Anyone Shooting a Kodak Medalist?

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Steve M.

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I'm thinking of getting one of these beasties. My Voigtlander Bessa II's uncoated Heliar is kicking my 'blad's behind in IQ, and I'm looking to replace it (the 'blad). The Bessa is cumbersome to use all the time because you have to unfold it and stick a filter/hood on it, then take it all off to refold it. Of course I could always buy a 100 3.5 for the 'blad, but that's an expensive lens.

So I was thinking maybe the Medalist would be quicker to shoot. Still red window film advance, but you can keep the filter/hood on all the time and you don't have to unfold it. The sample photos I've seen seem nearly as good as the Bessa's Heliar. Anyone shooting a Medalist? I was just wondering what it's like to shoot one as your daily camera and how happy you are w/ it's IQ?
 
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Thanks. I didn't know that about the II having much better lens coating. That link you gave us JSU has some amazing photos! I'm convinced. People are always saying how heavy the Medalist is, but try running around w/ a Hasselblad w/ prism finder on it. I think the Medalist is maybe a pound lighter. I saw that article on trimming the spools, that's what got me interested in the camera, and I agree, that's a good way to go.
 
If you think a Hasselblad is cumbersome, wait until you get your mits on a Medalist.

First off, you have to respool 120 onto 620, or you pay to have the camera converted.

Then, there's the body shape, which is big, bulky and not exactly comfortable to hold.

The lens was good -- but not good enough for me to put up with its ungainly ergonomics.

However, I think that I'm in the minority when it comes to this camera.

If you can, try before you buy.
 
Thanks for the input ZeissFan, and that's a side that needs to be looked at. It looks like an awkward camera to shoot, for sure, but I think I can live w/ that. My Pentacon Six wasn't the exactly a user friendly camera to shoot either. Unfortunately it's glass wasn't quite in the same league as my best MF cameras, but for the money it was great.

I could live w/ the bulk and weight of the 'blad, but the 80 Planar leaves a little to be desired (when compared to the best of the best in MF). And it looks like the Medalist can be put on a strap. The 'blad is not a strap friendly camera, even w/ an Optech strap. I've been using mine in a small side bag and it's much easier to deal w/. In the end, I'm just looking for Heliar IQ in a camera that's a little easier to shoot with than a red window folder.
 
A couple of notes from a Medalist II user:
- an Optech strap definitely makes the MII more user friendly
- even if the 'blad is the same weight/encumberance, you still only have 6x6 negatives :D
- I strongly suggest having K. Ruth do the conversion -- you'll probably need a CLA anyway, and fiddling with snipping 120 film spools gets old quickly, and can lead to light leaks - view it as a long-term investment...

Enjoy!
 
Normally, I'd say you're right on the 'blad back, but I have a nice BGN A12 from KEH that cost me all of $44. The Medalist II prices on the auctions seem to be pretty expensive, running from $200 to $300 and more. The word must have got out or something. The earlier Medalist goes for a little less, but I would rather have the II. By the time you factor in a CLA and the 120 spool modification, as Mike recommended, you'd have more tied up in it than a 'blad w/ an 80 Planar and a prism or WLF.

But it's probably worth it for that Kodak Ektar lens.
 
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I got a Medalist II two weeks before.
I didn´t pay for it, instead I traded a Canonet QL 19 that I bought in non working condition, and in return I got the Kodak.
I payed $40 (argentine pesos) for the Canonet, which translated to US dollar is about 10.
Hopefully this week, after CLAeing, I´ll load a 620 roll in it.
Cheers
Ernesto
 
Thanks Rick for the advice. I took a look to that thread inmediately after placing my dirty hand on the Medalist. I have one spool and one roll in 620 format, a TriX probably from the mid sixties that was kept in an air tight canister until I opened it last week and later loaded in the camera, and yes, It is not only in better shape than the Canonet, but is fully working (OK, 1; 1/ and 1/5 sec are sloooowwww). But for USD 10, who cares? Not me for sure after knowing that two other Medaslists are offered in MercadoLibre for USD 200 each.
BTW mine is from 1946 (EO).
It was a fantastic deal to the point that it was hard for me to believe that the other guy was happy with the Canonet, just because he needed it to repair his dad´s Canonet. This camera belonged also to his father but was not used since 1967 just because of the unavailability of 620 film.
He knew it is a good camera but neglected it in favour of 35 mm a long way before and didn´t want to keep it anymore.

