Mamiya6 and Hasselblad 501c.
I did an inventory of all the cameras I have or will have available to me soon. I counted 23 cameras in total, which includes 5 digital cameras. My favorite format is the middle of the road format- medium format that uses 120 film.
The medium format cameras I have are:
Holga 120
Yashica A
Fuji GW690
Fuji GSW690
Pentax 645N
Pentax 67II
Franka 6x9 Folder
Zeiss Ikon Nettar 517/2 6x9 Folder
and my recent purchase of a Mamiya RZ67 Pro.
My two favorites out of this list are both of the Pentax units, with the Fuji GW690 a third. Reason the Fuji is third is because the lens is fixed focal length, and it doesn't have a light meter of some sort. Other then that its a great camera.
What are you guys using and which is your favorite?
I don't have a lot of cameras. As of now, I have two medium format cameras:
• Mamiya C330S
• Mamiya RB67
I don't have a favorite. Sometimes I feel square. Sometimes I feel like I need a wider format with more detail.
I borrowed a Bronica S2A from a good friend a long time ago and really enjoyed it. I might look for another one some day.
My Yashica A lens is rather soft for all the TLRs they made. Not bad, but not as sharp either.
Something about Medium Format seems to pull inexorably toward Maximum Cost. Lenses especially. LF lenses can be comparatively smaller and cheaper! I've had a few. Yet there's a love affair with large negatives I'm guilty of, and there's a convenience an walk-a-bility with MF that LF just doesn't swing. Even a Mamiya RB67 is walkable. And then MF seems to manage a choice in film stocks that LF could only dream of even if it falls short of the 35mm range. But that's okay. So as much as I thought I was done with MF, I'm back.
Currently I have a Pentax 645N and a full kit of lenses: 2 zooms and 3 standard range (short-med-long) + a macro. I'm looking at this as increasingly the kit that kills 35mm except perhaps for maybe a small Nikon I don't own. (Oddly, 35mm's excessive number of frames (perspective of a LF and MF guy admitted) makes that project something of a "Do I really have to?" There's a thought in my head these days that film should be used in cameras that do something I can't do (or choose not to do) in digital.... and 35mm fits that in only a narrow range). But my current love for MF is the brute Mamiya RB67 PROSD where image size swings me and the lenses are wonderful. I love everything about the brute almost to the extent of wondering why bother with LF? But that's not happening near term until I have more certainty that I'm on the right track.
I have on order one of Steve Chroma's 6X17's as I've followed Steve for many, many, many years and have wanted to buy a camera from him since his first 4X5's started rolling out. His current forrays in MF are compelling and his ingenuity at this point worth a couple $'s. Panoramas taken one-shot are as distinctive in my eyes as anything that digital can't do.....the way I like them most. LF fits that, too - with perspective control, and I look at my RB as a stalking horse for LF bellows management refresher. Nice thing I'm looking forward to is Steve's lightweight builds and ground glass focusing. It's not a Shen Hao.... but that may be the future.... if 6X17 becomes my main LF/MF medium. We'll have to see. Seascapes here kind of draw you in toward panoramas.... and I'm also partial to cityscapes where the same can be fun.
These days in general I'm trying to be less acquisitive and more focused on gear I use to make images having a place and fitting into a longer term plan for what I want to use and what I want to shoot it with. This is to say trying to get deep into what will complement making the images I want happen. This means I'm focused on de-accessioning gear (to use a library term).
That C330 I heard has some really good lenses on them for a TLR. My Yashica A lens is rather soft for all the TLRs they made. Not bad, but not as sharp either. The Mamiya TLR keeps up with the Hassy's I hear.
I got the three folders on the basis that some may be dud, but on inspection they seem ok.
Be sure to flashlight test the bellows on all three before committing film to them. Especially Agfa bellows as old as an Isolette I are prone to pinholes at the corners of the folds. The good news is, all three of those are likely to have leather, rather than paper, so small patches of the thinnest latigo you can find will cover not-too-numerous pinholes without adding excessive bulk to the bellows. I've even used black masking tape on both inside and outside with success.
Also, on the Isolette, double check that it's actually the front element moving when you turn the focus ring, vs. bringing the middle element with it; the "green grease" on those threads is well known for turning to tenacious glue in the sixty to seventy years since those cameras were sold.
As far as I can tell, the bellows look sound, and happily the Isolette is indeed focussing, at least tested using the scotch tape ground glass method.
Jackpot
Currently using:
Fuji GSW690 III
Fuji GW690 III
Previously owned:
Pentax 6x7 (original non MLU)
Mamiya C220
I have the GSW690III and want the GW690III.
You must try the panoramic plate and adapter….
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