'Coolest' Medium Format Camera?

ToddB · Mar 3, 2014

Rollei TLR cameras..

I would say as others.. The Rolleiflex TLR camera with light meter. I get approuched all the time in regards on a cool and beautiful it is. I have mine pimped out with gourgous Eveready leather body case and leather brown shoulder strap.

ToddB

Sirius Glass · Mar 3, 2014

ToddB said:
I would say as others.. The Rolleiflex TLR camera with light meter. I get approuched all the time in regards on a cool and beautiful it is. I have mine pimped out with gourgous Eveready leather body case and leather brown shoulder strap.

ToddB

If you were really pimped out with Rolleis then you would have a normal focal length Rollei, a wide angle Rollei and a tele-Rollei hanging around your neck. Now THAT would be pimped out in Rolleis!

macrorie · Mar 3, 2014

I think my Medalist looks like it could produce steam-punk death rays.

ToddB · Mar 3, 2014

If you were really pimped out with Rolleis then you would have a normal focal length Rollei, a wide angle Rollei and a tele-Rollei hanging around your neck. Now THAT would be pimped out in Rolleis!

Good point.. That would be a beautiful piece of neck jewelry.

TheToadMen · Mar 4, 2014

ToddB said:
If you were really pimped out with Rolleis then you would have a normal focal length Rollei, a wide angle Rollei and a tele-Rollei hanging around your neck. Now THAT would be pimped out in Rolleis!

Good point.. That would be a beautiful piece of neck jewelry.

And you could post it at this forum as well :munch:

RattyMouse · Mar 4, 2014

Ken Nadvornick said:
From the uniquely cool perspective, I have to also go along with the Fujifilm GF670.

A modern-day medium format folding bellows camera? With a choice of either 6x6 or 6x7 formats? And a killer modern meter? Brand new? No wear and tear? Under warranty? Parts and service easily and cheerfully available? With a modern Fuji EBC coated lens that is so sharp the photos will make your eyes bleed? And a killer accurate electronic shutter? That is so quiet it's impossible to even hear from six inches away? And the whole tomato can be slipped into an oversized coat pocket?

Geez, only a few years ago who would have thought such a thing would even be available ever again? Me thinks the 'cool' factor needle has been pinned. Gads, in a pinch the thing is even a serviceable chick magnet that doesn't require puppy food...

:w00t:

Ken

Heh heh heh....dont' beat around the bush Ken, how do you REALLY feel?

Ken Nadvornick · Mar 4, 2014

RattyMouse said:
Heh heh heh....dont' beat around the bush Ken, how do you REALLY feel?

Well, it is a nice camera. But it's been a long, cold winter for everyone. Just trying to write something a little more entertaining to read than the standard fare. I try to do that a lot around here. Not always sure how well it flies...

Ken

RalphLambrecht · Mar 4, 2014

without a doubt;Hasselblad 500 c or cm,old distinguished and timelessly beautiful.

RalphLambrecht · Mar 4, 2014

Chris Lange said:
any Hasselblad 500 series will do the trick. I have four or five people a day at least comment on mine when I'm shooting on the street.

They're beautifully designed too, same guy who designed the first Saab concept car did the 500 series. There are similarities between the two if you compare them.

Rolleiflexen of all sorts...

There's loads more, but that gets rid of the easiest ones.

Sure,both are a babe magnet.the real reason for me to go into photography.

cliveh · Mar 4, 2014

Ralph is right, any Hasselblad from the 500 series must be the coolest medium format ever.

Kyle M. · Mar 4, 2014

In my honest opinion I've yet to see anything that looks cooler than an RB67 or RZ67, just find me another MF camera with as many buttons, switches, levers, knobs, and other assorted doodads. Except maybe the GX680, but it's battery dependent which is not my cup of tea.

SpicySaffron · Mar 4, 2014

I have an old beat up Rollei Automat that gets its fair share of comments when I use it, but I recently fell in love with the Kowa 6. I just got one and developed the negatives. Really lives up to the "Japanese Hasselblad" moniker that gets tossed around. Maybe not so much mechanically (soft gearing and jam prone from time to time, but the glass in my opinion is top notch.

