Medium-format camera, anyone?

Benster

Hi all, just thought I'd throw this out there to try and trawl some info over the weekend...

I'm looking to get into medium-format and want to know what sort of camera to go for, based on your own experiences. I'm pretty well versed in film and will be using this mostly with B&W to develop my own negs and then scan them (and then promptly forget about them, if current habits are anything to go by...)

I'm discounting the likes of the Holga though, as I want to have decently sharp images, not a retro 1800's look. So what else should I consider, bearing in mind that I'm just starting out and am not loaded? (ie Hasselblad is also out, unless you're giving yours away :-)

Cheers,

B.

Carrigman

I can recommend the Mamiya 645 as I had one. I'd imagine you could pick up a good second hand body pretty cheaply from the likes of MXV Photographic (www.mxv.co.uk). Bronica is also an excellent make.

Fajitas!

Have a Hassy and a Mamiya myself.

It'll take a lot of money, just to warn you... I keep on trying to get back into it, but it can be hard work. And the non instant results can annoy...

That said, my 5D has been acting up... Hmmm.

minikin

have a mamiya 645 pro... you'll feel dirty using 35mm/digital after using it

ThOnda

I would recommend some dual lens reflex camera - the shutter is the iris one, so there is no movement of camera during exposure.

Kilree

Try the Yashica Mat 124G TLR. You should be able to pick up a good s/h one for reasonable money.

Zillah

We had great fun with a hassleblad last year, great camera.

magicbastarder

ThOnda wrote: »

I would recommend some dual lens reflex camera - the shutter is the iris one, so there is no movement of camera during exposure.

the viewfinder suffers, as the viewfinder lens is never as good as the taking lens.

you should be able to get a hasselblad for about €700, afaik. i've got one, plus a rolleiflex TLR. i prefer the former, the lens is sharper, the viewfinder is far superior, and the handling is better.

pete4130

Friend of mine has a Bronica for sale, can't remember which one exactly. I know its got the additional grip to go with it and I think an 80mm lens?. If your interested I can give you his contact details. As far as I remember, I think he was looking for about €200 for it???? I've used it once or twice before.
Like I said if you're interested I can pass on his contact details to you.

Pete.

ThOnda

You can't stop me now... I just love these cameras. Have one our local version.
This is what you need if you just want to try medium format.

DaireQuinlan

ThOnda wrote: »

You can't stop me now... I just love these cameras. Have one our local version.
This is what you need if you just want to try medium format.

Yeah, I'd absolutely agree with this. I got one a while back. Great camera. Lens is reputedly as sharp as the Autocords & Rollei lenses. Its the only TLR along with the Autocord that has a built in light meter if you think that's an important point ( I did when I bought it, wouldn't consider it so important now). Composing through the waist level is ... different ... somehow than looking through a viewfinder. Its as though you actually SEE the composition in front of you projected onto the ground glass in a much more distinct way. I've never found that the viewing lens has impacted on the usage of the camera, in fact the viewing lens on mine is f2.8 and the taking lens is f3.5 for some reason. Makes it easier to focus anyhow :-)

obligatory picture first one is OF the camera, 2nd one was taken WITH the camera :-)





pete4130, I've sent you a PM about that bronica.

TJJP

Benster wrote: »

Hi all, just thought I'd throw this out there to try and trawl some info over the weekend...

I'm looking to get into medium-format and want to know what sort of camera to go for, based on your own experiences. I'm pretty well versed in film and will be using this mostly with B&W to develop my own negs and then scan them (and then promptly forget about them, if current habits are anything to go by...)

Cheers,

B.

My 2c, reckon 6x4.5 is a bit of a waste of time, possibly 6x6 too. If you want to really get into it look at 6x7 or 6x9 (so likely you are looking for a plaubel mankina or a fuji). Both a bit hard to find, UK a better bet. Both are great quality and easy to port around. The old hassy gets a bit too much attention when you are out and about and for the price, its a risk as digital has the pro and wedding market. There will always be a market for the MF rangefinders like the plaubel and fuji though, as long as film stock is available.

Overall seems that 6x6 and 6x4.5 are all good fun but a waste of (hard earned?) cash as the bottom has fallen out of that market at this stage. A lot of 'old pros' trying to off-load that type of gear (going digital) and you could get stuck with 2k of camera you can't sell on later.

If you are are really keen, have a look at 5x4 too. Given that you dev your own and that 5x4 gear seems under priced (loosing value rapid too) it might be a bit of fun. Wouldn't be too sure how long film stock will be around though. You could learn a lot from large format work, its very unforgiving.

TJJP

ThOnda wrote: »

You can't stop me now... I just love these cameras. Have one our local version.
This is what you need if you just want to try medium format.

I take it back, you can't argue with that...

magicbastarder

DaireQuinlan wrote: »

Its the only TLR along with the Autocord that has a built in light meter

my rolleiflex has one; not that i've ever paid it any heed.
rolleis are overpriced though; i think the reason they'd set you back more than a hasselblad, but that's down more to rarity than desirability.

if you want to go down the 6x7 route, a mate had the pentax 67 and swore by it.

i'd love a fuji GX617 or similar.

