I wanted to share my first impressions and also was hoping to get some tips from C-system veterans.
After a false start on eBay followed by a lens return (Japanese sellers service is amazing), I finally assembled a C330S with a 80mm f/2.8 lens in a truly mint condition. This is my first camera without a meter (I am not counting my distant teenage years), so I've been practicing the sunny-16 shooting and, having put 4 rolls of film through it, I find it easier than I thought. Using a high-latitude ISO 400 film, mostly HP5+, also helps.
Random thoughts and questions:
Annoyances & questions
- TLR framing is challenging, but I also get different results. Obviously it's easier to get low and I started embracing it. Besides, there's something magical about seeing the image on the focusing screen, and not behind a hole. Love it.
- Focusing is strange... Looks like I nail focus pretty much all the time without using a loupe, but I can't stop myself from pulling a loupe just to verify. The lack of trust in myself slows me down here.
- I was worried a bit about the optics, but the 80mm f/2.8 is absolutely modern specimen with the contrast and sharpness I've been getting from my other modern gear. It is very comparable to the 80mm f/3.5 Fujinon on my GF670.
- The absence of mirror slap, combined with the weight, allows for fairly slow shutter speeds. I've gone as low as 1/60s (something I wouldn't dare even on the GF670) with good results. BTW this was the main reason (plus cost) I've decided to go this route as opposed to getting a Hasselblad.
- Build quality is superb. I love my Fuji but that camera is so fragile that half of my brain is preoccupied by not breaking it, leaving just half for the actual photography. C330 is a tank. Yes, it kicks me in the rib cage regularly but I no longer worry about rangefinder getting knocked out of alignment or the bellows damage.
- It's quite an attention magnet. I get into about two small conversations with strangers, filled with compliments, per roll
It's nearly impossible to do candid street photography with it, but much easier to get people to pose for you.
I do not know if I'll be using other lenses on it, the 80mm is quite perfect for now. I cried a bit when I held (much lighter) Rolleiflex in my hands, but the quality of optics, and ease of servicing makes me believe I've made the right call here. Looks like it's going to be "will never sell" kind of camera for me.
- The viewfinder was quite dusty when I received (no dirt). Despite my best efforts, there are still quite a few annoying tiny hairs and dust specs that keep re-arranging but not disappearing. There are 5 (!) surfaces dust can stick to, and I wonder how do people keep them clean? (the mirror, the focusing screen on 2 sides, plus the parallax offset glass plate on two sides). My room is very clean, as evidenced by zero dust when drying films, but I just can't get it perfect... And my brain demands zero dust. I used an anti-static cloth, anti-static brush, the rocket air blower...
- I picked C330 instead of C220 because I felt that not having shutter auto-cocking is absurd. Well... I now think otherwise. Because C330 keeps cocking it when I don't need: when loading film, and when finishing the roll. Remembering to release shutter is surprisingly annoying. I was looking for hacks here, and looks like some people simply removed the auto-cocking arm from their cameras.
- The pin-shaped strap lugs are retarded. The same applies to Mamiya 645 and I honestly don't get why someone thought it would be a great idea to allow cameras to flip freely. These lugs are less secure and make everything less stable, wtf...
I disagree, unless you're talking about just swapping a film back on the RB.Film loading is very slow compared to an RB
I like the C330 with a prism much better, partially because I cannot stand the left-right reversal. My recommendations:
- Lenses - 55mm [65mm is too close to the 80mm, 80mm and 250mm.
I make very frequent use [abuse?] of the lens-changing dial on my C330f as a safety - If the film cover is up, then I don't need to worry about if the shutter is accidentally tripped. I'll even manually trip the shutter a few times with it up before resetting and actually taking the photo in cold weather to be sure the shutter hasn't frozen up on me. It is a very lovely peace of mind, and I wish more cameras included a firm safety/shutter lock of some kind.
I make a habit of double checking the shutter lever before taking a photo, and that I've actually opened the internal film-cover/dark-flap. [Calling it a dark slid seems wrong, given that it flips on a hinge and doesn't slide... But, same deal effectively.]
.... the pin shaped strap lugs on the 330s are a quick-release feature. I find it useful to get the strap out-of-the-way with minimal fuss when the camera is on a tripod. There are bits sticking out all over the place on a C-series. A handle grip is useful and also a QR plate for a tripod. Film loading is very slow compared to an RB or even the M 645.
If you want to expand your lens range, apart from the wide angles the 105 is an absolute gem.
Very sharp pictures. Almost "digital". Tmax 100 film? How did you scan?
Dark flap?
I can't tell if you're in support of calling it a dark flap, or if you're unfamiliar with the camera and wondering what I'm talking about.
For anyone new to the C-Series TLR, they have a flap inside the camera that can be closed by turning a knob on the side that secures the camera against light when you swap the lenses.
The design works great in my view, to the point that I've explored designing a similar flap-based system for 4x5 film holders. Really prefer it to having to deal with a slide you pull out and then have to find somewhere safe to stow.
...it's slower for me to load a C 330 because it lacks a removable insert. It's much quicker to swap the spools around because you've got the space to do it.I disagree, unless you're talking about just swapping a film back on the RB.
I owned the RB67 and the C330 and C220 together for a long time and I found loading/unloading the C330/220 no slower than replacing the film instide a RB67 film holder. Perhaps even quicker.
I'd just never heard it called that!I can't tell if you're in support of calling it a dark flap, or if you're unfamiliar with the camera and wondering what I'm talking about.
For anyone new to the C-Series TLR, they have a flap inside the camera that can be closed by turning a knob on the side that secures the camera against light when you swap the lenses.
The design works great in my view, to the point that I've explored designing a similar flap-based system for 4x5 film holders. Really prefer it to having to deal with a slide you pull out and then have to find somewhere safe to stow.
...it's sometimes called 'the baffle plate' or 'light-baffle'. It's flat and it's presence dictates that the wide-angle lenses must be retrofocus in design to 'clear' it and also the non-moving reflex mirror. Presumably Mamiya could have designed wide-angle lenses with rear elements that got somewhat closer to the mirror as long as lens interchange was carried out with the bellows party extended.I'd just never heard it called that!
...it's sometimes called 'the baffle plate' or 'light-baffle'. It's flat and it's presence dictates that the wide-angle lenses must be retrofocus in design to 'clear' it and also the non-moving reflex mirror. Presumably Mamiya could have designed wide-angle lenses with rear elements that got somewhat closer to the mirror as long as lens interchange was carried out with the bellows party extended.
What is it with the sudden popularity of Mamiya TLRs? It seems awareness and appreciation of them has more or less exploded during the last six months or so.
Sure, they are good for all the reasons mentioned. But they still also have the same drawbacks they always had. Size, weight, potential for less than optimal lens alignment, etc.
flexibility and low risk.
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