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Emilmedia

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My first MFD H3Dii-39 - any tips?
« on: January 24, 2013, 01:50:38 pm »

So i'll be getting my first MFD in a week, a Hasselblad H3Dii-39. The kit is with a 50mm lense and a couple of batteries and charger.

Is there something else that i should make sure is included?

I guess alot of people in this forum has used alot of their lenses before. I never used 35 mm lense on my 5D mkii, but i use more wide angle and portarit lenses. I'm thinking about selling the 50 and buying a 100 and a 35. Or do you think a 28 is a better option?

I'm really inspired by this type of work and want to shoot more like this. So 35 or 28?
http://phlearn.com/photographers/erik-almas
http://phlearn.com/photographers/annie-leibovitz
http://phlearn.com/photographers/art-streiber
http://phlearn.com/photographers/aorta
http://phlearn.com/photographers/koen-demuynck

Ed Foster, Jr.

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Re: My first MFD H3Dii-39 - any tips?
« Reply #1 on: January 24, 2013, 01:55:33 pm »

Emil,

Congratulation! You should be very pleased. I too like wide and very much enjoy the 28mm, and for slightly more than "normal" I am most fond of the 100 mm. Both, IMHO, are stellar lenses.

Good Luck,
Ed
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Gel

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Re: My first MFD H3Dii-39 - any tips?
« Reply #2 on: January 24, 2013, 01:55:48 pm »

You want the 100mm for sure.

What I will say though is before you try to emulate any other artist there is so so so much more than the camera at work.

I really like the 66 degrees north ads, stern looking models in rough surroundings.
Then I found how the shot was made:

(Guy in the coat, in the snow, click the image to enlarge then click again to see the composite) http://www.pixelfinity.com/#10

Green screen and photoshopped to all hell. And there was me thinking it could be put together in one shot.

Have fun and buy the 100mm.

(and if anyone can help me with this snow effect I'm all ears)

Emilmedia

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Re: My first MFD H3Dii-39 - any tips?
« Reply #3 on: January 24, 2013, 02:10:30 pm »

You want the 100mm for sure.

What I will say though is before you try to emulate any other artist there is so so so much more than the camera at work.

I really like the 66 degrees north ads, stern looking models in rough surroundings.
Then I found how the shot was made:

(Guy in the coat, in the snow, click the image to enlarge then click again to see the composite) http://www.pixelfinity.com/#10

Green screen and photoshopped to all hell. And there was me thinking it could be put together in one shot.

Have fun and buy the 100mm.

(and if anyone can help me with this snow effect I'm all ears)

I think its much simpler done then you think. I think he has maybe 2-3 brushes, have them scatter in opacity and placement and size. Then just painting it in small in the background and with a little less opacity and then bigger in the foreground. Thats just my 2 cents.

Nick-T

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Re: My first MFD H3Dii-39 - any tips?
« Reply #4 on: January 24, 2013, 02:10:39 pm »

In my opinion the 28mm is a much better lens than the 35 (focal length aside) be sure to use the lens corrections in Phocus to get the most from it.

Nick-T
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Gel

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Re: My first MFD H3Dii-39 - any tips?
« Reply #5 on: January 24, 2013, 02:26:44 pm »

I think its much simpler done then you think. I think he has maybe 2-3 brushes, have them scatter in opacity and placement and size. Then just painting it in small in the background and with a little less opacity and then bigger in the foreground. Thats just my 2 cents.

Cool, it's much simpler than I tell myself it is.

Make sure you get that 100mm

Emilmedia

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Re: My first MFD H3Dii-39 - any tips?
« Reply #6 on: January 24, 2013, 02:38:00 pm »

Cool, it's much simpler than I tell myself it is.

Make sure you get that 100mm

Usually is, do you need help changing brush settings to make it scatter?

bcooter

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Re: My first MFD H3Dii-39 - any tips?
« Reply #7 on: January 24, 2013, 02:49:05 pm »

I'd stick with the 80 and 50 and shoot everything you can with one lens maybe 2.  Think of the fixed camera and lens like a view camera and how you can stretch or compress a subject just from the angle you shoot. 

Hell I'd weld the camera on a heavy tripod so that way you want walk around searching for a photograph, you learn to make a photograph.

This is all subject, but I think first you learn why you do it, then figure out how to do it. 

