Medium Format

F&C tradition says that you must never open your first developed film. It's an age old tradition to bring you luck from the photos that got away m. Sorry, nothing you can do about it ;0)

You are the meanest man on the planet. :D
 
Woo hoo! Get them posted then, we're all nearly as excited as you are.

I'll upload anything that's vaguely recognisable as a photo - I think i may have had continuos shooting on for the first few frames - you liver and learn!!

Give me 5 and I'll load one up from the first roll!
 
I'll upload anything that's vaguely recognisable as a photo - I think i may have had continuos shooting on for the first few frames - you liver and learn!!

Continuous shooting? We know that can't happen with an SQ-A, as you have to wind the camera on after every shot before it will even allow the shutter to be tripped again. ;)

Unless you mean the multiple exposure lever was tripped...


It looks like a fantastic first effort to me though! No signs of trouble there.
 
Continuous shooting? We know that can't happen with an SQ-A, as you have to wind the camera on after every shot before it will even allow the shutter to be tripped again. ;)

Unless you mean the multiple exposure lever was tripped...



It looks like a fantastic first effort to me though! No signs of trouble there.

Yep the multiple exposure lever - sorry Friday night brain drain!!
 
Looking good, Shaheed.

It's a doddle this F&C lark...
 
Love the engagement in the eye! :)

Thanks. I had an idea as to how I wanted to shoot this but Sophia wasn't keen on using the hat so I let her do her own thing.

Wasn't too keen on her hand where it was but it turned out ok ish
 
Those are brilliant, Shaheed. Bet you're well happy?

I am really pleased. I thought the JPEGS would be bigger as I went for the largest size but they were about 5mb each! Also the black and whites weren't quite as I would have done them - I guess that's why I was keen to use ukfilm labs to have a bit of a dialogue with them!

Annoyed that I wasted a few frames with user error but I guess that is to be expected!
 
Looks to me like you had a pretty high success rate from that first roll!
 
Shaheed, that mono capture is really SUBERB........love it!

How do you feel quality wise from the SQ-A compared to the D800..? I appreciate this is a new venture for you, but how are you getting on with the 120 film side of things..? Do you think you'll stick with the film format..?

I'm just curious.


Great captures with that Bronnie 6x6...!!!
 
Shaheed, that mono capture is really SUBERB........love it!

How do you feel quality wise from the SQ-A compared to the D800..? I appreciate this is a new venture for you, but how are you getting on with the 120 film side of things..? Do you think you'll stick with the film format..?

I'm just curious.


Great captures with that Bronnie 6x6...!!!

Thank you!

I feel a bit like the lads on top gear comparing two very capable machines.

The D800 is a wonderful camera, technically brilliant and very capable. Limited by the apparatus behind it (me)

The SQA is a different way of shooting. Slowed right down, more involved so hence when you get it right it feels really good. That mono shot I really loved because we (Sophia and I)got the pose right and held it. The lighting and exposure were sorted earlier. Anticipating the results coming back as well added to it. This is before we get into looking through the ground glass and hearing the clunk of the shutter.

I guess as Clarkson would say......the Bronica has got soul.
 
Fantastic work Shaheed, looks like you've got to grips with the Bronica straight away.
 
Shaheed, I'd seriously consider having this brilliant capture professionally printed and framed, then hung proudly on a wall.

Sublime photography Sir.

You have both talent & skills.

That's very kind of you to say! I think I will get it printed and put on the office wall! That's where my computer for editing resides anyway!
 
Had been waiting to view on a big screen since taking a glimpse on the phone yesterday, very good indeed. Doesn't help my itch, but I'm going to be good.

So for a novice - you may have put this somewhere and I've missed it - have you done any editing to these or are these the jpegs as sent? What typical costs are involved for a roll of film. And lastly, what film is it?
 
Had been waiting to view on a big screen since taking a glimpse on the phone yesterday, very good indeed. Doesn't help my itch, but I'm going to be good.

So for a novice - you may have put this somewhere and I've missed it - have you done any editing to these or are these the jpegs as sent? What typical costs are involved for a roll of film. And lastly, what film is it?

So the colour ones were Kodak portra 400 and the mono film was ilford fp4

I did a little bit of editing on the JPEGS but no where near that which I do for digital.

I'll get back to you on costs as I'm just awaiting a response from Peak about a query I had.

I'm still very much a novice with film too!!
 
So the colour ones were Kodak portra 400 and the mono film was ilford fp4

I did a little bit of editing on the JPEGS but no where near that which I do for digital.

I'll get back to you on costs as I'm just awaiting a response from Peak about a query I had.

I'm still very much a novice with film too!!

I guessed it was Portra but wouldn't have had a clue about the mono. I have been looking at some film these last 6 months or so to get a clearer idea of how the real stuff actually does look. I do have most of the VSCO sets but I need to understand conventional better.

