Mate thank you for taking the time to review the camera, I was looking into a way I could buy a 617 roll film back for my 5x4 Horseman 45FA next month once I’ve prostituted myself to pay for one on E-Bay. But low and behold I realised Chroma sell just the back with the ground glass at half the price so I won’t have to walk the dark streets of the village in Northern Spain where I live. You’ve won another subscriber with your informative and humorous video and kept my chastity intact. Great images by the way!!!

@thefilmlaundry

5 ай бұрын

Haven't used the graflock back that Chroma just released, but if it's anything like their cameras it should be pretty good.

@karolaschmidt3864

3 ай бұрын

I have used such a 6x17 back for a 4x5" camera. The do work, are a bit finicky to use (you need to change between the 6x17 groundglass and the film back) and are limited in the use of focal length due to vignetting. If I remeber correctly, anything between 75 and 150mm can be used as long as the image circle is big enough. Quality of build was fine.

i love that wide shot

@thefilmlaundry

9 ай бұрын

Thanks

Great video, cool camera, and I enjoy your humor. I'll stick around for more! 👍

@thefilmlaundry

8 ай бұрын

Haaa thanks. Somebody gets my humour, now we are in trouble 🤣

Looking forward to seeing some more sweet 6x17 work

@thefilmlaundry

10 ай бұрын

Just got the replacement film back in the mail yesterday. Just waiting for the weather to clear up, hopefully going out again next week.

Cool stuff mate! Also I love the locations you shot! I've been to them both many times haha

@thefilmlaundry

3 ай бұрын

Appreciate it

Man great second and fourth shots.

@thefilmlaundry

9 ай бұрын

Thanks

Tell your dog I said Hi!! 😀 That's funny!! I love 6x17.... I don't have a camera in that format! BUT wish I did! Love the vid! Awesome story.... Cracking final shot!! 🙂

@thefilmlaundry

10 ай бұрын

Haaa yeah, I saw it on a sticker on a car, cracked me up.

Thanks for sharing. I placed an order for one a few days ago. Looking forward to some vistas shots.

@thefilmlaundry

8 ай бұрын

Good luck 👍 have fun

Great to see a fellow Victorian Film photographer channel :) I’ve been contemplating chroma cameras 6x17 too, thanks to good ol Nick ! 😅

@thefilmlaundry

9 ай бұрын

You should definitely get one, so much fun to shoot. (I love enabling other people to spend money on camera gear 😂)

@nandhathiyagarajan6129

9 ай бұрын

@@thefilmlaundry I’m still hmmng and aarghng about it, this might just be the push I need 😅 But it feels so good to see a very well made fellow Aussie film photog video. Please make more of these 🙏🏼🙏🏼

@thefilmlaundry

9 ай бұрын

Definitely more on the way, I just came back from a few days shooting down Wilson's Prom at the Big Drift, will get to editing that one up shortly.

Love it. I purchased the Chroma six:17 last week and opted for a 90mm and 180mm. Hopefully I’ll like those focal lengths in this format. Only 4-5 weeks left to wait 🎉

@thefilmlaundry

10 ай бұрын

You're gonna love it. Yeah, a 90mm is next on my shopping list, I told myself I have to wait though, until I have mastered the 135 last thing I need is more complication 😂

@timryan894

10 ай бұрын

Great info on not pulling the dark slide all the way out. I’ll remember that tip.

@thefilmlaundry

10 ай бұрын

I think it was only necessary because of the weak magnets on my first film back, so prob not necessary when you get yours. In fact there's a chance that when it's still in place the edge might keep the magnet slightly open at the edge, going to test next week now that I have my new back.

Welcome to the 6x17 world....keep it up, you're going to LOVE it!! Yes, Nick Carver cost me some $$ too...I bought the Shen Hao 6x17 and a spare back (load one with color other with B&W)...Mine was pricey, but so far...worth every penny! But I'm looking for something a bit less bulky to carry around to hand hold, believe it or not. I'm looking at the Chroma for that....I think I"m close to pulling the trigger. One thing struck me...where do you live where film is THAT expensive? I just checked B&H and B&W film like Ilford HP5 is only $8.50/roll....and even Portra 400 in a 5 pack is about $15/roll.... I can't imagine $20 per FRAME?!?! :O Hope you can find better deals. If nothing else...start shooting B&W....it's a bit cheaper and good for practicing your compositions. Wondering, for the Chroma Six 17...can you get a spare back...it is SO nice to be able to swap as desired between color and B&W.... Good luck!! CC

@thefilmlaundry

10 ай бұрын

Thanks. Haaa, I totally agree, first it was a digital spot meter, now this, he has a lot to answer for

Enjoyable video

@thefilmlaundry

8 ай бұрын

Thanks 👍

Great video, currently designing a view camera 6x17 as well. Trying to make a low cost, printed version of something like the Shen Hao

@thefilmlaundry

10 ай бұрын

I've always wondered if it's possible to do a 3D printed Shen Hao. Can't see why not. Keep me posted

@BadCooper

9 ай бұрын

I'm very interested!

@thefilmlaundry

3 ай бұрын

Have news on this front, episode dropping shortly!

Ok I bow down to the Algorithm…. I have been scouring for a six:17 review ever since I saw Steve’s announcement video. Light leak bad, but at least not as bad as Noble’s issue where the material they used for a batch was, umm, not optically opaque. Steve is contemplating some movements for a future version which if happen in the way everything else he has brought to market will be a game changer in the quality:price space. I’ll stop Chroma fan-boi’ing, hit subscribe, and hope to enjoy your journey!

@thefilmlaundry

10 ай бұрын

Yeah I saw that review where they had printed the Nobel with the wrong filament, ahh the joys of 3d cameras. Steve was awesome, he was so quick to send out a new film back, it arrived the other day, and wow, yeah I must have gotten a bad magnet, because the new one, jeebus, it holds onto the dark slide so tightly, I think I might need to work out just to get my strength up. Can't speak highly enough about Steve and my experience so far. The camera is truly a game changer.

Thanks for sharing your 6x17 journey. I think i will order one too ^^ and i've got a get question : where did you get your focus screen with a fresnel ? thanks for your help. Regards from France

@thefilmlaundry

Күн бұрын

It's a great way to get into 617. The Fresnal lens is an option when you order the camera, it was an extra $80 from memory.

Just came across your channel. Point of correction, you can never have enough Nick Carver videos! Great channel and the camera looks good too.

@thefilmlaundry

3 ай бұрын

Haaaaaa, I stand corrected 😂 Correct too much Nick Carver is not enough. I blame him for my next video I'm just finishing up, him and his damn Shen Hao 😭

@silverphotographylife9196

3 ай бұрын

Just looked at your focusing screen mod vid, seems like you've also stuck an arca mount like I've done on my 4x5 Snaphot!. @@thefilmlaundry

@thefilmlaundry

3 ай бұрын

Yeah, arca on all my cameras that need tripods, just easier that way

Cracking video, I've been keen on a 6x17 for a long time, but can't yet justify the expense. I shot a roll on my Bessa II with the intension of cropping top and bottom to mimic a pano shot, it kind of worked, vid on my chan, but that Chroma looks like a great option, time to google a price list. Thanks for the upload liked and subbed.

@thefilmlaundry

6 ай бұрын

That's exactly what did with the Fuji GSW 690 III for a while, but it just felt wrong throwing away so much of the neg cropping it. And then the Chroma came around and was moderately affordable.

@paultaylorphotography9499

6 ай бұрын

sounds like a plan mate cheers@@thefilmlaundry

Hi. Funny. Interesting. I shot Arca Swiss 69 view camera for a long time. Require skills I did not really have. Given how challenging this is My suggestion is to shoot chromes as well. why? Because it is simply so great to look at a 617 chrome on a light table. Makes all the work and effort worth it. That being said, sad to say I think you should get a 3D printed kidney, sell the real one and get a Fuji GFX 100 II. I have been shooting pano with 50S and 100S and long story short, GFX seems like the right tool for that job. And, if you shoot a lot; in the long run it is cheaper. Still, there is nothing quite like a perfectly exposed and composed Velvia 50 chrome!!! Good luck. Vive 617!

