Choosing a 6x6 system for renewed film shooting... opinions wanted.

Donald Qualls · Mar 4, 2022

I didn't say the Medalist was a bad or undesirable camera -- just that there are no lens options other than the one that comes on it. I can't afford one, and I'd hate to have to respool every single roll I ever shoot (because I understand they're too tight to accept even trimmed 120, unless professionally modified) -- but if you want the equivalent of a Signet 35 or Canonet but on 6x9, Medalist is a fine camera.

BrianShaw · Mar 4, 2022

John Wiegerink said:
Mr. Glass,
My comments about using your feet to zoom in or out was mainly tongue in cheek, so to speak. If you have a camera you like that has a fixed lens don't stop using it just because you can put a tele or wide angle on it. If I want an interchangeable lens option, I'll use my overrated Hasselblad camera. Ha-ha! JohnW

There is a lot of truth in jest!

Sirius Glass · Mar 4, 2022

John Wiegerink said:
Mr. Glass,
My comments about using your feet to zoom in or out was mainly tongue in cheek, so to speak. If you have a camera you like that has a fixed lens don't stop using it just because you can put a tele or wide angle on it. If I want an interchangeable lens option, I'll use my overrated Hasselblad camera. Ha-ha! JohnW

BrianShaw said:
There is a lot of truth in jest!

Surely you jest. [Both of you]

grat · Mar 4, 2022

Sirius Glass said:
Surely you jest. [Both of you]

Don't call me shirley.

Sirius Glass · Mar 4, 2022

grat said:
Don't call me shirley.

Shirley U. Jest?

mshchem · Mar 4, 2022

I had the fancy later (not the very last) Hasselblad 40mm Zeiss lens, it's an amazing lens. I think the lens by itself weighs more than a Rollei TLR. I had 4 Bronica SQAi bodies acquired during the bottom of the market, I sold them all for my Hasselblads. The Acute Matte screens that Minolta made for Hasselblad are the brightest best focusing screens I've ever seen. These screens sell for 400 bucks or more.
I would heartily endorse a Bronica in excellent condition, but they should be a lot cheaper than a Hasselblad, no more parts or repair people for Bronicas.

Michael Mutmansky · Mar 21, 2022

I probably sould have ignored all this Hasselblad talk and purchased a Mamiya 6 system... hahahaha.

I'm now knees deep into Hasselblad and there's so many options and accessories that you can add to the setup. It's a bottomless pit of investment. At least with the M6, I would have a body, three lenses and that's about it. Nothing else to get. Nope. Nada. Zip.

I've already spent 2-3x what it would have cost for a Mamiya 6 kit and there's still things to get. Well, the camera is great, the lenses seem excellent, and overall, it feels like a great system, even though it isn't cheap or as portable as the M6 system.

I'm now doing research on an SWC/M or 903/SWC... more to get.

Sirius Glass · Mar 21, 2022

Michael Mutmansky said:
I probably sould have ignored all this Hasselblad talk and purchased a Mamiya 6 system... hahahaha.

I'm now knees deep into Hasselblad and there's so many options and accessories that you can add to the setup. It's a bottomless pit of investment. At least with the M6, I would have a body, three lenses and that's about it. Nothing else to get. Nope. Nada. Zip.

I've already spent 2-3x what it would have cost for a Mamiya 6 kit and there's still things to get. Well, the camera is great, the lenses seem excellent, and overall, it feels like a great system, even though it isn't cheap or as portable as the M6 system.

I'm now doing research on an SWC/M or 903/SWC... more to get.

Continue, already you are having more fun with a Hasselblad. Now find a nice SWC of some flavor and have even more fun.

Pieter12 · Mar 21, 2022

Michael Mutmansky said:
I probably sould have ignored all this Hasselblad talk and purchased a Mamiya 6 system... hahahaha.

I'm now knees deep into Hasselblad and there's so many options and accessories that you can add to the setup. It's a bottomless pit of investment. At least with the M6, I would have a body, three lenses and that's about it. Nothing else to get. Nope. Nada. Zip.

I've already spent 2-3x what it would have cost for a Mamiya 6 kit and there's still things to get. Well, the camera is great, the lenses seem excellent, and overall, it feels like a great system, even though it isn't cheap or as portable as the M6 system.

I'm now doing research on an SWC/M or 903/SWC... more to get.

There is no comparison between an RF and an SLR. Two different beasts, each with its own advantages. I find the large viewfinder of a medium format SLR with a prism a delight to use, but a RF can be more portable. If you start lugging multiple lenses around, the RF portability advantage starts to gets slimmer.

