cheapes way to get into 6x6

Buy a used Minolta Autocord or Yashicamat. The Minolta is better built. Look for one of the models with a light meter. The meter won't work. Use that as a bargaining point. The Holga is a fun camera but it's not a serious camera for photography in the usual sense. The Brownies take 620 film. You'd have to respool 120 film onto 620 spools or pay through the nose for film. Same with cameras that take 127, except the ONLY option is paying top dollar for film.
 
Given the prices of medium format on Ebay you can buy a nice Bronica, Mamiya, even a Hassie for less than the price of a CV lens. It doesn't make any sense to save $50 or even a $100 buying something cheaper - IMHO.
 
I bought a Seagull TLR for about $100. It makes fab images, but it jams a lot. I'd get a Yashica TLR if I was gonna do it over again. I'm gonna order a Mamiya 6x4.5 at the end of the week for about $300 for the kit.

3133595709_8f70c81856_m.jpg
 
Last edited:
Just about 1 week ago someone here was selling a clean working Rolleicord for about $150. Excellent quality at an excellent price.
 
Stay away from Lubitel, unless you want the worst of the "Lomo-esque" results of blur, missed focus, heavy vignetting and washed out results. The above are good qualities sometimes, but Lubitel is a rubbish camera.
For the same price (thanks to Lomography "aficionados") you can buy decent German twin-lens equipment or Japanese, something Rollei or Yashica, or even Chinese Seagull.
For SLR Maymia and Bronica go cheap often.

My own entry into serious 6x6 (after rare use of lo-fi stuff like Holga and a couple of forgot-the-name cameras) has been not so lo-fi - got a black Hassie 500 c/m. They do not need further explanation - results are as good as they say and damn hard to beat in mid-format world. Zeiss lenses, 'nuff said. Hassies are not cheap, but not too expensive either if you know where to look.
 
I have two Yashicamats. The image quality is not a Rollei or perhaps even the Mamiya 330, but at f8 with proper metering, it's really quite good (and of course you can look on flickr group for this camera and see great examples at 3.5). It's a inexpensive way to determine whether the TLR design is for you.

Regarding the toy/plastic cameras, my feeling about it is, unless you want to use them for that 'effect' why spend the time, energy and money working with equipment where you feel lucky to get an outstanding exposure/focus. Decent used equipment that can produce reliable excellent results is not that expensive, especially in the new DSLR/Leica-anything scheme of things.
 
I've got a very clean Mamiya C3 with 80mm and 180mm lenses I will sell you for cheap, but the shipping to the UK will not be.
 
Look for a Yashica with the Yashinon lens -- it's a Tessar design and I find fully as good as the lens in the Autocord, or the Xenar you find on the Rolleicords. The Yashica D is not as sophisticated a design as the Yashicamats -- it has knob wind and manual shutter cocking -- but the later ones come with the Yashinon and it's a fine camera. You should be able to get one in the $100 range.

The Yashica models aren't as well made as the other makes, but they're still pretty darn good, and as mentioned the lenses are really very good. Also, they have bright focusing screens and f2.8 viewing lenses, which makes for easy focusing.

Don't get me wrong -- the Autocords and Rolleicords are excellent. But the Yashicas are plentiful and enjoyable to use.
 
I have and use a Yashicamat 124G and would highly recommend either the 124 or the 124G...
The 124's were made better (internal gears) but can be bought for less than the newer 124G's...I don't use the meter so all that Gold was wasted on me...
I was printing some B&W negs this weekend and was again blown away at how sharp an image this camera produces...
 
Mamiya 220 can be had for $150 with 80mm lens. If you like it and want to expand, you can get more lenses... It's the only TLR that you can change lenses (and its big brother 330 line).

I used to shoot a lot of 6x6, Hasselblad, Rolleiflex, Rollei SL66, YashicaMat, Bronica SQA, etc..

But now I only have Seagull and Zeiss Nettar, both of which takes great images and can be had for $100 or less.

Hiromu
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom