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i've taken the step with the GX617. i am going to have fun with this. no reason it could not be used for street on a fine day. i think training your brain to think in each format helps. above all i am going to have fun, and improve with effort.
this is an art, not a science and improvement can be incremental.
essentially i don't wish to "blast away" on an automated camera with matrix metering and a motordrive. i wish to compose and have ideas of what i wish to portray.
Sounds good!
You mentioned the 'rule of thirds' (ROT!) earlier. The sooner you put that mindless behavior completely out of your head, the sooner you'll start making interesting photographs! With any format, you need to trust your 'eye' and make your own aesthetic judgments.
I try not to be a Gear Dweeb, but I soooo crave a 6x17! Have fun with the beast!
http://theonlinephotographer.typepad...eica-year.html
substitute "Pentax MX or other good quality 35mm fully manual camera" for Leica everywhere here.
as an update i didn't go through with the GX617. it was a scam seller, and i didn't send any money. i've been using an RZ67 Pro II for a few months. however I strained my neck outside photography, so I am looking for something lighter and more balanced. i've since sold the RZ67.
You might look at a mamiya 645 afd or 645 pro. Either will remind you of the rz in some ways, but they are way lighter. They also both take the older manual lenses, many of which are excellent and inexpensive.
A very wise photographer once said "no photographer is as good as the simplest camera"
Buy whichever one you like - use it, and have fun!
If you want to get better in the most general sense, buy a simple camera that is not in an odd format and that represents a 'blank canvas.' IMHO any 35mm, 645, 6x7 camera with a couple of lenses will do that. Stick to regular films and developers and go shooting.
I am not into the very long 617 format, but understand that others are, but I would say that irrespective of your liking for the format, it is probably not the best way to go about working on being a better photographer. For that I would recommend something much more portable and for which cost per shot is lower so you can shoot more. If you enjoy larger negs, 645/6x7 makes sense. In that case I would recommend the Bronica RF645 with an 45 and 65 or Mamiya 7 with maybe 3 lenses. Both can be shot casually in the hand or on a tripod for detailed landscape work. Both are dead simple to use and neither will limit you or weigh you down.
I found, having better cameras and equipment help me do what I already know how to do easier, quicker, and sometimes better.... meaning if I don't know how to do something to begin with, having better equipment won't help me do it at all in the first place. That said, I just love gears. Trying this and trying that is part of how I enjoy my hobby.
The other part is learning how to apply techniques to realize my vision (or have vision to begin with sometimes) - which I find is much harder to do than collecting gears...
Get a 617 and use it for street photography!
http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr....AgbYM4qpSO8%3D
Like I can only assume Brian Peterson does, photographed by John Sypal (Tokyo Camera Style)