Mamiya TLR's...

grahamp

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Definitely not an oracle. Really.

The C330s uses a different focus screen design from the C330/C330f. That affects availability. The door latch is built into the upper spool retention knob rather than being part of the back, so damage to the back release can't be fixed with a new back. And those strap lugs rather than loops are annoying.

As i say, personal bias.
 

mrosenlof

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I've been a fan of these cameras since buying my first 330F in 1982. I now have a couple of 330F bodies and a collection of black lenses and accessories. The lenses I have are all sharp. One or two shutters are a little stickier than I would like. I can especially say that I think the 80mm f/2.8S is very sharp is as the 135/4.5. I've seen other reports that the 135 isn't that sharp, but mine are. As with most lenses from the 70s +/- a decade, they will perform best a stop or two down from wide open, but the biggest variables relating to sharpness are probably how well you focus, and how still the camera stays during the exposure. A fantastic lens won't make up for sloppy focus or an unsteady tripod (or hand).

I like the non-folding magnifying hood (3.5x and 6x). Viewing and focus is easy. I don't think it's any heavier than the standard waist-level finder, but it is more bulky. I have a pentaprism, but have never really warmed up to using eye-level viewing with this thing. I have a paramender (parallax correction device, raises the camera by 50mm), but have mostly decided that I'm going to use 35mm or 4x5 for close work.

Use lens hoods! They make a big difference.
 
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ChristopherCoy

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Is it common for folks to only use a single lens with these? The 80mm 2.8 seems to be the most common.
 

grahamp

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The 75/80mm has been the standard for the format for a long time. The original Mamiyaflex C/C2 were often offered with a 105mm, but the original lens range was 65-135mm, not the later 55-250mm. 105mm on 6x6 has a similar functional feel as a 55mm on 135 format, or 210mm on 4x5". When the C was introduced the 80mm f2.8 was the widest lens. The 65mm did not arrive on the scene until around 1958 with the C2.

I tend to use a 105mm as my default lens unless the extra half stop for the 80mm f2.8 is really needed. But I use a 'short' standard of 135mm on my 4x5'. So I am nothing if not inconsistent.

Graham

Graham
 

MattKing

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ChristopherCoy said:
Is it common for folks to only use a single lens with these? The 80mm 2.8 seems to be the most common.
Click to expand...

The 80mm 2.8 is a very good and flexible lens.

However, one of the advantages of the Mamiya TLRs is that, relatively speaking, the lenses are quite small.

So while a body plus a single lens is fairly large for a TLR, a body plus two or three lenses makes for a compact kit compared to some other medium format options.

That is why I've settled on a 65mm + 135mm lens kit. With a body and a grip plus film, a meter and a couple of smaller accessories, it fits nicely in a smallish camera bag.

This choice is no doubt influenced by the fact that I personally prefer a slightly wider angle of view for a "standard" lens, so the 65mm is more to my taste.

I used to have two bodies and a 4 lens kit (55mm and 80mm as well) but now, as I have more recently acquired other medium format equipment with both longer and wider lenses for it, I've dedicated my TLR to be my "compact" kit.
 

Roger Cole

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How involved is film loading? One of the few drawbacks to my Yashicamat besides the not-that-fast fixed lens, is that film loading is a bit fiddly and impossible to do quickly.
 

MattKing

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Roger Cole said:
How involved is film loading? One of the few drawbacks to my Yashicamat besides the not-that-fast fixed lens, is that film loading is a bit fiddly and impossible to do quickly.
Click to expand...

The film loading is very straightforward - and there is a nice straight film path.

I used to be able to unload and re-load very quickly when I was using my C330 for weddings
 

steven_e007

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I've never owned a C33 but I avoided them following the advice of Ivor Matanle in his excellent book 'Classic cameras' who said "The rudimentary shutter-cocking mechanism of the C33 is inclined to be troublesome - a problem overcome in later models..."

There seems to be a few C33 supporters on here, so maybe it isn't that much of a problem, but he does make the point that the none cocking and none leaver wind cameras are likely to be the most reliable because they are simpler. Also, I suspect, because they may have had a lot less use. The C220 was more likely to have been an amateur's camera, a C330 might have had thousands of films put through it by a Wedding photographer...

