6x6 SLR

Claudia Moroni · Jul 30, 2014

I'd say Bronica.

TLRs are lovely, but most of them don't have interchangeable lenses (the only ones that allow you to use portrait lenses are the Mamiya series C) and they are a bit of pain to use for close up portraits because of the parallax error.

I have used a Mamiya C3 for years before growing frustrated with said parallax error and I switched to a Bronica Sq-Ai.

Don't take me wrong, I loved the Mamiya and I took tons of portraits with it (including close ups), but life has become much easier since I got the Bronica.

Here are some shots taken with the Mamiya and the standard 80mm lens

Here are some shots taken with the Bronica and the 80mm lens on his own (first ones) and with a x2 teleconverter and close up filters

MattKing · Jul 30, 2014

Head and shoulders portraits with the 135mm lens on a Mamiya C330 work very well. The longer focal length permits a more comfortable working distance, which also reduces any problems with parallax.

I usually use the waist level finder with a very short neck strap - the finder becomes more of a chest level finder.

Or I put the prism finder on - it mkes the camera a bit heavier and larger, but it handles well.

I used to shoot weddings with the prism finder on my C330.

Newt_on_Swings · Jul 30, 2014

Claudia Moroni said:
View attachment 92011

Lovely photos, I see this guy around all the time in the city! Always at the parades and such too, but he's always around chatting with someone and Ive never had to chance to meet him. I think I saw him in the exact same spot in front of B&H a week or two ago.

Oh yea back on topic, I havent had any experience with a 6x6 SLR, but Ive shot portraits on TLRs and a folding range finder, they work well for that function and are not a deep hit in the bank to play with. There is actually a old tripod tool just to correct for close up parallax error on tlrs, where the camera and therefore taking lens, is raised slightly after you compose your shot through the viewing lens. Maybe a cheaper yashica and spend the rest on beer? haha

I also setup my TLRs with a shorter neck cord like Matt, and have it as a chest finder, you can get it up and focusing faster, and you can pull down a little on it to steady shots.

Sirius Glass · Jul 30, 2014

I had a C330 and I found that it was too fiddly. For example the 65mm and 80mm lens were cocked by advancing the film while the 250mm had to be hand cocked. Also to change the exposure settings one has to set one side of the lens and flip the camera to the other side to set make the other setting.

I found not such fiddling is needed with the Hasselblad or Rolleis.

time4d · Jul 31, 2014

I am the OP and maybe I should give a little background since not everyone may have read my previous thread...

I used to use a Mamiya C220 for landscapes and portraits. I made stunning 12x12 landscape prints and sharp close-up portraits with the regular 80mm lens. However, I knew that the glass wasn't exactly the best out there, so I sold it.

Now, I'm on the verge of selling my RZ67 for three reasons:

1. Someone is willing to pay a good price for my kit
2. The best camera is the camera you have with you. A smaller camera really helps.
3. There are lots of good things about the RZ67 which I am aware of but in my case I can't justify the huge size and weight of it. Most critically, I am not going to make fashion magazine prints out of every single frame, so the 6x7 neg doesn't give me a huge benefit over a 6x6 or even 645.

ps. The Bronica SQ-A series seems unwanted, at least in this part of the world. I don't think I'll ever be able to sell it next time if I get one.

piu58 · Jul 31, 2014

My Rolleiflex 3,5F is my most loved and most used camera. I have filters (yellow, green, orange, IR), close-up lenses and both mutars for it.

msbarnes · Jul 31, 2014

time4d said:
ps. The Bronica SQ-A series seems unwanted, at least in this part of the world. I don't think I'll ever be able to sell it next time if I get one.

If you are going for wanted and resellable, then get a Rolleiflex (with a Zeiss lens) or a Hasselblad.

Dr Croubie · Jul 31, 2014

I wouldn't think too much about resale value, there's only so far that the price of gear can drop. And there's always fleabay and even KEH for unloading stuff on the international markets.
If you spend $300 on a body with a lens or two, put 30 rolls of colour through it, then drop it in a lake, you've spent more on film than you have on the camera.
Even if you sell it for only half of what you paid in 3 years' time, it's only cost you $1 a week as a 'rental' charge.

If you want to make money on it, then Rollei and Hassy and Leica is the way, but then you have to keep them in pristine condition and CLA them and not drop them or let them get stolen. If you want to use something and can spare a few cents a week, get anything...

Slixtiesix · Jul 31, 2014

My recommendation: motorized Hasselblad with a 150mm lens. They are not that expensive anymore. I find them very useful for portrait work. With a manual camera, it often occurs that there is just the right moment but the camera is not ready and you will miss the shot. Not so with one of these. However, they are quite loud and some people might find them intimidating. In this regard, a TLR is much better, quiet and gentle. TLRs mostly have 80mm lenses, which is too short for close portraits. For environmental portraits they are perfect. I would make the choice based on the lens. I you prefer the wider look of the 80mm, get a TLR, if close views are your intention, better opt for an SLR with longer lens.

