6x6 collapsable camera

M Carter said:

I too want a 6x6 folder… I think (besides good glass and a functional camera) that a coupled rangefinder seems like a must. Guess I'm not into focus guessing!

So hat's off to XYA for his chart, very handy reference.

Click to expand...

What I did was to estimate the range and use the depth of field to make sure that I got the range of what I wanted in focus. It was always close enough.

The Agfa Isola is a tube camera, so there's no need to ck the focus. In fact, I have never had to ck focus on any folder I've owned in 30 years. They are no more prone to misfocus than any other type of camera, unless something got bent on the front struts, in which case you'll see it just by looking at the lens alignment. The only reason you might want to do that is if you suspect someone had the lens/shutter off, or even swapped the lens elements.

There are so many really good folders out there. The Isolette and Speedex cameras are really, really prone to bellows leaks and frozen lens focus. The Ikontas, as mentioned, are usually fine in that respect, and the Nettars make fine pics for little money, but you have to deal w/ a slow lens and a limited shutter speed. Cameras like the Welta, Super Ikonta, Balda, Certo 6 and Ensign are usually at the top of the food chain, often featuring high quality lenses w/ the best shutters, and sometimes have coupled rangefinders. For image quality, one of the best low cost mf cameras I ever owned was a Isola II tube camera w/ a wonderfully sharp 3 element lens. Unfortunately, the top shutter speed of only 1/100 made it difficult to shoot w/ a lot of films.

Scale focus cameras w/o rangefinders work beautifully. Just carry a pocket rangefinder, or practice w/ one to get a good feel for distances. At f11, which is a good place to be w/ a triplet, being a little off on the focus isn't going to matter anyway. But if you really want one w/ a coupled RF M.C., the Super Ikontas are really nice. Expect to pay $250 to $500 though. A Tessar lens on one goes for more money, and they're real sharp, but I prefer the Novars, and you can save quite a bit of money by avoiding the Tessar lens cameras. Here's a nice one below. You have 3 1/2 hours to get in on it

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Zeiss-Ikon-...919?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item33a558c35f

You need to check focus alignment if you need to dissasemble the lens for cleaning, which is something that is usually required with those machines (at least in my city).

Edit: I'm going to start a thread on this.

I recently picked up a Zeiss Nettar, and just finished the first roll through it.The results, it's a keeper. I used to think my Mamiya 6 (early post WWII model) was the hot ticket but the Zeiss just blew it away. The Mamiya had a coupled focus/RF but I'm used to zone focus as well using hyperfocal distance. The fact that I can fold it and stuff it in my pocket endears me to it all the more. I've owned many folders over the years, 6x9's and 6x6, it doesn't matter I love them all.

Add my comment to the Nettar pile. I have three, all 4.5 Novar triplets. The images I've seen from the f6.3 versions were not as good, but that could be sample variation. ZI made very solid, nicely machined bodies and I'm told the bellows hold up much better than the competition. None of the ones I own have bellows perforations, and one of them is fairly beat up. The shutter speeds also operate correctly on each. They were very much a "middle class" camera aimed at longevity, and pricey in their day.

Most of the ones you're likely to come across have a double exposure prevention feature, which consists of a red half-blind that disappears from the viewfinder when the next frame is wound on. A side effect of this is if you half press the shutter - which has become almost instinctive with modern cameras to turn on metering and AF - you'll probably set the DE lock. I thought this was a fault on my first Nettar but discovered they all do this! The good news is you can still fire the shutter by pressing the bar next to the open bellows that activates the shutter. If you press the shutter in a single smooth movement you won't have a problem.

The triplet lens is a delight. Wide open it gives a dreamy swirly bokeh that is surprisingly sharp in the centre (perfect for portraits), quickly sharpening up as you stop down and giving more modern medium format cameras a run in the sharpness stakes, without ever reaching Hassleblad status. Shots have bags of character. My Nettars cost between £12 and £25.