Personally I have never had much trouble with either my C220 or C330f. Both seem very rugged. My trouble is that after long periods of storage - the shutters in the lenses get sticky....
 

Thingy

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One of the benefits of starting with a Mamiya TLR is that if you graduate to a large format camera later, you will already be familiar with leaf shutters, rear lenses that may be as deep as the front lenses, bellows focussing and locking the bellows (admittedly with a lever in the case of the C330f) focussing on a GG and the need to manually cock the shutter (if you do double exposure work with your TLR).
 

Argenticien

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ChristopherCoy said:
Is it common for folks to only use a single lens with these? The 80mm 2.8 seems to be the most common.
Click to expand...

Carefully consider what you'll use the camera for and build your lens kit accordingly. For wandering about flat meadows shooting flowers, you could go all your life with just the 80 mm. For portraits, 135 or even 180 mm. I'll suggest that for land/sea-scapes, you'll want the 55 mm. Last year, at the California coast (Big Sur), I stupidly got caught out without anything wider than the 80 mm (because I own nothing wider) on my C330S. In some places, I couldn't walk forward without falling off a cliff or into the sea, and couldn't walk backward without being backed up against another cliff or into a massive wall of poison oak. For such terrain where "zoom with your feet" doesn't work, you need a decent range of focal lengths. The good thing with the Mamiyas is that I can say "Right! Must buy a 55 before the next visit," whereas with a fixed-lens TLR, you'd be saying "Now how do I solve this?"
--Dave
 

benjiboy

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With the 55mm wide angle lens on Mamiya TLRs by extending the bellows you can get 1:1 without the need for extension tubes .
 
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ChristopherCoy

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It's here!! It's here!! Thanks to XPhotog I've been able to replace my long lost TLR. And my film order from Freestyle should be here this afternoon too!!
 

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Mike Wilde

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Now you can carry it around for a day taking picture, and understand why I affectionately call my c-330 with 80 or 65 or most certainly when mounted with the 180 and handle combo 'the brick'.
 

Barry S

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Looks great! That C33 seems like it's in very nice condition and the hood/original lens cap are nice to have. Just make sure you press the shutter release firmly so that it triggers both the film advance lock and the shutter. At least on some C33's a soft press can trip the shutter but not the film advance, so it will be locked until you select the multiexposure mode.
 
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ChristopherCoy

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Mike Wilde said:
Now you can carry it around for a day taking picture, and understand why I affectionately call my c-330 with 80 or 65 or most certainly when mounted with the 180 and handle combo 'the brick'.
Click to expand...

I know! I certainly don't remember them being this HEAVY! it's been at least 11 years or more since I've seen/held the original one that I had. The word "brick" is fairly conservative too... Feels more like a cinder block!
 

benjiboy

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I bought a C33 second hand about thirty years ago which was old even then, but before using it seriously I had it CLA'd at the time and it's s still working like a dream, I don't use it much these days because I have two C330 F bodys that are much lighter in weight and have the ability to take interchangeable focusing screens.

P.S I used to know Ivor Matanley and his wife Ann many years ago before they moved South and we lost touch.
 

steven_e007

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The C330f is much lighter than a C33?

I didn't know that. Since the C330f is hardly a lightweight, the C33 must be a real beast!
 

grahamp

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The C33 body runs to about 1800 grams, the C330 to around 1400 grams, while the C330s came down to around 1300 grams. I say 'around' because it depends on the finder hood and if there is a strap attached.

See http://grahampatterson.home.comcast.net/~grahampatterson/grahamp/mfaq/m_faq-11.html#Heading141 if you are really curious.

A three lens C33 outfit weighs a little less than a CF 'blad, and a bit more than a Bronica SQA. The TLR bodies are heavy, but the lens pairs are actually lighter because there is no focusing mount.

Graham
 

benjiboy

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One thing I really like about the Mamiya TLRs is that I can get camera body a wide angle, standard and telephoto lenses in a very small bag that's about a 9" cube in size, I can't think of any other M/F system you could do that with.
 

Too old to care

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I used a C3 to help put me through college many years ago, then added a C220 that help pay for our first house, and about 20 years ago added a C330F that is helping me in my retirement today. My C3 and C220 were recently given to a friend so he could enjoy MF when I recently added a Hasselblad to my collection.

Wayne
 
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