Yashica Mat 124 G vs Mamiya 645J with Mamiya Secor-C 80mm 2,8 lens

Hi all,

As a MF beginner I found two interesting, affordable cameras "near me": Yashica Mat 124 G and Mamiya 645J with Mamiya Secor-C 80mm 2,8 lens. Both of them are sold for €200 (and are in working conditions). The Mamiya comes with the metered prism.

Any recommendations on what to buy? I'd love to use the camera to create sharp photos (portraits, but also street & landscape) and develop them myself (as I'm doing with 35mm film).

Thanks for any thoughts!

I use both, (well the slightly oler Yashicamat 125), they are quite different to use both capable of great shots.

You need to decide whether an SLR with inter-changeable lenses is going to be better than a TLR with a fixed lens. A slightly later 1000S might be better as it has mirror lock which I think the J lacks prices are about the same now.

Personally I'd go for the Mamiya as in the long term it's more versatile and 15 shots per roll helps, I tend to use my TLR more but then I'm nearly always using it alongside an LF camera.

Ian

I have the 124G and a Mamiya M645 (not the J, not the 1000S, but the plain M645).

I think 200 euros is too much for a J series. It was the entry level 645, and lacks a few features, like the MLU, and the dual shutter releases. There are more things, but off the top of my head, those are what I remember.

The 124G is a great camera, light, easy to use, built in meter, great lens. But it's (IMO) limiting in that you have one option for a lens. There is also the risk of jamming the shutter using the self timer with the sync set to M. And you have to watch your parallax in closer images.

Personally, I prefer the Mamiya. I like the SLR, I love the interchangeable lenses, and it's super close to being a system camera. Different finders, available TTL metering, power winder, and pre-loadable film inserts. Just some niceties that the Y-124G doesn't have.

The other thing is; which format do you prefer? 6x6 or 6x4.5?

With that said, for $200 US (about 200 Euros I think), you can get yourself a nice M645 or 645 100s with the 80mm, and probably have some left over. The lenses for the Mamiya are great, and lucky for us, are really affordable. I think the most expensive accessory is the waist level finder with the sports viewfinder.

My recommendation is a Mamiya M645 or 1000S, fwiw.

Going from35 to the Mamiya might be a little easier because it's got a prism and views are right side up.

The Yashica = bigger negative but you will have to slow down with the reversed image. IE:Subject moves right, camera has to move left to follow it.

Because you're in Europe $200. is likely to be the going price for either one. Are either of the owners willing to be
a little flexible? Equal condition, price could make a decision for you.

I'm not a fan of TLRs for close portraits as I prefer slightly longer lenses.

You might check whether a 75 or 80mm on 6x6 will give you the field of view you would want for your purposes.

Flickr can be a good resource for checking what a particular combination can get you.

I find the mamiya m645 slr to be a bit heavy with a prism finder for walking around. The yashicamat, if working 100% is a good deal and a nice easy to carry camera.


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Id go with the Yashica. If your planning to street portraits, it will be a lighter load. I've seen the images that come off this camera. Pretty impressive.

For equal money Go for the 645 if only for the lens speed. Mat24 lens is f.3.5, the 645 is f2.8. It's only 2/3 of a stop but it's a BIG 2/3s especially for street shooting in cities with tall buildings where street level can be incredibly dark even at noon.

nyoung said:

For equal money Go for the 645 if only for the lens speed. Mat24 lens is f.3.5, the 645 is f2.8. It's only 2/3 of a stop but it's a BIG 2/3s especially for street shooting in cities with tall buildings where street level can be incredibly dark even at noon.

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There's also an f1.9 standard lens, I've always been happy with the 80mm f2.8 though fast enough for all my wants. No-one seems to champion the f1.9 lens and Ive never seen a glowing test report either.

All my current TLRs have f3.5 lenses, I had 2 C3 series Mamiyas and f2.8 80mm Sekors until they were stolen in the mid 1980's, I replaced them with 645 Mamiyas. However I've never had a problem shooting with f3.5 lenses on my current TLRs, 2 Rolleiflexes - an E3 and Automat, Yashicamat 124 and a Microcord.

Ian

The 80/1.9 is a good deal larger and heavier but it is the fastest medium format lens out there.

The portability is one major factor which will affect your choice depending on how you intend to use the camera, regarding hand-carrying it and unsupported shooting. The Yashica has a tessar lens and the Mamiya has a more complex modern ('better') lens design. The Yashica has a lens-mounted shutter (syncs with flash at all speeds) while the Mamiya has a focal-plane shutter - this is probably only of interest if you are shooting your portraits with flash-units as lighting of course.

Note that limiting your SLR choice to the Mamiya is unnecessary, as is limiting the TLR choice to the Yashica. For a large-35mm-SLR-body experience at that price, or less, you can look for a rebuilt Pentacon-6. Lots of relatively cheap and effective Zeiss glass available for those. The body form-factor is very hand friendly in use and easy to use with the cheap eye-level prism. For a different TLR you could look for an older Rolleicord, or for a rebuilt Flexaret, both of which have tessar-design lenses like the Yashica.

Two hundred euros is actually a very adequately sized budget for a 'cheap but serious' 120 camera in the EU, and you could probably find an enlarger as well as a camera for that total price!

I have both cameras except my mamiya is the m645, I really like it a lot, I also like the 124g but like others have said it is limiting, I would go for the mamiya as well because of the different lenses and how affordable they are, I just bought 2 lenses in pristine condition for 125.00 w/ caps, you cant hardly beat that