Hi Anders,
Nice to hear that you finally found happiness with digital. Can you describe the differences between your AFi-II 12 and your 28 MP Leaf? Are you using same raw converter with both cameras?
Best regards
Erik
Hi Erik,
It is about what media works, digital or not is not important. Film and in particular Fuji Velvia 50 are excellent photographic medias and I still really much like Velvia. Perhaps my eye is sensitive to color and rendering in an image, but why should it not be? My prior Leaf Aptus 65 (28MP) was the best digital tool I had used but failed to bring me some of what Velvia brought. Selling nearly all of my five camera systems financed the upgrade to AFi-II 12. While I knew pixels were more and specific parameters of the image quality would be improved, it was nevertheless a $$ gamble "investing" in it. I simply also wanted more focus on photography using less gear, simply because I am fed up on being sold "new, better" gear and carrying much gear. The AFi-II 12 unexpectedly made me premature stop shooting 4x5 and sell my last stock of Velvia Quickloads (those are no longer made). Keeping my Shen-Hao 4x5 camera though because I simply like it (though no film to shoot it...).
Yes, of course I use Capture One for AFi-II 12 as I also used for Aptus 65. Compared to Aptus 65, the AFi-II 12 (80MP vs. 28MP) brings first and foremost better and more correct colors, a finer gradation of colors (more shades), a broader DR and a better highlight to shadow response. Looking at also the AFi-II 10, the 10 appears to have evolutionary improvements in image quality over my Aptus 65, but the AFi-II 12 had clear more significant improvements. It is about more than the 50 vs. 28 and 80 vs. 28MP. In a way I can now also equal the response of AFi-12 from mid tone to highlights to that of slide film, and there are more stops more of shadow information available compared to slide film. I can of course control more in post using Capture One than I could with slide film. The slide film was pre-programmed per say. Yet the results I get also with scenes having bright light such as early morning or sunset sun in small part of the image are far better than any digital I used. That was one area where I liked slide film, in that it had a pleasing highlight transition. With the AFi-II 12 I can afford to expose to permit for a similar highlight response using curves in post. There is also little need for HDR which I always found unnatural and a waste anyways.
And yes, the more pixels must help in all the above, but the larger real estate of details is also a resource for landscapes. The 80MP do require holding camera very steady at exposure. That is one reason to why I am pleased also with the Hy6 system. Because it has a waist level finder it keeps me from lifting the camera to eye level which requires more strength to hold steady. Instead I can cradle the camera with both arms and am thus able to hold it steady at slower shutter speeds. And a waist level finder is one step closer towards being a groundglass...
I find the waist level finder and controls of the Hy6 are photographically superior to the Mamiya system. It helps me view the image better and with a photographic brain control the image without technology being in the way. The AF is more precise than Mamiya AFDIII and manual focus is a breeze with the focus confirmation which is simple to use.
It comes down to photographer types. There are those who enjoy shooting, those who like darkrooms and those who enjoy getting spinal curvature at the computer.
It could well be further influenced by your background in photography. If you've been mainly a studio/still life kind of person, then you will be accustomed to slow and deliberate working; if you have done a lot of architecture, mainstream advertising or industrial stuff, then it's probably much the same there. But, if you've been into people, sport or travel, then I suspect the post-camera process moments are mainly considered as Doug's 'necessary evil' and something that gets in the way of the parts of photography that make you want to be in the business.
Rob,
In my view, in the end it comes down to the image. This at least is why I like photography. All other steps need to be taken with the goal to arrive at the image. If the digital darkroom was my idea of "fun" my interest would not be photography. Same as Ansel Adams we need to control all steps of the photographic process. Admittedly it takes the right tool for us to feel content at making an image per say.
I like slow and deliberate. That gives me better images. Same time, why waste time with HDR or stitching when we do not have to? The slow and deliberate that I like is at capture which aids be in arriving at an image per how I best visualize a scene prior to the capture, thus with the mind on the image. From there on I prefer the shortest path that yields the image as I pre-visualized. This is also why I use Capture One and do not use Photoshop, since Capture One lends me a more photographic process and allows me to think photographically and maintain matters simple.
I am keen to get an Alpa eventually for panoramic stitching, because it is a different format and can enable large format panoramas in digital. No, I do not like rotating camera instead.
Albeit as you say, we are all tad different photographer types.
Best regards
Anders
