Medium format beginner's question

garry71

garry71

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With a 75mm lens in medium format 6x6, would you need a shutter speed of 1/75th to avoid camera shake, the same as with a 35mm camera?
Just got my first medium format camera, so this'll probably be the first of a few questions.

Cheers.
 
garry71 said:
With a 75mm lens in medium format 6x6, would you need a shutter speed of 1/75th to avoid camera shake, the same as with a 35mm camera?
Just got my first medium format camera, so this'll probably be the first of a few questions.

Cheers.
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It depends on what type of MF camera you have and how steady your hands are. I find with my Bronica I need at least twice FL but if you have a rangefinder type you will likely get away with slower. Generally I don't hand hold my MF as I am doing landscape so almost always tripod mounted. It also makes a difference if you have WLF of eye level finder.
 
It's a Zeiss Ikon Nettar. I think it counts as rangefinder style, it just has a small instamatic type viewfinder in the top of the body. It's fairly easy to hold steady. I was just wondering if the same general rule of thumb applied to medium format as well as 35 mm.
 
garry71 said:
It's a Zeiss Ikon Nettar. I think it counts as rangefinder style, it just has a small instamatic type viewfinder in the top of the body. It's fairly easy to hold steady. I was just wondering if the same general rule of thumb applied to medium format as well as 35 mm.
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I'd still go with 2x FL to start with and if you find you are steady experiment with slower it's really down to how steady you are. The larger format is always less forgiving of camrea movement.
 
As Paul says, it's experiment time! The "1/focal length" thing (for 35mm/FF digital) is very much a rule of thumb, with some people (like me 40 years ago!) able to manage slower speeds and others (me now) needing faster ones (or VR/OIS etc.) to achieve images free from camera shake. Good technique and practice can help.
 
Good advice to start fast then experiment.

I found with a Nettar and similar cameras I could get consistent good results at 1/60 and reasonable results at 1/30 if I put tension on the strap, locked my elbows into my waist and thought about breathing.
 
With medium format SLR types there's a lot of metal moving around inside the camera, and that may require a higher shutter speed for sharp pictures. In a rangefinder type there's only a light leaf shutter moving, and far less likelihood of the thing flapping about.
 
Thanks for all the replies.
I'll try some different speeds on my 1st roll through it then, as it'll be a test roll anyway to check for leaks, focus etc.
 
ancient_mariner said:
With medium format SLR types there's a lot of metal moving around inside the camera, and that may require a higher shutter speed for sharp pictures. In a rangefinder type there's only a light leaf shutter moving, and far less likelihood of the thing flapping about.
Click to expand...
However, there's also a couple kilos of mass providing some intertia, which might counteract the larger mirror a bit? You've usually also got less enlargement of the image which might reduce the visual effect of any wobbles that do happen...

Try it and see is good advice. I certainly got decent results down to 1/30 with my Autocord, using the general sort of techniques that Simon mentions.
 
Going to find out just how steady I am with my Bronica SQAi, 80mm, speedgrip and metering prism as this was the kit I used yesterday in and around Trevells Porth everything was hand held, Provia 100 in the camera, still it was nice and sunny so shutter speeds were all 1/125 or above.

That mirror really does go up with a bang, but if I don’t try I won’t know if the kit works as a walk around system. Will share results in due course.
 
If you practice a good stance and an effective technique for holding the camera, medium format folders can be used down to 1/8th second with acceptable results.

This was made in a Zeiss Mess Ikonta on Agfachrome 50. The shutter was set at 1/30th to allow me to stop down to f16. It's not a very good scan (to say the least) but the original transparency was as sharp as the film and the Novar lens permitted...

Niederau Austria Zeiss Mess Ikonta B9.jpg
 
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