Film and Digital Photography

I'm young and generally shoot really fast with digital. sometimes loose track if have the picture or not. sometimes shoots 100 to get one frame. Thats mostly overkill, and I whant to slow down a bit focus in on the subject not trying to keep up with myself.

I´m looking at a Mamiya 645 afd, so Ill be able to use it with digi backs sometime in the future. and since mamiya and phase one is making a deal together I hope investing in those lenses will be a good and long investment.
So the questions:

Will I be able to use it hand held?
How good is the autofocus? is it dependable even with the afd2? (Im not the best manual focus person, but this could be the time to get it right)
Whats your thoughts on using a digital camera as poloroid, if you meter everything do you really check anything besides if the camera is working with the pol?
Im looking at getting a manfrotto tripod with 3ways head. will a 4kg head be enoughf in general, as ill be carrying all the gear myself even to the (rented) studio?

Last any pitfalls with buying used or medium format in general I should be aware of. I`m still browsing trough old post on this forum to look at.

I´m really looking forward to your thoughts on the subjects.

Hi Lasse,

If you really plan to reduce the number of shots in order to get just one decent photo, I would start by picking up a simple, preferably manual second hand SLR - 35mm. That'll force you to think before you shoot, as well as increase your camera knowledge (as you'll have to get the exposure right without the feedback of a LCD display.

Each "click" can be easily measured in Euros, and you'll be much more selective in what you want to shoot.

I follow this approach from time to time, and I noticed the significant increase of good photos with my dSLR, and it makes me much more confident in shooting even more expensive medium format cameras.

Cheers,

Hugo

Hi Lasse.

I would agree with Hugo and opt for a second hand SLR or cheap medium format. I would even consider manual focus rather than auto focus. I would not invest a lot of money in any one system until you are sure it is right for you!

Limit the amount of film you go out with. If you have to make every shot count then you cannot afford to be wasteful. Trying to get it right in camera rather then post processing will pay dividends in the long run.

Consider buying a decent neg/slide scanner rather than sending prints off. That way you still have a lot of control over how you want your final images to look like.

Most of all - enjoy. If it's not right for you, at least you haven't spent big money on a system you do not use.

	Sign Up Now! \| Log In \| Help
	Film and Digital Photography