'Coolest' Medium Format Camera?

John Koehrer

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Ha!
No doubt in my mind. you're going to search a long time to find cooler than this.
Obviously you need to be one of them there Star Wars Fans to own one of these.

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

Theo Sulphate

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John Koehrer said:
Ha!
No doubt in my mind. you're going to search a long time to find cooler than this.
Obviously you need to be one of them there Star Wars Fans to own one of these.

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
Click to expand...


I think we have a winner!
 

RobC

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I despair that someone thinks that owning a camera is about being "cool". Sounds like it will just be another pointless blog with someone knowing nothing about what they are writing about to educate the even less clueless.
 

Theo Sulphate

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RobC said:
I despair that someone thinks that owning a camera is about being "cool" ...
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It's not that owning a camera is about being cool - at least not for us here. But since we already have cameras in order to make photos, we should recognize that some of them are inherently cool.

A car's ultimate function may be transportation, but you can't deny that a 458 Italia is sexy. Even a P5 Rover has struck my fancy lately - it's kind of cool.
 

trondsi

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I will also vote for Rollei (I have two Rolleiflexes). My Rolleiflex Automat has to be one of the lightest high quality medium format cameras, although the somewhat heavier 2.8 may give slightly better picture quality (I think).

FujiLove said:
I only have a lowly Rolleicord, but that also gets a lot of attention...often from young women. Unfortunately I didn't know this when I was single.
Click to expand...

One young lady wanted to take pictures of me taking pictures
 

Steve Smith

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The coolest has to be the Bronica S2A as used by Austin Powers (and I have one).


Steve.
 

TheFlyingCamera

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I had multiple people ask me to pose with my Rollei while I was out walking around in Italy. I even get that here in DC on occasion - tourists will see me out with it, ask about it, then ask if they can take a picture of me with the camera.
 

michr

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RobC said:
I despair that someone thinks that owning a camera is about being "cool". Sounds like it will just be another pointless blog with someone knowing nothing about what they are writing about to educate the even less clueless.
Click to expand...

I can see why a seasoned photographer might have a negative reaction to the promotion of the tools of the trade as fashion accessories, but this thread isn't about the cultivation of cool. It's about the apprectiation of cameras as objects themselves.

For me, what makes a camera cool is both the aesthetic appreciation of the exterior of the camera, its style, and from the engineering point of view, as far as I'm capable of assessing, how well it it is made, and as a photographer how well it fulfills its functions as a camera.

I don't have one, so I don't know how it fits the latter two of these three criteria, but a cool-looking camera is the Welta Superfekta. If I could afford a functional example, I would love to have one, even if at it's heart, it's just a folder with a reflex viewfinder tacked on.

I'm thankful for the mass-market commodification of photography equipment, because I would never have been able to afford the best, but I really love the oddballs and also-rans. The Superfekta occupies an alternate world of photography populated by 4x5 TLRs, panoramic cameras, giant 70mm roll film oddities, etc. ,etc. What you have there is something undeniably out of step with the mainstream, with its own personality, whose designers created a unique solution to the problems of photography. Even though it's built on recognizable components, it still contains a bit of genius. All of those things add up to cool in my book.
 

tomfrh

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Steve Smith said:
The coolest has to be the Bronica S2A as used by Austin Powers (and I have one).

Steve.
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ha, when I read the thread title that Austin powers scene immediately sprung to mind. I've always wanted to wind one and say "yeah baby!! YEAH!"

But in all seriousness, by far the coolest medium format camera the Pentax 645N. http://www.cccamera.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Pentax-645N-w-75mm-F2.8-FA-220-Insert.jpg

Those who say they're noisy, clunky and ugly are just jealous they don't have such a cool camera.
 

Sirius Glass

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or paparazzi.
 

Theo Sulphate

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In the early 1990's, a photographer friend of mine told me the police speed-trap trailers by the side of the road had motorized Hasselblads in them with 70mm film backs. I always wondered if that were true.

They were either empty or had some type of camera.
 

Neil Poulsen

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All be it a little heavy, this is a very cool camera. It's such a well-designed system. Here are some of the design features that I like about this system:

> They allowed for mirror shake by designing a special shutter release cable that separately retracts the mirror, and then trips the exposure. Very cool! I use cameras on a tripod for non-people photos. Even then, I've heard that the camera is well enough designed, that the mirror shake is minimal.

> It's a tank. The camera has a mechanism that's simple and robust. (As I was told by a local repair specialist, not so the RZ.)

> I really like the rotating backs. No muss nor fuss switching between orientations.

> Excellent optics, especially the K/L lenses. I like the between-the-lens shutters. One doesn't have the necessarily fast lenses (like the cool Bronica S2a); but, the RB has much faster flash sync over medium format cameras with focal-plane shutters.

> An extensive array of accessories.

> Inexpensive! One can get a really excellent (and cool!) outfit for not very much money.

Yes, it's a bit heavy. Intended as a studio camera, I heard that it's designer was really amused, when American photographers began asking for places to attach a strap. But, a lighter camera probably wouldn't have the great set of features that this system provides.
 

Devlog

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I'm shooting with a 500 C/M and it's fine for me, but I'd really love to have an GF670 or a Contax 645 with the 80/2 - or one of the last fine Rolleiflexes. But in terms of coolness in my view it's hard to compete with a Pentax 67II and a Zeiss Super Ikonta.
 
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rmann

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I really like a recently acquired Fuji GX680III, but I am not using it outside of a studio setting very often. It's built like a tank, weighs a half ton, has a bellows for getting up close, front movements and best of all seems to be dirt cheap currently.
 

AlexBC

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These are all excellent recommendations, but really, the Mamiya RZ67 is the coolest (and one of the biggest) cameras around.

Its 6 pounds or so of sheer simplicity. Full stop shutter speeds (Pro I), bellows focus, leaf shutters in the lens, waist level finder (eye level prism available), and it's very inexpensive. Lenses are mostly less than $200 and very sharp. No meter on the body, so get the metered prism or a light meter and you're good to go. I love mine. Bulky? Sure. Heavy? A bit. Easy to use? Can't get any easier.
 

rhyno0688

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I just received a GX680 II and am waiting on the lens but I plan on taking it outside! (im young and dumb and a bit of a brute) Cant wait to start shooting.
 

faurefan

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I recently got a 501 C/M with chrome Planar, and have gotten two "cool camera!" comments, which is more than I usually get.
 

TheToadMen

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Paul Goutiere said:
Hasselblad SWC. hands down:
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This IS a great camera. I've got two: one from 1964 and one from 1968. I like the elder models with chrome lenses.
The first one is fully serviced last year and I had the film back specially adjusted for this specific camera. The second one I got recently and is now being tested. Looking good though. It's a great point&shoot camera for street photography too.
 
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