[Leica] high resolution Medium Format P65+

[henningw at archiphoto.com (Henning Wulff)]

At 12:52 AM -0400 8/15/09, Mark Rabiner wrote:
>>  <http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/p65-plus-field.shtml>
>>
>>  Regards,
>>  George Lottermoser
>
>
>Full frame 645?
>
>On the list of cameras the P65+ back works on is a Mamiya RZ and my
>Hasselblad V plus a slew of technical Linhof, Cambo, cameras.
>
>Most my photographer friends stuck to Hasselblads never trading them in for
>junky Mamiya, Bronica and Contax 645's.
>I have 645 backs for my Hasselblad system but to me those are CROPPED backs.
>
>Full frame to me is 55x55mm or close to it - the Hasselblad format.
>When they come out with a 55x55mm format medium format digital back that to
>me will be the first full frame medium format digital back.
>I bet there are plenty of people of my generation who share this view. I'm
>58. Who who did not shift to 645 but stuck with squares.
>http://rabinergroup.com/ScooterPages/Terrence.html
>



I had a Hasselblad outfit in the early 70's. I wasn't using it for a 
bit and sold it, except for the SWC. A couple of years later a job 
suddenly required MF, and I couldn't justify another full Hasselblad 
outfit, so I got a Mamiya 645. Best decision I ever made. I started 
getting lots of aerial assignments, and the prism and pop-out film 
inserts made that work. I had 20 inserts pre-loaded, and could change 
film faster than on a 35. Changing film on Hasselblads in an airplane 
with the window open or door left at home is not fun. 20 Hasselblad 
backs would have seriously eaten into my profits. 8x10's and 11x14's 
were the main formats printed, so I would have cropped 6x6 anyway. 
The lenses I mainly used, the 55, 80/4 and 110 were as good as 
anything out there, with the 55 being a bit better than the 50 
Distagon. The M645 with motor and prism handled really well from a 
plane. I also got the 50 shift lens and some other longer lenses. The 
35 was no better than the 40 Distagon, so I kept using the SWC.

Flash sync was never an issue; handling was a lot more important so 
the Mamiya was great. I always had larger formats available, but if 
high quality 8x10 to 16x20's were going to be the end result, 645 was 
ideal. 6x6 would have been pointless.

-- 

    *            Henning J. Wulff
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