If you could start from scratch, what would you get?

[Grim Tuesday]

I was just thinking about the price of a Mamiya 7 and inventorying my medium format gear when I came to the realization that I have given myself a death by a thousand cuts. Over years of acquiring gear, I suddenly have more value in my drawer than I would had I just bought a Mamiya 7 a few years ago and nothing else. But I have no Mamiya 7. I could sell everything to get one, sure, but is a Mamiya 7 with a few lenses really the best use of $3000?

$3000 buys a lot in medium format cameras today. I got to thinking: Would I rather have that Mamiya 7 or a full Hasselblad ecosystem and a few Rolleiflexes? A full complement of fuji rangefinders in every size and shape? A SWC and a C330? A Koni Omega and $2800 of Velvia? It's a fun thought experiment.

The full prompt: You have $3000 to spend. How do you invest your money to maximize image quality in every focal length, camera reliability, and the situations in which at least one camera is appropriate (e.g. if you end up with only a GX680 you lose).

 

[1kgcoffee]

Very happy with my CLA'd Kiev 60 kit with 65mm, 80mm, 150mm and 250mm lenses. Between two bodies, prism, waist level finder and all these lenses I'd estimate around $600 canadian spent. I am very pleased with the image quality. I'd say my northern pesos are equal to about $450 american. Meaning more than $2500 to feed these cameras. I might consider a mamiya rz67 or bronica instead but its hard to beat the value of these old soviet cameras.

 

[StepheKoontz]

That's a hard thing to say for someone else. Shooting with a Fuji rangefinder is a very different experience than shooting with a Rolleiflex 2.8D. Also I enjoy collecting cameras AND using them. Having just a mamiya 7 wouldn't do for me Plus I REALLY enjoy shooting with 1950's vintage gear for some reason.

 

[M. Axel Wikstrom]

For medium format I'd say a Hasselblad with 60, 120, and 250mm lenses, and hopefully there's enough left over for an SWC/M with its 38mm Biogon. I also like the lightweight compactness of a Rolleiflex - having a light setup and not having to worry about different focal lengths is refreshing. I like the square format.

 

[campy51]

I find the hunt for good camera gear at low prices the fun part. Between auctions and craigslist I have found some outstanding deals that have net me thousands of dollars over the years which keeps feeding my habit and allows me to upgrade. I keep what I want for myself until I feel the need or want to upgrade. Some of it ends up in a small collection I have which I enjoy looking at.

 

[guangong]

If starting over, I would follow the same path as taken the first time. Basically saving over time to purchase only quality equipment from reputable dealers. Leica, Nikon, Hassy 1000F, Minox, Rolleiflex. Still use same cameras five decades later (1000F died and replaced by 2000FCM), while, of course, gradually accumulating quality folders , etc. I use all my stuff. Amortized over the years I have saved a bundle by avoiding playing hopscotch with equipment of lesser quality.

 

[removed account4]

If I could start from scratch, I would buy a cyclone #3 falling plate camera and absolutely nothing else. Gear is just a distraction.

 

[baachitraka]

A 4x5 and nothing else...but it may not suit to all situations so a nice Rolleiflex/Rolleicord is enough.

 

[etn]

I would follow the same path as I did when first starting with MF (in the early 2000's): a TLR, then a Hasselblad to expand. I also like the fact that they are fully mechanical.

I somewhat regret the path I took before that, namely a Nikon autofocus and a gazillion of lenses including zooms. I wanted autofocus to be able to shoot without glasses and didn't care about the weight (silly me!) Only when I bought a TLR I realized the power of 1) medium format and 2) one camera, one lens - and that waist level finders are compatible with glasses Thinking of it now, there's not much I could have done differently. Back then, medium format was the realm of pros (like MF digital today). Second hand MF cameras were rare and a new one, or a Leica, was out of my price range anyway.

 

[mshchem]

If I could start over. I would buy a Porsche 911 Turbo and a Holga. I have so much stuff, darkroom, tripods cameras etc. Probably will just call for a dumpster.

 

[narsuitus]

If you could start from scratch, what would you get?"

If I were forced to start from scratch, I would do the same with the following exceptions:

1. I never would have sold my Diana medium format camera.

2. I would not have purchased the Miranda Sensorex as my first 35mm camera.

3. I would not have sold my two titanium Nikon F2 bodies.

4. I would not have purchased the Nikkor 43-86mm f/3.5 AI zoom lens.

 

[Dan Fromm]

Hmm. Since this is the medium format forum, I suppose that the OP was asking about which MF system we'd buy into if we started MF from scratch right now.

Given things as they are, I wouldn't buy into any film-based system now. I haven't gone digital even though my wife has given me budget to buy next-to-the-top-of-the-line -- since I have Nikon lenses, DF or D850 - and don't intend to. In today's market, probably a DF.

My MF gear is a heap of 2x3 Graphics and a couple of Cambo SC-1s with many too many lenses. Also a hybrid Cambo (2x3 front standard, tapered bellows, both standard and bag, 4x5 rear) so that I can shoot 6x12 (Sinar Panorama roll holder) and 2x3 (Super Rollex) with the same cameras. I chose the Graphics, was given the first SC-1 and persisted with Cambo gear.