Michael Mutmansky · Mar 21, 2022

darr said:
My take is, the Hasselblad will last much longer than the Mamiya.
The Mamiya is my lightweight, handheld MF walkaround camera.
I do not use the Mamiya for anything else. Always wished the Mamiya had a wider lens.

Yes, that is how I originally used the Mamiya 6 that I had 15 years ago... to compliment the ULF cameras I was shooting at the time.

Having a wider lens would have been great for sure and that might have convinced me to get the M6 again, but I certainly didn't want the M7 and I was worried about longevity. But I sure did like the "Snick" sound those Mamiya lenses made when making images. Lovely.

Down Under · Mar 21, 2022

Deleted.

When I wrote this post, I had quite forgotten my earlier post (#145), in which I basically said all I wanted to say.

I dislike repeating myself (even though I do this entirely too often nowadays, old age is no blessing in this respect!) and I have deleted my repeated comments.

Sorry, all. See #145.

guangong · Mar 22, 2022

For MF SLR there is only one choice: Hasselblad- compact, ergonomic, and dependable, with the advantage of interchangeable lenses and film backs. For rf cameras there is a wide range of choices. MF cameras which are like scaled up 35mm cameras. I have no experience with any of there. Folders, a wide choice of rugged cameras: Zeiss Super Ikonta B, Fuji GF 670, Makina 67, and others. If a lot of rugged, dependable camera in a compact package, nothing beats a Roll TLR.

Craig · Mar 22, 2022

guangong said:
For MF SLR there is only one choice: Hasselblad- .

There are plenty of choices that each have advantages and disadvantages, just like a Hasselblad. Rollei 6008, Fuji GX680, Mamiya RB and RZ, Pentax 67 etc.

Sirius Glass · Mar 24, 2022

guangong said:
For MF SLR there is only one choice: Hasselblad- compact, ergonomic, and dependable, with the advantage of interchangeable lenses and film backs.

Craig said:
There are plenty of choices that each have advantages and disadvantages, just like a Hasselblad. Rollei 6008, Fuji GX680, Mamiya RB and RZ, Pentax 67 etc.

Yes but each of those also have their own issues such as battery issues, service issues, larger volume or mass, and none of them is a true systems with a wide a selection of lenses, backs, ..., that can use lenses back to 1957. Hasselblad earned its reputation over half a century, the others not so much.

Pieter12 · Mar 24, 2022

Sirius Glass said:
Yes but each of those also have their own issues such as battery issues, service issues, larger volume or mass, and none of them is a true systems with a wide a selection of lenses, backs, ..., that can use lenses back to 1957. Hasselblad earned its reputation over half a century, the others not so much.

For the Rollei 6008 and Hy6, I will agree that there may be service issues and they don't have lenses going back to 1957 (who really cares about that?), but battery rebuilds are available for the 6008 and the Hy6 uses widely available camcorder batteries. The Rolleis have a complete system of backs, finders, excellent lenses and accessories. Although less popular than the Hasselblad, mainly because they were far more expensive when introduced, they are also far more sophisticated and capable camera systems. Partly because of an agreement between the founders of the respective companies in the mid-50's, Hasselblad had pretty much established itself as the standard for professional medium-format SLRs and was well entrenched in studios by the time Rollei came out with theirs.

Donald Qualls · Mar 24, 2022

Sirius Glass said:
none of them is a true systems with a wide a selection of lenses, backs,

Beg to differ. RB67 uses no batteries (except a zinc-air button cell, replacement for a mercury cell, if you have a metered prism). There are a range of lenses from 50 mm to 500 mm, macro tubes, tele-extenders, three viewfinders (waist level, chimney, and prism), two with option of metering, plus sportsfinder, and they'll accept virtually any 2x3 Graflok accessory (Graflex roll backs, 2x3 Grafmatic, there's a Polaroid back, if you can find peel-apart film, and there have been at least two Instax backs), as well as 77 mm screw-on accessories. There's even a motor drive film back. Also at least three different auxiliary grip options, two-headed cable release for long exposures using T setting -- I'd call that a system. Surely as much so as a Bronica SQ series, competitive with a Hasselblad 500 series.

Bulky, heavy, yes. Robust, you betcha. Format versatile like none of the other options (I can shoot four formats of roll film on mine). Shutter in the lens, so if one quits, just swap lenses and move closer or further away.

And still pretty reasonably priced. They've gone up a bit since I got mine two years ago, but still far below Hasselblad or even Bronica.

Oh, and introduced before 1970, that's your half century.

Choosing a 6x6 system for renewed film shooting... opinions wanted.

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