Who in the heck uses a motor winder/drive on a film camera these days?

[Alan Edward Klein]

In this day of digital I cannot imagine why one would expose 'the defining moment' with film by using film at a high rate of exposures.
The supposed move by some to use film is a wish to re establish a relationship between the photographer and the world around him or her with some personal meaning .
This fly's in the face of those that make many exposures by digital be it DSLR's or smart phone s that rely upon capturing that defining photo by volume not skill.
There are many wonderful photos on the internet produced by a photographer on his or hers 1000th capture of the day!

I like my digital cameras but i am ever drawn to the process of getting it right the first time with film!!

3 shot exposure bracketing.

 

[Pieter12]

Many of my film cameras have built in motor drives. So I have no choice in the matter with them. But I like having a motor drive, and the weight on modern film cameras is not that much. The batteries, maybe more so. The fact that if you happen to miss a moment and can shoot another frame quickly is a definite advantage. Like a bird crossing the sky when it can make a difference to the composition or a car crossing the road when you did not it there.

 

[Sirius Glass]

3 shot exposure bracketing.

I can do that with a selection on my N75 and I can specify how much above and below the first exposure. I used it when I first got the camera and then I learned that the camera got the best exposure the first time, so I stopped using it.

 

[rulnacco]

Why 13 pages of discussion?

It's free, doesn't kill trees, and uses a relatively miniscule quantity of electrons. Reason enough?

 

[Keith H]

I have never owned a true motor drive, my Contax RTS had a power winder which was at times useful even if only to make the RTS some what like the 137MA which I owned and used at that time. When my 137 had the usual Yashica mirror slip it was retired in favour of an Aria again quite a slow winder but useful.
These days film is my thinking photography, digital is my need to shoot thing quickly photography so I don't ever see a time when I will want more than just a power winder for 35mm.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Nikon N75, N80 and F100 automatically advance the film and have a continuous firing mode.

 

[BradS]

Just got a working MD-2 for my Nikon F2.

 

[Cholentpot]

Just got a working MD-2 for my Nikon F2.

I'm looking for one of them things.

 

[DNH]

I'm looking for one of them things.































The MD2 strikes me as being as much a work of art as a motordrive. Have an MD2 & an MD3 to go with my F2's.

 

[Roger Thoms]

Just got a working MD-2 for my Nikon F2.

I'm looking for one of them things.

Just got my F2A back from Sover Wong, now I’m thinking it would be nice to have a MD-2 for it. We’ll see if I can resist as I certainly don’t need one.

Roger

 

[dave olson]

Heck, I do. Have a power winder on a Canon F1N. A winder on a Leica R7, have two Leica winders for my M's.

 

[gordrob]

Started with a Pentax Spotmatic Set 250/36 in 1973 and have had some type of motor drive ever since. Graduated to a pair of Canon A1s with motor drives and then replaced them with a pair of F1 (New) with motor drives and an optional F100 back. I have a complement of bulk film loaders and nikor reels to process 15 feet of film at a time. Wouldn't be without them.

 

[benjiboy]

Started with a Pentax Spotmatic Set 250/36 in 1973 and have had some type of motor drive ever since. Graduated to a pair of Canon A1s with motor drives and then replaced them with a pair of F1 (New) with motor drives and an optional F100 back. I have a complement of bulk film loaders and nikor reels to process 15 feet of film at a time. Wouldn't be without them.

I used to have a Canon Motor Drive FN for my New F1s, but because it took 12 AA batteries was too damed heavy, and it couldn't be removed from the camera in daylight without exposing the film.
I eventually sold it and bought a Canon Power Winder FN that solved the problem because it takes only 4 AA batteries, and can be removed in daylight..

 

[Roger Thoms]

Just got my F2A back from Sover Wong, now I’m thinking it would be nice to have a MD-2 for it. We’ll see if I can resist as I certainly don’t need one.

Roger

Lol, just got an offer from a eBay seller for an MD-2 on my watch list and ended up pulling the trigger.

Roger

 

[BradS]

Lol, just got an offer from a eBay seller for an MD-2 on my watch list and ended up pulling the trigger.

Roger

Excellent! We wanna see photos.

 

[BradS]

 

[Neofito]

too bulky and expensive for the photography I make with analog cameras...

 

[Sirius Glass]

too bulky and expensive for the photography I make with analog cameras...

Welcome to APUG Photrio!!​

 

[Neofito]

Welcome to APUG Photrio!!​

thank you

 

[eli griggs]

The F-1N AE Motor Drive operated well with nicads, which I liked for the way the power level stays steady, until the end of the power cycle.

 

[Sharktooth]

Wow, the first wave lasted several months, but this second wave seems be a huge spike of more severe cases. Maybe it's the summer heat, and poor hydration. Do the right thing and give that drive a rapid test!

 

[DF]

Sorry I'm late catching back up to this thread--but I am very happy that is the case!

I ran a portrait studio in Orlando for 3.5 years, just closed it down in September. And I used a 553ELX, with a digital back attached. It was just a *lot* more convenient, given how many exposures I was making every day, to have the motor drive. I bought mine on eBay, for 400 bucks for a complete camera. That kind of deal used to be quite common, they are getting rarer--nowadays, you can occasionally find one that cheap, but it will have been stripped of screen and WLF, sadly. But earlier this year I snagged a 500ELX from KEH.com as a backup complete with screen (not accute matte, unfortunately) caps, late-style WLF and 9V adapter for just a shade over $300, advertised in KEH's "Excellent" condition (i.e., it looked brand new). I love the motorized 'Blads (I do have a 500CM, too), and am very glad that they aren't more popular with others. They're about half the price of a decent 500CM, and way cheaper than later non-motorised bodies.

I had to use the 500CM in the studio on occasion when I had a problem with my 553ELX (hence the desire for a backup; they are rugged cameras, but like all Hasselblads they do need occasional TLC unfortunately). While I love working with it outdoors/carrying it as a walk-around camera, it was really just a pain to use, comparatively, both for the reason that I cited above, and when you're working with someone and wanting to stay engaged with them constantly, letting the camera wind on and not having to fool with that in between every shot really helped with that process.

That's one reason I voted "actually useful" in the poll. You're definitely not gonna machine gun with a motorized Hasselblad. But even there, having a motor drive can be very helpful and convenient indeed, and not just some kind of frippery.

(And, hey, who knows when they might let you shoot an NBA game again like they did back in the old days of Sports Illustrated: mount your motorized Blad with a 220 back full of Kodachrome 200 and a wide angle lens on the basket support behind the glass, aim it at the rim and focus just a bit beyond, put your four radio-triggered Speedotron packs up in the catwalks, plug in your 20-foot electronic release, and bang away as Dr. J soars in for a dunk or Kareem sweeps gracefully into a sky hook. Climb the ladder at halftime, and you got 24 more exposures for the second half. Those were the days, lol!)

Yes of course, Kodachrome 200 for action, but how did it fare under all those indoor stadium lights?

 

[RudyMerz]

Put some Lithium batteries in and the battery weight is half.

 

[faberryman]

Just got a working MD-2 for my Nikon F2.

It certainly makes your camera look cool. Less so if you attach the battery pack too.

 

[Sirius Glass]

It certainly makes your camera look cool. Less so if you attach the battery pack too.

It looks even kewler if the motor drive and battery packs are removed and never attached to any camera again ever!