Rolleiflex 6006 + Zeiss 80mm and 150mm + Ilford Delta

Gear:
Rolleiflex 6006
Zeiss 80mm/f2.8 HFT lens
Zeiss 150mm/f4 HFT lens
34mm extension tube

Recipe:
Ilford Delta 400 and 3200 film
Ilfosol 3 developer

One curious story about my Rolleiflex.
I posted a WTS add on Flickr for my system about 2 years ago. I did the same on GET DPI and Photo.net and I got zero responses. Not a single soul asked about my kit when all Hasselblad adds got immediate answers.

I even started a thread on Photo.net wondering the reasons for the sucess of the Hasselblad V system versus the Rolleiflex 6000 system, the ugly duck of 6×6 medium format?
As usual the input was great, take a look.

http://photo.net/medium-format-photography-forum/00Z3zG

With the 34mm extension tube.

Delta 3200, beautiful grain.

Delta 3200

Nettar Zeiss + Ilford Delta 400 + Adox APH 09

Gear:
Nettar Zeiss

Recipe:
Ilford Delta 400
Adox APH 09
1+50
23 min

Rolleiflex 6006 steps into the ring

Gear:
Rolleiflex 6006
Zeiss 80mm lens

Recipe:
Ilford Delta 400 and Ilford HP5+
Some at 1600 and some at 3200 ISO.
Ilfosol 3

Well… I’m not the smartest guy on the planet, so when I got the chance to take pictures of two boxers training I toke the Rolleiflex 6006. I didn’t know the place, or the light available but I figured that having the possibility to use the films at 1600 or 3200 ISO I would be okay. Dead wrong!

The problem was not the light. ISO 1600 and 3200 were just fine working with apertures from 2.8 to 5.6. The problem was the shutter speed. Those guys move lightning fast and there was no way to “freeze” their movements even at 1/500 which I never could use, maybe on a couple of shots at 2.8 and ISO 3200.

On top of that the Rolleiflex 6006 is not an action sports camera and I’m not an action sports photographer. I was just pretending to be David Burnett who toke breathtaking pictures of the Olympics using a Speed Graphics.

I went back there a couple of weeks later and did a proper job using a Mamiya 645 AFD and a Contax N1.

PS: David Burnett was kind enough to answer some questions a while back. A real gentleman.
You can read the interview here.

Mamiya 6 mf + Ilford Delta 400 @ 1600

Gear:
Mamiya 6 mf
Mamiya 75mm/3.5 lens

Recipe:
Ilford Delta 400@1600
Ilfosol 3
1+9
24 min.

 

Contax 645 + Planar 80mm f/2 + Distagon 45mm f/2.8

Gear:
Contax 645 AF
Planar 80mm f/2
Distagon 45mm f/2.8

Recipe:
Ilford Delta 400
Ilfosol 3
1+9
8 min

From time to time I go back to the pictures taken with this camera.
Sometimes I feel I made a mistake by selling it to get the Hasselblad and sometimes I feel I made the right choice. So here’s a little list of some of the reasons that made me change from the Contax 645 to the Hasselbad 500CM.

1 – I wanted my medium format kit to have Zeiss lenses. They both have. (tie)
2 – I never use tripod. The Contax is a heavy beast, the Hasselblad is a small box. (+1 Hasselblad)
3 – Overall weight of both kits with the 80mm lens. (+1 Hasselblad)
3 – They both have an 80mm lens as a standard lens but the Contax opens at f2.0 (which makes it beautiful) (+1 Contax)
4 – The Contax is a battery eater. The Hasselblad is always ready. (+1 Hasselblad)
5 – The Contax has a great viewfinder and internal metering. The Hasselblad has a gorgeous 3D like screen but no metering. At least with the standard WLF of course. (tie, just because I’m lazy and I like internal metering)
6 – The Contax has AF, MF and aperture priority. The Hasselblad is… doing things by hand. (+1 Hasselblad. IMMO the coupled speed/aperture on the Zeiss lenses for the Hasselblad makes aperture priority a non issue)
7 – Format, 6×4,5 on the Contax, 6×6 on the Hasselblad. (+1 Hasselblad)
8 – Sheer joy of using one or the other. (+1 Hasselblad)
Total: Hasselblad 6, Contax 1

It looks like the Hasselblad won by a mile so… why do I sometimes feel I made a mistake selling it to get the Hasselblad…

PS: Without Joana and Maria this would not be possible. Thank you so much ladies for getting up early on a Sunday morning.

