6x6 Camera Somewhere Between a Holga and a Hasselblad??

[mtbbrian]

I have been using a Holga for several years now and LOVE the square format.
I love it so much that I am thinking about moving to a "real camera", as it were, in this format.
Trouble is I don't what's out there that is priced somewhere inbetween the two.
My only requirement would be TTL mettering.
Is there an reasonably 6x6 camera out there?
Thanks!!
Brian

 

[Dave Parker]

Many of the Bronica models are great performing cameras with good optics and TTL available for some you can steal them prices right now

R.

 

[John Simmons]

A Mamiya 6 Rangefinder Camera would fit the bill. Super camera...super cheap. Check out www.keh.com for a selection.

 

[removed account4]

i have a olde mamiya 6 (iv) i love it.
worth every penny i paid for it!

good luck!
john

 

[Joseph Allen]

Look into a Bronica SQ-A with a metering prism -- there are waist level finders or non-metering prisms too if you want something a little cheaper. Very affordable -- $300-350 should get you started w/ a basic kit. Check out KEH for excellent prices. Don't be afraid to buy their "bargain" level equipment.

 

[Jim Chinn]

I agree that Bronica SQ-A is a great way to go.

 

[herb]

6x6 Camera

I have the tuned up supercharged version of Kiev, aka Hartblei, which has many features of Hasselblad, and some really good lenses.

 

[mark]

I use a Hartblei as well. Five years now and no problems. There are good lenses and their are bad lenses. Problem is there is no way to tell which are good and which are bad until you actually use them. Could be a hassel for some. I got lucky and all of my lenses are very, very good performers.

 

[battra92]

I was going to reccomend a folder like an Isolette or a Rolleiflex but you want TTL metering. You could do your TTL metering with a 35mm SLR and just transfer those settings to the folder.

 

[david b]

TTL is a deal killer for 6x6.

But in case you can get over that, take a look at some old agfa and zeiss folders.

 

[haris]

See if you would like: www.pentaconsix.com

 

[Paul Howell]

My vote is for fixed lens Yashica 124 or if you want interchangabel lens a Mamyia C220 or even C33.

 

[Tom Hoskinson]

TTL is a deal killer for 6x6.

But in case you can get over that, take a look at some old agfa and zeiss folders.

For 6x6 TTL there are the Kiev/Arax/Hartblei cameras and the Pentacon 6TL, etc.

And if you want the Holga effect, you can use an extension tube and mount a piece of plastic for a lens.

 

[mtbbrian]

TTL is a deal killer for 6x6.

But in case you can get over that, take a look at some old agfa and zeiss folders.

When you say "folder" you mean one where the lens folds into the body?
Like the Mamyia 6?
Those have interchangeable lenes right?
Brian

 

[Tom Hoskinson]

When you say "folder" you mean one where the lens folds into the body?
Like the Mamyia 6?
Those have interchangeable lenes right?
Brian

The old (1950s) Mamiya 6 folding cameras didn't have interchangeable lenses - the newer Mamiya 6 folding cameras do.

 

[eubielicious]

I have been using a Holga for several years now and LOVE the square format.
I love it so much that I am thinking about moving to a "real camera", as it were, in this format.
Trouble is I don't what's out there that is priced somewhere inbetween the two.
My only requirement would be TTL mettering.
Is there an reasonably 6x6 camera out there?
Thanks!!
Brian

I'm going in the market for a Bronica medium format SLR when funds permit (probably after we move to Scotland), but at the moment, I'm getting a Zeiss Ikon folder to keep me going on the MF front...

I know that you're probably after something more sophisticated, but it's worth looking at a late model Rolleicord. The quality of the optics is well worth considering, before I sold most of my equipment before moving house, I had an earlier model (with the Triotar lens) and got some good use out of it.

Euan

 

[digiconvert]

I know you say you are after TTL metering but it really is no big deal if you don't have it. It does slow you down and make you think about things and an old selenium meter can be had for pennies.
Look on e-bay or a dealer for cheap tlrs, they are at a price that if you don't like them you can re sell at negligible loss and try something else.

Just my two pennorth.

