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I've got a GS-1, the optics are great, the body is sturdy (and pretty light for its size, easily handheld), the AE rotary prism makes metering easy and allows for portrait or landscape orientation. And they're pretty cheap, hunting around has got me pretty much all the lenses I need, the body, rotary prism, speedgrip and a few backs for under $500. Only criticisms would be that the default viewfinder can be a little dark and too many people seem to think I "settled" for it instead of a Hasselblad!
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Feb 7, 2013 23:29
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Looks like a fun camera, also looks like something I'd buy then a few years (ok, a few months) down the line probably end up abandoning having poured more money at LF and wanting as many features as possible, and much sharper optics. The words "point and shoot" have never, ever been aligned with "large format" (or even MF) in my mind...
The Clit Avoider fucked around with this message at 06:46 on Apr 3, 2013 |
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Apr 3, 2013 06:43
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Santa is strapped posted:I personally don't think this camera is for me. I wouldn't buy it for the same reason I wouldn't buy a Holga. Funnily enough, a Holga is exactly what sprung into my mind as the MF equivalent while I was musing over this an hour or two ago. Although given the pictures produced, I think a 6x6 folder is probably a more direct and fair comparison. I've carried around folders with attached rangefinders for years, and it's not really something I'd recommend for shooting all the time, or even most of the time. 99% of the photos I've taken with folders either predate my purchase of Mamiya and Bronica systems, or were taken in situations where alternatives would have been unwieldy and I wanted a reasonably sized film negative. In both situations I end up wishing I'd had my GS-1. VomitOnLino posted:Yeah, I agree and after thinking about this some more, I'm less excited about the general prospect. It is, however - still a dang cheap way to dip your toes into the water. You could use the super angulon on another lens-board with another body, later on. No loss there. To be honest, the best application for it would be as a LF camera for holidaying/trips in a situation where you feel taking a more expensive camera would be either unsafe, inappropriate or inhibiting. Those should be fine for landscapes, but eh, portraits are probably going to be quite frustrating. I suppose it's worth the money either way since a focusing helicoid will run you as much as the camera...
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Apr 3, 2013 12:29
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Paul MaudDib posted:You didn't look very hard. Polaroid rangefinders have been around forever in the low-cost segment. Alpenhause makes great compact travel rangefinders that take sheet film, and Peter Gowland has had fixed-focus or helicoid-focus aerial cameras (a big point and shoot) for ages. In medium format there's the Fuji GA645, and folding/box cameras have been around, like, forever. It's not that I believe they don't exist, it's just that for me personally, p&s wouldn't enter my mind as a methodology for LF/MF.
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Apr 5, 2013 08:17
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Paul MaudDib posted:
Yeah, I know what you're getting at (and I have a number of folders with minimal controls), but it's quite a frustrating methodology to shoot with. I just don't like relying on the negative's size to make up for the shortcomings of the camera/operation. I must admit though, as I sit and run through the options in my head, that L&F p&s is actually more appealing as time passes. Just so long as I could stick something other than the Angulon in it.
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Apr 8, 2013 06:36
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It was actually probably the original methodology for MF, which really became popular with stuff like box cameras due to low cost, decent IQ (from the negative size), and being a roll film instead of a sheet film (easier for consumers to handle). At best you'd have an aperture control (f/11 and either f/16 or f/22), sometimes not even that.
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$943 for everything is an offer so low it's an insult. As has been said, the 645 AFD + 80mm lens is worth that (or slightly more) alone.
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Apr 11, 2013 11:36
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PoseidonGodOfTheSea posted:The question is whether I keep the GS-1. Seeing as how they are two different systems, and the GS-1 has a limited lens and accessory selection that is also relatively rare and expensive, I find it myself struggling to justify keeping it. I'm no balla dentist. Eventually, I want the option of shooting 6x7, but I'm wondering if I should sell it for a healthy profit and go after a Pentax 6x7 or an RB67 instead. I've shot with an ETRS in the past, but have no clue about the GS-1 system's image or build quality aside from what I've read on some photo forums. I use a GS-1 as my primary. The lenses are sharp as a tack, and the camera system is extremely well suited to all situations, although its size may make it a little unwieldy for some to shoot street with (I don't find it a big deal, it's well made to the extent of being tanklike, a bit bulky and a little heavy, but it's not so hard to hand hold). The shortcomings of the camera are the mirror lockup system which can be irritating, but is fairly intuitive, and the price of the accessories such as the adjustable viewfinder (which makes portrait orientation much less irritating), speedgrip etc in working order. The 110mm Macro, 150mm, and 65mm lenses are all obtainable for not too high an investment.