Sirius Glass · Mar 4, 2014

RalphLambrecht said:
without a doubt;Hasselblad 500 c or cm,old distinguished and timelessly beautiful.

503 CX
903 SWC

benjiboy · Mar 7, 2014

I fail to understand the mentality of a person whose vocabulary is limited in terms of approbation to "cool".

blockend · Mar 7, 2014

benjiboy said:
I fail to understand the mentality of a person whose vocabulary is limited in terms of approbation to "cool".

I agree. Medium format cameras were (mostly) studio workhorses. Cool rarely entered the equation, they just had to do what was expected of them. Cool is something you pull out of your pocket and grab the shot - only my 120 folders fit that description. Cool is not carrying something that weighs the same as a small child and belongs on a hefty tripod.

benjiboy · Mar 7, 2014

blockend said:
I agree. Medium format cameras were (mostly) studio workhorses. Cool rarely entered the equation, they just had to do what was expected of them. Cool is something you pull out of your pocket and grab the shot - only my 120 folders fit that description. Cool is not carrying something that weighs the same as a small child and belongs on a hefty tripod.

On re- reading my post it looks very imperious but it really annoys me that the only adjective that many people use is "cool", cool is for teenage hipsters not adults, and cameras are tools for photographers, you never hear a carpenter refer to his tools as "cool"

erikg · Mar 7, 2014

I know carpenters. I think you'd might.

Roger Cole · Mar 7, 2014

benjiboy said:
On re- reading my post it looks very imperious but it really annoys me that the only adjective that many people use is "cool", cool is for teenage hipsters not adults, and cameras are tools for photographers, you never hear a carpenter refer to his tools as "cool"

Oddly enough I know an excellent carpenter who refers to some tools - those cleverly created for a very specific purpose - as exactly that.

I wonder if this is an age or subculture related thing? I turned 50 last year but among my friends and associates "cool!" is a common exclamation of appreciation, as well as a common start of a longer description. I've no objection to it and use it a fair amount myself, though not so overly much as some of the younger set seem to do.

I guess you either "get" cool or you don't.

PKM-25 · Mar 7, 2014

benjiboy said:
On re- reading my post it looks very imperious but it really annoys me that the only adjective that many people use is "cool", cool is for teenage hipsters not adults, and cameras are tools for photographers, you never hear a carpenter refer to his tools as "cool"

Haters gonna hate...it's what you do to entertain yer' self I guess....

frank · Mar 7, 2014

Wow, too cool for cool.

fretlessdavis · Mar 7, 2014

frank said:
Wow, too cool for cool.

.... ice cold?

DREW WILEY · Mar 7, 2014

I thought you had to be over 50 to understand what "cool" means. I'm sure teenagers have something equivalent today, but since I can't understand a word they're saying, I would recognize it anyway. For awhile, it was "bad".

PKM-25 · Mar 7, 2014

Word mutha’s….

My Nikons are ill, 4x5 is Gangsta, Hasselblads are Sick and my M3?.......I ain’t mad at it Yo…

blockend · Mar 8, 2014

Having worked with medium format cameras since the seventies, it's challenging to conceive of a large, heavy, squarish optical device design as cool. My fear is people are really asking, 'how does this camera look on me' as opposed to 'how do I carry this around to make pictures smaller cameras can't manage'. As far as jewellery goes, it takes real commitment to carry, say, an RB67 round in the hope of a chance shot, even if people think it looks nice slung on their hip. I admire such cojones, without any wish to go in that direction personally.

If you love nice big negatives, and want to adopt them as a standard, get the lightest medium format camera you can find and leave cool for people who don't mind grooves in their shoulder.

erikg · Mar 8, 2014

Not everything is as big and boxy as an RB. The Rolleiflex is elegant and portable and designed to work well in the hand. Hasselblad as well. It clearly was intended to have style and be more than a utilitarian studio box.

'Coolest' Medium Format Camera?

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