Hi Chuck,
I very regularly shoot a Linhof Technorama 617S which is fitted with
a Schneider Super Angulon 90mm f/5.6 XL lens. I know one can go even
wider
with the 72mm XL lens, but the 90mm is already incredibly wide,
similar to an 18mm on
35mm film.
With colour slide film, it is absolutely necessary to use a center
filer if you want
even exposure. Don't even try it without one unless you want the
effect. The light falloff
is severe.
So, regardless of marketing (e.g. Linhof's), these are not "hand-held
large format" cameras,
since you are starting out with an f/11 lens, with shallow DOF and
guess-focus. You want to put
this baby on a tripod and use at least f/11 (effective f/22 with
center filter).
When you do this, though, the quality is marvellous. The Scheneider
lens is perfect perfect perfect
right into the corners, zero CA, distortion or flare. It's just perfect.
I am not yet a scanning expert (and desperately would like a 5x7
enlarger so I can print my 6x17cm
negatives without having to resort to the pain of scanning) but this
(+crop) should give you an idea
of of the information content and colour richness of one of these
6x17cm slides as scanned with
an el-cheapo V700 scanner:
http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs50/f/2009/282/a/4/Berlin_Falls_Vista_Crop_by_philosomatographer.jpg
(Schneider 90mm at f/16, Fuji Provia 100F)
You can spend hours with a loupe on one of these images, it's beyond
any current single-shot
digital capture.
So, to answer your question, a camera like this gives *much* more
resolution. Not a little bit more.
Not 3x more. WAY more. On a good day, I can coax 240 megapixels out of
one of these slides.
But scanning is a pain in the ass (I hate it) - I'd much rather print
6x17cm B&W negs in the
darkroom. And sometimes my thoughts wander to rather getting a proper
4x5in camera, just for the
movements and more precise focusing / composition. But then it'd take
5mins to set up any shot, whereas
with a 6x17cm rollfilm camera, I can be done in 1 minute or less (or a
couple of seconds when you do use it
hand-held, it is possible), as they are so simple to operate.
If you don't want the multi-format / shifting gadgetry etc. that the
cheap chinese 6x17cm cameras offer, I can
wholeheartedly recommend looking for a second-hand linhof. The
difference in feel is similar to a
Leica MP compared to a Voigtlander Bessa. Sure, both will do the job,
but the one is just so much
sweeter to use, and will probably last a lifetime.
Except for the stupid cheap shutter release cable (which runs from the
shutter button to the lens)
which I had to replace, after a 15 years lifespan. It was very cheap
(EUR 25.00) and easy from
Linhof directly, though. Everything else will be indestructible.
The Linhof viewfinder is also much better - much
less distortion. EVen the little bit it has, though, is too much -
it's sometimes difficult to line up
shots without tilt. Even a tiny bit of tilt really shows up in this
wide format.
I think the shifting on these cameras are a useless gimmick. You're
either guessing, or you have to take off the
film back, slide in a ground glass, compose, and do the whole switch
again. If you want this, just get a proper
view camera, it'll be cheaper, and better.
Using a 6x17 (vs a view camera) is much more like a viewfinder /
rangefinder camera (vs an SLR) - immensely good
quality, high speed / agility, at the cost of flexibility and
compositional accuracy.
Still - it is a lot of fun - I can really recommend it.
Dawid
On 25 Dec 2009, at 6:11 PM, Chuck Norcutt wrote:
> I know Brian ordered (and maybe got) an Obsession 6x17 camera from the
> guy in Oz who builds them. Anyone have experience using these things.
> Advice? What about the (relatively) inexpensive Chinese Gaoersi
> cameras
> on ebay... such as this one (which also has shift capability)
> <http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Gaoersi-617-SHIFT-6X17-CAMERA_W0QQitemZ330344364035QQcmdZViewItemQQptZFilm_Cameras?hash=item4cea0ef803
>
> >
> The Gaoersi does multiple format (6x12, 6x14, 6x17). What about
> lenses
> and, in particular the need for center filters to control vignetting.
> Needed at 6x17 but are they also needed for 6x12 or 6x14?
>
> I could see shooting film with something like these cameras provided
> it
> gives *much* more resolution than my 5D but shoots roll film without
> the
> bother of a 4x5.
>
> Chuck Norcutt
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