Contax G1 + Zeiss Planar 45mm/f2.0

Gear:
Contax G1
Zeiss Planar 45mm/f2.0

Recipe:
Kodak TriX 400 and Ilford Delta 400
Xtol stock
7,5 minutes for TriX 400 and 8 minutes for Delta 400
20 C
Agitation: first 10 seconds of each minute.

First of all I really like Ilford Delta 400. I always know what to expect from that film, consistent results.
Apart from that these are the pictures from a Saturday walk around Lisbon. I was using the EV +1 indoors and forgot to reset it when going to the street. That’s the reason from the white “blasts” on some pictures.

That’s also the wonder of it, I guess. Little surprises, little mistakes that can still make a shot.

Also the little Contax G1. What a great camera. Simple to use, amazing to hold. It really lets me concentrate on the picture. Yes slow AF, a bit noisy and all that, but by the end of the day the “Zeisses” G do shine. I like AF and I like aperture priority. I like using the G1 as it deserves.

Slow AF?
I’m not comparing it with to any modern digital camera. I’m not using it like a modern digital camera.
It’s a film camera and it’s intended to be used as such.

But there are other 35mm film cameras film cameras with much better AF and viewfinder.
Sure there are. Rangefinder cameras? Made by Contax? Taking Zeiss G lenses?

But it’s an all electronic camera and the true photographer would go for Leica.
That’s a choice indeed. I would not pay for a luxury (and yes) top of the art photographic camera such as a Leica and not having, at least, internal metering and aperture priority. Yes I also know about the M6 and M7. I would rather take another body and trying to get a really nice 35mm Leica lens, such as a Zeiss Ikon ZM.

The bottom line is: the Contax G1 or the G2 are not Leicas. They don’t work like Leica cameras, they are a world apart. I own a G1 and a G2. One body has the 28mm and the other the 45mm. Every morning I pick up a lens and just take whatever body is attached to it.

Please forgive my poor English.

Contax G1 + Zeiss Biogon 28mm

Gear
Contax G1
Zeiss Biogon 28mm/2.8

While waiting for my G2 body I’ve been using my son’s G1. I’ve used a lot of cameras but finally the G’s are hero to stay. I’ve read somewhere that using a Contax G is like driving a vintage car. That’s true. It’s easy to feel if the Contax G system fit our “style” or not. I believe it’s one of those cameras that can make you love or hate them before the end of the first roll.

I always loved the Contax G system. The G1 is a light but solid camera. I take it with me everyday. I just have to pick it up and shoot. It’s not the fastest AF in the world. Very much the opposite. It’s noisy, it takes a while to get used to it, but I like driving vintage cars.

The AF system can be tricky but it makes me check my focus two or three times which is good. I’m not using it for no “decisive moment”. It is fast enough. It frees me to concentrate on other things. I like the meeter, I like automatic film advance, I like aperture priority, I like AEL and I do like auto focus, even a slow and bit noisy like the Contax G1.

The camera delivers, the lenses deliver, the design is beautiful, handling it is almost perfect…

All I can say is that my G1 is here to stay.

Please forgive my poor English.

Contax G1 + Zeiss Biogon 28mm
Ilford FP4, Xtol, stock, 8 min.

Contax G1 + Zeiss Biogon 28mm
Ilford FP4, Xtol, stock, 8 min.

Contax G1 + Zeiss Biogon 28mm
Ilford FP4, Xtol, stock, 8 min.

Contax G1 + Zeiss Biogon 28mm
Ilford Delta 100, Xtol, stock, 8 min.

