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H3D-31 plus 50-110mm TOO good?

sperera said:
...the perfect person to ask then....how do you find the D700 images compared to the H3D-31 then....BUT only if you process using Nikon Capture NX2 or Raw Developer cos if you use Lightroom or Adobe Raw Convertor my friend its like having your best player on the subs bench as far as I'm concerned!!!!

....this would be great feedback as I'm actually thinking about both of these....Im a Nikon user....currently have the fab D300 plus good Nikon lenses so hence the big debate whether to go into Hasselblad again...is it worth it and all that considering the huge financial implications of it......

....I use the 24-70mm 2.8 / the 105mm 2.8 / the 80-200mm 2.8 / the 50mm 1.8 so quite a bit of money on Nikon glass and fine glass it is too......
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D300 is imposible to manually focus ... get a D700 as fast as possible : -)

My Nikon gear is a mainstay everyday workhorse kit: D3, D700, F6 (best camera Nikon makes and IMO the best SLR film camera ever made by anyone including Leica and Contax ), 14-24, 24-70, 70-200/2.8VR, Sigma 50/1.4, Nikon 85/1.4, 100/2.8VR Macro, 200/1.8VR ... Manual focus ZFs mainly for the F6: 18/4, 25/2.8, 28/2, 50/2 Macro, 85/1.4, 100/2 Macro, Voit 180/4 APO.

I do not use the Nikon Digital cameras for anything other than weddings and events. The F6 is for street work and personal stuff on film.

Don't use NX, it is waaaaaaaaaaaay to slow for wedding post work. Workflow: I drop all files from all different cameras (including my assistant's Canon) into one file folder ... then sort by time shot to get them all in sequence the way the wedding happened ... and process in LightRoom2.3 ... I have no problem with Lightroom because I have all my presets and calibrations nailed down for my cameras.

However, I do understand using the native RAW processor to extract the very best possible image for key shots ... same as with Hasselblad and Phocus. But doing that to 500 to 1000 images is to time consuming ... time is money. I'm interested in sitting in front of a computer less, not more : -)
 
"My colleague claims I would be spending my life trying to smooth out skin if I bought a H3D-31 with a 50-110mm lens "

I have both, I don't spend my life smoothing out skin. Maybe look at your technique, not your tools.

Regards


David
 
could you comment on how you use both systems and if indeed its worth having both systems with the D3x having appeared?
 
sperera said:
thanks for your reply......but you dont mention the Hasselblad....what you use the Hasselblad for then?
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Sorry, I had to run and didn't finish my post.

I use the H3D-II/31 and H3D-II/39 for almost every commercial shoot. Including both tripod/monopod work and hand held candids.

I use it at weddings when it is appropriate, and when it will add value to the images for my clients. No Medium Format camera is as good as a D700 in really low light. That said the H3D-II/31 is pretty darned good at ISO 800 as long as you expose the histogram to the right. As they say 'Horses for Courses" ... the right tool for the job.

I would add that if you are going to use a medium format camera for weddings only, and as the only camera, it may be over kill. However, all things being equal in terms of image content, MFD can separate your images from the competition in terms of shear eye appeal, stunning clarity, and beautiful tonal gradations.

Skin is not an issue ... did you see an issue with the samples I posted? In Phocus you have a number of profiles to use that work well for portraits, and others for Product.

Since I shared some wedding stuff with you, here are some Commercial shots ...

One for a jewelry retailer "Mother's Day Sale" (no skin smoothing), a couple of Industrial shots of Dynometers, and a shot for a maker of Cowboy apparel ... and a wheel shot for GM ... I do a lot of different things ... all of it with Medium Format Digital.
 

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sperera said:
could you comment on how you use both systems and if indeed its worth having both systems with the D3x having appeared?
Click to expand...

Because I am currently using the 24 meg Sony A900, I'm surmising that even with a 14 bit capture, the D3X also cannot hold a candle to these MFD systems ... meg count isn't the criteria ... 24 megs crammed into a 35mm area compared to 31 megs @ 16 bit in a area almost twice the size. The D3X doesn't have the high ISO ability of the D3 or D700, so that advantage is lessened.

Yet, I must say, for weddings alone the D3X may just be the ticket to keep it all to one system rather than two, plus the Nikon ergonomics ... I just cannot hack the D3X price tag for a 35mm digital camera, especially when the Sony is $5000. less and offers Carl Zeiss lenses.

I once tried to replace my MFD system with a $8,000. Canon IDsMKIII ... and my Hasselblads absolutely murdered the Canon on the very first Commercial job shooting Jewelry ... the Canon could not handle the specular highlights at all, where the MFD breezed through the job.
 
thanks again, really appreciate all your time on this....the pic of the cowboy has that special 'thing' i speak of in the following.....

......weddings are NOT the only way we make money with a camera....its one way but I think it will be one of the most 'challenging' ways - cos of all the pressure shooting at a wedding entails, plus all the types of ambients we'll shoot in.....

......as a fact, we havent shot our first one yet but we have about 5 weddings booked now....people are booking us cos of our fashion and portrait work on www.ulookfierce.com (please take a look if you can)

.....I'm trying to determine whether its a bit dumb to use a Hasselblad at weddings or whether it will give us that something extra other people cant give or not......I would still use the Nikon too though, needless to say.....the idea being to use the Nikon D300 plus a Hasselblad H3D-31 or a D700 or D3x.

