Solid Construction

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Hoodi

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So I've been shooting a fair lot of medium format lately, mostly loaning out my college's Bronica SQ-A. Really like the camera, really like the format - but I'd been getting inconsistent light leaks with the SQ-A, really mucking up my shots. I tried blacking out the film back totally with tape, and still I get the leaks ~ so not very sure what that's all about.

Anyhoo, I was uhhming & ahhing with my lecturer today over what to do. I really want to shoot the project on medium format, but having 50-80% of a roll fogged really sucks. So he offered to loan me his MF camera... And what a lovely bit of kit it is!

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Built like a tank - and I'm not using the phrase lightly here, I'm pretty sure it could take a few rounds ~ it weighs over 2 kilos :D
I shot a couple of test frames with it this afternoon, and it's gorgeous to work with... Not seen the results yet, but I know that it can produce fantastic stuff (I've seen some of my lecturers work).

So where am I going with this? Simple ~ In 50 years time will the cameras we use today still get in a good few weeks work every coupla months? Will the cameras we use today even work in 50 years time?

Long live great craftsmanship:thumbs:
 
I completely agree and its one of the things I love about film. I love that I could pick up an old AE-1 or a Leica or something and it'll work. I seriously doubt the plastic toys we have now will survive that long. My 10D has a shelf life of about 18 months due to the shutter. 30D must be about 3 years. It can be repaired but with all the computer gadgetry in it something else will probably fail too.
 
Oh if you do find a 'good' AE1 give me a call. My first working camera and I don't have one.:shake:
 
Used to have a Bronica MF myself. It was a nice piece of kit.
Unfortunately it had to go, to help fund what I use today.

May have to sell my 35mm film stuff to see if I can fund a replacement MF.
 
Strange. Could it possibly be not keeping the film tightly wound enough during loading?

Superb camera that Bronica. The Mamiya RB67 would have to be my all time best choice though for medium format. Monster camera, built like a tank, and that revolving back is so convenient.
 
CT said:
Strange. Could it possibly be not keeping the film tightly wound enough during loading?
Click to expand...

I'm really not sure, the black paper isn't 100% taut across the spools, but I thought that was normal :thinking:

Being a college camera the SQ-A was pretty beat up in many ways. This camera is pristine - as soon as you touch the leatherette you know it's quality :D
I really like film as a medium, but I just don't feel that the detail I want is really there with 35mm, especially coming from a digital background - it really is there & then some with medium format, and there's all the other perks of working with a larger format. I love it.

I really want to get my own medium format setup - finances don't allow at the moment nor the forseeable future, but I'd simply love to shoot jobs with it.
 
There's one huge difference between film cameras and digital that makes it pretty near certain that any digital camera in use today will not be in use in 10 years let alone 50. That is that film cameras are basically just boxes that you add a lens to, when you wanted to upgrade it was usually the film type you changed. With a digital camera the 'film' is built in, it's an integral part of the machine and the only way to improve on what you have got is to change the lot.

I too used to love my medium format cameras and I'd love love love to get my hands on a Haselblad digital, I still wouldn't go back to film though.
 
Hoodi said:
I'm really not sure, the black paper isn't 100% taut across the spools, but I thought that was normal :thinking:

.
Click to expand...

You can't be too careful actually loading roll film, make sure it's rolled tight, and ideally load the camera/magazine in subdued light. If you have to load out of doors then shield the camera/film from direct sunlight with your body while loading. The light trapping material can get worn as well on the dark slide slot on older cameras.
 
surely you could bag a bargain on ebay? £100 or so for a 6x6 maybe? in half decent nick?
 
Still got my Nikon F2-AS, my F5 and my Leica M6. In medium format I also have a Pentax 6x7 and a Hasselblad 500C - and like the Bronica, built to last a lifetime.

Bearing in mind that electronic imagery is only as good as the storage medium and the ability to read that data, I think in 10 years or maybe even less we'll see a return to film for archival purposes.
We've been talking to the Imperial War Museum (the custodian of the National Archive) about data storage and there have been some problems with the images sent to them on DVD. Some have been corrupted, meaning that those images are permanently lost. We now 'save' directly onto hard drives which are sent directly to the IWM for storage, but we still have the situation where images taken only 5 years ago are lost, whereas images taken 100 years ago are still able to be 'read' if you will.
 
The storage debate is real. I am trying to make multiple back-ups of my stuff after I filled my NATS and am horrified that I may have to recover it onto some new format every 5 years if I want it to survive. My Med format film is in storage in a filing cabinet away from light - thats it!
 
Right - I have files of negs that I check for mould every so often and boxes of Kodachrome slides from almost 35 years back (rubbish photos, but they were my first pix).
 
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