Hi all here in the group.

 

Thought it would be interesting to share our love for analogue cameras, and state here our favorite gear, the one we are using at the moment, maybe the camera we use the most.

 

I have several medium format, from 6x4.5 to 6x9 (dreaming of a 6x17), and a few large format, 4x5 and 8x10.

 

At this moment the camera I´m using the most is a Mamiya RB67 proS. Got a few lens for it, all Sekor:

-50mm C

-90mm C

-150mm C soft focus

-180mm K/L

-360mm C

Also added a CdS Chimney finder with TTL metering and dioptry adjustment, a Beatie screen for extra brightness, a side grip, a Bellows Lens Hood type G2, and one extra back power drive model (usually I go out with two for b&w and color).

 

This is a all mechanical bulky camera but a joy to use. Negatives are ultra sharp and contrasty. Well exposed it delivers full details everywhere. As a bellow-focusing it allows for macro with no efort. With mirror up and leaf shutter, no hard shaking breaks the flow of image into the negative.

 

So the camera is

A body

A revolving adapter with thefilm back

A screen and a finder, waist-level, prism or finder

A lens

 

Bought a hard aluminum case to carry most of the lens I have around, so I can be ready for any theme that shows up, mainly landscape and architecture.

I real pleasure to use, specialy for portrait is the 150mm soft focus. With special inserts on the front element it shows that special out of focus thar we can only achieve this way. Will show some results some other time!

I miss my Maiya RB67, especially for its target 150 soft focus .. it was great for portraiture. Still searching for the termination of my photo editing, with the focus suavbe which I loved. I keep the machine with its objectives but almost twenty years I have not used.

Did not know this section and has caught my attention. I send warm greetings.

Hi Raul

 

Have to list two favorites and wish I had both !!! Leica M3 and Mamiya 6 !

 

Presently not shooting film but could use one Leica 111f :) As you can see mostly like rangefinders but from the SLR would have to mention the Nikon F3, perfect size and a joy to use !!

al

My first good camera was also a Nikon F3. I traded a 1967 Ford Maverick for it. Later I moved up to a Mamiya C330 medium format. That camera opened up a whole new world for me.

 

Thank you, Asuncion, and bring your 150sf back into action!

 

Yes, Lyle, hear all the tima those C330 are awesome. Never had one. On that configuration I have a Rolleiflex 3.5 with Xenotar lens, and I love her!

And thank you for your reply!

 

Hi Alfred, thank you for your reply.

Mamiya 6 yes, and 7 too, those are amazing camera, still very expensive to buy today, never had one, but I wish to also.

35mm cameras never used much, but that Nikon and the Leicas specialy are something else. Those classic models attached to the Cartier-Bresson legend are dream, again still very expensive on the used market, and hard to find in good working condition!

Best.

Hi there - about film camera - what i had, have, and opinions:

 

-Zenit TTL with Helios - bad camera - had problem with film transport, i lost 2 films, dark, and bad in general. Honestly, i liked it that camera - it was my first film one!

- Praktica LTL 3 - with Pentacon 50/1.8/Carl Zeiss 50/2.8. Quite good - it wasnt so solid built as Zenit, but Zenit is not working, and i have still Praktica!

- Minolta 7xi with 28/2.8 AF -firstly i wasnt looking after AF film camera, but on the other hand it is usefull sometimes. This camera never let me down. I sold it anyway with lens (incredible good!), i had just too many of cameras :-). Fast shutter time (1/8000), made a good job for pushing film, litle screen on top helped me to make pictures from hip, and really fast AF system! Problem was with Minolta that they used something called "minolta cards" - ie: if you want to make multiexposition photo you had to buy a special theme card. So that was reason i bought

- Nikon FE - truly amazing camera, feel with it better with Leica (in my opinion better build) incredibly small, bright OVF, aperture priority, so solid. Its my everyday film camera to my digital. Just love it and cant imagine it can stop working. Its maybe not so bulletproof how it seemed to me as a Nikon F3, but sometimes it has some advantages (especially when you have to carry lot of stuff). I had a bit problem to buy -2.0 viewfinder glass but after i found it i feel perfect with this camera. To this im using 35/2.5 E series. Not perfect lens, plastic, but small, light, and its not bad with sharpness (if you use something more than 3.5).

