Please can you offer your valued opinions as to which medium format camera I should buy, it's my first one. I am an amateur, post grad student and the work I make needs to reach professional standard. I want to buy one with a Polaroid Back. I also need your advice on what lens to look for. Budget is a huge issue as very limited and I will buy on Ebay. Many thanks
You could use just about any decent medium format gear. You don't need great diversity in the gear and you don't need any particular brand to help you attain professional quality that you desire. You need to look at many and choose the one you can afford, that provides the instant film back you desire and one that feels like a good tool to you that you are comfortable with. You will be limited to certain types and brand by the desire to have a instant film back. As others have said the Mamiya RB series is available at bargain prices these days, so are other Mamiya, Bronica, Fuji systems. TLR's are great but no instant film back. Hasselblad, Rollei and some others are wonderful but pricey. we can all giv eour opinions based on specific experiences with certain brands but you have to get some idea what you prefer by looking at a few options. most cameras will tell you what are really like just from handling and inspecting them. When you narrow down the ones that interest you then you will get better advice as to specifics about a particular camera. The gear does not make you a professional or good image maker, some gear can help you meet that end but amazing work is done by skilled people with low end gear. I've owned everything from a Yashicamat,Pentax, Mamiya 220 &330, Bronica ETRS,Mamiya RB and RZ, Rollei and eventually wound up in Hasselblad where I remain today. I have excellent images from all of these systems. I have bad images too. The gear helps but it's not the answer. Don't ever forget that.