Newest of the Frozen Chosen in the Great White North

Hello everyone,


My name is Dan and I hail from Winnipeg, MB in Canada aka Winterpeg. As my username suggests I have developed quite a fascination and love for the TLR. I suppose since it was the camera that I developed my very first film roll and first print from might have part of it's charm for me but I also love the simplicity and antique look of them. I suppose I am as much a collector as I am a photographer. As much as possible though I do try and restrict my collection to working cameras because I love to shoot with them as much as display them. Not a fan of wall hangers. That being said I have a Agfa/Ansco Viking and a Moskva 2 that need some work. I also shoot with a Koni Omega Rapid 100 and a Kiev 6c MF SLR on the 120 side of things. I also have Nikon FM, T70 Canon, and a Pentax P3 for the 35mm SLR range. I also have 2 Soviet FEDs and a beautiful Voightlander Vito I. As for Large format I have a 4x5 Pinhole and a 9x12 Errnamann Heig 0 plate camera which is still in perfect working order.

Anyway I hope to get to know everyone and hopefully share some pictures, experience, thoughts and advice. As for my shooting style I love landscape and street photography and find myself inspired by everyone from Ansel Adams, to Henri Cartier Brisson, to Vivian Maiers (love her street photography with a TLR although a Rollei is way outside my budget atm).

Welcome; You can get real working Rolleiflexes starting at about $200. It's the rolleiflex automat. I like them better then a rolleicord. I like the yashica TLRs too.

Welcome to Apug. Rollei Standards can be found for under 200$ as can Tessar Ikoflex' that are just as good as Rolleiflexes and were W. Eugene Smith's favourite cameras.

Hello and welcome to APUG.

Jeff

Welcome to APUG

I escaped Winnipeg when I was five years old

The only Rolleiflex I have ever used was a Model T which I did not like as much as my Rolleichord VB but that might just be because I am much more familiar with it than the T.

Hello Dan and welcome to APUG.

Welcome Dan, from the unfrozen south-west corner of Canada.

Hello and welcome to APUG from another Left Coaster. I last passed through "Winterpeg" on my way to Kingston, ON (Queen's); the former was the only city that I found even less impressive than "Deadmonton."

Lots of good TLRs out there - the Minolta Autocord is another one worth considering. I just sold mine a few months ago; I just wasn't using it enough.

Welcome Dan! Hope things are well down there in balmy southern Canada.

Thanks for warm welcome everyone. I have considered hunting on the bay for a Rolleiflex or Rolleicord but last time I looked they were ridiculously inflated with collector as opposed to shooter prices. Also have had a few interesting experiences with buying stuff based on a picture on line and not all of them good. Like I have a lens off of a Soviet Kiev 90 that is so rare most people have never even heard of them. Only a few thousand were ever made in the FSU and well I have a lens that won't fit anything for a camera that is substandard and rarer then hens teeth because the seller had no clue what they were selling (took me months of digging to figure out what it was as is). Anyway, one that I did pick up on a whim on Ebay for dirt cheap and kind of find myself liking is an old Richter Reflekta II and the model I have is pretty much in mint condition. I have a feeling someone living in the GDR got one as a present and forgot about it for half a century. The only thing with it is the mirror is a bit dirty but I can get that cleaned. Even has the original case and the leatherette is perfect. The glue that held it on is going though. I also have a mostly working Ciro Flex that I am rather fond of. I like odd and quirky cameras and the Relekta in particular fits the bill. The viewfinder is a bit dim but I am given to understand so were Rolleis of that period and was a matter of technology not quality. I love the TLR for street photography. Either people have no clue what it is or they think it is a cool novelty and are happy to have their picture taken. Not like with an SLR and people kind of look at you like you are shady.

Hi Dan; welcome to APUG.

Locally I have seen both a Mamiya C33 and a Yashica 124G for sale. Anyone have any thoughts on these two cameras? I am mostly into street photography right now so I am kind of hesitant about the Mamiya since it is a bit bigger and clunkier like it was meant more as a studio camera.

WinnipegTLRFan said:

Locally I have seen both a Mamiya C33 and a Yashica 124G for sale. Anyone have any thoughts on these two cameras? I am mostly into street photography right now so I am kind of hesitant about the Mamiya since it is a bit bigger and clunkier like it was meant more as a studio camera.

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I'm a big fan of the Mamiya TLRs if you intend to take advantage of lens interchangeability.

A camera with one lens is fairly large.

A camera with two or three lenses makes for a portable kit. In my case, I've settled on a C330 plus 65mm and 135mm lenses. In the past I've had as many as four lenses, and used to use them for weddings.

I would suggest a C330 or C220 instead though - the C33 is quite old.

If you intend to stay with a single, standard lens the Yashica is nicely compact.