Re: [Rollei] TLR vs. SLR for candid street shots?

[Mark Rabiner <mrabiner >]

Mark Nowaczynski wrote:
> 
> A Rolleiflex TLR is versatile and quiet but limited to one focal
> length.  Would an equivalent MF SLR 'system' camera (Rollei or Hassy)
> not be a better choice for street photography due to the possibility of
> changing focal lengths?  Or is there something intangible about a TLR
> that I have yet to discover if I make the plunge (I am considering the
> Rolleiflex GX vs. the Hasselblad 203FE- very different beasts).  I am
> looking for words of wisdom backed by experience...
> Regards from Toronto,
> Mark


As you just said " Rolleiflex GX vs. The Hasselblad 203FE- very
different beasts"
You need to have to have the experience of going out with a Rolleiflex
and seeing what that style of shooting does for you. It is very low tech
shooting style compared to the very high tech shooting style of the
Hasselblad 203FE which is like a VCR you can never figure out for sure
how to program. "Where is the record button?"
There are many people such as myself who after years of whizz bang auto
everything have gone back to going out with perhaps one focal length
(the 80 in square format has a way of always grabbing exactly what you
need) taking a reading and adjusting the cameras apature and shutter
speeds, adjusting the focus so what is needed, front and back are in
there and firing off the silky smooth quietest shutter in the business
with no one hearing it go off. The GX is generally not where the smart
money is but an older one as has been said here a million times although
the GX might not be the piece of crap it is generally thought to be as
it would be silly to refute the direct experience of a person of Marc
Small's background despite whatever interpersonality things that might
be going on this week.
A friend of mine has a Hasselblad 203FE and I am his bodyguard when he
goes out to shoot. He wishes I was armed and so do I. 
Nobody seems threatening or seems to feel threatened when I have my
Rolleiflex with me. And I should say that it is a "Babe magnet" unlike
any camera or dog you will ever own.
Mark Rabiner
Also consider whether Imogen Cunningham, Irving Penn and Richard Avedon
are an inspiration. None of them switched to higher tech cameras when
they were introduced.

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