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Apr 22, 2013 20:52
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Foggy day, pushed Hp5+, gravestones. The fog by Falamh
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May 20, 2013 23:10
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I just bought 10 rolls of shanghai gp3 since it was ~£2 a roll, is it actually as terrible as it seems? Most of the example shots I remember from this thread were 4x5, and didn't look too terrible for the investment.
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May 30, 2013 20:06
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Ah well. I'm not expecting anything brilliant, you get what you pay for with photography. I'll just use it for locational test shots. [edit] Speaking of impulse buys, I bought a Fujinon SW 90mm f8 for $130. The Clit Avoider fucked around with this message at 20:19 on May 30, 2013 |
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May 30, 2013 20:09
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Just an old Calumet CC-400, I don't post any LF because my scanner isn't up to the job (and I'm terrible at putting aside days to scan 120 as it is). Alongside that, after putting it down a bit in this thread, I actually ended paying for a travelwide 90 as well, since what the hell, so when that arrives it'll be another possibility.
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May 30, 2013 20:42
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aliencowboy posted:Talk me out of buying a GW690II for $300. You came to the wrong place. Buy it.
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Jun 23, 2013 14:16
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Here's two from the Bronica Gs-1. The optics for this are great - 50mm and 200mm rival absolutely anything you'd care to name from another system and the 110, 150 and 65mm are all very good too. It is bulky, being built like an absolute tank, and pretty much absolutely requires a tripod for any film slower than ISO 400 (unless you're pushing it). I'd say it isn't really a camera for someone thinking they "might" like to shoot MF (the SQ/SQ-Ai is more suited to that, and much cheaper). If you use one of these, you're basically committing to lugging around the body, viewfinder, 2-3 lenses and a tripod whenever you wish to use it. That isn't a problem for me. I use the AE-rotary Prism, so can't comment on the WLF, but the viewfinder is absolutely massive, so I couldn't see anybody really having difficulty focusing with it. And I have a polaroid back, but I've never used it.  The Misty Mountains by Falamh  Pass of the Glen by Falamh and an older shot I'll scan some more later, I've got a few rolls I need to dev.
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Jul 4, 2013 15:14
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Amazing! Turn your Hassy into a $1k+ iPhone camera filter!
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Sep 9, 2013 18:20
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Stuff the SQ-Ai and get a GS-1! Seriously though, Bronica is getting cheap again and will likely remain so for some time (looks like it's returning to median prices after a slight boom in the last 1.5-2years). It really depends what you want to use the camera for - the GS-1 can do just about anything with the completely modular design and variety of film backs, however, the fastest lens is f3.5 (nothing wrong with that for the image/film plane, it's absolutely in line with other systems) and the weight of the camera can make it unwieldy for hand-holding if you're not used to it (it's actually quite light for a 6x7 system). The SQ system is probably the best introduction as it produces a decently sized negative, has a wide lens selection (which is faster, but not as sharp as the PG lenses at key lengths), and is very portable. Don't take my knock on the lenses as a sign they're poor though - they're great lenses, it's just that the PG optics are incredibly good. The ETR system... eh, it's 645. I guess I'll actually go into why people are "against" that. For a start, a waist-level viewfinder is somewhat problematic to use in this format, and a prism is generally preferred. You gain somewhat in the sense that the lens selection is faster (in general, and for Bronica, the lens selection for the ETR system is much wider), and the camera is lighter... except the ETR cameras range in weight from being heavier than a GS-1 to just lighter than a SQ-Ai, it's really not going to make a massive difference. You'll obviously get more photos from a roll of 120, but you're fixed with 645 when everyone else can change the back if they want, or crop to size; and you've got natural portrait orientation - this is a potential nuisance if you're intending on shooting mostly landscapes. There's benefits of DOF and lens angles, but these can be replicated on larger formats. I mean, the thing about 645 is it's rare for people to stick with it now - you either decide you don't like MF/the system and sell it, or you decide you like MF/the system but find the camera doesn't do enough, and you want a bigger negative so you sell it. Well, unless it's a 645 rangefinder...
