 180mm and do the enlarging on the print?!

does the less sharpness of the 250mm has an effect on 8x8 inches?!

best michael

Sparky · Jun 19, 2013

the 250 is sharper than the 180 if you have to crop it because the shot wasn't possible from a certain location.... that's my thinking. 'ergonomics' makes a HUGE difference with picture making...

Slixtiesix · Jun 28, 2013

I have the 180/4 for Hasselblad and the 250/5,6 for Rolleiflex SL66. Both are nice lenses. My 250mm is a bit soft. I haven´t done a real side-by-side comparison yet but the slides from the 180mm look sharper. I have seen Kenna shooting the 250mm in his videos though! Often together with an 2x Mutar. You can also use a 1,4 converter to turn the 180mm into a 250mm. However, the 180mm is one of the more expensive lenses and the 1,4 XE is not cheap either. 250mm CF and even CFi lenses are real bargains on the other hand nowadays.
I doubt that there will be a striking difference if you only print 8x8". To save weight, you could even use a 150/4 or the much despised 160mm.

Concerning the wide-angle. I don´t think a 60mm would make sense if you already own the 80mm. Too close in focal length. 50mm would make more sense, maybe even 40mm or Biogon.

KenR · Jul 4, 2013

It's one of those personal preference things. I use my Mamiya 6 for hiking and find that I use the 50 most of the time, the 75 occationally and rarely do I use the 150. On days that promise to be tough going, I only take the 50 and find that I rarely miss one of the longer lenses.

Mark_S · Jul 5, 2013

Allen Friday said:
The Puffin makes a nice lead in to horse or whale for the main.

Don't forget Seal - the puffin and Seal combination has the advantage of being able to share the same wine if you go for a lighter red. Whale and Horse tend to demand a heavier wine.

Roast Seal and a Pinot are great together.

Moving back on topic, I have never been to Iceland, but did a workshop last year and one of the other attendees was from Iceland - in looking at his portfolio there were lots of images of barren lands - if I had to choose, I would probably pack wider lenses at the expense of the longer ones.

TheFlyingCamera · Jul 5, 2013

If you are packing your 80mm, I would not get a 60 - it's too close to the 80 in field of view. Get a 50 instead. If you can rent a Superwide, do that instead of buying the 50. The Hassy Superwide is one of the very best ultra-wide-angle medium format cameras out there. I periodically regret trading mine in - I loved that camera. Might pick up another one one of these days to be the wide-angle compliment to my Rolleiflexes.

Trip to Scotland an Iceland, Lenses?!

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