Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2013/09/02
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Long story about that. This shot was a 1/8 of negative crop from the 645 format (I couldn't get closer, and only had the 80mm lens)--thus the quality was closer to that of a 1980s disc camera than medium format. Actually, I've been shooting quite a bit of 645 this year, though mainly with my Super Ikonta A from 1934. It's hard to believe that both the Mamiya M645 and the Super Ikonta A use exactly the same format--while one comfortably fits into a jacket pocket, the other could be used as a small boat anchor! A friend rescued the Mamiya from a basement recently (mainly for the well-loved 80mm lens, which he wanted to use as a lensbaby-manque on his Olympus EP2). I cleaned up the body, put in a new battery, read the manual online (thank you, Butkus!) and it's working beautifully (appendages crossed). GAS being what it is, I also acquired two lenses for it, and a bunch of the 120 inserts (after learning that loading the M645 on the run is a monumental PIA, far moreso than with my other 120 cameras. The funny thing is that the Mamiya 120 inserts remind me of the old Kodak double 8mm movie cartridges (Duex 8 cassettes), which the user pre-loaded with 8mm roll film, so as to avoid threading film during a shoot. Since double 8 film had no protective paper backing, it required great care in handling to prevent film fogging. You had to find a dimly lit area for changing film, and hope against hope that you didn't drop the roll on the ground! Since so much shooting takes place in bright sunlight, this was a non-inconsiderable problem.) I will probably ditch my Mamiya C220 and lenses soon, since I really prefer the 645 format. Yes, the M645's noisier, but then the finder's brighter and there's no parallax guesswork. I also love the fact that both the meter and electronically-governed shutter run from the same non-mercury battery! One other peculiarity: the Super Ikonta A produces 16 6x4.5 negatives per 120 roll, which the Mamiya (with wider frame-spacing) only gets 15. Wonder if Kodak/Ilford/Agfa/Fuji designed the Mamiya.... J -----Original Message----- From: lug-bounces+jshulman=judgecrater.com at leica-users.org [mailto:lug-bounces+jshulman=judgecrater.com at leica-users.org] On Behalf Of Nathan Wajsman Sent: Monday, September 2, 2013 9:10 AM To: Leica Users Group Subject: Re: [Leica] PESO: National Anthem Oooh, stepped up to MF from that puny 35mm stuff ;-) Cheers, Nathan On 1 Sep 2013, at 23:08, Jim Shulman wrote: > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/focusit/national+anthem+sm.jpg.html > > > > Mamiya M645, 80/2.8, Tmax 400 > > > > Jim Shulman > > Wynnewood, PA > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > Nathan Wajsman Alicante, Spain http://www.frozenlight.eu http://www.greatpix.eu Books: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/search?search=wajsman&x=0&y=0 PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws Image licensing: http://www.alamy.com/search-results.asp?qt=wajsman Blog: http://www.nathansmusings.eu/ _______________________________________________ Leica Users Group. See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information