Your favorite 120 Format?

[chromacomaphoto]

Voted, 6 x 6 all the way for me. It's just so perfect.

 

[bluez]

I am shocked at the popularity of 6x6!

So am I.

I had a 6x6 500cm in the past, but i never got used to the square format.

 

[Besk]

I shoot 645, 6x6, and 6x9 on my miniature Crown. My favorite is the 6X9. Each has its purpose.

 

[Slixtiesix]

up

 

[cooltouch]

Well, I too shoot multiple formats -- 645, 6x6, 6x7, and 6x9. But of them all, I still consider 6x6 to be the most practical. And it's a simple reason: you don't have to move the camera from horizontal to vertical to shoot vertical shots. You compose both horizontal and vertical in the viewfinder, and shoot accordingly. And sometimes, square format is just the right way to go.

 

[CropDusterMan]

6x9

 

[Steve Smith]

But of them all, I still consider 6x6 to be the most practical. And it's a simple reason: you don't have to move the camera from horizontal to vertical to shoot vertical shots.

You don't have to... but I often do with a hand held 6x6 folder!


Steve.

 

[narsuitus]

...you don't have to move the camera from horizontal to vertical to shoot vertical shots.

For this reason, I prefer the 6x6 camera. However, I prefer the 6x7 format.

 

[Brandonium]

My first ever format for film photography was 6x6 and while I have the capability to shoot 645, 6x7 & 6x9 I almost always stick with 6x6. I find that the composition for square shooting comes natural for me. When I swap out to 6x7 or 6x9 I find that I have difficulty dealing with all the other crap beyond the square when I'm composing the shot. I've never tried 645 and it has the least interest for me. I'm delving into 4x5 in a month or two so it'll be curious seeing how I adapt to this format. I really have no clue what to expect. I can say this, most of my friends who ask to see what I'm doing film wise are always drawn to the square images more than the others. Weird, I know.

 

[Slixtiesix]

I don´t find that weird at all ;-)

 

[Tony-S]

I'm delving into 4x5 in a month or two so it'll be curious seeing how I adapt to this format.

Since you're not a fan of 6x7, you probably won't be one of 4x5.

 

[cooltouch]

I've always felt there's definitely a place for square images. Some of my photos only look right when viewed as square. But I consider the square format ideal also because one can mentally crop a 6x4.5 image from it, horizontal or vertical, without having to rotate the camera.

 

[Kyle M.]

In all honesty 6x9 is probably my favorite to shoot because it's much easier for me to get through 8 frames than 10 or 12 let alone 16. But for cameras I'm pretty much stuck with a folder and the good ones with a rangefinder cost more than a decent SLR/TLR of another format. And other than folders I'm kind of limited to my Kodak Medalist which is a very nice camera but is not very convenient or quick to use. I also find 6x7 very attractive and for a year and a half of the 3 years I've been shooting film I used an RB67 exclusively. I don't really care for 645 I like some of the cameras especially the Mamiya 645 super but I just don't care for the negative size, or the fact that I've got to shoot 16 exposures to get through a roll. I've never tried 6x8 but have almost bought a GX680 on several occasions. I've owned many 6x6 cameras and at first I liked it, then I didn't like it, now that I've got a Mamiya C220 and a Rolleiflex I'm really starting to like 6x6 again.

 

[Slixtiesix]

Since this poll was referred to in another thread, I put this to the top again.

 

[Slixtiesix]

up

 

[AndyDDuncan]

I like the 6x9. I have a hard time "seeing" the world in a square format. I'd love to eventually get a 6x12, because sometimes a panoramic format is most appropriate for what I'm trying to achieve with certain compositions.

 

[ParkerSmithPhoto]

I'm in a space now where I am trying to simplify. I currently own Bronica and Hassy 6x6, Mamiya RZ67 and a Fuji 6x9.

If I had one putt to win the Masters I'd grab my trusty old Zebra putter, $3 from Goodwill.

