My Mamiya c330 is on the way...

mrdarklight · Sep 11, 2009

I got a Mamiya c330 on the eBay that is supposed to be in really good shape, for $81 shipped, with no lenses. So now I gotta come up with some lenses. I'm keeping my eye on eBay, and they're coming along, but I haven't managed to get one yet. (If anyone has one they want to sell, feel free to send me a message). I'd like to get a wide angle especially, since I like wide angle shots and my Yashica-Mat obviously doesn't do that.

Anyone here have any advice for a new Mamiya c330 owner?

Jerevan · Sep 11, 2009

If you are going to macro stuff, spend the money on a paramender, it's well worth it. Beware of the bellows extension factor, it's easy to get underexposed shots if you don't take care. It's a nice camera, with a lot going for it.

mrdarklight · Sep 11, 2009

OK, you've already stumped me. What's the bellows extension factor?

Steve Smith · Sep 11, 2009

mrdarklight said:
OK, you've already stumped me. What's the bellows extension factor?

The simple answer is that when you extend the lens, the figures on the aperture scale are not correct. Apertures are worked out as the focal length divided by the aperture diameter. If you double the focal length of the lens by extending it to twice it's focal length at infinity, then what is marked as f8 is actually f16, etc. and is letting in less light (If I got that wrong, someone will soon tell me!).

From the fact that you say you like wide angle shots though, I would guess that you are more of a landscape shooter than a macro person so you don't need to worry about this for now.

Steve.

kameranerd.com · Sep 11, 2009

mrdarklight said:
Anyone here have any advice for a new Mamiya c330 owner?

If you go for the 55mm you should also have the sunshade for this lens, i dont, and i have som problems with flare.
But really great camera

Kent

Ian Tindale · Sep 11, 2009

My advice is that there's no hurry. Just accumulate bits for it as and when you see a good bargain. My system is a (mostly now broken) C330 and five knackered lenses, a few screens, some lens hoods, etc. But it didn't all happen at once - more like over the past 20 years. The only part I bought new was a paramender - the others were all found cheap, now and then.

Beemer · Sep 11, 2009

Jerevan said:
If you are going to macro stuff, spend the money on a paramender, it's well worth it. Beware of the bellows extension factor, it's easy to get underexposed shots if you don't take care. It's a nice camera, with a lot going for it.

Try to get the Paramender Model 2

regards,

Ian

Beemer · Sep 11, 2009

I have the 65mm, 80mm, 135mm and 180mm. Without doubt for me the 65mm has the best image quality. I do not have its lens hood but I do not have a problem with flare.

Tip: When operating the shutter with film in the camera be positive and not hesitant. Some shutter release buttons if pressed to gently will operate the multiple exposure lock and force you to wind on. Also a soft press can after 6 exposures initiate the "short film", i.e. in Japan they often used 6 exposure film instead of 12. The result using normal 12 exposure film is that the winder will keep winding instead of stopping at the next frame.

regards,

Ian

Sirius Glass · Sep 11, 2009

Steve Smith said:
The simple answer is that when you extend the lens, the figures on the aperture scale are not correct. Apertures are worked out as the focal length divided by the aperture diameter. If you double the focal length of the lens by extending it to twice it's focal length at infinity, then what is marked as f8 is actually f16, etc. and is letting in less light (If I got that wrong, someone will soon tell me!).

From the fact that you say you like wide angle shots though, I would guess that you are more of a landscape shooter than a macro person so you don't need to worry about this for now.

Steve.

IIRC the left side of the C-330 has several scales to determine the light lose factor for various Mamiya lenses. Check the instruction manual, which you can find here: http://www.butkus.org/chinon/mamiya.htm
[If you find the manual useful, please do not forget to send in $3. I have no connection to the site. I have found it useful to me in the past.]

Steve

mrdarklight · Sep 11, 2009

Where's a good place to look for bargains besides the eBay?

Sirius Glass · Sep 11, 2009

mrdarklight said:
Where's a good place to look for bargains besides the eBay?

No, KEH. They have a two week return policy and their grading of the equipment condition is very conservative. While I have gotten good equipment on eBay, I now use eBay for camera equipment that I cannot find elsewhere.

YMMV

Steve

Christiaan Phleger · Sep 11, 2009

A really good hood option for the 55mm is a 49-52 step up ring, then a Nikon HN-1 lens hood. Fits nice, does not intrude into the top lens view objectionably, it works very well and is fairly cheap to do. Of course, shooting with the sun in the frame will still flare, but most general shooting and cross light it works well.

arealitystudios · Sep 11, 2009

Welcome to the wonderful world of Mamiya TLRs! These are absolutely wonderful beasts. My C330 was given to me by an Uncle when I was about 18. I admit I did not like it at all at first and almost sold it (this was long before digital and was worth quite a bit back then). I thought it was too big and hefty to really be usable and I wanted to be cool like all my friends with their auto-focus Canon EOS and Nikon 35mm SLR cameras.

These days though theyve all gone to digital and I went back to the Mamiya. It is my primary workhorse now and Ive come to realize its many advantages. I have only two lenses for it, an 80mm and a 65mm, both excellent but I do tend to favor the standard focal length of the 80mm.

KEH seems to have a pretty good selection of used Mamiya TLR lenses for reasonable prices. Ive come to trust them over the years as being an honest vendor.

BTW if anyone knows somewhere that is selling a replacement focusing screen for a Mamiya C330 Id love a heads up. Id love to find something with grid lines or a split screen.