DanielStone · Jul 31, 2014

Rolleiflex SL66 gets my vote, with a Hasselblad as a 2nd, if you're after a 6x6 camera

I just named my SL66 after it's initials: "Sexi Lexi"

-Dan

mweintraub · Jul 31, 2014

DanielStone said:
I just named my SL66 after it's initials: "Sexi Lexi"

-Dan

My cousin named my Bronica SQ-A the Bronica-saurus.

TheFlyingCamera · Jul 31, 2014

A friend of mine used to call my old Hasselblad, "Algernon". But he's a bit of an odd fish with an Anglophile obsession.

mweintraub · Jul 31, 2014

TheFlyingCamera said:
A friend of mine used to call my old Hasselblad, "Algernon". But he's a bit of an odd fish with an Anglophile obsession.

I had to research on Anglophile (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglophile)

So, Is someone with a Anglogphile obsession someone who obsesses about those people admire England?

TheFlyingCamera · Jul 31, 2014

Ok- semantics police, I should have phrased it "obsessive Anglophilia"

fotch · Jul 31, 2014

Rolleiflex unless you do portraits, then C330.

TheFlyingCamera · Jul 31, 2014

You can very well do portraits with a stock Rolleiflex with the 80mm lens. If you HAVE to get closer, there's Rolleinar close-up sets which work wonderfully.

baachitraka · Jul 31, 2014

Rolleinar I and II will get you close and closer. I just move back and forth and fire the shutter when with Rolleinars and it is so beautiful to look the closeup on ground glass.

fotch · Jul 31, 2014

TheFlyingCamera said:
You can very well do portraits with a stock Rolleiflex with the 80mm lens. If you HAVE to get closer, there's Rolleinar close-up sets which work wonderfully.

Everyone has preference on this, I prefer a longer lens for portraits. The 75 or 80mm found on TLR's is a good all around lens.

TheFlyingCamera · Jul 31, 2014

fotch said:
Everyone has preference on this, I prefer a longer lens for portraits. The 75 or 80mm found on TLR's is a good all around lens.

Longer lenses are certainly nice, as they do allow backing off a bit from the subject (doing a head-and-shoulders portrait with a standard Rollei is a rather intimate experience). My point was though that the Rollei is not a BAD portrait camera, and can and has been used quite successfully by a goodly number of photographers far better than either of us for doing portraits. That said, I do drool after a Tele Rollei, and a RolleiWide for the other extreme.

Johnkpap · Aug 2, 2014

Hi

The best bang for $ MF camera is the Bronica ETRS/ETRSi with a metered Prism and a 150mm PE lens, to do tight Head and shoulders get a 250mm and a spacer.

The other bronicas the SQ and the GS-1 are also great choices with the GS-1 the first thing you need to buy is a spacer but the cool thing is this camera has 6x6 and 6x4.5 backs as well as 6x7. The SQ is a great choice, the lenses and accessories are easy to get. Just stay away from the cut down SQ -B body and the SQ-AM (motor body)

A Rollei SL 66 is a nice camera the lenses are pin sharp, and everything is nicely made with a "Quality" feel about it. The only drawback other than its $$$$ is that it is a fully manual and you can not just use "auto"when shooting out doors portraits, you also need to have the rare and $$$ 150mm shuttered lens to do fill flash as the back shutter sinc is 1/30

I am not a big fan of Twin Lens cameras, and the price of everything Hasselblad has alway kept me away

Every brand and model of MF camera has its good and bad points, just stay away from any camera that has had a hard life.

Johnkpap

Texsport · Aug 3, 2014

If you want the best 6X6 portrait camera/lens combination, it's the Norita 6X6 with Noritar 80/2 lens.

Reasonably easy to secure on EBAY.

The same lens fits all the variations of the camera which exist - Rittreck, Norita, Graflex Norita, and Warner.

Rarest item would be an almost unknown MultiCoated 80/2, produced near the end of the camera's production.

Texsport

Gunfleet · Aug 3, 2014

The best thing about the Rolleiflex is no one sees you lining a picture up and no one can hear you take it. That's quite an advantage.

Texsport · Aug 3, 2014

Another excellent 6X6 portrait combination is the Pentacon Six + Zeiss 180/2.8 lens.

Generally no mirror lock up on Pentacon, however, and the working distance from the subject is larger and a little less convenient.

Texsport

Slixtiesix · Aug 4, 2014

Another excellent 6X6 portrait combination is the Pentacon Six + Zeiss 180/2.8 lens.

I second that! This is one of the best lenses you can get for MF portraiture, and it is not even expensive.

baachitraka · Aug 4, 2014

Were some of P6 suffering from improper frame spacing...?

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