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Oct 29, 2013 11:44
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If those are PS lenses and it's in good shape, that's a decent deal. I've seen that sort of price for a body+back, viewfinder and 80mm combo. And the 50mm is one of the pricier lenses to pick up.
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Oct 30, 2013 03:08
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Film cameras at festivals are great. I've walked quite a number of SLRs, and a Mamiya 6 past security in Germany by just saying "Oh it's film", when they say "no professional cameras" and I've not got a press pass.
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Nov 26, 2013 17:56
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Greyish Orange posted:Well I have my Camera now and five rolls of 120 film, lets see what it can do in Berlin next week. Berlin is super cheap for everything if you need to buy more - I'm not sure where you're from, but film runs quite a bit more in Europe than the USA, still the price gap is about $8 compared to the $15-20 it'd be elsewhere for a 5-pack of most things. Oh and uh, I hope you're prepared for snow. And not wishing to see the Bismarck memorial too closely.
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Dec 6, 2013 08:47
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Goddamn it. I completely forgot to add an extra minute for my first developer (E-6) for constant rotational agitation as opposed to turning the development can. Ugh. 4 rolls of film and there's some good shots in there that I can't use because the density of the film is utterly impenetrable  At least the first mistake of the new year is out of the way nice and early.  A Deeper Kind of Slumber by falamh, on Flickr The Clit Avoider fucked around with this message at 13:00 on Jan 13, 2014 |
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Jan 13, 2014 12:53
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 I give you rest, by Falamh, on 500px. I took some 10+ year expired Portra 160NC out on Monday and shot it at ASA 100. Fairly nice, albeit there was a bit of a green cast (easily removed on scanning/in photoshop). First time I'd processed C-41 in uh... a few years. I forgot how bloody easy it was. Based on what I've seen of the new Portra I might just stop using slide film so regularly for a while once I've finished off my concentrates.
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Jan 23, 2014 04:18
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365 Nog Hogger posted:It's still there, yo, heavily. Ah crap, forgot to disable f.lux there. The foreground is pretty accurate as to the actual conditions, but yes, the background is showing it badly in places.
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Jan 23, 2014 04:46
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Is there anything more satisfying than finally getting some ultra-curled up rolls of 120 onto a spool first time, an easy c-41 development and then quick check of the film..... to see you idiotically never bothered checking the bottles, somehow missed the difference in chem colour and blixed them before developing. Amazing. I've never made a mess of E-6 since it requires a bit of thought, but c-41 I routinely make a mess of every so often. Good thing the dev was at the end of its lifespan anyway. Aside from that idiocy, the weekend did provide an interesting comparison between the Bronica GS-1 and Pentax 67. The Pentax is heavier feeling to carry around, but is much easier to hand-hold: the grip is simply better than the Bronica's speedgrip, and the shape of the camera lends itself to a much more ergonomic spread of weight. That said, I did find the lack of an interchangeable back to be a little irritating, because I'm fairly regularly switching from ISO100 to ISO400 film mid-session to catch variance in lighting conditions. I plan on using the Pentax long-term as a low-light MF solution (due to the faster lens selection), so the likelihood is that at some point it'll just become "Permanently Portra" and the lack of a back will be inconsequential in that regard.
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Aug 20, 2014 17:33
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Beginning to really like Reala again, especially in a colder climate. Pillars of Eternity by Falamh . on 500px  World at rest by Falamh . on 500px  Watcher's Repose by Falamh . on 500px
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Nov 25, 2014 13:06
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