Interesting question from a co-worker

[tjaded]

Hi all--
Today a co-worker and I were talking about various cameras and he asked what the lightest medium format camera is. I know that of the ones I have personally used it would be a Rolleiflex. Anyone have any ideas? Essentially he is a Holga guy, likes the square format but is getting tired of the Holga as a camera. The only time I really notice the weight of my Hasselblad would be when I am shooting with the 40mm Distagon...my arm/elbow usually hurt by the end of the day (but it is SOOOO worth it!) Anyway, just curious if anyone has any insight on this semi-useless topic.

Adios,
Matt

 

[bdial]

Presumably you're speaking of "real" cameras, vs the Holga variety.
120 folders come to mind, or perhaps Rolliecords, since they aren't quite as complicated as Rolleiflex's.
All of the other MF camera's I've used or that I can think of, are considerably heavier than those.

 

[Kino]

Tell your co-worker to start carrying a brick around when they have a free hand. When they get used to that, the Hasselblad is not a problem!

I LIKE the heft of a well built camera; it helps steady the shot...

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

one of the folders would most likely be the lightest. I have a Seagull folder kicking around somewhere that is probably close in weight to my Contax G1. Maybe lighter. Another pretty trim model would be my Graflex 22 TLR.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

My Voigtlander Perkeo II is lighter and more compact than some 35mm rangefinders.

 

[Daniel-OB]

Newer used Holga but I think it could make just different and nothing more.

 

[3Dfan]

I'd bet a lubitel would be pretty darn light.

 

[MattKing]

I would guess a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye.

Matt

 

[Phillip P. Dimor]

I'd say a folder too. They are easy to pack and carry too. Usually pretty affordable as well. I had/have a Tower TLR that I carried everywhere with me over the holidays a few years ago. The screen was not overly bright but it was very easy to carry with me and even fit in a large coat pocket.

Out of the cameras that i'm using now, lightest would be my pentax 645.

 

[jovo]

I've only held six different MF cameras (3 TLRs and 3 SLRs), but when I put down my P67 to heft a friend's Hassie, I was astonished at how light it was and how heavy my Pentax was. If weight were a deciding factor in choosing a high quality MF camera, Hasselblad would be my first choice pretty damn quick!

 

[titrisol]

The Isolettes are lightweights compared to any TLR
So should most other folder

 

[Dan Fromm]

The Isolettes are lightweights compared to any TLR
So should most other folder

Nah, you must never have held an Ensign. My 820 weighs, relatively, a ton. But its 6x9 and it is lighter than my Ansco Automatic Reflex.

For 6x6, I second David's suggestion of a Perkeo. Or a Bessa 66. But not an Isolette, unless already brought back to near-new condition. Run of the mine old Isolettes tend to be problematic.

 

[Edwardv]

How about a Plauble Makina 6x7, lens Nikon 80mm f2.8? Not too heavy or too light. I would say just right.

 

[nicolai]

Most box cameras weigh next to nothing, and I've seen some ridiculously good work done with them.

 

[Craig]

For a good, modern, camera it would be one of the Fuji rangefinders. I've got a 6x9 and the lens on that is amazing.

 

[k_jupiter]

The lightest I have had is a Ilford Sportsman. but then again, it was a piece of crap just north of a Holga. I turned mine into a pinhole. For something for taking real photos, the Zeiss Nettars 6x6 are the lightest I now have. The Voightlander Perko is just a bit heavier, and with that Skopar lens, a better deal IMHO.

The Nettar does take nice photos, nothing to be ashamed of. I would recommend a Ikonta with a Tessar lens 6x6. Best bang for the buck, fits in an overcoat pocket.

tim in san jose

 

[Will S]

For a modern coupled rangefiner, the Fuji GS645 is pretty light.

Will

 

[jimgalli]

My Minolta Autocord is a wonderful trade-off of an excellent little lens and light as a feather camera.

 

[Frank R]

Tell your co-worker to start carrying a brick around when they have a free hand. When they get used to that, the Hasselblad is not a problem!

I LIKE the heft of a well built camera; it helps steady the shot...

Reminds me of what happened at the beginning of this summer: I was testing a 9x12 sheet film camera and a Moscow 5.

Before I went out I found the Moscow 5 to be a little awkward with the viewfinder on the wrong side. I was composing and shooting with the 9x12 and I was doing the typical routine of running through all the steps of taking an all manual photo, but with sheet film and a wire viewfinder.

I remember the feeling of relief I had when I turned to the Moscow 5 and took some shots. Wow, was that an easy camera to use! Roll film, what a great idea! And a viewfinder and rangefinder built in, what a wonder of technology!

Anyway, my vote for a light MF is also a folder. If he has a Holga than even a triplet would be a step up. Tell him to visit certo6.com and get a refurbished one. The baby Bessa (I think it was called the Bessa66) was also a small camera.

 

[DBP]

The lightest I have are folders without coupled rangefinders, followed by TLRs. The two folders I have with rangefinders are a Moskva 5 and a Mamiya 6, and neither is light. My 1920s Bessa is probably the lightest 120 camera I have at 468g. As for some others, Isolette 530g, Mamiya 6 folder 870g, the Moskva 5 874g, Rolleicord 846g, , CiroFlex 972g, Yashicamat 124G 1050g, Arax 88CM with back and 80mm lens (same size as Hasselblad) 1650g with W/L, 1930g with non-metered prism, and 2x3 Speed Graphic 1675g. By comparison, a 375 page lightweight paperback book is about 200g.

 

[ijsbeer]

I think my Mamiya RZ is not to heavy. Or does that come from the pleasure it gives me when shooting with it.

 

[Bandicoot]

There are older folders that are lighter, but my favourite modern(ish) lightweight MF camera is the Fujica GS645S. Nice to handle, light and compact, and the lens is spectacular. I think it would be hard to find a MF camera with 'modern' optics that was much lighter than that.


Peter

 

[IloveTLRs]

I'd vote for a folder, too. I've got a Minolta Semi-P that's very light.

 

[bjorke]

Most of the volume in any camera is empty airspace. As long as there's no prism, the real weight is in the lens. Slow lens == light weight. Hence TLR's. Makes my Bronica 645 RF not heavier than my G2, too.

 

[Dave Wooten]

Bronica RF 645 rangefinder, changeable lenses, excellent quality.