Cheers
Ernesto
 
If you are inclined to attempt cleaning the shutter yourself to bring the slow speeds back up to snuff; The front lens element simply unscrews and allows you access to gears inside. Dusting it out and/or a few drops of naphtha might do wonders.
It did on my Medalist I from 1941 ;)
 
Thanks Rick!
I´ll do it next week, as soon as I finish the first roll I loaded in, just because I don´t want to open the camera when it´s film inside.
BTW, I hope the old TriX is in good shape...
Cheers
Ernesto
 
I´ve been using a friend´s Kiev 80 (Hasselblad 1000F clone) with prism and TTL meter in a kind of "test before buying". It was for some time my choice for a MF camera. That "some time" was only three 120 rolls or in other words, less than a week.
Never got used with the shape nor the handling of the camera, and I must admit I tried hard.
OTOH, handling of a Pentax 6x7 was like heaven, but the camera is really BIG and heavy with just the normal lens.
The Medalist is smaller and lighter than the Pentax and handles more or less like any 35 mm SLR and almost any other 35 mm camera. Of course it´s bigger and heavier than any 35 mm by a factor of about 45%. Fixed lens? Yes, but most of my pictures were taken with the normal.
The Medalist cumbersome? Definitely not.

Cheers
Ernesto+
 
I've run about 20 rolls of film thru my MII (EO). The image quality is great! The RF is very easy to use. I've converted the supply side to 120 size, but the take up remains as 620. I found it a bit fiddily at first but adjusted quickly to it. I just need to ask to get my 620 spools back.

I'm not sure about your red window comment. On the MII you only use the red window to set the roll at the first exposure. Subsequent exposure spaces on the roll are obtained by using the wind up knob that locks up when the film is advanced to the proper spot. That knob also winds the shutter.

What I mean by fiddily is that the first exposure film wind and shutter cocking is different than the subesequent seven. Also the film frame counter (0-8) sometimes requires manual resetting.

It is a great camera. I like it better than my M-5 (6x9 folder) and my Zeiss Super Ikonta 645.

My only complaint ( it should not apply to you) is that I needed to go out and buy that epson scanner with the backlight and the 120 frame. I am used to my Canoscan dedicated 35mm neg/slide scanner.
 
Just got my MII (ER) back from a full overhaul at Essex. No film back yet, but I love the way it shoots. I'm just buying 620 rolls from B&H (Tri-X and Velvia) - yeah, $11 a roll is a little heavy, but I think it will be worth it. Now this is an RF to recon with - the base line is about 65mm then that's multiplied by 5x (I read 8x somewhere) for a whopping 325mm EBL! And both the RF and the VF work fine with glasses. By shifting my eye just slightly, I can have both (RF/VF) images in view at the same time. Very happy with this camera.
 
buzzardkid said:
not true anymore, since I wrote this article on using 120 spool on the feed side without conversion.
Click to expand...

Great article! Respooling 120 onto 620 with my Medalist has been a nightmare, and being able to at least cut down on the amount of respooling I do is champion. I'm still not sure about sending 620 spools off to the developer though...I get the feeling I'll slowly lose just about all of them.

One point though...my Medalist I has the double-exposure lever as well. Does that make it a late-run Medalist?
 
The manual shutter-cocking lever has been on all models as far as I know; The 'Time exposure'-lever around the shutter release button was removed in the design of the Medalist II though.
 
I've seen some really good work with the Medalist. Not by me, of course, but that's no surprise.

It's a very interesting camera, and the lens is very good. As I had said, despite spending weeks to find one and then restoring it, I just didn't enjoy shooting the Medalist. For me, it was too big and awkward to hold. The body is too smooth, so you feel like you have to put a death grip on it. The amount of rotation required by the focusing collar is too great, although it does provide for very accurate focusing.
 
If my first attempt at rewinding provia on the metal spool in a light bag wasn't enough to test my patience,trying to find some semblance of familiarity with just holding this block almost ended my initial pride of ownership.BUT when those first few trannies came back,Oh boy!!! If your hesitant about rolling your own 620,fear not as Blue Moon Camera and Machine has film in modified rolls that fit fine,and are very reasonably priced.
 
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