35mm of MF?

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gunnar

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Hi all!

I have never had a proper film gear (only 35mm film P&S lol) so thinking about getting something to try it out.

My bugdet is about £200.

Is it worth buying a Pentax 645 with 75/2.8 lens, I've seen them on ebay at decent price... It obvously has it's setbacks, but 6x4.5 is so tempting. What do you think?

Or I'd be better looking for 35mm camera? :thinking:

Any thoughts are appreciated:)

PS
Usage - mostly portrate
 
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If you're going to process and scan your own, then MF is definitely the way to go - if you're just wanting to shoot the odd roll here and there, and drop it in on the highstreet for processing, then I'd be tempted to recommend 35mm. Personally, I'd say get both... buy a half decent 80's 35mm slr and 50mm f1.8 lens and try it out, then if you like it, buy the pentax 645 or a bronny ETRSi and get 4x the size of negatives to play with :)
 
If you can afford it MF film is simply stunning in comparison to 35mm, depending on what you want to shoot don't discount a Mamiya 6x7 outfit, I have seen them go for a touch over £200 with a standard lens and film back. Mamiya 645 outfits can be had for even less.

if you decide you want to try 35mm you can either pick up a Canon Film Body and possibly use some of your Canon lenses, or you can decide on a older non autofocus film system and you could pick up a nice little outfit for circa £200, with a choice of Olympus OM1n, OM2n OM2SP, Pentax MX, ME Super, Super A, Nikon FE, FM, FE2, FM2 & FA (although lenses a little dearer for the Nikons as they also fit modern bodies.)
 
I still have my F2 and FM, and use them occasionally, but I haven't shot MF for donkeys years. I remember using 120 slide film in an old, folding, Kodak when I was in my early teens and it was impressive. Rather tempted to pick up a camera and try again, just to see if it's as good as I recall. The film still seems to be available, but I haven't looked into this and I don't know if it's really feasible?
 
Mark and Edward - thanks for input.

I'm not going to shoot too often with it, so it won't cost me a fortune developing MF film. I hope :D

Mamiya 6x7 - would that be Mamiya RZ67?
 
gunnar said:
Mark and Edward - thanks for input.

I'm not going to shoot too often with it, so it won't cost me a fortune developing MF film. I hope :D

Mamiya 6x7 - would that be Mamiya RZ67?
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The RZs go for a bit more than £200, no I meant the older more manual RB67.
 
EdBray said:
The RZs go for a bit more than £200, no I meant the older more manual RB67.
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Ah, that makes sense now :) Thanks

Another question:
Do I absolutelly need a tripod for MF camera or it's possible/sensible to shoot handheld?
 
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gunnar said:
Ah, that makes sense now :) Thanks

Another question:
Do I absolutelly need a tripod for MF camera or it's possible/sensible to shoot handheld?
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Not particularly, although many MF cameras are heavier than 35mm and depending on the subject (such as landscapes, still life) it may be easier to use on a tripod but for portraits, street, fashion etc hand held will be fine providing you have enough light.
 
Depends on what you want to shoot, and how large you want to make prints.
35mm is OK up to 12x16 if you have a decent neg, anything larger and medium format or 5x4 is the way to go.

I used to shoot a lot of documentary stuff on 35mm, these days I do it on 5x4.
Why not dip you toe in and get a 35mm, learn how to expose/develop the film properly and then progress onto another format?
 
Yes, probably makes sense, I'll have a think about it. Watching what's available on the market :)
 
The pentax 645 is about as close as you'll get to a medium format point and shoot as you'll get for the money. It's a lovely camera and I'm biased, as I use the second generation 645N. But to be fair, there are also lots of nice medium format cameras at similar proces from other manufacturers. It's worth giving it a go - at that price point you won't lose anything if you decide it's not for you and sell the kit on afterwards.

While you can develop your own, make sure to put at least one roll of slide film through it though - I still get a huge buzz from seeing medium format slides. I'd love to see some large format ones now!
 
You have a medium format budget (well, on the low end, but that's besides the point) but you may turn out to have a control style and technique that suits 35mm better. I reckon if you pick up a decent 35mm shooter and don't get along with it, but use it to teach you all the basics in terms of processing and the like, then you can sell it on for little/no loss and still have picked up some experience and hopefully some fun times with it - and from there, explore medium format.

Most people tend to end up at MF after wanting more from 35mm, so try 35mm and decide if you want or need more. I did, partly because I wanted the bigger negative to play with and also because I wanted to shoot in a square format - cropping 35mm to square would've given me a 24mmx24mm negative, unlike the 58mmx58mm I get now. Swings & roundabouts.
 
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