My C330

Wayne · Feb 4, 2017

So, after being shafted by a seller on ebay who refused to ship the C220 I had paid for, and wanting something NOW, I had little choice but to jump at the next decent looking deal that came along. Especially since I had already bought a 135 mm (2nd version) that was on the way to me. So I snagged a bargain C330 from KEH, which actually looks to be in pretty good shape. I did notice a stiffer/scrunchier spot in the winding mechanism so perhaps that is on the way downhill, but it all seems to work and hopefully will continue to do so for a while. I doubt its worth the expense of having it serviced, I'll just keep it till it dies. If it dies.

The other thing I noticed was that it didn't look just like the pics in the 330 manual. I couldn't open it using the C330 instructions. Then I noticed it had a focus lock and knew I didn't have a 330, but a C330S, the latest and last version of the 330.

The other thing I noticed was its weight, but not in the way you'd expect. Didn't seem that bad at all. I had it packed into a camera bag thats identical to the one I keep my RB67 in. I had my Pentax spotmeter, a Weston Master meter, the lens case and the camera with 135 mm lens in there. I was rushing out the door and grabbed the wrong bag, the one that had only my RB and a 127 lens. I knew right away I had the wrong bag. Heavy! I grabbed the othyer bag and it was so light I thought it was empty. No seriously. I haven't tried to carry the C330 around all day on a neckstrap yet, but I don't think the camera is heavy at all.

mrosenlof · Feb 4, 2017

My 330-f has a spot in the wind cycle that has a little more resistance. I think it's maybe at the point where the cocking lever changes direction. It's been there since I bought the camera brand new in 1982. You're probably ok.

I think most of the people who complain about the weight are coming from 35mm (good old 1970s 35mm before auto-everything took off) or comparing to the Rolleiflex. Yup, it's heavier than a Rolleiflex.

My first lens for the TLR was the 135. It's a good combo for the way I see. Good luck to you!

flavio81 · Feb 4, 2017

Mrosenlof is right with the winding cycle

Congrats, you got the best version of the C330, the versatile "system" TLR.

All lenses are beautiful, although the 65 flares and the 55 is difficult to focus. But from 80 and up they are wonderful.

TheToadMen · Feb 4, 2017

I really love and enjoy my C330f with several lenses. If ever replaced then only by a nice C330s.
I think you'll enjoy it too. It's also cable of nice in-camera-double-exposures:

(80 mm lens, Fuji Provia 100F)

Luckless · Feb 4, 2017

They are a wonderful camera system, aren't they?

I have a C330f, and find that the winding gear load-balance isn't as great as some other cameras, and you can feel it switch between different stages of the crank cycle. But be firm and even with your crank rotations and don't try to jerk or force things too fast, and you'll be unlikely to jam or break anything I expect. - It could have been better engineered to be smoother with even more work on the entire system I think, but it far more than a good enough design to work with.

There are some more plastic parts in the C330S than the older F version, and it is therefore a bit lighter, but I've never come across anyone complaining either was actually any less durable than the other. I would imagine that the F might fair a tad better against a baseball bat than the S, but personally I'm not planning to smack the camera around with a bat regardless of which model.

Shutters on the lenses seem easy enough to work with, assuming you don't mind opening up and poking around clockworks. There are 'barely' any bits that are likely to go springing across the room. Except for the springs. (Use care, and only open them up in a very tidy room with no where for bits to go on little adventures of their own if they do get away from you.)

Trivial thing I've found with the lenses from a use case stand point would be the chrome faced dials have the aperture values on your right when you're behind the camera, while the black faced dials have the aperture values on a ring that are read from your left side in the same spot as your shutter speed. Tiny little change in design, small change usability, but it is enough that I think I will refit my black-barrelled chrome faced shutter 180mm with an aperture dial more like my all black 80mm. - Still debating exactly which parts I want to change out.

Only issue I've had with my C330f body so far is that I've somehow managed to lose one of the screw-pins that the view finder hood hooks onto. A tiny one up near the front, not the larger thumb screw in the middle of the back. No clue how that worked out or when it came off. I thought I had gone through and snugged everything up when I first got it. They're odd-ball enough looking screws that I might have to get a friend to turn down a new one from a piece of rod stock.

MattKing · Feb 4, 2017

You will really appreciate its size and weight if you add one or more lenses - a body plus 2 or 3 lenses is really quite compact and light for a medium format system.

And my 65mm lens is excellent - I don't seem to have the flare problems mentioned above. My only complaint about it is it takes normal filters (49mm threads) rather than the 46mm threads used by most of the other lenses.

I've chosen to settle on my original C330 (bought as a store demonstrator in or about 1976) plus 65mm and 135mm lenses, prism and waist level finders, left hand trigger grip and the normal film and accessories, all in a nice compact bag.

one90guy · Feb 4, 2017

Having to down size I just sold my C330 and Bronica EC kit. And already miss the Mamiya, I kept a Mamiya 6 which is a nice camera. But it just never felt right like the C330.

David

Alan Gales · Feb 4, 2017

I've got the C220f. Both the C220f and the C330s have the brightest focussing screens of the Mamiya C cameras. My C220f weighs the same as the Hasselblad 500cm that I used to own. Your C330s is just a little bit heavier. It's heavy compared to a Rolleiflex but compared to other interchangeable lens medium format cameras it is not.

tessar · Feb 4, 2017

I've had a C330s for years and gradually gathered a nice kit -- 55, 80 and 180mm lenses with hoods, prism finder and paramender. One of my favorite cameras. The hoods are good to have because the lens surfaces are recessed very little and quick to flare. You'll like the camera; I've always been happy with the results. Graham Patterson has extensive information on the Mamiya TLRs on his website:
http://www.gapatterson.org/

Nokton48 · Feb 4, 2017

If it works, test it thoroughly, and then just use it. I sent multiple cameras to Mamiya for servicing, and then I started to have failures. And then I moved to Hasselblad. Should have left them alone. Expensive lesson.

