[tuco]

...
Now just so that Tuco does not have the exclusivity - here are pictures of me with the 4x5. I had no pictures of myself for years and then suddenly tons of them

I figured you'd have shorter fur, longer tail and a pedigree. Thanks for the shots.

[stevebrot]

Last Saturday I was swimming for 50 minutes at the beach from which you can see the mountains.
Last Sunday I was in plenty of snow on the mountains from which you can see the beach...

Caltar-N 210/5.6 F5.6 TMY-2 Diafine


The cross at the top right is actually my young cousin...

This is just too cool! Limited DOF + tilt

4x5 or roll-film?

I see you are using the folding viewfinder. Obviously your eyes are younger than mine. I need strong readers with the folding viewfinder on my Chamonix.

Is that a compendium shade I see or are you using a regular lens hood?


Steve

[lbenac]

I figured you'd have shorter fur, longer tail and a pedigree. Thanks for the shots.

Were I go, she goes so you are forgiven to mix-up the two of us

Cheers,

Luc

[lbenac]

Nice moustache, Luc!
...Not sure that I have any photos of myself that are worth posting at this stage.

For the records there is usually a goatee that goes with the moustache but in white instead of brown :ugh:. Every five years I go into a shaving frenzy - shave and then let it grow back immediately. These were taken after the five year cycle..

cheers,

Luc

[stevebrot]

Luc,
You snuck in a reply while I inserted a few questions into my comment above...


Steve

[gurtch]

Pentax 645, 35mm A lens, either Tri-X or Plus X, Orange Filter Nov 1987:

[lbenac]

This is just too cool! Limited DOF + tilt

4x5 or roll-film?

I see you are using the folding viewfinder. Obviously your eyes are younger than mine. I need strong readers with the folding viewfinder on my Chamonix.

Is that a compendium shade I see or are you using a regular lens hood?


Steve

1) Thanks Steve just had to try it
2) 4x5 TMY-2 in Diafine
3) Actually the folding viewfinder stays most of the time in the bag. I found it to work OK with the 300/9 but not with short lenses
4) No it is the monster Grandagon-N 115/6.8 plus a snap-on Pentax PH-SB 82mm hood (for the 67 75/4.5)

Cheers,

Luc

[stevebrot]

Finally got around to scanning the first test roll from the 645N that was so graciously loaned to me by a fellow forum member. First, however, I must give my initial impressions of the camera:

• Definitively pro quality...Everything screams precision, robustness and practicality.
• The film inserts are VERY easy to load and mount into the body with in a satifying manner
• Yes, it is heavier than my 35mm and dSLR kit, but the weight is well distributed
• I have done most of my shooting at this point on tripod, but the camera truly begs to be handheld. I can see why this model is/was popular with wedding photographers for use with flash.
• The mirror/shutter/film transport is very smooth and very quiet. Definitely more so than my other motor-driven cameras (including the K10D).
• Mirror slap? What mirror slap? It really is that well-dampened.
• Lenses? Both the A 645 75/2.8 and FA 645 45/2.8 were in the bag. I like both lenses, but the build quality of the 45/2.8 is a big step above the 75/2.8.
• Lessons learned so far? Make sure your hood is designed for wide angle use before shooting most of a roll with the 45/2.8!!

Now for the pictures (note that several were taken with the wrong hood and had significant vignette that was hard to crop out completely and retain the composition):

Bridge Works, I


Pentax 645N, Pentax-A 645 75/2.8, Neopan Acros 100 @ EI 160, FG-7 (1:15) 9 minutes, 21C


Bridge Works, II


Pentax 645N, Pentax-A 645 75/2.8, Neopan Acros 100 @ EI 160, FG-7 (1:15) 9 minutes, 21C


Rock Quarry, I


Pentax 645N, Pentax-A 645 45/2.8, Wratten #12 (minus blue), Neopan Acros 100 @ EI 160, FG-7 (1:15) 9 minutes, 21C


Rock Quarry, II


Pentax 645N, Pentax-A 645 45/2.8, Wratten #12 (minus blue), Neopan Acros 100 @ EI 160, FG-7 (1:15) 9 minutes, 21C


Rock Quarry, III


Pentax 645N, Pentax-A 645 45/2.8, Wratten #12 (minus blue), Neopan Acros 100 @ EI 160, FG-7 (1:15) 9 minutes, 21C


All of the above were scanned direct to JPEG at 1200 dpi on the Epson V700 using the stock 120 holder and reduced to forum dimensions before upload.


