[Leica] Medium Format and LF Musings

[marcsmall at comcast.net (Marc James Small)]

At 09:51 AM 7/13/2007, Wayne Torry wrote:
 >Is there something in the water or the air?
 >
 >
 >
 >While Kyle was adopting a Hasselblad, I stumbled into a deal for a 1953
 >Pacemaker Speed Graphic with Kodak Ektar and Voigtlander Collinear II
 >lenses. I was offered a Bronica at the same time but I declined. Perhaps
 >I should go back and look at the Bronica? Maybe not. I've been lusting
 >for a Hasselblad or Rollie 66 with the 80mm Planar lens since forever.
 >Last year was the Year of the Leica. This year seems to be the Year of
 >the BIG Negative. Does it ever end?
 >

Well, you missed out on the REALLY good 
Hasselblad deals:  prices fell and fell and fell 
until around 2003 but have since eased up a 
bit.  I have owned a 2000 FCM since the early 
1990's but scored a 500CM and an SWC when prices 
were at the bottom, a matter of pure luck and not 
by any calculation on my part.

I do prefer Rolleiflex TLR's or Super Ikonta B's 
for MF work but the Hasselblads are easy of use 
and exceedingly capable cameras, well thought-out 
and user-friendly provided you remember the 
dark-slide and red-dot issues.  I generally use 
the 2000 FCM for micro work with a bellows and 
Luminars and Photars;  when I use it for more 
conventional photography, I almost always use the 
camera's shutter and not the lens's.  And I am 
blown away by the SWC:  MF slides of autumn foliage are quite impressive.

I have not enjoyed having a dark room since 
2002.  Our 18-month horror-move is now over and 
may the words, "Marc James Small" and "U-Haul" be 
used in the same sentence again!  I recently told 
my wife that I was going to set up a temporary 
dark room in the guest bathroom of our new house 
(understand that the guest bedroom is unusable at 
present due to all of the boxes stacked there), 
and she immediately called a contractor about 
replacing the small garden shed in our back yard 
with a larger building which I could use as a 
dark room.  It will be six months before this is 
a reality, but we are making progress.

I have done very little LF work and I only own a 
Baby Speed Graphic, currently boxed up somewhere, 
probably in the guest bedroom, and I have never 
used this other than in dry-firing exercizes, 
though I did have it rebuilt by that fellow in 
Nevada after I bought it at Bob Shell's sole 
camera auction.  Stan Yoder has fussed at me for 
not using this but until I get a darkroom back 
and working, I will probably continue to allow it to sleep for a bit longer.

When I was first getting into photography, back 
in the Longago, I dealt with folks who had 
started with LF or sheet-film cameras, then moved 
to MF and, finally, to miniature format 
(35mm);  they griped about the loss of quality at 
the reductions in format.  I started with a 
Voigtl?nder Bessa (the REAL one, the folder) but 
my serious work was miniature format for 
decades.  By the time I shifted to MF around 
1990, I was doing my own darkroom work, and the 
first time I printed up some Rolleiflex 
negatives, I was stunned by the sheer size and 
felt that I had an image large enough to allow me 
to dive in and swim around.  LF must be even more 
liberating and I ought to seek out one of those 
LF enlargers which are now going for only a ducat or two on eBay.

Marc

msmall@aya.yale.edu
Cha robh b?s fir gun ghr?s fir!