Handholdability of medium format cameras

[Bormental]

Wanted to explore an interesting (for me) topic: which MF cameras are the best for shooting without a tripod?

Some background:

My first medium format camera was Fuji GF670. I was agonizing over this choice. It was **expensive** but I felt that portability was the most important thing for me. And yes, indeed, this camera is more portable than any of my old digital SLR gear. I was hoping to stick to "one camera one lens" here, but I quickly discovered that I need a LOT of light to shoot with it. For whatever reason, I just can't hold it steady enough for anything under 1/250 to be blur-free. It's the combination of being lightweight and awkward to hold due to the bellows...

My second MF purchase surprised me. I wanted to get a medium-format SLR and I was researching Hasselblad V-system at the time. Plenty of people complained about difficulties of getting sharp photos with a Hassy without a tripod, citing mirror/curtain movements, so I decided to settle on the 645 format instead, hoping for less mirror shake. I ended up getting a Mamiya 645 Pro, which was a pleasant surprise: it's quite steady and on par with my 35mm cameras, i.e. 1/focal-length rule works well on it.

My 3rd camera was the exact opposite of the Fuji. If the GF670 was light, expensive and "jerky", the Mamiya C330 is cheap, heavy and steady. I am regularly dropping the shutter speed to 1/60 at the same focal length as the Fuji. And, despite being the bulkiest & heaviest, it is (surprise!) actually the most handholdable camera I have!

In the end, quite ironically, the most lightweight camera in my collection ended up needing a tripod the most, and the heaviest camera is actually most useful in low light situations!

How do my experiences map to yours?

 

[markjwyatt]

I have to agree, Mamiya TLRs (and I suspect others) are pretty hand holdable. Folder work well too.

 

[BradS]

The Bronica RF645 and Mamiya 7 are both made to be hand held.
The Mamiya press cameras offer a far less expensive, more robust, and more fun alternative to these expensive and dainty plastic modern miracles.

Of course, the monster Pentax 67 is meant to be handheld as are all of its wannabe FSU copies.

 

[MattKing]

My 6x6 Voigtlander Baby Bessa is the best designed camera I have ever encountered for handholding by someone who is left handed and left eye dominant.
The closest camera I have to your Fuji is my Kodak Tourist. I find I can handhold it at 1/100 reasonably easily.

 

[macfred]

My Rolleiflex 3.5F is perfect for hand hold photographs - it's lightweight and you can hol 1/15sec by hand.
No Problems with the FUJI GA series cameras (6x4.5) - I medium format point-and-shoot - no tripot.
The medium camera I use with a tripod frequently are the FUJI GW670ii and 690 series - nevertheless I use them hand hold too with good results.
My Zeiss Superikonta (folder) is made for hand hold work too.

 

[mshchem]

Any TLR and leaning on a tree, pole etc. Can be handheld and get sharp pictures. Hasselblad has always provided a means of easily flipping up the mirror. That's great if you have a tripod.

 

[AgX]

Of course, the monster Pentax 67 is meant to be handheld as are all of its wannabe FSU copies.

What copies? The only MF SLR in that style from the USSR is the Kiev 60.

 

[R.Gould]

Bronica Etrsi is very hand holdable, as is the Mamiya 645, for 66 any ylr, also any folder, ad the Bronica A series slr is reasonable for hand holding, also, with 66 it is easier to hand hold a camera with a waist level viewfinder, with either my folder's and tlr's I can easily hand hold down to 1/2 second,

 

[Andrew Kleinfeld]

Rolleiflex. I also get adequate sharpness at 1/15.

 

[neilt3]

As already said really , any TLR , Bronica ETRSi with a prism finder attached and speedgrip ( or similar combination ) other MF cameras can be configured this way . Pentax , Mamiya MF SLRs etc .
Mist of the MF range finder cameras are hand held .
Above a certain shutter speed hand held us fine , below a certain speed , lean against a wall or tree so you are the tripod .
Below another speed and all cameras need to be on a tripod .

 

[Donald Qualls]

Any TLR or folder. I regularly hand hold my Voigtlander Rollfilmkamera (vtg. 1927, 6x9, 105mm f/4.5 Skopar) down to 1/25, even though I can't see anything in the waist level bright finder so always end up using the wire frame "sports" finder. My Suuper Ikonta B pretty much same.

For that matter, if you use the waist level finder and have a good strap, you can hand hold an RB67. I'd recommend some gym time working on your upper back and neck (pushing your head back against resistance), but it's nice and steady with (in my experience) either the 90mm or the 250mm. And yes, I've hand held with the 250mm mounted.

 

[Ian Grant]

I shoot hand held with my TLR's a pair of Rolleiflexes and a Yashicamat 124, also occasionally with my MAmiya 645 cameras and prior to that a C33 and a C3.

Choice of film becomes important so you can use a reasonable shutter speed and still be able to stop the lens down if needed. On a good bright day I shoot Delta 100 not so good Delta 400. I prefer to shoot at 1/100 (1/125) or 1/50 (1/60) but will go slower if needed. Never had issues hand held and I also shoot LF 5x4 hand held.

Ian

 

[halfaman]

Another vote for Fuji GW690, version III in my case. Much better usability than any Mamiya Press and even some MF cameras of smaller formats. It is big but surprisingly light and everything is as it should be. I didn't get used to the 90mm focal length even the lens quality is suberb and sold it, but it was a real joy to use.

I got a Mamiya Super 23 I still have which is a pain compared to the Fuji but I like more the lens selection (just focal lengths).

 

[narsuitus]

The only medium format camera that I avoided hand holding was the RB67 SLR.

