Cheap medium-format cameras

Ian Grant · Mar 3, 2015

I don't think a Yashica A is the best option, I paid £50 for quite a nice Rolleiflex Automat about a year ago.

The Yashica A doesn't have lever wind and has a Yashimar lens which is a triplet, you'd be better spending a little more on a Yashicamat 124 or 124G. You can get a good one for £80-£120. If you want a faster lens then look for a Rolleiflex with a an f2.8 Planar or Xenotar.

Ian

baachitraka · Mar 3, 2015

Go for Rolleicords and they may come cheap if you wait and hunt. I paid Euro 85 for Rolleicord Va but then I CLA'd it for 3x the paid price.

Ian Grant · Mar 3, 2015

In the UK another alternative is the Microcord, essentially a British made Rolleicord IV with an Excellent Ross Xpress lens, preferably look for one witha Prontor shutter.

Ian

Kokoro · Mar 3, 2015

ambaker said:
I am not familiar with pricing in the UK, but the Yashica A is a early model. I have one, but I paid much less than £80, and I like the Yashica Mats better. The last one they made was the 124G.

The 124G runs a little more than your £80 quote but other can be had in very fine shape at that price point, here in the U.S.

Thanks for replying.

So Yashica A's can be had in good condition for less than £80 but yashica mat's are worth more?

Meyer Trioplan · Mar 3, 2015

It might not hurt to look at the entire Yashica line if you want an affordable TLR. I picked up a very capable Yashica 12 (the precursor of the 124) for about 100USD/60 Pounds within the past 6 months. The 635 and the breadth of the MAT line are also some great options.

Paul Howell · Mar 3, 2015

Kokoro said:
its 2.15 am so i probably cant put a coherant sentence together.
I came to this thread because I have been thinking about 120 cameras lately. The problem I have is judging what is good value for money. Would a refurbished Yashica-A for £80 be good value or would I be likely to find something better (preferably faster or wider lens) for the same price elsewhere?

Yashica made TLR with both 3 and 4 element lens. All of the Yashica Mats have the 4 element Tessor type lens, I think the A and C most D were 3 elements, some D's did have the element lens. I have both a 124 Mat and 4 element D which stopped down to F 8 are very good. Minoltacords were all 4 element lens as well.

Ian Grant · Mar 3, 2015

Don't get a Yashica 24, they are for 220 film only, the 12 was for 120, the 124/124G can use both..

I have a few TLRs and would rate the lenses in the following order Triotar (Rolleicord) - interesting wide open, I shot some portarits with one many years ago, The Triplets on early Yashica TLR's may be a touch better, the Yashinons on late TLRs are the best of Yashicas TLR lenses not quite as good as the Tessars & Xenars on Rolleiflex & Rolleicord cameras. The Opton Tessar on my Automat is very sharp stopped down but overall the Ross Xpres on my Microcord is slightly better. The f3.5 Xenotar on my Rolleiflex E3 is the best of them all.

Ian

Ian Grant · Mar 3, 2015

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Ian

Axle · Mar 3, 2015

If you give a listen to Episode 120 of the FPP you'll find a good list of cheap MF cameras out there these days from Mat who works for Midwest Photo Exchange in Columbus, OH. (A great store btw)

http://filmphotographyproject.com/podcast/2015/02/film-photography-podcast-120-–-march-1-2015

Hatchetman · Mar 3, 2015

I paid about $300 for a Rolleicord Va from KEH. but it really needs a CLA. the speeds are slow. So that would be another $150 I'm sure. I'm going to go broke by eventually getting all my cameras CLA'd. Whenever I get a "new" old camera, I think OH IT WORKS, SPEEDS SEEM OK TOO. But then I put a roll of slide film through it or I'm out in the cold and everthing is overexposed or shutter capping or mirror sticks. EVERY TIME there is eventually a problem.

Meyer Trioplan · Mar 3, 2015

I have found that the more full featured a used camera is, seemingly the more TLC (or CLA) it is likely to require. I got very lucky with my 1960's TLR, but when it comes to folders, the simple ones like the Agfa Billy with the Vario shutter work fine at what their limited feature set is, but the more shutter speeds are offered, the more likely they are to cause issues. Compurs with the 250 top speed have been fine with some hang at low speeds, but all 4 folders I have gotten with the Compur Rapid shutter have been pains - one doesn't spring locked on its own when cocking and requires resistance or else the leaves flip open and expose the frame, one ran slow across the entire range to the point where I have to "double rate" the ISO of the film to compensate. One worked only at 500 before I sent it off for CLA, and the most recent is just downright busted with loose shutter leaves. That will be a weekend project for another time.

GRHazelton · Mar 3, 2015

Others may have already said this, but check into TLRs. Yashicamats are good choices, the Yashinon lens is a Tessar formula, as opposed to the Yashikor which is three element. That said, stopping down a three element to 5.6 or 8 gives excellent results.

6 x 6 or 6 x 7 folders might be another excellent path to medium format. Note that many are scale focusing, range finder folders seem rather uncommon.

If your budget will allow, the Pentax 645 and 645n (I have the 645n) are excellent. Sadly the lenses have appreciated with the release of the digital 645s.

Bronicas can be had inexpensively; I don't know much about them. There are Russian "Hasselbladkniks;" apparently quality control is spotty, to put it kindly.

And budget permitting the Mamiya RB 67 and its variants are wonderful studio cameras, from what I gather. Or the Pentax 67 is a mighty beast and in the scheme of medium format not too expensive. It has a full range of lenses available, from fish eye to monster telephotos.

