Anything from temperature, agitation and chemistry used can affect the final look. I recommend you to pick one combo and get to know it well first. You only need a bag to load the film into the tanks, after that you can process the film in daylight.

Good luck!

Unfortunately, the Rolleis are very expensive at the moment. Unless you want a 2.8 model, the 3.5 is perfectly fine. I have owned both Planar and Xenotar and honestly haven't noticed a difference in the image quality and you can't go wrong with either model.

I have two weddings in Europe later in the summer, maybe I can organize a workshop as well.

Cheers!

Correct. I am not a fan of the 645 format at all. A lot of folks like that camera, though.

I send all my repairs straight to Solms. Their address is below and you can send it with attention to Andrea Frankl.

Leica Camera AG
Leica Customer Care
Solmser Gewerbepark 8
35606 Solms

In the US, you can send it to:

Leica Camera Inc.
1 Pearl Ct, Unit A
Allendale, New Jersey 07401

The 150mm is a fantastic portrait lens on the Hasselblad. Have fun!

I blog but I am not familiar with that site. Thanks.

The only Mamiya I like is the rangefinders. If you like square format, the Mamiya 6 with the 50mm is a must, otherwise the Mamiya 7II with the 50mm and 80mm are fantastic.

A lot of folks use the Mamiya 645 but I am not a fan of this format and instead like 6x6 or 6x7 instead.

When I want to shoot both color and B&W, I use a body for each. My lens selection is pretty small, usually a wide and a normal, and most of the times it's irrelevant what focal length shoots the color or the B&W.

I can print any size up to 40x50, 16x20 is the most popular size.

After the prints have been fixed I wash them for 15 minutes, then put them on a perma wash solution for another 15 minutes followed by a final clean water wash of 10 minutes. I don't pay attention to the washing temperature, actually I don't worry about the temperature at all during the whole printing process from development to final rinse.

Correct... Your second sentence was cut off, can you please repost? Thanks!

Yes, I use a handheld meter for everything or use the Sunny 16 rule. It's my pleasure, hope this helps.

Yes... I love Leica glass but in real life situations where you are not pixel-peeping at 100% in your screen there are really no noticeable differences. Please don't believe all the online hype from most forums or Leica gear heads/bloggers :)

Pickpic (www.pickpic.com)

I usually get medium res scans and have printed up to 20x30s from that size (in 35mm) without any issues. I offer anything from 4x6 to really large prints (30x40) but can always go larger if necessary... The most prints I sell are my fiber based prints (handmade in the darkroom) usually 16x20 or 20x24.

What do you mean by shooting loose? :)

I just adjust the flash power based on the distance I will be from the subject as I don't want to blind them :) I usually do a test fire and see the power put out which depending on the aperture used (usually around f/8, ISO matching the film loaded) can be with an exposure compensation of -1 or so... This is not very scientific because I want to shoot based on the look that I want to get at that given location and not necessarily from a technical point of view... Does this make sense? If not, ask me more :)

Unfortunately everything Leica right now is insanely priced. The main difference between the M3 and the M6 are below...

-The M3 has a viewfinder magnification of .91 (very nice) vs .58 or .72 (most common) or .85 on the M6.
-The M3 does not have a built in meter, the M6 does
-The M3 has framelines for 50mm, 90mm and 135mm while the M6 has pretty much anything from 28mm to 135mm (28, 35, 50, 75, 90, 135) depending on the viewfinder magnification
-The M3 is prettier :)

I would look into Zeiss or Voightlander glass right now unless spending insane prices on Leica glass is not a problem for you.

Let me know if you have more questions and thank you for the comments about the new Brazil work.

Hahaha! Have fun!

Thank you for your comments.

I am not too much into developing and prefer to have my lab(s) do that but in the few cases that I develop on my own, I usually go for X-tol or Ilfotec DDX (I always use Ilfotec when I am pushing the film to 3200 and up). For printing, I stick to Ilford paper developer and fixer and my paper of choice is the Ilford Multigrade Fiber (glossy) as, IMHO, if you are going to do wet prints you may as well spend the extra $ and processing time on fiber instead of RC.

Believe it or not, there are still many options for film processing and printing and I encourage you to play around a bit until you find the solution that you prefer technically and aesthetically.

These are some links that you can use as reference.

Massive Dev Chart (http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.php) - This is my reference to develop film, they also have a pretty cool iPhone app.

Papers I like printing on
-Ilford Warmtone Semi-mate - Very nice warm tones (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/752529-REG/Ilford_1168420_Multigrade_FB_Warmtone_Fiber.html)

-Ilford Multigrade Glossy (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/122845-REG/Ilford_1833571_MG_FB_IV_DW.html)

Film Developers
-Xtol (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/124564-REG/Kodak_8751752_Xtol_Developer_Powder_for.html)

-Ilfotec DDX (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/188027-REG/Ilford_1155055_Ilfotec_DD_X_Developer.html)

Paper developer
-http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/365108-REG/Ilford_1757855_Multigrade_Developer_Liquid.html

Stop bath
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/169348-REG/Ilford_1893870_Ilfostop_Stop_Bath_500ml.html

Film and paper fixer
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/365109-REG/Ilford_1984565_Rapid_Fixer_Liquid_5_Liters.html

Hope this helps. Have fun!

Rob:

Any of the repair folks below are reputable and highly recommended. You can also send it to Leica NJ, of course.

-http://yyecamera.com/
-http://sherrykrauter.com/
-http://www.dagcamera.com/

Cheers!