[Leica] WAS: do i need a hasselblad? NOW: how much is enough?

[imagist3 at mac.com (Lottermoser George)]

Enough? At the time of making the exposure: One camera. One lens. A  
meter in or outside the camera. Film or Chip. Light of some sort.
As my x-father-in-law once said, "You can only wear one pair of shoes  
at a time."

That said; what do you need or want to photograph and how do you  
intend to accomplish your goal?

If you want to do wild life and walk in the foot steps of our  
esteemed Doug Herr - you'll need long lenses for what ever format you  
choose.
If you want to do architectural photography - you'll need wide lenses.
If you want to do portraiture - you'll need "normal" to medium long  
lenses.
If you want to do close-up/macro - you'll need those lenses.

If you want to scratch out a living as a general practitioner -  
you'll need all of the above - sooner or later ;~(

When I started sweeping floors in a commercial studio at age 14, the  
top advertising work was being done on 8x10 Ektachrome. Fashion and  
action work were being done on 4x5. At 17 I was assisting on a Carver  
boat shoot, handing film holders to the photographer, up in a tower  
on the shoot boat, using a 4x5 Ultra Speed Graphic with the 1/1000th  
focal plane shutter at 20 knots. By the time I left the studio they'd  
moved to doing fashion with the, then new, Bronica SLR system, but  
were still doing executive portraits with the 4x5 and hand retouching  
the negs. Product shots were still done on 8x10 chrome. 35mm was  
never used in that commercial studio. I moved on to doing freelance  
photo journalism with a Nikon F a few basic lenses and an M2 with  
21SA and M3 with 90 Cron. When it came time to actually earn a  
living, with new wife and daughter, I needed to add 4x5 and H'blad to  
compete commercially. During a long period of interest in landscape  
photography I added the 8x10 Deardorf and a Korona 12x20 for which I  
also built an 11x14 back adapter.

Today - must have digital - no paying client has requested film from  
me in years (well one artist likes slides - but we've recently  
discovered it's cheaper to get slides made from digital than the  
digital scans from slides).

S-o-o-o - current collection of wonderfully crazy gear in the toy box:
Digital:
        M8 with 15 Heliar, 28 'cron Asph, 35 'lux Asph, 50 'lux Asph, 75 'lux
        R8/DMR with 15 super elmar, 21 SA, 24 elmarit, 35 'cron, 50 'cron,  
50 'lux, 80 'lux, 100 apo elmarit, 180 apo elmarit, 350 telyt, 400  
telyt, 2x apo.
        20D with 10-22
        5D with 24-70 L USM, 100-200 L USM IS, R lens adapter
35mm:
        M6 .58 TTL
        R8/motor winder
120:
        'blad 500CM with 40 T*distagon, 80 T*planar, 150 T*sonnar, extention 
 
tubes
4x5:
        Linhof Technika IV with 90 angulon, 135 xenotar, 180 nikkor, 210  
schneider, 270 tele-arton
8x10:
        Deardorf with 165 SA, 210 schneider, 300 gold dot dagor, 14" red dot 
 
artar, 18" cooke, 24" cooke

Do we want to talk flashes and studio strobes?

Save me from my love of how the world looks in photographs!!! Talk to  
me on Friday!!!

Regards,
George Lottermoser
george@imagist.com



On Jul 3, 2007, at 10:57 AM, charcot wrote:

> I like to pose the question - how much is enough when comes to  
> camera equipment?