If I had one camera for the rest of my life, it would be the Hasselblad. It just damn works. I really love the Fuji 6x9, but I am struggling without a mirror, much more so than I expected. I love the RZ, too, but the 6x6 is a much more nimble format. I feel comfortable shooting parades and street images with the 6x6 but not the 6x7.

I think whatever lets you make your best pictures, the ones that look like your pictures and not someone else's, that's the camera you want.

 

[Down Under]

This has been a very popular thread. I've come back to it every now and then and have always found new (and interesting) comments to read and think about.

Given the ridiculously high prices of 120 film in Australia just now, it frankly surprises me that anyone Down Under would still be shooting 120. A luxury, perhaps.

I see hopeful sellers trying to get A$10-$12 for a roll of 120 Fomapan on Ebay. One or two reputable OL film sellers are trying to keep their prices reasonable, but the bipolar up/down free-float of the Oz dollar is most likely defeating them. Also having to pay up to $15 for postage on a film order. One has to buy big (at inflated prices) or order from overseas. Two guess which option most 120 shooters I know, go for.

I occasionally buy 10-20 rolls from a Melbourne OL seller who tries to keep his prices fair, provides excellent service and is a truly nice person in every way to do business with. By agreement, as I live not so far away, we meet for coffee and I pick up my order. Nice and sociable. I am happier paying $8 for coffee than having to throw my money to Australia Post, and have a so-called overnight delivery service I pay good money for either turn up several days after or end up halfway across the country from its intended address, which then means a wait of up as long as eight weeks for some flunky to find the parcel, read the rules and regulations manuals memos and make a dozen phone calls until someone with half a brain finally makes the decision to fix the problem by returning the parcel to the sender, not the intended recipient (with my correct address always always on the front). Sadly, this is no joke. It happens to me a few times every year.

Inevitably, medium format shooting may be doomed to disappear in Australia, almost entirely due to high costs. Not many of us can afford to shoot B&W at a dollar a shot, or color at up to $2 and beyond. Pure economic madness, even suicide.

So for medium format in Australia, 645 seems the way to go. Fifteen or sixteen exposures to the roll makes sense. Excellent sharpness and tones. Easily processed. Rectantular images that print well on standard paper. Convenience of 120 or 220. Portability of the equipment.

 

[rubbernglue]

Since I started shooting film again, I have always saved my exif-data manually on my phone, and later uploaded the data to dropbox. About 3 weeks ago I lost three months of this data since my phone was resetted (I thought I have a backup, but no) and so I had to go back to a backup which was 3 months old - that was when I realised how much film I apparently shoot. My newest roll at the 27'th of January was #273 and by the very end of April this number was #301 and I think I shoot slow!

My formats differ very much actually but I have a very soft spot for 6x6, I also shoot 6x45, 6x9 and 6x12 in medium format.

 

[ColColt]

6x7 always. If I had to choose another it would probably be the 6x9. Never have cared for square formats but, to each his own.

 

[mindthemix]

6x7 is kind of magic but I love switching to 6x6 and I'd like to try 6x17 and 4x5 soon.

 

[cooltouch]

Well, to me, 6x7 is kind of magical, but that's mostly because of my Pentax 67 camera, an awesome machine. I actually like 6x9 because it is the same proportion (2:3) as a 35mm slide, which I am very comfortable with. And besides I just happen to like the slightly stretched format of a 2:3 proportion. Currently I have only one 6x9 camera, a Moskva 5, more or less an improved knock-off of the Zeiss Super Ikonta C. It's rather crude, but it takes good photos.

I have a TLR and a couple of folders in 6x6. I find it to be a very practical format. And for the opposite of practical, I'd love to get the chance to shoot with a 6x17, like the Fuji GX617.

 

[Slixtiesix]

Since we didn´t had any votings for a while, I´d like to bring that poll to the top again.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Okay, you´re right, should have added multiple choices from the beginning.

6x6 for convenience and storage;6x9 for image quality

 

[baachitraka]

6x9: It is very tempting to buy a plate camera with Heliar lens but I don't own a 6x9(Focomat IIc) enlarger yet. Have to wait sadly.