Compact Medium Format

[warden]

I agree with the "get a folder" suggestions (assuming you don't mind folding/unfolding to use the camera). I use a slim folder that is comfortably at my side and folded while walking, but of course I have to unfold it for every shot. Not a big deal for me but some might dislike that.

Macfred's GA645 looks surprisingly thin for a non-folder, and a good suggestion.

I have a Yashicamat 124 (bought from an APUGer years ago) and while I don't use it much for ergonomics reasons I have to say the lens gives up nothing to 'better' cameras for the sizes that I print.

 

[macfred]

... Macfred's GA645 looks surprisingly thin for a non-folder, and a good suggestion ...

The GA645 series is relatively compact and lightweight (815g without batteries) with a remarkable image quality - ideal to take wherever you go and surprisingly rugged and reliable.

Rolling Home by Andreas, on Flickr

 

[maximumPhoto]

+1 for the Mamiya-Six folder, if you can get the Automat version with the Mamiya-Sekor lens, even better.. but the Zuiko lens is very close in IQ anyway. Should be under $250 for a very clean one. If you don't care about the auto-cocking shutter then you can go for a much cheaper one. The Zeiss Super Ikonta, Agfa Super Isolette, Konica Pearl IV are others to look for at the high end of that camera type. You can't go wrong with any of these really. I use mine with a SpiderLight holster so it just rests off my belt and flat against my side. Carried it that way at a wedding while wearing a full suit, since I didn't want to carry a camera bag.

 

[maximumPhoto]

Here is a photo I took recently with the Mamiya-Six Automat, at F4 I believe.. Ektar 100. Just scanned it real quick to post here, so haven't done any correcting outside of the scanner (which I might avoid for the full scan). My apologies for the shadows, I got photobombed by a cloud! >:\

I have some shots from another wedding in Cinestill 800T that I will try to scan tonight. Indoors wide open and no flash, anxious to see how it performed.

 

[M Carter]

Folders are pretty dang groovy, but if you're not into googling and repairing and patching bellows, look for a restored one. The "Certo Six" guy seems to do good work, but I've read varying reviews for his delivery times.

That said, I was shocked at how good a camera my little junker isolette III turned out to be, once I got the lens and RF unstuck. Uncoupled RF, no meter, 6x6 in yer pocket. Grab shot below, just barely within the close-focus range.

 

[darinwc]

Not bad! Quite often the close focus on folding cameras is not very good.

 

[ransel]

...hard to get pictures exposed and in focus (which could be user error).

Some TLR's are not very easy to focus especially in low light. I have a Yashica D that is not to bad for my tired old eyes, but I still miss the focus from time to time. If you want to stick with "affordable" TLR's, my solution was a Mamiya C (any of them pretty much, but the one I have right now is a C220) and fit it with a Mamiya chimney finder. It blocks out any extraneous light and has a flip-up magnifier for critical focusing. It has been an negative saver for me. I don't even own a waist-level finder for the camera anymore.

 

[xya]

if you want a comparison of compact 120 film cameras, mostly folders, you may have a look on my website http://www.120folder.com for those I have tested.

 

[Ai Print]

I went down this road for awhile, tried a Agfa Super Isolette, loved the size, hated the viewfinder, was like looking through a straw. Being a Certo 6 incarnation, I got what I paid for it when I sold it.

Then I went to a Mamiya 6 and went through the hoops of getting the body and all three lenses CLA'd to the tune of $900 more than I paid for the kit. I liked it a lot better than the Agfa but in cold weather it stank as the batteries often fell below the threshold of powering the camera properly when only half used. But the big thing was finding out just how much I like to precisely frame with 120 film to get the most out of that nice big neg. So even though I love my Leicas in 35mm, RF in medium format was not for me. Even thought I parted it out, I took the biggest financial hit ever on camera gear on the Mamiya 6 kit when I sold it so never again.

I then found a nice clean Rolleiflex 2.8D for a good price. Bingo, fairly compact, very quiet and gorgeous image quality that I could frame fairly accurately for the most part. My search for compact 120 was and is over. If compact is not a huge concern, I find one of my Hasselblad 501CM's and 80mm 2.8CFe hanging from a strap is only a little less compact than the Rolleiflex. Other than 6x12 backs for my 4x5 camera, 6x6 is all I shoot in MF.

 

[M. Axel Wikstrom]

For the ultimate in lightweight and compact folders, the pre-war Zeiss Ikontas are great (520 and 521 models). But no rangefinder (you'll have to zone focus), no double exposure prevention, and uncoated (but still great) lenses. Get one with a Tessar lens and add a series VI filter adapter with a lens shade and you're in business. Simplicity is very good, especially in an old camera like this. Very light and compact package. Complexity, size, and weight started going up after the war.

 

[Trask]

I really like my Plaubel Makina 67 - but it is not a 'sub 400' budget in good condition.

Ditto. I find my Wide version to be a terrific travel camera.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

After experimenting with a variety of folders, I've settled on the Voigtlander Perkeo II plus a shoe-mount rangefinder for accurate close focusing. 6x6 seems better than 6x9 in these lightweight folders for film flatness, and they really do fit in a jacket pocket.

 

[ransel]

+1 on the Perkeo, though mine is the Perkeo I - I really like mine.