You'll want to get a good tripod to utilize fully the MF for landscapes, etc. Here as with the cameras, used dealers are your friend.

kurttavares · Mar 4, 2015

I think that the Mamiya RB67 is a great medium format camera to start off with. They're not expensive and have a variety of different lenses and accessories you can interchange. RB67 is an absolute tank and very heavy. Some people say its only for the studio, but I think (if you don't mind the weight) they make great cameras for many different shoots. I used to shoot with the RB67 but now shoot with an RZ67. I have used both cameras in the studio, for nature photography, and even for abandoned interior architecture.

The RB67 is fully mechanical which can be nice, especially to learn on if you aren't familiar because it forces you to actually learn everything as opposed to one with some automatic or electronic settings. I think the revolving back (hence RB) is a splendid feature when you want to shoot both orientations with the same roll and same back. I also like the 6x7 format significantly more than the 6x6 ratio that Hasselblad uses, but thats all with personal tastes as both Mamiya and Hasselblad make beautiful MF cameras.

\\edit// ~ You can pick up a good complete Mamiya RB67 on the worldwideweb for anywhere between $150 and $500+ depending on condition and what you want, as well as the sellers knowledge. The RB67 are mighty trendy lately, at least in the "urban exploration" community I have seen 15 people who have never shot film before buy an RB in the last couple months.

one90guy · Mar 4, 2015

Shmoo said:
I agree with Anscojohn and Rolleiflexible...a Rolleicord is a terrific and relatively inexpensive MF TLR. I have the Rolleicord IV and it has incredible glass. It gets more use than my Mamiya 645!

I have a Rolleicord III That I am most pleased with and a Yashica A that gives good results. Your budget is going to make it tough, but as others have said great deals do go along. Both the cameras were given to me by a stranger at a gun shop, he heard me talking about cameras and the need for a smaller framed pistol.

elekm · Mar 4, 2015

Your budget is $15?

Maybe you'll get lucky and find something. Or maybe a friend will hand you a good camera.

Otherwise, you get what you pay for, and $15 isn't going to pay for much.

Without sounding really mean, I think you need to be realistic and up your budget to $50.

elekm · Mar 4, 2015

Meyer Trioplan said:
I have found that the more full featured a used camera is, seemingly the more TLC (or CLA) it is likely to require. I got very lucky with my 1960's TLR, but when it comes to folders, the simple ones like the Agfa Billy with the Vario shutter work fine at what their limited feature set is, but the more shutter speeds are offered, the more likely they are to cause issues. Compurs with the 250 top speed have been fine with some hang at low speeds, but all 4 folders I have gotten with the Compur Rapid shutter have been pains - one doesn't spring locked on its own when cocking and requires resistance or else the leaves flip open and expose the frame, one ran slow across the entire range to the point where I have to "double rate" the ISO of the film to compensate. One worked only at 500 before I sent it off for CLA, and the most recent is just downright busted with loose shutter leaves. That will be a weekend project for another time.

I agree. Almost any older camera is going to require service. It's a mechanical device, and you can't expect a complex mechanism such as a shutter to never need to be serviced.

Sirius Glass · Mar 4, 2015

I had a circa 1935 Certo SuperSport 120 folding camera with a Zeiss lens that took beautiful photographs.

michr · Mar 6, 2015

I haven't read through all the comments, but in case it hasn't mentioned yet, a Ciro-Flex or Graphlex TLR is very inexpensive, made of metal, glass lens, etc, and still cheaper than a Holga. I'm fairly certain the lenses are better than what you'd find on a Seagull or a Lubitel, but since nobody is seeking these cameras out, you can get them for peanuts.

Sewin · Mar 8, 2015

michr said:
I haven't read through all the comments, but in case it hasn't mentioned yet, a Ciro-Flex or Graphlex TLR is very inexpensive, made of metal, glass lens, etc, and still cheaper than a Holga. I'm fairly certain the lenses are better than what you'd find on a Seagull or a Lubitel, but since nobody is seeking these cameras out, you can get them for peanuts.

Also look out for a German made Photina Reflex (Sears Tower)I picked one up on ebay for £7. As michr says there are others out there if you do some research and I rate the Photina lens and shutter much better than a Lubitel or Seagull.

Going slightly more upmarket I really like my Yashica D, which can be found in excellent condition for less than £80 and no meters to worry about.

Also consider a folder as suggested above, a Zeiss Ikon Nettar maybe.

Kokoro · Mar 9, 2015

Last week I was in an antiques centre and asked about older cameras. This one stals owner then brought out a Agfa Billy Compur for £65. The tag said 1956 but according to one wiki page it is made in 1949. It looked in good condition as far as I could tell. It took me a few minutes to work out where the controls all were. After some discussion he let it go for £44. I dont know if anyone thinks that is good value or not but I like the camera and have enjoyed using it.

edit:
Celtic Cameras in Cardiff has a few Mamiya RB67's going for £399, mamiya C33 for £249, Bronica SQ-Am for £399.

Meyer Trioplan · Mar 9, 2015

Kokoro said:
I dont know if anyone thinks that is good value or not but I like the camera and have enjoyed using it.
.

And that last part is what matters most to me.

I find that camera values are subjective like that. I have a Tessar-equipped Zeiss Super Ikonta that is cantankerous as can be to use and thus I've only used it twice, as its quirks leave me wide open to wasting film. Meanwhile, other far less capable folding cameras of mine with base level "triplet" lenses are easy-peezy to use and give some great results, and I've gotten much more out of their use.

Agfa folding MF cameras in particular can be a really good value, and the Compur Billy is a really nice one. I have one and after a bad first roll, have gotten some good results from it. If yours has the Solinar 4-element lens, it was priced about right, but even with a triplet, if you enjoy using it and get the images you want from it, that speaks volumes.

Cheap medium-format cameras

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