EdColorado · Feb 4, 2017

Luckless said:
They are a wonderful camera system, aren't they?
Only issue I've had with my C330f body so far is that I've somehow managed to lose one of the screw-pins that the view finder hood hooks onto. A tiny one up near the front, not the larger thumb screw in the middle of the back. No clue how that worked out or when it came off. I thought I had gone through and snugged everything up when I first got it. They're odd-ball enough looking screws that I might have to get a friend to turn down a new one from a piece of rod stock.

Luckless, is this the screw your looking for? If so, drop me a PM with your address, and I'll pop it an envelope and send it your way.

Wayne · Feb 5, 2017

Yes I think the sticky spot is near the point where direction changes. I'll have to pay closer attention when I finally take a shot and wind again. Good to know its probably not an issue.

The focus screen is incredibly bright! I wish all my cameras were so bright.

I'm not in love with the strap lugs, which seemingly make it so that I have to buy a strap instead of improvising one. But I can live with it. Looking forward to running a roll through tomorrow and developing it.

Wayne · Feb 5, 2017

Wayne said:
I'm not in love with the strap lugs, which seemingly make it so that I have to buy a strap instead of improvising one. .

I wonder if I can make my own strap-lug fitting with a washer and a Dremel...

mikebarger · Feb 5, 2017

I had a 220 and 330F a thousand years ago....both were nice cameras.....just had a hankering for something different

Kodachromeguy · Feb 5, 2017

Have any of you used a Rolleiflex with Planar or Xenotar at the same time as a Mamiya with its 80mm lens and compared similar photographic topics? Any comments on the quality of the negatives (contrast, "look", out of focus areas, etc.)? Thank you.

TheToadMen · Feb 5, 2017

Kodachromeguy said:
Have any of you used a Rolleiflex with Planar or Xenotar at the same time as a Mamiya with its 80mm lens and compared similar photographic topics? Any comments on the quality of the negatives (contrast, "look", out of focus areas, etc.)? Thank you.

I have used a Rolleiflex T and a Mamiya C330f (with 80 mm blue dot), but not at the same time with the same film and subject. However, in general, I prefer the Mamiya lens for better contrast in B&W and better sharpness. Just a gut feeling, nothing scientific about it.

Wayne · Feb 5, 2017

Wayne said:
I wonder if I can make my own strap-lug fitting with a washer and a Dremel...

Yes I can, and did. Ugly but functional. Kind of like me.

Shot a quick roll of HP5 today to test for issues, will develop tonight unless the game is actually worth watching. Now that I've done some more winding I've narrowed the stiff spot down to about 8:30 position, just past the resting position for the crank. But its not bad.

And of yeah! Pleasant Discovery! Couldn't understand why it kept winding past frame 10, thought something was wrong. But you get 12 frames of 6x6 on a roll of 120, dontcha? Very nice!

Wayne · Feb 18, 2017

Ack! So I bought a filter for my lens and before I screwed it in I thought Hmmm, how is having a filter on one lens going to impact the lens cap? The answer, of course, is "not very well". So what do you guys/gals/others do, just keep a cheap filter on the viewing lens at all times? Wish I'd thought of that before ordering just 1. Can you buy just a filter ring,lol?

I suppose I could use single lens caps instead of the twin, but I have a hard enough time keeping track of one cap let alone 2...

MattKing · Feb 18, 2017

I use a UV filter on the XXXXX viewing lens.
You don't want a single cap, unless you want to take accidental pictures of that cap!

Wayne · Feb 18, 2017

MattKing said:
I use a UV filter on the taking lens.
You don't want a single cap, unless you want to take accidental pictures of that cap!

How well does your twin lens cap stay on with a filter on only one lens?

MattKing · Feb 18, 2017

Sorry, I typed wrong.
I leave a UV filter on the viewing lens at all times.
I put whatever filter I am using on the taking lens. That may be a UV filter.

Luckless · Feb 18, 2017

My "Solution" to the cap issue has been to just ignore it. I didn't have caps with my 80mm to begin with, and the cap off my 180 doesn't fit it all that well. If I have filter on the 180, then I tend to just set the cap on over it as a rough fit, assuming I don't simply leave the cap at home. Lenses otherwise live in clean relatively close fitting soft sided lens cases, or wander around attached to the camera without a cap.

The lens surface is recessed enough within its housing that I'm not worried about my 80 or 180 scratching on its case, and I keep my gear bags clean either way. And I typically take the lens blower to things when swapping anyway, so I don't feel like there would be much difference if I had caps as it is. The ones I do have tend to feel more like an annoying bit of plastic to keep track of while out shooting than a useful item to carry.

Eventually I want to make custom snug fit lined leather cases for each lens.

Alan Gales · Feb 18, 2017

MattKing said:
I use a UV filter on the XXXXX viewing lens.
You don't want a single cap, unless you want to take accidental pictures of that cap!

+1

I do the same!

Alan Gales · Feb 18, 2017

Watch Ebay. Small used filters are usually inexpensive.

grahamp · Feb 18, 2017

If you do use separate caps (say hard plastic clip-ons) you will need to file a flat on one if it is a 49mm thread lens pair. One trick for using two caps is to join them with a short cord and treat them as a unit.

My C330

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