.....Im a designer and I, more and more now, shoot my own stuff for my clients - company brochures,etc. etc. My main client being www.gibraltar-stamps.com who I do all the design work for incl. the web site and actual stamps....one area they're getting more into now is Gibraltar coins so I'll have to shoot plenty of them soon enough too.....

......as an extra business to do something we both love, as I mentioned earlier, my wife and I created our www.ulookfierce.com business (have a look through the site please, all shot on D300 except for the old stuff - square pics shot with Hasselblad 503CW and 80mm lens years ago)...

...again, the debate is IF we bought a Hasselblad would we have an advantage over the competition for that side of things.....could we offer that 'thing' that's so obviously better but people wont know why its better....if you know what I mean....

so, in current economic climate THE question is.....ex-demo H3D-31 (NOT the H3DII-31) with 50-110mm OR perhaps a 100mm + 50mm OR Nikon D3x OR D700 bringing it into the 'family' with the Nikon glass I already have....

....the Nikon option IS cheaper but will the latter not give us that 'thing' Im after to make things special.....

one thing....I use and make decisions on my shots based on what im seeing on the back of the camera....Nikons have the 3" screen and the Hassy 31 will have the smaller 2" screen as its not the generation II model...

.....is the screen good enough to use during a shoot....I normally use a Hasselblad magnifier over the Nikon camera screen to view things without being hindered by too much daylight.....its a very bright part of the world Im from after all....normally im fighting to dial things down as opposed to the other way round....too much sun....
 
sperera said:
thanks again, really appreciate all your time on this....the pic of the cowboy has that special 'thing' i speak of in the following.....

......weddings are NOT the only way we make money with a camera....its one way but I think it will be one of the most 'challenging' ways - cos of all the pressure shooting at a wedding entails, plus all the types of ambients we'll shoot in.....

......as a fact, we havent shot our first one yet but we have about 5 weddings booked now....people are booking us cos of our fashion and portrait work on www.ulookfierce.com (please take a look if you can)

.....I'm trying to determine whether its a bit dumb to use a Hasselblad at weddings or whether it will give us that something extra other people cant give or not......I would still use the Nikon too though, needless to say.....the idea being to use the Nikon D300 plus a Hasselblad H3D-31 or a D700 or D3x.

.....Im a designer and I, more and more now, shoot my own stuff for my clients - company brochures,etc. etc. My main client being www.gibraltar-stamps.com who I do all the design work for incl. the web site and actual stamps....one area they're getting more into now is Gibraltar coins so I'll have to shoot plenty of them soon enough too.....

......as an extra business to do something we both love, as I mentioned earlier, my wife and I created our www.ulookfierce.com business (have a look through the site please, all shot on D300 except for the old stuff - square pics shot with Hasselblad 503CW and 80mm lens years ago)...

...again, the debate is IF we bought a Hasselblad would we have an advantage over the competition for that side of things.....could we offer that 'thing' that's so obviously better but people wont know why its better....if you know what I mean....

so, in current economic climate THE question is.....ex-demo H3D-31 (NOT the H3DII-31) with 50-110mm OR perhaps a 100mm + 50mm OR Nikon D3x OR D700 bringing it into the 'family' with the Nikon glass I already have....

....the Nikon option IS cheaper but will the latter not give us that 'thing' Im after to make things special.....

one thing....I use and make decisions on my shots based on what im seeing on the back of the camera....Nikons have the 3" screen and the Hassy 31 will have the smaller 2" screen as its not the generation II model...

.....is the screen good enough to use during a shoot....I normally use a Hasselblad magnifier over the Nikon camera screen to view things without being hindered by too much daylight.....its a very bright part of the world Im from after all....normally im fighting to dial things down as opposed to the other way round....too much sun....
Click to expand...

just my 2 cents. you could upgrade to a better nikon and that will be a fairly good step.. but at the end of the day, at some point in your career/business, you will need/want to go to medium format, so i think the sooner you do it the better...
 
Opera browser

According to the forum administrator Opera is in the same league as Safari and Netscape.
These browsers are not compatible with forum software.
 
polypal said:
According to the forum administartor Opera is in the same league as Safari and Netscape.
These browsers are not compatible with forum software.
Click to expand...

the large image popup window works just fine... I'll let you know if I find any issues, but seems right.
 
Good to know that Opera is doing ok for the pop up images.
I will inform the administrator of the improvement.
 
Firefox

Wilko

You forgot to mention , that FIREFOX runs perfect with the forum software .
I run the forum only on firefox and other applications on SAFARI 4.0.3
 
jotloob said:
Wilko

You forgot to mention , that FIREFOX runs perfect with the forum software .
I run the forum only on firefox and other applications on SAFARI 4.0.3
Click to expand...

Sure, but Safari 4 runs fine as well, so there is not really an absolute need to run Firefox for the forum.

cheers,
Wilko
 
I have the HD3II w 50-110 lens, and the Nikon D3 with all the best nikon glass, and let me be candid... at 200% maginification on the hassey, it is better than the D3 at 100%. The D3 is a great camera, and the D300 is pretty darn good, but neither was ever intended to compete with a hassey...the level of detail and the quality and realism of the color is breathtaking. even though the system is quirky, and much slower to use than 35mm it is worth it- if you can afford it.
Also, the 50-110 is a BEAST, easily the heaviest lens I have ever used, but it is well balanced...
 
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