DaireQuinlan

magicbastarder wrote: »

my rolleiflex has one; not that i've ever paid it any heed.

oh right, didn't know any of the rolleis had them. Mine is accurate enough for B&W and print, wouldn't put slide through it though. The one thing I kept on doing when I got it first was tilting it backward to check out the light meter reading (in front of the viewing hood) and inadvertently taking a reading off the nice bright sky instead of where I wanted to point it. Doh.

As regards WANTING stuff ... http://www.sl66.com/ mmmmmmm MF SLR with movements, where can you go wrong ! Smidgeon on the expensive side though. For the OP, Used Bronica kit is cheap nowadays, particularly the 6x4.5 stuff (etr/etrs/etrsi). For bigger format, Mamiya do 6x7 and 6x9 SLRs which can be picked up second hand quite cheaply. They're brutes though. For cheap and cheerful there's always the 'hasselbladski' , the Kiev cameras. Check out araxfoto.com, they over-haul factory cameras and do a complete CLA and offer a warranty (which you'll want, if you read any of the stories about Kiev cameras on the net).

A.Partridge

I use both Hasselblad 503CW and Mamiya C3 (over 40 years old) twin lens 6x6 cameras.

The Mamiya has interchangeable twin lenses which can be picked up on the 'bay' for very small money. It is a truly tremendous camera. Sure, you will need a separate light meter but that is a good thing not a bad thing.

Go for a Mamiya twin lens camera such as the early C3 or C330 - you won't regret it.

Btw, all of this talk about cameras that will hold resale value is crap. A camera is to be used. If you want to make money buy stocks and shares.

Enjoy your mf shooting.

minikin

My 2c, reckon 6x4.5 is a bit of a waste of time, possibly 6x6 too.

Tjjp, are you smoking something? Either that or you've no actual experience of medium format gear... are you quoting something you've read on another forum maybe?

I've used practically all formats professionally up to 5x4 for commercial work.
There is zero wrong with 6x4.5... the mamiya sekor lenses are amazing, the neg size is more than enough for 60" prints

thefizz

Have a look at the Mamiya 6 or 7 rangefinders. Not much bigger or heavier than your average SLR and the lenses are super sharp. They are great medium format cameras whether hand-held or on a tripod.

Peter

Benster

Jeez, folks, thanks for all the replies, MF is obviously not dead going by all that.

Looking at all the kit that is for sale on ebay, ffordes and MXV (thanks Carrigman) it's kinda leaving me a bit more confused as to which particular format to go for - 6x6, 6x4.5, 6x7, Bronica, Mamiya and all that. The Bronica seems more affordable, but then there's a few different types of those developed over the years (ETR, GS1, SQ etc) and the same for Mamiya. I'm not fussed about which frame size yet, I'll have to suck it and see on that one.

I'd say I'd be using this to try to get pretty high quality B&W pics of subjects that time can be taken to set up properly for, ie still-lifes, landscapes, nature scenes and all that, maybe some street photography if I found something/someone interesting enough. Therefore, I'm thinking that the inclusion of a lightmeter isn't of paramount importance, I'd use my SLR to do light readings. Also, having auto-focus etc isn't a priority (or should it be? - you tell me, is manual focus on MF a pain?)

I never considered the TLR aspect at all, it seemed a bit too outdated to me, but going by the discussion, obviously that's not dead either. The flexibility of that system might be a drawback, but I doubt I'm going to be pushing the limitations on whatever camera I choose anyway.

Lots of thinking to do...

Pete4130 - Possibly a bit late but I might be interested in your mate's Bronica at that price too. PM sent.


B.

magicbastarder

regarding the use of an SLR to meter from; pain in the ass. i was given a polaris lightmeter for my birthday, and it made life sooo much easier.

ThOnda

TLR is not very good for close objects, however you can get used to that.
The sharpness and plasticity of image looking down into TLR is just magical experience. It is different.

And as a PENTAX user, don't forget their MF SLRs, like this bundle :-)

I like Pentaxes, so what???

EDIT: PENTAX MF cameras are in two product lines: Pentax 645 and Pentax 67. Just for information. They cannot be imported to EU because they are not RoHS Compliant - they contain led and cadmium.

jbt2012

HI, are you still looking for a Bronica Medium format?
I have a bronica with 2 lenses - have a look here:

http://www.adverts.ie/film-cameras/bronica-etrs-medium-format-camera-with-extra-lenses-flight-case/2546522

melekalikimaka

Effects

jbt2012 wrote: »

HI, are you still looking for a Bronica Medium format?
I have a bronica with 2 lenses - have a look here:

http://www.adverts.ie/film-cameras/bronica-etrs-medium-format-camera-with-extra-lenses-flight-case/2546522

I might be in the market for one in the future. Can you drop me a pm in about five years time and remind me.

Benster

jbt2012 wrote: »

HI, are you still looking for a Bronica Medium format?
I have a bronica with 2 lenses - have a look here:

http://www.adverts.ie/film-cameras/bronica-etrs-medium-format-camera-with-extra-lenses-flight-case/2546522

Er, no. I saved a couple of quid a week since then and just bought a D800 (I knew it was coming out :cool:). But thanks anyway.