@thefilmlaundry

9 ай бұрын

Oh I definitely agree, I have a bunch of slide film ready to go, but I really wanted to nail down my process before I shoot it, seeing as how expensive it is and less forgiving to metering mistakes 🤦 Shot digital professionally for years, but now that I do it for fun only, I got rid of nearly all.my digital gear, kept my Leica m8 as it's hands down the best digital image I have ever shot, and my Nikon D700 for nostalgic reasons, but otherwise, I just don't get the same joy from shooting digital. I respect what the cameras can do, just don't enjoy using them. Would love to play with a medium for at digital one day, but only for interests sake. But totally agree with you about the slide film 👍👍👍

I am torn between this one and the 2023 CubePan for the 24x72 images, they are similar in price, but the 6x17 neg would be amazing to behold! But the allure of the 24x72 is the convenience factor.

@thefilmlaundry

9 ай бұрын

Why not buy both 🤣 definitely agree that the convenience factor of 35mm is tempting. Also, I'd almost say the resolution of 6x17 is almost too much unless your printing large images, they are just soooo big. If you shoot on something like Ektar, a 35mm pano will have plenty of resolution for most needs

@highlander200107

9 ай бұрын

@@thefilmlaundry which I could afford both! But at the moment, it will be one or the other

I have a question about your frame spacing. I also own the Chroma 617 and Steve states the frame counter should start at frame 3, and proceed as 3, 6, 9, and 12, on frame 12 I have no frame border at the end. Do you have this issue?

@thefilmlaundry

10 ай бұрын

I was confused as well, those are the numbers he stated on his run through video, but there is a pinned update comment from memory, and I messaged Steve to confirm (also to ask which direction the film loads,) his reply ' You can actually load the film from either side, it will work the same way, but I always load mine left to right. The frame numbers are 2,5,8 and 11'

@williamreynolds9119

10 ай бұрын

Thanks for the info, I will try the 2-11 sequence on the next roll. A lot to still learn with this camera and the 6x17 format@@thefilmlaundry

I'm currently trying to get into film photography and I'm a DSLR shooter at the moment. How do you recommend getting into it?

@thefilmlaundry

3 ай бұрын

Buy yourself a Canon AE1 or a Nikon FE 2 with a 50mm lens. A roll of Kodak Gold 200 or Ilford HP5 and just start shooting, you won't look back.

@Liathephotato13

3 ай бұрын

@@thefilmlaundry What about developing it?

@thefilmlaundry

3 ай бұрын

If you want to develop your own film, it's not too hard these days, Cinestill makes a kit, that includes all the chemicals pre mixed, you just add water and a siu vide heater to keep the chemicals at the correct temperature I used to develop my own, but unless you are shooting and developing a lot, it doesn't really make financial sense as chemicals go off after they have been mixed so you need to use them up within the several months. I just dont shoot enough to justify the cost. But it was fun to do

I just received mine a few weeks ago. Did I see you put a center ND on your wide angle lens? I am using a 90mm and 180mm and it was recommended to use a center ND on the 90mm. I had to give part of my spleen to buy that filter (sheesh) it was as much as the lens itself.

@thefilmlaundry

6 ай бұрын

Yeah, I believe it's pretty much a must for a 90, with the 135 I can see just an ever so slight vignette, but it's very slight, easily fixable in Lightroom, and I think the 1 stop of a centre nd would almost be too much over correction. Also the cost 😭

Pretty cool. I didn't even know Mattel made real cameras.