The medium format cameras I hand held were :
Mamiya TLR
YashicaMat TLR
Fuji GW670 rangefinder
Fuji GSW690 rangefinder
Holga 120 Panoramic Camera
Ansco Standard Speedex folder
Ansco Viking folder
Diana
Kodak Bullet
Mamiya Universal
Polaroid Portrait Big Shot
Polaroid Square Shooter 2
Kodak Brownie Box

 

[Auer]

+1 for Folders, most are lightweight and compact, designed for travel and basically the compact point and shoot of the day..

 

[guangong]

I agree that GF670 is somewhat difficult to hold while shooting, although not to the extreme of the OP. As for folders, no problem with Super Ikonta B. The easiest to hold steady is Rolleiflex 2.8F. Unless using long, long lenses, I almost exclusively shoot Hasselblad hand helm. This was one of the features that made Hassy the dominant MF SLR. Makina 67 has poor balance, but Can be held steady resting on left hand.
Which makes me wonder just how OP is grasping his camera. How is camera being supported using left hand?

 

[Paul Howell]

Mamiya Press or Universal, Horseman or Lindhoff MF, Konica Rapid, Crown of Speed Graphic 2X3 were all designed to be hand held.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

For hand-held shooting, I think nothing beats a Rolleiflex TLR. I have been able to pull off 1 second exposures with it, if I'm well braced. I have also had some remarkable success with shooting hand-held with an RZ67 - the mirror in it is exceptionally well-damped. I pulled off a 1/15th with the camera pointed straight up, with the 50mm lens on it. The 180 on the RZ is a lot harder to hand-hold, but I've been able to get acceptable shots from it at 1/125th, and occasionally get lucky at 1/60th if I'm well braced and the subject isn't moving.

 

[wyofilm]

I love the portability of my folders Bessa 6x9 II and Agfa Isolette II, but I don't find them great for handholdibility because my fingers are always trying to push into the bellows, which is doubly weird on the bessa, because the shutter release is on the 'wrong' side (the left). I wouldn't give up my folders, though. They are just so portable, especially the Agfa Isolette II - it just slips into the front pocket of Khakis or jacket.

 

[Alan9940]

All my MF folders, my Rolleiflex 3.5, my Fuji GA645Zi, and my Pentax 67 (as long as I keep the shutter speeds up there; typically, I go 2x over the focal length.) Personally, I've always found it difficult to get good shots with my Hasselblad 500C/M handheld.

 

[Commerre]

The Bronica RF645 and Mamiya 7 are both made to be hand held.

 

[Bormental]

Which makes me wonder just how OP is grasping his camera. How is camera being supported using left hand?

My usual technique is to have the camera rest, body + lens, in my left palm. Pretty much like this lady is holding it on the right. But Fuji GF670 cannot really be held this way because you'll be pushing the bellows. So I end up holding most of GF670's weight by its edge in my right hand, with just the focus ring and the opposite body corner resting on my left hand. The feeling is that the Fuji is resting on my hands, while any other camera is held in my hands.

That, in combination with its light weight, often leads to movement during the shutter squeeze. When I focus my attention on this, I do a lot better, but with other cameras the smooth shutter release is muscle memory at this point.

I don't see how any other folder can be different, since they all lack a lens barrel.

 

[DWThomas]

It's normal for me to shoot my folders (Perkeo II and Ercona II) hand held. My Bronica SQ-A I shoot 99.x% on a tripod.

The sweet spot for me is the TLR, a Yashica 124G in my case. With a quality neck strap (Optech or the like) there is a broad pad to spread the load. If I have the length adjusted to suit me, it's almost like an extra hand or two. The strap takes the weight and the hands are free to twiddle settings, aim, adjust, whatever. In earlier tries in the 1970s, a TLR didn't click that well with me, but these days I really like it. I do occasionally use it on a tripod, having a separate optical path for viewing is ideal when using infrared filters!

 

[M-88]

I used to have three different kind of medium format cameras:

1. Bronica ETRS with standard, 75 mm lens. I shot this handheld, to speeds all the way down to 1/30th of a second without a tripod and always got it right (which is not really a surprise because if we take crop factor into account, 75 mm f/2.8 lens equals to 45 mm lens on 35 mm format. Therefore there's not much risk of getting it all blurred). But all in all, medium format cameras with "Hasselblad" layout have shutter release in least ergonomic spot. So I bought a speed grip, which allowed me to use it like a 35 mm camera on steroids and now I could get steady shots at 1/15th of a second. Handholdable? Yes. Cumbersome? Unfortunately, yes.

2. Yashica 124. This was my one and only TLR camera and in spite of initial skepticism, I discovered that a TLR is optimal for holding in hand. Steady shots at 1/4th of a second (with employing of a self-timer). Oh and did I mention how quiet and free from vibrations a TLR is compared to SLR???

3. Zeiss Nettar 518/16 with Velio shutter. This shutter has a rather poor selection of speeds (B/25/50/100/200), but I must say that I can operate it without any hassle. When folded, it is marginally taller than Olympus OM-2, which is a compact camera among 35 mm SLRs. And when I unfold the Nettar's bellows, I can also grip its cover!

All in all, all three kinds of cameras are good, but if I had to choose just one in terms of ergonomics, I would go for a TLR, in spite of interchangeable backs of SLR and super-compact form factor of a folding camera.

 

[MattKing]

For right hand shutter release cameras.
Left elbow pressed into the body, left hand under the base of the body of the camera, cradling the base of the camera with the fingertips of the left hand placed where appropriate.
Right hand holding camera pressed into the left hand and against the forehead.
Fingers of the right hand oriented so that the shutter release is squeezed against opposite pressure, rather than pushed.
Use a sharp-shooter's breathing technique.
Maintain a calm soul .