We're all different and come at this in different ways.


snip

I really like the 66 degrees north ads, stern looking models in rough surroundings.
Then I found how the shot was made:

(Guy in the coat, in the snow, click the image to enlarge then click again to see the composite) http://www.pixelfinity.com/#10

Green screen and photoshopped to all hell. And there was me thinking it could be put together in one shot.

snip

(and if anyone can help me with this snow effect I'm all ears)

Sorry to go off topic tough a lot of people shooting medium format do so with photo manipulation in mind.

This has been going on for a long time and sometimes it's excellent, sometimes it's too manipulated, sometimes it's not cost effective.

I did a shoot in the Moscow train station where two people are walking.  Permitting this location was hell, very restrictive and honestly the train station is pretty in parts but not from any one perspective, so I shot the talent on location and then shot 10 background plates where we built our own train station.

It looked ok, but the time in post far outstripped any costs savings.

The idea of we will do it later loses something, though everyone does it, including our studios.

There is a video on the Wall Street Journal this morning showing how H+M used virtual models for their Web catalog.

Actually they are real models shot in a lot of poses, the clothes shot later and put into the system that's 1/2 cg 1/2 organic.

H+M caught some heat for this, but I guess they ran the numbers and it worked out.  It's hard to tell if the models are real or not but some projects require so much client directed retouching it's hard to tell if an organic image is also real or cg.

Not to go back in time, but I've always felt that the only reason to shoot a photograph is to show some degree of believability, if the reality is cleaned up or manipulated.

This is a self promotion spread going out today and I don't think it would have had the same feel had I shot the locations separate from the talent.



Maybe, I dunno because locations, talent inspire and frame the context of an image.  I may be fooling myself but when I shoot in Paris I feel like I'm in Paris and when I shoot in Dallas, I feel like I'm in Dallas and I think it shows, for better or worse.

There is a saying by movie DP's that (in the latest PDN) that DP's make the light, photographers find the light (not an exact quote), but in a way that's true.

Even on large projects, photographers work small compared to even a lower budget movie.  We don't build complete rooms that stay up for a month, we don't have to shoot 22 scenes in that room and we don't have to worry about sound so not that we're more talent than film DP's we just work from a different mind set.

Regardless, there is no stopping the march of technology so maybe the H+M way is where it's going.

We'll see.

IMO

BC


P.S.  To make the snow organic, rent a snow machine from an event rental company. It comes out as snow flakes and actually melts.
Depending on your image and post production skills you can put it on green screen, though usually on black works better and set the snow layer to screen.  On an ad like you linked to you'll probably find nearly all of the snow flakes are placed but that's normal (if anything about post production is normal.
« Last Edit: January 24, 2013, 03:05:07 pm by bcooter »
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Ed Foster, Jr.

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Re: My first MFD H3Dii-39 - any tips?
« Reply #8 on: January 24, 2013, 02:50:34 pm »

I think its much simpler done then you think. I think he has maybe 2-3 brushes, have them scatter in opacity and placement and size. Then just painting it in small in the background and with a little less opacity and then bigger in the foreground. Thats just my 2 cents.

Perhaps you could try it on separate layers which might allow you to vary the blur and opacity, and maybe add a rotation or two as well.

Good Luck and keep us posted on your results.

Ed
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Emilmedia

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Re: My first MFD H3Dii-39 - any tips?
« Reply #9 on: January 24, 2013, 03:30:12 pm »

I'd stick with the 80 and 50 and shoot everything you can with one lens maybe 2.  Think of the fixed camera and lens like a view camera and how you can stretch or compress a subject just from the angle you shoot. 

Hell I'd weld the camera on a heavy tripod so that way you want walk around searching for a photograph, you learn to make a photograph.

This is all subject, but I think first you learn why you do it, then figure out how to do it. 

We're all different and come at this in different ways.


Sorry to go off topic tough a lot of people shooting medium format do so with photo manipulation in mind.

This has been going on for a long time and sometimes it's excellent, sometimes it's too manipulated, sometimes it's not cost effective.

I did a shoot in the Moscow train station where two people are walking.  Permitting this location was hell, very restrictive and honestly the train station is pretty in parts but not from any one perspective, so I shot the talent on location and then shot 10 background plates where we built our own train station.