Contax G1 + Zeiss Biogon 28mm
Ilford Delta 100, Xtol, stock, 8 min.

Contax G1 + Zeiss Biogon 28mm
Ilford Delta 100, Xtol, stock, 8 min.

Contax G1 + Zeiss Biogon 28mm
Ilford Delta 400@200, Xtol, stock, 6 min.

Contax G1 + Zeiss Biogon 28mm
Ilford Delta 400@200, Xtol, stock, 6 min.

Contax G1 + Zeiss Biogon 28mm
Ilford Delta 400@200, Xtol, stock, 6 min.

Contax G1 + Zeiss Biogon 28mm
Ilford Delta 400@200, Xtol, stock, 6 min.

Contax G1 + Zeiss Biogon 28mm
Ilford Delta 400@200, Xtol, stock, 6 min.

Rolleiflex 6006 + Ilford Delta 400@1600

Gear:
Rolleiflex 6006
Zeiss 80mm lens

Recipe:
Ilford Delta 400 @ 1600
Ilfosol 3
1:9
22 min.
20 C
Agitation: first 10 seconds of each minute.

Browsing through old folders I came across some negatives from back in the days when I used a Rolleiflex 6006. I had a major love affair with that camera and the Zeiss lenses were amazing in every way.

The Rolleiflex didn’t make it big in the USA but in Europe Rolleiflex is a well regarded name at the same level as Hasselblad. Sure, the 6000 series and the Hasselblads are totally different systems but the performance of the Zeiss lenses is equal on both.

This was an extreme low light situation with a peak of “white” coming from a nearby street lamp. It enhanced the texture of the skin making it a bit… sablé. 🙂
“Sablé” is a word used in watchmaking to described something with a light sand texture.

I will try to post some new images from the Contax G1 and G2, with the 45 and the 28mm lenses. I’m also waiting for some Fuji Neopan 1600. Yes, the famous Neopan 1600. Stay tuned and please forgive my poor English.

Rolleiflex 6006 + Ilford Delta 400

Gear:
Rolleiflex 6006
Zeiss 80mm lens

Recipe:
Ilford Delta 400
Ilfosol 3
1+9
8 min
20 C
Agitation: first 10 seconds of each minute.

Getting a Rolleiflex 6006 was a tough choice to make. I read lots of reviews, seen a lot of images… You know the deal.

All the reviews were very positive except for the battery issue and the weight of the camera. Also being mostly reviews written by American photographers, the name Hasselblad kept appearing as a better choice. Rolleiflex never made it big in the States as it did in Europe. Hasselblad is indeed the queen on the other side of the ocean.

Well I got one anyway.
The Rolleiflex 6006, as all in the 6000 series, is a big heavy camera.
I got it without the charger and I was a bit worried about servicing the camera so I sent an email to Rolleiflex Germany asking if they would sell me a charger and batteries.
They sold me the charger and the batteries and yes they service every Rolleiflex camera.

I loved the Rolleiflex. The Zeiss lenses are… brilliant. I had the 80 and the 150mm lenses and they were both amazing. I didn’t get the same Zeiss felling using the Contax 645 for example.
Anyway, the metering was pretty good, the motorized film advance came in hand in many situations and I felt I had a solid camera in my hands.

Joana is a gorgeous young lady. I can never thank her enough for putting up with me, so… thank you very much dear Joana.

Please forgive my poor English.

Mamiya 645AFD + Ilford Delta 400 @ 3200 in ID11

Gear:
Mamiya 645 AFD
80mm lens

Recipe:
Ilford Delta 400@3200
ID11
Stock
19 min
20 C
Agitation: first 10 seconds of each minute.

The softness of the Mamiya lens combined with a developer like ID11 almost wipes out all the grain. I like this result because I was working with 3200 ISO. I’ve tried this combination, Mamiya + 50 or 100 or even 400 ISO in ID11 and the images look like “plastic” to me.

High ISO film combined with Mamiya lenses will give amazing detail and sharpness developed in ID11. The detail is there and the images still retain some of that organic feel that film is capable of.

Please forgive my poor English.