I will take my Nikon gear as usual, and I also consider Contax 645 with Sinarback 54M tethered to macbook?

Do you shoot wedding ceremonies, in particular Jewish hupa, tethered?

Comment please.

Thank

Why would you make things so difficult. A good portable 16Mp back can be had for less then 4500 euro or 22Mp back for some more. I use a 16Mp on my contax with the imagebank from Imacon. No fussle with CF cards and computers. Just shoot a thousend images, hook the bank to your computer and secons later you can browse all your thousend images.
One problem with the 54m will be that there is no feedback on a screen on the back and you can't glue a macbook to your head.....

In my experience the advantages of MF in image quality are soon lost against the disadvantages of low ISO, portability, lack of (fast) zooms etc.

I do use my MF back for the formals and the (outdoor) portraiture though. But for the events, the things that go fast and never really as expected, you cannot beat a good dSLR.

Actually, you could do it. Download InsomniaX from http://mac.softpedia.com/get/System-Utilit...InsomniaX.shtml. This is a small utility that will let you use a portable Mac even if the lid is closed. You could put the MacBook into a bag, and check it once in a while. There could be heat issues, so it's entirely at your own risk!

But it would definitely be easier to shoot untethered, and your Nikon gear would be more than adequate. You might want to try this for the formal portraits - with the advantage of putting Uncle Aaron in his place

Cheers,
Kumar

There's virtually no benefit to shooting MFDB at a wedding. I can see maybe for some portraits, but even then there's no way I would shoot tethered. If you're spending your time looking at a computer monitor, you're missing the action.

MFDB is just too slow for weddings. You just miss too many moments. It doesn't matter how good your file is if you don't come away with the great shots. The client doesn't care what you shoot with anyhow.

John

Kumar, thanks. I know about that utility, but I was told that macbook gets air via keyboard, and may overheat when closed. In addition, vibration can damage hard drive when shooter moves. It is hot in Israel, very hot these days

Evgeny,

I've been to over 100 Israeli weddings and I never saw anyone shooting medium format, neither film nor digital.

Until 4-5 years ago it was 35mm film, now it's all mid-range 35mm digital.

Yair

Yair, thank. That's good to know.

How many Contax 645 ot ever Nikon F6 you saw in Israel? These are cameras which I used or use now. Probably less than 10. How many MFDB you saw in Israel. Probably same 10 or similar numbers. I know the number of MFDB from specific manufacturers in Israel, except Leaf...

The 54m is probably the worst back to use for a wedding. It is one of my favorite backs in terms of IQ, but man, 4 seconds per frame? Ina studio, tethered, its great. But for weddings, I'd stick to the Nikons.

IMO, weddings move too quickly to work tethered. I can't imagine being tethered to a laptop during the ceremony or at any time during a wedding. You would have to ask people to stay clear of the cable; it would be a nightmare.

I might shoot with a faster back at a wedding but I would never shoot tethered. If you do you will have 100 art directors looking over shoulder every moment telling you what to shoot where; and you will miss shooting the wedding you are supposed to be shooting.

And you will need higher iso capabilities. If you want to shoot medium format, shoot film.

Thanks all for replies!

Please rest; I was a guest at the wedding.
As the family member I had the opportunity to try my new Sinarback 54M, which I bought for my studio work.

I set Contax 645 and flash to f5.6 and ISO 100, which provided approx 10 meters of working distance in low light. The Macbook was in shoulder bag, this added mobility. I think the Sinarback 54M was able to capture images each 2-3 seconds.


I encountered a number of problems. Macbook with a spare battery adds significant weight. Focus in C645 is slower than Nikon and may fall in low contrast.

CaptureShop may crash after Macbook goes to sleep. When Macbook wakes up a Relaunch dialog is shown. I forgot to set Macbook to Performance mode, as Thierry recommended, to minimize sleeps. I will test shooting in Performance mode with batteries again. Also Macbook may crash. I don't know if setting Performance mode will help.

Folks, that's all for now
I have to do more tests.

The 54M captures images of fantastic quality, especially compared to DSLR.

Thanks