It looked ok, but the time in post far outstripped any costs savings.

The idea of we will do it later loses something, though everyone does it, including our studios.

There is a video on the Wall Street Journal this morning showing how H+M used virtual models for their Web catalog.

Actually they are real models shot in a lot of poses, the clothes shot later and put into the system that's 1/2 cg 1/2 organic.

H+M caught some heat for this, but I guess they ran the numbers and it worked out.  It's hard to tell if the models are real or not but some projects require so much client directed retouching it's hard to tell if an organic image is also real or cg.

Not to go back in time, but I've always felt that the only reason to shoot a photograph is to show some degree of believability, if the reality is cleaned up or manipulated.

This is a self promotion spread going out today and I don't think it would have had the same feel had I shot the locations separate from the talent.



Maybe, I dunno because locations, talent inspire and frame the context of an image.  I may be fooling myself but when I shoot in Paris I feel like I'm in Paris and when I shoot in Dallas, I feel like I'm in Dallas and I think it shows, for better or worse.

There is a saying by movie DP's that (in the latest PDN) that DP's make the light, photographers find the light (not an exact quote), but in a way that's true.

Even on large projects, photographers work small compared to even a lower budget movie.  We don't build complete rooms that stay up for a month, we don't have to shoot 22 scenes in that room and we don't have to worry about sound so not that we're more talent than film DP's we just work from a different mind set.

Regardless, there is no stopping the march of technology so maybe the H+M way is where it's going.

We'll see.

IMO

BC


P.S.  To make the snow organic, rent a snow machine from an event rental company. It comes out as snow flakes and actually melts.
Depending on your image and post production skills you can put it on green screen, though usually on black works better and set the snow layer to screen.  On an ad like you linked to you'll probably find nearly all of the snow flakes are placed but that's normal (if anything about post production is normal.

I totally agree with you, i aspire to shoot as much as possible on set and add touches that makes them stand out a bit more. Some times thats not possible however.

Brian Hirschfeld

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Re: My first MFD H3Dii-39 - any tips?
« Reply #10 on: January 24, 2013, 10:43:30 pm »

I completely agree that the 100mm lens is one of the most spectacular available for the Hasselblad H system and certainly a unique selling point for the system. You can read a little bit about my experiences with my H3Dii-39ms (never utilized the ms it just happened that that one I bought had it) on my website.

If you want to see some 100mm samples, send me an e-mail.
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BobDavid

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Re: My first MFD H3Dii-39 - any tips?
« Reply #11 on: January 25, 2013, 10:01:13 am »

The 28, 80, and 120 macro are excellent. If you get a 50, make sure it is the II version. The II version is excellent, the I is a dog.
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Emilmedia

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Re: My first MFD H3Dii-39 - any tips?
« Reply #12 on: January 25, 2013, 12:53:17 pm »

The 28, 80, and 120 macro are excellent. If you get a 50, make sure it is the II version. The II version is excellent, the I is a dog.

Is the first version. How bad is it? I'm not thinking about keeping it, how much could one get, sellingthe lense?

Steve Hendrix

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Re: My first MFD H3Dii-39 - any tips?
« Reply #13 on: January 25, 2013, 03:19:41 pm »

Make sure you get the focal lengths you need rather than those other folk recommend.


I can't recall a more basic, sound, fundamental piece of advice to follow.


Steve Hendrix
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epines

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Re: My first MFD H3Dii-39 - any tips?
« Reply #14 on: January 25, 2013, 08:05:50 pm »

I'm sure the 50-II is great and better than the original, but I strongly disagree with the assertion that the HC 50mm is a dog. Perhaps the poster had a dog copy, but I use mine all the time, and it's sharp. It could probably be sharper at the edges; depends how much you need that. Don't worry about it. Keep and use it, unless you really want and need the newer version.

jonathan.lipkin

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Re: My first MFD H3Dii-39 - any tips?
« Reply #15 on: January 25, 2013, 10:09:01 pm »

Emil, my thoughts:
1. Check to see how steady you can hold it off tripod. I can sometimes make a sharp exposure at 1/125th, but I'm usually on a tripod.

2. I have a 50mm mkI which I use with the HTS adapter and I find it tack sharp. I sharpen my image with Nik sharpener, which I like better than PhotoKit or the Phocus sharpening algorithm.
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