I'd get 2x3 Graphics again. They're multipurpose cameras and better than good enough for me. I can understand why other people who want to shoot 2x3 would choose interchangeable lens rangefinder cameras, I nearly did.

I"m not sure about the Cambos. They're bulky and heavy. Against that, they're very flexible. And, thanks to the hybrid I've been able to extend my range to include 6x12.

I bought my lenses in part to find out which ones are good enough to use. Short answer, in lenses for close-up work, not as many as you'd think. For work at distance, most but still not all. I don't feel sorry for myself because I bought some real clinkers.

 

[Dennis-B]

After ridding myself of medium and large format cameras around seven years ago, I restarted my collection for usage about two years ago. I now have more than I ever did when i shot film. The prices are just too tempting for good gear. I found another Hasselblad 500 C/M, and enough lenses to be functional. I also did the same with a Bronica SQ-A. I avoided the fixed lens TLR's, going with a Mamiya C330s with several lenses. The same with Mamiya SLR's. I also own three 4x5 cameras.

I'm not struggling to use any of them. They all get out about once monthly with my Nikon D750. Oh, BTW, my Nikon film cameras are another story.

 

[jim10219]

I wouldn't change a thing. I've made more money selling cameras than I've spent acquiring the gear that I have. I don't know how it happened. But somehow I got lucky for a few years there and kept finding good deals on cameras, buying them, finding a better deal on a better camera, and selling the old camera for more than I paid for. It was a long loop of upgrades that put money in my pocket each time.

That spell has kind of dried up, unfortunately. I haven't bought much in the way of new cameras or gear in the last few years. People seemed to have caught wind that there's a market for them again. That's okay. I pretty much have everything I want.

 

[KenS]

I'd probably invest in the largest Sinar I could lay my hands on...a variety of lenses, some 'reducing backs' and spend the remainder on a good deep freeze to store the boxes of film. All the 'raw' chemicals s required for the a selection of 'archaic' print processes. Any 'space' left over will be used to 'store' 'hermetically sealed' pads (or boxes) of the papers of my first choice.

Ken

 

[Ian Grant]

I'd build my own 6x7 camera, oh just remembered I did

Ian

 

[Paul Howell]

Horseman or Lindfoff 6X9 with set of coupled matched lens.

 

[warden]

If I had that budget and the task of starting over I'd repurchase two systems I already have: A Zeiss Ikon ZM and a Hassy. At this point I can't do without either.

Hassy + 60mm Distagon
ZI + 50mm Sonnar

 

[narsuitus]

Over the years, I have owned and used the following medium format cameras:
Diana
Holga
Kodak box
Ansco folder
Yashica TLR
Mamiya TLR
Mamiya RB67
Mamiya Universal 6X7
Fuji rangefinder

Today, if I were starting my medium format gear accumulation from scratch, I would select the Mamiya TLR.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

I was just thinking about the price of a Mamiya 7 and inventorying my medium format gear when I came to the realization that I have given myself a death by a thousand cuts. Over years of acquiring gear, I suddenly have more value in my drawer than I would had I just bought a Mamiya 7 a few years ago and nothing else. But I have no Mamiya 7. I could sell everything to get one, sure, but is a Mamiya 7 with a few lenses really the best use of $3000?

$3000 buys a lot in medium format cameras today. I got to thinking: Would I rather have that Mamiya 7 or a full Hasselblad ecosystem and a few Rolleiflexes? A full complement of fuji rangefinders in every size and shape? A SWC and a C330? A Koni Omega and $2800 of Velvia? It's a fun thought experiment.

The full prompt: You have $3000 to spend. How do you invest your money to maximize image quality in every focal length, camera reliability, and the situations in which at least one camera is appropriate (e.g. if you end up with only a GX680 you lose).

I would definately get another Hasselblad501c with a 5,80 and 150mm CF lens but limit myself to just two A12 backs.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I would buy all the Hasselblad equipment that I have now. Also the same 4"x5" enlarger, drum print dryer, and Jobo processor. Also the same Pacemaker Speed Graphic and Graflex Model D.

 

[Theo Sulphate]

Starting over with medium format film equipment, based on what I know now, I'm going to pick: RB67 Pro SD with lenses from 50mm to 250mm. The reason is because I love 6x7, love the rotating back, and love the operation of the camera and the quality of its lenses.

This is how I started, chronologically, and I still have all these cameras:

Hasselblad (500C/M, 501C, SWC, 553ELX)
RB67 Pro S
Fuji GW690III
Zeiss Nettar 515/16
Rolleiflex 2.8D, 3.5F
Pentax 6x7 MLU

 

[Jim Blodgett]

I get at least as much enjoyment from working in the darkroom as I do actually taking photos, although I like both a lot. So I'm thinking I'd have to budget a couple thousand towards darkroom equipment and the other thousand towards camera gear. Seems like I could get a good start on both for 3K.

 

[abruzzi]

Easily my most used camera is my Bronica ETRSi. I have a lot of ETRSi gear (all but maybe 5 or 6 of the lenses) I love my Pentax 67, but not the weight. If I started over, I might go all in on a Bronica GS-1 to get the 6x7 negative in a smaller lighter camera. I'd get the camera, waist level finder, a few backs, and as many of the lenses I could get with the $3k budget.

 

[jtk]

I'd get full frame digital Pentax.