Blighty · Sep 11, 2009

When you've got your kit together you can do this with it!! Don't you dare laugh, this is my C330f!

mrdarklight · Sep 11, 2009

Blighty said:
When you've got your kit together you can do this with it!! Don't you dare laugh, this is my C330f!

Nice! I hope it doesn't unfold and turn into a robot and start tearing up the place.

What's that round thing on top? It looks like you have a porro finder on there, but also some kind of... other thing.

jasonhall · Sep 11, 2009

mrdarklight said:
OK, you've already stumped me. What's the bellows extension factor?

There is a scale in the view finder, a pointer will move as you extend the bellows for close focusing. The scale will tell you how much exposure to add when focus to a certain point. You will find that with wide angle it will not be an issue very much. It really can be a pain when you are trying to focus very closely to a object.

The pointer also indicates where the top of your frame will be for Parallex (sp?) correction.

There is a dial on the side of the camera that you dial in the focal length lens that you have. That will move the scale to match the lens you have attached.

One big tip I can give (this is from experence), when you close the film door, besure BOTH side latch shut. If the right side does not, the frame counter will not engage and you will run half way through the roll before you realize the counter is not advanceing and stoping on frame one.

The auto shutter cocking feature is the weakest part of the camera. Don't force it if it wants to jam! You may find it will bend the linkage in the camera body and you will have to remove the leather and a bunch of other crap to open it up. Then you have to remove much of the bent/damaged linkage to free up the camera again and buy a new leather kit to recover it. :rolleyes:

Simple advise, if the auto shutter cocker does not work, leave well enough alone.

Jason

Mike Wilde · Sep 11, 2009

While you wait for the right lens deal to turn up, while the winter away doing arm strengthening excercises by lifting the thing. I don't call mine the brick for nothing.

Mine came with the 80, I got the 180 silver shutter version on the 'bay, with a cranky shutter that needed some tlc, and a 65 for the landscape from the used department at b&h when I was in town there a few years ago.

MattKing · Sep 12, 2009

The 135 is a gorgeous lens too - it is small enough to be convenient, but long enough for nice portraits.

The left hand trigger grip in Blighty's example is great, and will work well on an RB 67 as well.

I'd love to have a chimney finder like Blighty, although I really don't care about whether or not the CDS meter works (a lot of them have seen better days).

A 65mm + 135mm is my favourite combination for a very useful and compact kit, but I use my other lenses (55mm and 80mm) regularly too. The 55mm is fairly dim though, so it can be a challenge to focus in low light.

If you are looking for paramenders, the paramender 3 is very special (no, you cannot have mine ).

They are great for infra-red photography, because the necessary filters don't impede viewing.

If you haven't already discovered it, here is the link to Graham Patterson's excellent resource:

Dead Link Removed

He posts here regularly as well, under grahamp, if I'm not mistaken.

After 30+ years of use, I would simply say that they are wonderful cameras (IMHO) with a distinct character.

Matt

AgentX · Sep 12, 2009

mrdarklight said:
Nice! I hope it doesn't unfold and turn into a robot and start tearing up the place.

What's that round thing on top? It looks like you have a porro finder on there, but also some kind of... other thing.

That's the "chimney finder," which is a rigid hood/magnifier. Still looks top-down onto the groundglass.

Enjoy the TLR. 65mm and 105mm are my favorite lenses, especially as a pair.

jasonhall · Sep 12, 2009

Yes, if I were in the position to buy another C330, the Chimney finder would be in the mix. I already have the left hand trigger grip that I use on my RB67. I had to sell my C330 and an 80mm(blue dot) and a "silver" 105mm due to hard times. Good luck with yours, they are rather well built machines.

Jason

grahamp · Sep 12, 2009

The chimney finder does give a nice clear image without much eyepiece light. There's also some dioptric correction. It does not weigh much (it is basically an empty box) but it is bulky.

All the finders have a recess in the base for a secondary screen. This is usually for the 55mm scale plate (adjusts the parallax and exposure correction scale for the short lens), but you can put in a grid or horizontal/vertical 8x10 format composition lines.

mrdarklight · Sep 12, 2009

Ha, funny, I just won a lens for this on eBay, a 135mm Sekor. No bidders, opening bid at $50. I just saw one of these go for $120. So now I have a lens.

benjiboy · Sep 12, 2009

Blighty said:
When you've got your kit together you can do this with it!! Don't you dare laugh, this is my C330f!

Was that the Soviet Union , Joseph Stalin commemorative model ?

Bosaiya · Sep 13, 2009

My C330 sees a lot of use. The f/2.8 80mm is particularly nice for low-lit situations. I have a prism and handle but haven't used either in a while - too bulky. The TLR is normally my secondary camera and I carry it on a strap around my neck.

alanrockwood · Sep 13, 2009

mrdarklight said:
Where's a good place to look for bargains besides the eBay?

Craigslist, sometimes.

Actually, where I live (near Salt Lake City, Utah) asking prices for photo equipment on Craigslist tend to be high, but I hear stories that some people find good deals on Craigslist elsewhere.

My Mamiya c330 is on the way...

mrdarklight

Jerevan

mrdarklight

Steve Smith

kameranerd.com

Ian Tindale

Beemer

Beemer

Sirius Glass

mrdarklight

Sirius Glass

Christiaan Phleger

arealitystudios

Blighty

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