Portable medium format on a budget

[lynnb]

I like the 6x6 through 6x9 formats. The wider the better but I am not picky. My photography consists of a mixture of portraits and landscapes.

A TLR that takes Rolleinar close up attachment lenses is very useful for portraits. Rolleinars come in several bayonet mounts (Bay I, II, and III) and several magnifications (confusingly also called I, II, and III) - the Yashica Mat 124G takes Bay I mount, which seems to be the cheapest - I think I paid USD$60 for a Rolleinar I Bay I, which permits head and shoulders portraits. The Rolleinar III will focus close enough to fill a 6x6 frame with a face shot, although the close focus distance will result in unflattering perspective.

Rolleinars come in two parts, one for the viewing lens and one for the taking lens. The taking lens part is deeper as it contains parallax correction elements.

Sometimes the three Rolleinars can be found as a set. Caveat emptor: some sellers only sell the taking lens, without the viewing lens, which fits onto the viewing lens bayonet and has the optical correction for parallax. Without the viewing lens, the taking lens is pretty useless.

124Gs are inexpensive and a bit smaller than the Mamiya TLRs.

 

[oftheherd]

On the Mamiya it is just doors that swing into place and a mask that slides into place for the viewfinder. Nothing to loose there.

Shawn

Thanks for that. I thought I might have seen one like that but it was a long time ago and I wasn't sure. I have one or two of other brands somewhere that are like that. Makes it pretty unlikely that they will be misplaced. 🙂

 

[pschauss]

It might be just a bit beyond your price range, but my favorite medium format camera is the Super Ikonta 530A or 531A (6x4.5), not much bigger than a Barnack Leica.

 

[zms21]

Anyone have any experience with Minolta folding cameras? With the rokkor 3.5 lens?

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

 

[Taipei-metro]

A Lubitel 166 weighs next to nothing and is cheap enough to be disposable. Not a folder but almost small enough to fit in a coat pocket; on a neckstrap you'd almost forget you're carrying it.

Great idea,
I saw this 166 Universal for the first time last Sunday, and google the camera, made in USSR, under $60, I think 166B is even cheaper!
This looks...Good!

the 75/4.5 is a triplet

photo by t a i p e imetro
G6, Zuiko 14-42

 

[taomei]

I really like the LC-A 120 despite its quirks as there's not many 6x6 cheap cameras that are both pocketable AND wide-angle. It's very sharp in the center and has a nice fall-off wide open, and takes 11 (sometimes 12) frames in <400 USD used with a wide angle 38mm F4.5 lens. It's seriously small, easier to carry and fit in a jacket pocket than a Leica for sure as it is pretty thin front-to-back. It's full AE which may or may not be to your liking though.

https://shop.lomography.com/en/lomo-lc-a-120?countryI=us

It makes a great sidekick to a TLR / folder that is in the normal focal length range.