 

[Svenedin]

For the ultimate in lightweight and compact folders, the pre-war Zeiss Ikontas are great (520 and 521 models). But no rangefinder (you'll have to zone focus), no double exposure prevention, and uncoated (but still great) lenses. Get one with a Tessar lens and add a series VI filter adapter with a lens shade and you're in business. Simplicity is very good, especially in an old camera like this. Very light and compact package. Complexity, size, and weight started going up after the war.

I have a Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta A 530 from around 1935. This is very compact and fits in a jacket pocket. It has an uncoated 7cm Tessar lens and the fastest shutter speed is 1/500s (Compur shutter). A very practical small camera for 6x4.5 with a coupled rangefinder.

 

[Down Under]

Like many posters, I too will go with the Fuji GA645, but with one 'disclaimer' - this camera is now old and fully electronic, and as I have found to my dismay with two of them in the past year, prone to failure.

After having had two - a GA645i with the otherwise wonderful 60mm lens and then a GA645wi with the equally great 45mm lens, fail on me in the field during shooting trips, I reluctantly decided to give up the GAs and go with the much simpler, albeit not "technically" a rangefinder, GS645w, but again noting that the GS, while fully mechanical, is somewhat flimsy in build and in fact is older than the GAs I owned.

I tried, but I just could not warm to the GS way of shooting, and while my results were ALMOST as good as those I had with the GAs (which as one poster has already noted, may be due more to the photographer than the tools), in the end I sold it. So i am now entirely out of Fuji GAs and GSs.

Many other cameras are MF and compact if these are your only qualifications. I own a Zeiss Nettar 6x9 with a superb 105mm f/4.5 Novar which produces excellent images, but again I'm not entirely comfortable with an eight shot to the roll system and much prefer the convenience of 12 6x6 cm negatives to the one roll. For now my Rolleiflexes are doing the job and when I want to go super light, I put my Voigtlander Perkeo I, a UV filter, a lens hood, an old Weston Master V and of course some film into my backpack and off I go, either into the hills of northern Tasmania or more exotic locales of Southeast Asia. for me, simpler is better. BTW the Voigtlander 80mm f/3.5 Color Skopar produces the sharpest black-and-white negatives I have seen in any other camera but the Rollei - more like engravings.

In all you have plenty of choices and you can look forward to the fun of looking, handling and eventually choosing the MF compact camera that best suits you and your needs.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Hasselblad. Non-electronic and keeps on working.

 

[M. Axel Wikstrom]

I have a Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta A 530 from around 1935. This is very compact and fits in a jacket pocket. It has a uncoated 7cm Tessar lens and the fastest shutter speed is 1/500s (Compur shutter). A very practical small camera for 6x4.5 with a coupled rangefinder.

A lovely little camera.

 

[Svenedin]

A lovely little camera.

Yes, a delight. I printed this last night taken on the A 530.

 

[M. Axel Wikstrom]

Here's an iPhone image of one that I dry-mounted this morning (5x7"). Zeiss Ikonta 520, 7cm Tessar. Not too bad for such a tiny little 645 camera.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Hey gang,

Recently after a recent roll through my Yashica Mat 124 I was curious about looking for another "compact" medium format camera and wanted to see what you guys think. I like the Yashica Mat but seems like it takes more bad pictures than good and is hard to get pictures exposed and in focus (which could be user error). I have a mama rb67 which I love but isn't the easiest camera to carry around. Was curious if you guys had any advice on a more budget friendly (sub 400) and a compact medium format camera that don't mind carrying around anywhere.... Thanks

do not rule out the sub-medium MF camera by weight but not format. a Mamiya 6 is light, folds together,therefore not bulky but delivers a full 6x6 format with excellent pics;very much worth to consider.

 

[Theo Sulphate]

if you want a comparison of compact 120 film cameras, mostly folders, you may have a look on my website http://www.120folder.com for those I have tested.

Nice site - thanks.

Folders are pretty dang groovy, but if you're not into googling and repairing and patching bellows, look for a restored one.
...

A pocketable 6x6 or 6x9 is highly appealing. Just how durable are the bellows? My camera-repair friend said the Nettars and Ikontas, like the Speed Graphic, are less prone to bellows leaks than other folders he's encountered.

 

[M. Axel Wikstrom]

Nice site - thanks.




A pocketable 6x6 or 6x9 is highly appealing. Just how durable are the bellows? My camera-repair friend said the Nettars and Ikontas, like the Speed Graphic, are less prone to bellows leaks than other folders he's encountered.

The 82 year old bellows on mine are still going strong. No sign of cracking or holes. It's a Zeiss Ikonta 520.

 

[tessar]

I like my pre-war Voigtlander Bessa 66 (Baby Bessa), the ancestor of the Perkeo -- same super-compact size. I can't identify the lens but judging from the results it might just be the top-rated Skopar. An exceptionally well-designed camera.

 

[MattKing]

I like my pre-war Voigtlander Bessa 66 (Baby Bessa), the ancestor of the Perkeo -- same super-compact size. I can't identify the lens but judging from the results it might just be the top-rated Skopar. An exceptionally well-designed camera.

I really like mine. It is particularly well suited to those of us who are both left handed and favour our left eye.
And working with the double exposure prevention and frame counter systems helps strengthen my capacity for precision .

 

[TerryMcC]

+1 for the Fuji GA645Zi. I've tried folders and other MF in the style of the Hasselblad and Bronicas but always return to the Fuji.