Steve

[lbenac]

• Definitively pro quality...Everything screams precision, robustness and practicality.
• The film inserts are VERY easy to load and mount into the body with in a satifying manner
• Yes, it is heavier than my 35mm and dSLR kit, but the weight is well distributed
• I have done most of my shooting at this point on tripod, but the camera truly begs to be handheld. I can see why this model is/was popular with wedding photographers for use with flash.
• The mirror/shutter/film transport is very smooth and very quiet. Definitely more so than my other motor-driven cameras (including the K10D).
• Mirror slap? What mirror slap? It really is that well-dampened.

I decided to sell my 645 system and keep the Hasselblad system. I am not sure that it was the best choice. My rationale was that you can go from a 6x6 neg to a 6x4.5 neg but not the other way around. In term of just plain using the camera, the 645 is simply great. The A-35, 55-2.8 and 120-4 are also wonderful lenses.

Cheers,

Luc

[stevebrot]

I decided to sell my 645 system and keep the Hasselblad system.

Just to look at it, I would think that the Hassy in base configuration is somewhat lighter and more compact. I guess it depends on whether the meter prism is mounted and whether you need the features of the 645N. One thing I noticed is that the 645N as a two lens kit is heavier and not a lot more compact than my Chamonix with two lenses and a 120 roll film holder. If you are shooting 4x5 with two Grafmatics, the weight would be about the same, but oh, the difference in quality


Steve

OTOH, ever tried to handhold the Chamonix!!!

[lbenac]

Just to look at it, I would think that the Hassy in base configuration is somewhat lighter and more compact. I guess it depends on whether the meter prism is mounted and whether you need the features of the 645N. One thing I noticed is that the 645N as a two lens kit is heavier and not a lot more compact than my Chamonix with two lenses and a 120 roll film holder. If you are shooting 4x5 with two Grafmatics, the weight would be about the same, but oh, the difference in quality
Steve
OTOH, ever tried to handhold the Chamonix!!!

I agree the 645 just feels like a 35mm (heavy) when shooting.
On the long run the Hassy is probably a better keep.

I have the same question when I go out:

• Hassy plus 3 lenses plus tripod = a little bit less than 4x5 weight

• P67 plus 3 lenses plus tripod = 4x5 weight

The difference is setup time and time under the dark cloth. Sometime you can, sometime you can't.

I am debating right now on what I will take to my trip to the Rockies:
1) Chamonix is coming
2) Hassy or Canon P or Autocord as a fast shooting, light gear/long hike second?

Cheers,

Luc

[tuco]

I decided to sell my 645 system and keep the Hasselblad system. I am not sure that it was the best choice. My rationale was that you can go from a 6x6 neg to a 6x4.5 neg but not the other way around...

The most appealing features I have come to like with my Hassy is being able to shoot color and BW at the same time or devote a BW roll to special processing such as highlight compression which I do frequently. I didn't realize how useful that would be. I don't have to go out loaded with the film I expect to shoot anymore. Just change it on the fly. And a little thing like having one filter size fit all my lenses makes colored filters with BW a sweet deal. It's been those things that make me want to shoot it more than my 6x7 I've come to realize.

[Swift1]

Nice work with the 645N Steve. I helped my mom get setup with a 645N+FA45-85mm kit last winter so I have played around with it a bit. It is a pretty sweet setup, basically a giant ZX-5n with much better build. The 45-85mm seems sweet but makes for a heavy kit if you're hand holding. Other than the AF and AE metering, I much prefer my 67 kit. With the WLF it is much easier for me to shoot handheld, I like the bigger format and for me, I find the 67 easier to load, though that's probably from more experience with the 67.

I managed to get my 67 out for a little trip up to the mountain a few weeks back and shot a roll of very old (1992) Velvia RVP.
Here's few shot with the SMC Pentax 67 200/4 (late), scanned on the V500

Mt. Shasta



Mt.Ashland

[itshimitis]

I was working at a music event in Dalhalla, close to the pretty town of Rattvik in central sweden when I passed this old Volvo and it felt like a natural conversion to black and white. I have adjusted the colour levels in Lightroom 3. Shot with FA33 - 55 at f/16

[itshimitis]

A high ISO shot often necessary at a music gig. This was shot at 160mm on an A 80 - 160 @ f/4.5. I adjusted the noise levels in LR3, and I like the colours in this one. I tried a crop leaving out the sponsor's car but it left the shot feeling unbalanced. Really impressed with how the 645D has handled the difficult lighting here with AWB