- Last but not least - Smiena Symbol. Little piece of fancy USSR design. Not beauty , easy, central shutter. But always reliable. Now its using my wife.

 

Probably I cant imagine better camera for me than this Nikon, but id like to try out some more central shutter rangefinder camera. From medium format my goal is to get c330, for some portraits - nothing better for this than medium format - maybe large :-)

 

BH

Hi all,

my current favorites are my faithful HAsselblad 500C/M, my solid, battered but near-indestructible Nikon F4s and my "new" Leica M3 (who really needs a CLA that I can't currently afford).

 

All of them are my favourite, it only depends on where I'm going and what I want to do.

 

Yes, medium format is another thing. Still on that side what I would recomend is a Rolleiflex, if you don't mind fixed lens.

Larger than that is moving to another land: sheet film. Those are my favorites. I have several cameras 4x5 and even 8x10!

Any advice just ask...

Raul

 

I just bought an Olympus 35 RC rangefinder that I am nicknaming 'Peanut'.

 

I am excited about it because of its reputation for great shots, the ability to go auto if I need it and the sheer (non) size of it.

 

It is such a polar opposite of feature heavy digital cameras, of which I own one, it is quite liberating.

I like the Rollei 35. This is a very handy camera with a 40 mm Carl Zeiss lens. The light meter is reliable and the battery is used for that only purpose.

my fav is nikon f2 and pentax k 1000

Hi, sorry my english. Im new here and new in film too. I have a minolta AL-S its my first film camera and i love it.

Hello there! I'm new here. It is great to find people that love (and still use) film cameras.

I'm now using a Kodak Retina III S and it is great but sometimes I find hard dealing with the selenium meter to get the right exposure so to help me sometimes I use an external light meter but I wouldn't. Has anyone got used to it?

 

Matteo.

Hi Raul,

 

I still have the Mamiya RB67 with a 90mm C lens. It takes great photos. Sadly, it has been in my hard aluminum camera case for a number of years. I would have loved to try out the 150mm C and the 360mm C, but never invested in additional lenses for that camera.

 

My play medium format was the Yashicamat 124.

 

Throughout the medium format days, I shot with Nikon FM and F70. When shooting with the FM, I got some crystal clear shots, not as clear as the Mamiya, but pretty clear for 35mm film. I found manual focus to the best for me, when my eyes were younger. Now, I rely on auto focus more than ever, especially with fast action photos.

 

The nice thing about the Nikon gear, I am able to use all of my lenses on my digital bodies.

 

-Phil-

 

Hi Matteo

For me, in those conditions, what works best is good old Sunny 16 rule. Speed=ASA and F16 on a regular sunny day. If it gets cloudy or shady, apertures start to open, never fails. For more tricky situations, this one is always in my bag...

 

http://www.fotosharp.com/cgi-bin/image/templates/DNEG--new--SPACE-NEEDLE.jpg

a very good morning to all,

I have just started out with shooting film. I first got a pentacon six as a gift. http://www.pentaconsix.com/

A few weeks later i moved into a new house and you won`t believe it with a complete darkroom. I was so happy to try this out!

I now have the Hasselbald 500c from 1957.

I don`t even feel like picking up my Nikon d800 any more.

 

Why is there such little going on here at 1x about analog photography?

 

how can we get more activity?

 

greetings Andrew

 

Hi Andrew,

 

I can't speak for everyone else, but for me it was the ease of creating output from a digital darkroom over the wet darkroom that caught my interest. I no longer had to deal with smelly chemicals, maintaining temperatures, and yes, the clean-up. I am able to do equal to and more without having a pro-lab do it for me.

 

Don't get me wrong, I loved shooting film, and I still believe it can produce better results over digital, but it was costly then, and now the cost is even higher to develop film. Plus, much of the films/transparencies that I enjoyed using are no longer manufactured.

 

Starting with film helped become a conservative shooter, since film can only be used once. It would make me cringe if only 5 frames of 36 exposure roll were worthy of printing. For me that's costly.

 

I still try to shoot conservatively with digital. If I get 20 good shots out of 100 photos, I won't be as hard on myself because, I can reuse the memory card.

 

So for me, it is mainly the cost factor that keeps me away from film. Perhaps, as you post your film shots, people like myself, will be inspired to return to film.

 

Much success.

 

-Phil-