The other week I popped into Ken Duncan’s CFL print lab to collect and sign a few FujiFlex prints for clients and while I was there Ken Duncan also popped in to check over some proofing and I was able to have a good chat to him about general photo stuff (great guy for those who haven’t had the pleasure to meet him).
During our conversation Ken mentioned that he is awaiting the arrival of the new Seitz 617 camera to trial. I got the impression from his tone that the arrival date of the camera is some what unknown, but it is definitely an interesting topic as I have always been and still will be a fan of Ken’s work and to see what he can do with this monster of a camera will be inspiring. But given the price tag of the Seitz 617 (approx $42 grand Aust) no matter how good Kens shots will be, the possibility of owning one will remain on the wish list. But then again the price of the Hasselblad backs can set you back just as much and with digital technology constantly being updated the price of the past model drops considerably.
I am in and out of the CFL lab all the time, so every now and again I will make inquiries about if the camera has arrived and if Ken has shot with it yet and let you all know. I’m still yet to see any images from this camera and the Setiz website seams to only have images from it’s other cameras like the roundshot. So if you know of any please post a link to them.
By the way the staff at both the CFL (Created for Life) print and framing studio are the nicest and most helpful bunch you will ever find at a lab and their print and framing quality is second to none. So check them out and get a price list.
A friend of mine at Sun Studios once told me that Seitz equipment can be very fickle, and is prone to stop working in extreme temperatures or humidity, etc etc, conditions that are quite common in Australia.
They need to be fed intravenously with rarified Swiss mountain air otherwise they give up 😛
Man if you shelled our forty grand and your camera started to fail you would be slightly annoyed. Maybe the camera comes with a bottle or two of Swiss air to help operation.
I think Ken may be waiting a little while, last I heard an actual working camera doesn’t yet exist. From what I understand they are most likely still in the prototype stage…
Is Ken Duncan still using film or is he photographing digital?
Ken is still shooting film.