@thefilmlaundry

7 ай бұрын

🤦

I’ve watched a good few videos featuring 6x17 cameras, and one weird thing I’ve noticed, is they don’t seem great for landscape shots. There seems to be a needs for something of interest more front and centre to give to image impact. Not sure why this is but they seem to work well in urban setting, maybe it’s to do with how we normally see things. Out in the countryside, we take in panoramas when sightseeing, so used to that view but in urban areas, we tend to be more focused on what’s in front of us and not standing back and taking in the bigger picture. I guess the 6x17 is good at showing a perspective we aren’t used to fully seeing.

@thefilmlaundry

9 ай бұрын

Good point. It does seem like a pabinshould be perfect for landscape shots, but without something to focus your eye on they do seem kind of bland. I have seen some amazing landscape shots by Nick Carver but I much prefer the shots with buildings, or machinery etc as the focus .

What camera bag did you settle on for your camera?

@thefilmlaundry

10 ай бұрын

Using an old Krumpler for the moment, it's fine but no room for more lenses, so on the hunt for something slightly bigger

How does this compare to the lens sharpness of the Fuji GW690?

@thefilmlaundry

8 ай бұрын

Wow, that's actually a great question, I was literally staring at some prints from both cameras yesterday. I would have to say the Fuji is sharper. It is crazy sharp. Not to say the 135 on the Chroma isn't sharp, but the GSW lens is hands down the sharpest lens I own, this includes my Hasselblad, Leica Summicron M and R lenses and all my Nikon lenses etc. If I was stuck on a desert island, and had to choose only one camera, the GSW would probably be my medium format choice (sorry Hasse and Yashica)

Or ya take 50 shots on a tracker and stitch them together.

@evanbutson2

9 ай бұрын

Haaa, true, maybe i should shoot 100 shots on my Minolta 16 and stich them all together 😂

@thefilmlaundry

6 ай бұрын

Wheres the fun in that

@krisrasmussen1131

2 ай бұрын

​@@thefilmlaundryputting out the fire on your computer?

i have a 24tse canon lens . i bought it 7 yrs ago. i use it to shoot panaromas n my 35mm camera. you develop the film, scan it, and join the photos in lightroom. you 2.5x1 ratio, so slightly less but way cheaper

@thefilmlaundry

9 ай бұрын

Or just shoot digital and stitch. Really depends on what you want. Although, if you were to shoot multiple 35mm frames you would need to shoot 12 frames to match the 6x17 neg size and that's not even taking into account you would need more to get the required overlap. Probably wouldn't be cheaper after all. And that's not even mentioning what if things move between shots as can happen with multi shot pannos.

Another camera on my list 🤦‍♂️ 😆

@thefilmlaundry

2 ай бұрын

Haaa, the list never ends 🤣

does this Chroma camera shoot 220 film?

@thefilmlaundry

Күн бұрын

Not really, due to the lack of backing paper on 220 and this also frame numbers (which you need to know you have wound the film on enough for each frame) it would t really work. I suppose you could tape up the frame window and figure out how many turns of the film winding knob you need to do for each shit, but it would be pretty hit or miss. Best to stick to 120 film.

Too many Nick Carver videos? Is that possible? I am just getting used to my Chroma 6x17. One tip is to slightly tension the feed spool knob, to make sure the film winds on as tightly as in a conventional camera.

@thefilmlaundry

8 ай бұрын

Haaa, my heart says no but my credit card says yes. Good catch on the feed tension. I did have a fat roll on one shoot, but luckily I had a feeling it might be so I opened it in a change bag and all was well .

@jmtubbs1639

8 ай бұрын

Yes. I have used the dark bag as well. @@thefilmlaundry

Ugh,,,, that music was so distracting…. It was all I could hear

@thefilmlaundry

3 ай бұрын

Haaa, I have to admit, the music is the last thing I do and also rushed. But noted. My last few videos the music has been a lot quieter and less in your face

I own a ton of Horseman 120 roll film field cameras, but I can't suffer this kid's voice so goodbye.

@thefilmlaundry

4 ай бұрын

Haaa, after being around for 47 years, I'm gonna take being called a kid a complement.