CJB

 

[Phillip P. Dimor]

I've a Hasselblad 503cx with ttl. After buying the 503cx with back, waistlevel and 80mm planar (all used, bargain from keh) I have no money left over for a flash.
Sigh. Well, it's not that bad. I survive just fine with a plain old flash and my flash meter. Actually, I prefer it as I can kind of do the 'flash math' in my head.
Plus it slows me down, which can be good for particular subjects.

I had a plain old Tower reflex, 6x6. Took beautiful images when the lens was stopped down to f8. I mean, sharp as a tack. The finder wasn't the brightest as it was a plain ground glass. I took that camera with me everywhere. Dropped it in the snow. It's a fine camera. It does have a red window film advance. I don't mind that.

I also had a Ricoh Auto 225 with a beautiful fresnel screen, rollei-like advance (that was broken internally) sharp lens, etc. That would have made a great camera.. Plus a built in selenium meter too.

If you don't mind 6x7 and a rangefinder, a Koni Omega might be a good option to consider.

 

[DBP]

If you are moving up from a Holga almost anything will blow your socks off optically. If you are insistent about the TTL, then I would go with the Bronicas or a souped up Kiev, though you need to recognize that the meters on the latter are not coupled to the shutters, so using the meter doesn't speed work much, if at all. Someone else can tell you whether this is an issue for the Bronicas. I never used the meter on my Kiev 60, and didn't even bother to get one on my Arax.

Before makig that kind of investment, I would suggest trying an older folder and an old TLR to see which method of composition you prefer. Then move on to a rangefinder, better TLR, or SLR as suits you. There is more advice than you can digest on Robert Monaghan's web site Dead Link Removed. For TLRs, it is hard to go wrong with the Ciroflexes, Yashicas, Flexarets, 'cords, and many others in the under $100 range. Seems everyone but Nikon and Canon made a TLR in the 50s - Monaghan shows a list from Modern Photography in 1956 of 32 models from 5 countris . The choices in folders are almost endless, but the two Russian Zeiss copies, the Moskva and the Iskra, offer good value for the price, with good optics and couple rangefinders, though somewhat shoddy cosmetics. Note: the Moskva is left handed, so that may be an issue.

Be forewarned, the old folders can be seductive. They look beautiful and people will walk up to you on the street and ask about them (to a lesser degree this is true of TLRs as well - and old press and field cameras will actually attract groups). You may develop a lust for the old folders and their soft leather and bright chrome - but I digress.

 

[DBP]

Come to think of it, what medium format cameras are not between a Holga and a Hasselblad. I guess on the low end we could list things like the cheaper plastic Brownies and their competitors, though many of those have flash synch and no leaks. On the other end? Maybe something like the RZ67? Or the Horseman VH-R and its ancestors (you don't want to know what I paid for my 980 kit)? A medium format Linhoff? Thoughts anyone?

 

[battra92]

Be forewarned, the old folders can be seductive. They look beautiful and people will walk up to you on the street and ask about them (to a lesser degree this is true of TLRs as well - and old press and field cameras will actually attract groups). You may develop a lust for the old folders and their soft leather and bright chrome - but I digress.

Definately. I started out with a Kodak folder just for kicks but once I got my first quality folder, a 1937 model Zeiss Ikon Nettar 515/16, that takes drop dead GORGEOUS 645 negatives with a little help from me. The Anastigmat lens is pretty darn sharp and I put the 80mm lens on the enlarger and pulled the thing all the way up to the largest setting and focused it. I could make poster sized images that were sharp as a tack from this old classic.

Now I just need to see if I want to fix that Ansco Speedex or not.

 

[raucousimages]

Mamiya C330 and a hand meter.

 

[mtbbrian]

Thanks everyone for your informative responses!
I have learned a lot!
Brian

 

[ineffablething]

Norita 66.

 

[Greg_E]

For TLRs, it is hard to go wrong with the Ciroflexes, Yashicas, Flexarets, 'cords, and many others in the under $100 range.

Rollei anything for under $100 used? Not if you want it to work (or I'm looking in the wrong places). The Flexarets look interesting and I may have to pick one up at some time, but that's after the current projects are finished. One of those is a very early Rolleiflex from somewhere around 1929 (I think), hopefully the optics aren't as trashed as the leather.