Help please : Mamiya C330 - Bronica SQB

[jsfoto]

Hello,


Can someone give me some advice. I want to buy a medium format camera. I saw a Mamiya C330 for 200Euro(250USD) with a 80mm lens and a Bronica SQ-B for 300Euro(380USD) with a 200mm and a 80mm lens. Wich one should I buy. I only saw them on photo.

Are these prices OK? Or are they too expensive?


I hope someone could give me some help,


Thanx

 

[Bryce]

Prices- these sound reasonable to me.
Mamiya- I own one, 3 lenses (55, 80, 135) and assorted accessories. I'm fairly happy with it. It's a great camera for longer lenses and hand use, and a pretty good one for portraiture. The wide lens is fairly sharp but suffers from severe flare problems (images of iris when point light sources are around). The other two are very good to great overall.
Obviously its not so well suited for macro, can't copy its negatives, etc.
I've never used a Bronica, so I can't comment. I'd bet it has enough mirror slap to be a problem handheld. Of course it has interchangeable backs, macro capability, and a wider selection of lenses than the TLR.
So, what do you intend to use it for?

 

[jsfoto]

Thx for the help :

I would like it for portrait, landscape and maybe architecture, not really for macro...

 

[clarence]

I have some Mamiya lenses for sale in the classifieds:

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost-classifieds/showproduct.php?product=763&cat=4

For landscapes and architectural work, a TLR will not give you any problems. The parallax error between the viewing and taking lens will only have to be taken into consideration when doing portraits at very close range.

Clarence

 

[RObert Budding]

You can get excellent results from either. Which is best depends - do you like waist level finders? Or do you want a camera that handles more like an SLR?

 

[rpsawin]

My MF gear is the Bronica SQb and I use it for Landscapes, Seascapes, Old Macherinery/Equipment shooting primarily b&w. I find the Bronica equipment to be excellent and well suited to the task. There is plenty of good, used equipment available and it's reasonable.

I found for myself that shooting MF is a much different experience than shooting 35mm and completely different than shooting with rf's. It's slower, more deliberate and takes more time. With the ability to change backs at any time it opens up new possibilities as well. My style of shooting involves alot of long road trips to shooting locations. Scouting new locations and shooting mf can be a bit of a hassle and somewhat exhausting. My most productive and satisfying trips with the mf gear have been when I have "self assigned" a shoot and planned the location/subject/times.

For certain work I find that my MF gear is the best bet and most satisfying.

Bob