Non-MF Systems

[dergiman]

right now i am considering to sell all my 35mm gear to buy a digital back for my contax 645. but i am not so sure about wether this is a wise move or not. financially it would be about equal (depending on the back). my 35mm system is pretty complete.

which other systems (LF, 35mm,.. ) do you guys use beside your mfdb? and what for? and how often?

[Graham Mitchell]

I don't want to seem rude, but how are other people's needs relevant to yours? We all shoot different things, have different personal preferences, budgets, etc.

Just think about what you would like to shoot, and whether the Contax will be a better tool for that job than what you have.

[wolfnowl]

That's not rude, it's excellent advice.

Mike.

[Juanito]

Yeah, it all depends on what you're doing. I personally wouldn't sell my small format kit. There's too many things that it does that medium format can't. But, if you don't shoot any of those things, I guess it doesn't matter.

John

[dergiman]

@graham&mike:
i agree, the decision is up to me and my needs and i would never anybody else let take the decision for me. but this is a forum, a place to exchange opinions and experience and this is why i came here, otherwise i could sit in my closet and think really hard about it.

[tho_mas]

but this is a forum, a place to exchange opinions and experience and this is why i came here, otherwise i could sit in my closet and think really hard about it.[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=213931\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Exchange about what?
The other way around: what do you expect from using a MFDB? Higher resolution? Less noise in lowest ISO? Is your Contax System complete or do you have the former kit?

[dergiman]

i have 2 bodies and 5 lenses, so it is almost complete except for the mfdb. ok, let me ask differently: who is only shooting with a mfdb?

[James R Russell]

i have 2 bodies and 5 lenses, so it is almost complete except for the mfdb. ok, let me ask differently: who is only shooting with a mfdb?
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=213933\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

I think your question is more than valid.

A lot of people have a film camera system and want to move to digital.

V's, RZ's, Contax and they are all viable and still work as well with digital as they did with film, some even better.

I know a lot of photographers who use their film cameras with digital.  The know the look of the lenses and they have made the investment.

The best point of the contax is it has a digital interface so no sync cords to make it work with the back.

I've used Leaf and Phase and both worked.  They come if varying degrees of being effecient sometimes due to software, other times iso sensitivity, but almost any modern back will work well with your contax.

Now do I shoot everything medium format . . . no . . . but I do a lot of different work that requries different cameras.

The most difficult thing about testing a medium format back for your contax is few dealers have one in stock, so you will probably have to try a H, V, or Rolliflex (hy6/afi) to find the back you like and then just translate how that will work with your contax.

JR

[jimgolden]

who is only shooting with a mfdb?
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=213933\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

thats the beauty - for most people you have both 35 digi and MFDB - you need backup for the MFDB and you need something a bit more flexible under challenging situations.

BTW i'm fond of your night office bldg work, especially the first image...

[tho_mas]

The most difficult thing about testing a medium format back for your contax is few dealers have one in stock, so you will probably have to try a H, V, or Rolliflex (hy6/afi) to find the back you like and then just translate how that will work with your contax.[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=213944\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Maybe a bit different in Europe. It took Phase (Germany) just a few days to get a P45 with Contax mount for me for testing. And less than a week that my back came from Denmark after my order.
If time does not matter so much I would prefer to check everything with my own camera gear.

[evgeny]

I sold all my 35mm Nikon cameras, except my wife's D40, and kept 17-35 and 70-200 lenses for occasional use with the D40.

I use Contax 645 now for almost all my photography needs. I actually shoot with two bodies, one loaded with film back and another with digital back. In my opinion photography with digital back requires more attention, a DSLR comparing to MFDB behaves like a P&S camera. I mean digital back is not that smart like a DSLR, but it could be just my Sinar 54M. However the 54M images beat everything shoot in the 35mm format.

[dergiman]

I think your question is more than valid.


JR
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=213944\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

thank you james, i am more of a reader here, but you are one of the top posters here (by quantity and quality).

[uaiomex]

I'm always ready to do any assignment. (except climbing and uw). Mainly doing, architecture, industrial, interiors, food, portrait, wedding, fashion, urban and natural landscapes, aerial and pj.

If I had to keep only one system, I'd keep the digital slr 35.

My comment

Eduardo

[uaiomex]

I read recently someone saying that Medium format is "heavenly" I totally agree.

MF can do anything but in very awkward and clunky ways. Dslr's are more universal, especially since digital took over. Keep both, my advice.

Eduardo

I'm always ready to do any assignment. (except climbing and uw). Mainly doing, architecture, industrial, interiors, food, portrait, wedding, fashion, urban and natural landscapes, aerial and pj.

If I had to keep only one system, I'd keep the digital slr 35.

My comment

Eduardo
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=213971\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

[Don Libby]

I do a combination of landscape and nature and decided early on to keep my 35mm gear.  The main reason to keep the gear was based on the simple fact that I had it and it was all paid for.  The second reason was that due to various issues, MF in most cases just isn’t suitable for wildlife.  I decided to keep the gear (Canon 1Ds II) and went to work gathering the lens I felt I needed for my MF and along the way I slowly got rid of the Canon lens I found wasn’t necessary.  The bright spot in all this is that since my wife shoots with a Canon she always had a backup body.  As time went on I soon found that I was shooting 100% of the time with my Mamiya AFD II and stopped taking my 35 with me.  The only time that we had a full complement of gear meaning both Canon bodies and all the lens along with the Mamiya and all the lens was on our recent Alaska trip.

So to answer the original question – I would advise against selling any equipment until you’ve had time to settle into medium format as buying it back would be rather expensive.

To answer the second part of the question – who’s shooting on MFDB – I’d say for landscape I do 100% but then the vast majority of my work is landscape.  I shot both film and digital when I first made the move to medium format but has since gone 100% digital and in fact sold all but film backs.

Don’t know him all that well but I agree with the comments JR gave as well.

Good luck

don

[uaiomex]

If that rumor about Leica's new format is true, being bigger than 35 but smaller than MF, it well may turn out to be the perfect "have-only-one-system".

Eduardo

I read recently someone saying that Medium format is "heavenly" I totally agree.

MF can do anything but in very awkward and clunky ways. Dslr's are more universal, especially since digital took over. Keep both, my advice.

Eduardo
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=213974\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

[Gigi]

If that rumor about Leica's new format is true, being bigger than 35 but smaller than MF, it well may turn out to be the perfect "have-only-one-system".

Eduardo
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=213980\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Sounds like a good idea, but one has to wonder. Then again, waiting (and spending) on a full frame 6x6 back isn't such a good idea either. Maybe if the Leica was around the 33x44 size would make sense....and then integrate with all the existing MFDB? Boy, wouldn't that be a treat -kind of an updated Contax 645?  

Geoff

[terence_patrick]

From looking at the work on your site, you could probably get away with just using a MFDB on your Contax. It seems your work is more stationary and doesn't require a lot of speed, agility, or even ruggedness. I don't know if photography is your career or just a hobby, but my only concern would be having a backup that functions just like my primary system. Do you have access to rentals when doing a job or are you going to buy a second back for the other Contax body you have?

[uaiomex]

What a coincidence Geoff. I wrote this post at GetDpi about my ideas on Leica new format rumors and the 44X33 sensor.
http://forum.getdpi.com/forum/showpost.php...58&postcount=17
Eduardo

Sounds like a good idea, but one has to wonder. Then again, waiting (and spending) on a full frame 6x6 back isn't such a good idea either. Maybe if the Leica was around the 33x44 size would make sense....and then integrate with all the existing MFDB? Boy, wouldn't that be a treat -kind of an updated Contax 645? 

Geoff
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=213989\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]