Was looking at the 5 pack of Portra for £22, silly question time: how many shots in a pack, it's not clear...

There is a little nostalgia with film and more specifically, mono for me. I used to spend time watching my grandad in his dark room as a young boy, but I didn't have too much interest back then. I bought my first 35mm SLR just before the digital revolution and read a little back then but didn't ever really get out of auto. I do love the idea of slowing things down and being far more selective.
 
I guessed it was Portra but wouldn't have had a clue about the mono. I have been looking at some film these last 6 months or so to get a clearer idea of how the real stuff actually does look. I do have most of the VSCO sets but I need to understand conventional better.

Was looking at the 5 pack of Portra for £22, silly question time: how many shots in a pack, it's not clear...

There is a little nostalgia with film and more specifically, mono for me. I used to spend time watching my grandad in his dark room as a young boy, but I didn't have too much interest back then. I bought my first 35mm SLR just before the digital revolution and read a little back then but didn't ever really get out of auto. I do love the idea of slowing things down and being far more selective.

For the 120 medium format film it's 12 per reel. Unless you cock it up like I did on my first reel [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

I did convert some of the colour to mono as I basically like black and white. My favourite one of Sophia had minimal editing to it.

It is pricey to get them developed and scanned in comparison to digital but it does feel a lot better getting the shots on film. I took a couple on digital at the same time as I did these in film (the "it's been a long time" thread in the people portraits section). I was really pleased with those digital shots but having to work harder and the results from the film just made it all the more satisfying.
 
It depends on the camera as to how many shots per roll. 6 x 4.5cm cameras give 15 or 16, 6 x 6 gives 12 and 6 x 9 gives 8 per roll.
 
And of course, 6x17 gives only 4... (I was looking up the relevant Fuji camera a couple of evenings ago).
 
What typical costs are involved for a roll of film. And lastly, what film is it?

It is pricey to get them developed and scanned in comparison to digital but it does feel a lot better getting the shots on film.

I think it's important to bring up a point here about costs. For most users, except for the heavy-shooting professionals, film and digital will ultimately work out similarly cost wise over the long term. That said, the cost structure varies significantly between them.

For digital, you pay most of your costs up front right from the start. For film, it's more 'pay as you go' with a much lower initial outlay.

While it can seem expensive, especially to those new to film, to pay £4 for a roll of medium format film and then another £5–£10 to develop and scan that roll from a good lab, consider that a medium format digital camera alone will run you at least £6,000 just for the body.

Given the much lower cost of film cameras, you can shoot a lot of film before catching up to the cost of just a single medium format digital body. It's also possible to develop and scan your own film, which brings down costs significantly (e.g., possibly as low as 25p–50p total to develop each roll).

This largely holds true for 35mm too, although the prices are a bit less for both film and digital then what I've described above (e.g., you can buy 35mm film for £1 in Poundland).
 
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It is pricey to get them developed and scanned in comparison to digital...

Think briefly about the depreciation of your D800 versus the depreciation of your SQ, and I think any concerns about the cost of processing disappear. For black and white, you'll soon be souping and scanning your own, cutting the running costs even further... [ETA: RJ got there first, although I reckon the comparison is reasonable between medium format film and most pro quality digital, full frame as well as MF...]

I have to say I'm astounded by the quality you've got here, given this is a completely new camera and way of working. When did you last get a completely different camera system, take your first 24 shots, and get this many keepers?

Great work, Shaheed.
 
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Think briefly about the depreciation of your D800 versus the depreciation of your SQ, and I think any concerns about the cost of processing disappear. For black and white, you'll soon be souping and scanning your own, cutting the running costs even further... [ETA: RJ got there first, although I reckon the comparison is reasonable between medium format film and most pro quality digital, full frame as well as MF...]

I have to say I'm astounded by the quality you've got here, given this is a completely new camera and way of working. When did you last get a completely different camera system, take your first 24 shots, and get this many keepers?

Great work, Shaheed.

To answer the last part of your question......NEVER!!! I started on a d90!as a novice. Then the d800 which took me ages to get used to. The d750 was a bit better but still had quite a few stinkers at the beginning. The Sony rx100 was ok but again definitely a high blooper rate. I think I knew I had to slow down a lot shooting film.

I suppose I did try to control as much as I could in terms of the lighting and I shot on a tripod. I did change my shooting process so I thought a lot more and was more deliberate - something I may carry over to the digital world!!

I'd have been relatively happy if the only keeper had been the first black and white pic I posted of Sophia - I wasn't expecting quite as many as came back.
 
Well I was happy just using the ETRs with 75mm lens for about 20 years (have the RB with 65mm and 180mm), anyway in the last 2 years have bought three lenses and this morning decided to test them out for sharpness...erm but learnt the hard way in that when changing lenses and all hands over the body LOCK THE SHUTTER BUTTON as I wasted two frames :(
 
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