cheap TLR to jump into MF

poutnik · Nov 27, 2006

So, in the end, my brother-in-law bought a Rolleiflex with 75mm/3.5 Tessar lens from around the year 1956 (I'm not sure of the exact type though). Everything works smoothly and well and the camera is a real pleasure to use. We spent almost all of sunday in the field shooting and then another wonderful hours in the darkroom developing the negatives and exposing some prints. It was a day of photographic pleasures...

Anyway, thank you all a lot for your recommendations, he took them seriously (the mamyia C330/C220 are almost unobtainable used in our part of the Europe, otherwise he might consider them too)

Jiri

David H. Bebbington · Nov 27, 2006

poutnik said:
So, in the end, my brother-in-law bought a Rolleiflex with 75mm/3.5 Tessar lens from around the year 1956 (I'm not sure of the exact type though). Everything works smoothly and well and the camera is a real pleasure to use. We spent almost all of sunday in the field shooting and then another wonderful hours in the darkroom developing the negatives and exposing some prints. It was a day of photographic pleasures...

Anyway, thank you all a lot for your recommendations, he took them seriously (the mamyia C330/C220 are almost unobtainable used in our part of the Europe, otherwise he mind consider them too)

Jiri

Good choice - as you say, a real pleasure to use if everything is in good order. If you like, post the serial number and I will look it up for you and identify the model.

Regards,

David

poutnik · Nov 27, 2006

David H. Bebbington said:
Good choice - as you say, a real pleasure to use if everything is in good order. If you like, post the serial number and I will look it up for you and identify the model.

Regards,

David

Thanks for the offer David, the camera's SN is 1276338.

Jiri

David H. Bebbington · Nov 27, 2006

poutnik said:
Thanks for the offer David, the camera's SN is 1276338.

Jiri

This makes the camera a Rolleiflex MX (Type 2), made between June 1951 and March 1954 (serial number range 1267000 to 1427999). Apparently this model was fitted with a Zeiss-Opton Tessar until the end of 1953 and then a Carl Zeiss Tessar in 1954.

Regards,

David

poutnik · Nov 28, 2006

Thanks a lot David, I'll pass that info to my brother-in-law...

Jiri

Jeffrey A. Steinberg · Nov 28, 2006

One Camera---Mamiya C330F. Heavy (slows you down in composing), interchangable lenses and a manual camera that can be cleaned, fixed and CLA'ed long past my lifetime (in my opinion).

poutnik · Nov 28, 2006

Just to finish the story that started with my first question of suitable TLR:

My brother-in-law has only tasted the beauties of 6x6 MF for a few days (on friday he acquired a Rolleiflex as noted above, on sunday we printed some shots from his first film), and he was so taken that on monday he bought an enlarger with the whole darkroom stuff needed.

Today he even forced me to use my account on the auction site to buy a Fuji GSW690II for him... (he doesn't have his own account, but surely, that is only a matter of time )

So everyone toying with the idea of looking at MF should be aware that the infection is extremely contagious.... (and I'm enjoying the idea I can work on him to move even larger )

Jiri

DougGrosjean · Nov 28, 2006

Thanks for the "rest of the story" on your brother-in-law.

Good luck with him, and to him..!

I came into MF the same way - a 6x6 TLR, then a 6x9 Kodak Medalist (much older and much cheaper than your BIL's Fuji - but still very good).

I figure if Rolleiflexes and Kodak Medalists were good enough for people like Diane Arbus (Rollei) and Ansel Adams (sometimes a Medalist user), then it's certainly not the cameras' fault if I don't produce good work.

I suspect many here have taken the same steps into MF.

It's an excellent adventure, isn't it?

cheap TLR to jump into MF

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