Which medium format for me ?

Medium Format

Medium Format

Have you considered the Mamiya 7 or 7II medium format 6x7 rangefinder. Superb build quality and stunningly sharp lenses. These cameras are highly portable and easy to use hand held. I use a Mamiya 7 with a 65mm lens (the best choice for good all round use). There are only minor differences in spec between the 7 and the 7II bodies and a second hand 7 with this lens can be obtained for less cost than a 7II.

Good luck

Terry Collins
(just joined)
 
About two years ago, I got a brand-new Arax MLU (re-worked Kiev 88, which is itself a Hassy clone). At the time I think it was the right call. Nowadays Bronica has got so damn cheap I might choose used SQ over new Arax gear.

However, getting something with a Pentacon-Six mount does let you use the utterly wonderful Sonnar 180/2.8, which is one hell of a medium format portrait lens!

Jamie
 
I had a C220 for a good while, and really enjoyed it, but there were two things I couldn't really warm up to: 6x6 and TLR. Yeah, I know, that's pretty much the whole point of a C220😀

I ended up selling it to a friend, and picked up an M645 1000S. SLR and 645 really works for me. I picked up an 'L-Grip' for about $20 on eBay and it made all the difference for hand-holding it.

The format and SLR thing make it all great!

Kent
 
Consider what type of pictures that you want to take. Are you setting the camera on a tripod or walking about in the street. As I recall the Yashica Mat 124 has a meter. The Hasselblad 500 c/m does not. You will need a meter to get the most out of that camera. I don't think it as as conducive as the TLR for street work. Lenses are exorbitant. Fantastic for portraits, indoor architecture and landscapes. You will need additional lenses. But, it is a great camera. Some of the cameras come with lenses that are much less expensive.
 
I've used many low cost MF. a cheep seagul TLR (it's really cheap, but its quality is rather poor), a yashica MAT (cheap but beter quality), a moskva 5 RF ( very good quality for BW) ad a pentacon SIX.

the overall qulality is rather good, and you can find camera like new for about 200$. You will have a great variety of choice for the lens. The newest Zaiss Jena lens are multicoated and the quality is very good. i've a 50, 80, 120. I've also a russian 150. All the lens will cost 500$ like new.
 
Only you can decide what you want in negative size. I am not a big fan of 645 since it is not that big. Granted, it is bigger than 35mm. I am not a big fan of 6x6 because as already stated, it ends up most people crop to more like 645 for printing. I think it was ShadowFox that mentioned you get to pick what part of the negatvie you will crop from, and that is very true. I used to do that often with the Yashica MAT 124 G I had many years ago. I really loved that camera because it was the first serious Mf I every had and I loved the idea it had a built in light meter that was quite usable.

However, having gotten a Mamiya Super Press 23, a 6x7, I really like it. (of course no one on this forum would know that. 😀 😀 ) What I like about it besides the fact it is a 6x7, is that it is a system camera. It has interchangable lenses and backs, perspective control with a bellows back, extension tubes for closeups, framelines for 100mm (the standard), 150mm and 250mm lenses, and that with changing frame lines for closeups. The other lenses require an auxillary viewfinder, but are rangefinder coupled (the one exception is the older 250mm f/8 which is not rangefinder coupled). All lenses are tack sharp. The 50mm is equivalent ot 24mm on 35mm cameras, the 65mm to 28mm, the 100mm is normal, the 150mm is like a 75mm, and the 250mm is like a 135mm telephoto. All lenses have their own leaf shutters, from B to 1/500, so flash is to 1/500 synched. All also have a method of keeping them open for focusing on ground glass. Since all lenses are leaf shutter, they will be quieter than an SLR.

You can get 6x7 and 6x9 backs, but the 6x9 are more rare unless in the triple format of 645, 6x6 and 6x9. All backs take 120 or 220 film. The 6x7 backs are more common, and wind on with a crank like a 35mm camera.

The camera should come with a handle mounted on the left of the camera. There is a button in the handle that controls a shutter release cable for all lenses. The backs extend far enough to grip with the right had for gripping stability. I have found it quite 35mm like in use, and very hand holdable.

Being a 6x7, it is a little heavy, but not as much as you would think, and a wide strap helps that a lot. It isn't easy to get cut film, but there are 3 different focusing backs, two of which take cut film holders. Sorry, no built in meter so you will need a separate light meter. I used a Sekonic L28c2 for years, and the Gossen Luna Pro is also good.

Well, I suppose you think I like the Super Press 23. You are right. Of course there is also a Universal model which lacks the bellows back but with an adapter will take gralock cut film holders or roll film backs. What's not to like?

But, maybe not for you. Like all other MF systems, they are coming down in costs. You can find the newer and older models on fleabay all the time. I don't recommend the olders one for both their age and esthetics. Due to their age you may end up needing cla, but that is true of all older MF systems you may choose. I have had good luck with mine. I have had mine with the 100mm f/3/5 lens for over 30 years with no real problems. I purchased the 65mm lens, then the 50mm, then the 150. Only the 65mm gave me a problem, with the shutter jamming. The others have been fine, and the 50mm I know was used commercially before I got it.

Good luck in your choices. Frankly, I don't think you willl hate any MF system just because of the negative size. The problem comes if you keep wanting to get bigger negatives is you start with a 645.
 
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Who crops 6x6? That is kind of like saying there is no point in going to 6x12 or 6x17 because you can't fit the apsect ratio on a piece of paper. I can't even think of a 6x6 image on RFF that has been cropped from square. All my images regardless of format are printed full frame and printing and paper size has not limited that.
 
Finder said:
Who crops 6x6? That is kind of like saying there is no point in going to 6x12 or 6x17 because you can't fit the apsect ratio on a piece of paper. I can't even think of a 6x6 image on RFF that has been cropped from square. All my images regardless of format are printed full frame and printing and paper size has not limited that.

This is a personal decision and based on how one sees and shoots. Very occasionally I have an image that looks better as a square, but most times by far, I find that by cropping to rectangular, the image from one of my 6x6 cameras looks better TO ME.

Finder, take your avatar for example. I find that by cropping either the bottom OR the left side, the image becomes more pleasing TO ME. (That way, her hands are not so dead center in an otherwise nonsymetrical composition.) Like I said, it's purely a personal aesthetic thing about how you see and shoot. I completely respect your decision on composing and printing the way you did, as I know everyone makes their own choices as to what suits them better, and there is no right or wrong way.
 
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Using a Hasselblad is something akin to using a Leica -- there's a sense of quality about it that makes you want to go out and try to make great pics. I have a 500C/M with 80mm Planar. What a lens!

I like composing in the square and rarely crop my 6x6 shots. My main problem with MF is that my Epson 2450 scanner can't pull out the full detail of the negative (and I long ago gave up darkroom work). Some day maybe I'll find a good price on a Nikon 8000.

Gene
 
I know the OP is long, long gone, but...

I truly enjoy working a photo with my 500c/m - it forces me to climb inside the waistlevel. I'm one of those twits that prints full frame with dirty borders, too - working with the square format is a wonderful mental challenge.
 
The only thing not perfect with the Mamiya 7 is the price. But I don't regret the money I paid for mine as it's well worth it.

As far as MF SLR's, the Bronica SQA system if hard to beat for the price they go for these days. Good glass, rock solid, and prices are cheap. My SQA is the only SLR I own.
 
Bob Michaels said:
The only thing not perfect with the Mamiya 7 is the price. But I don't regret the money I paid for mine as it's well worth it.

Really, the only thing that kept me off this camera was the close focus distance. I don't have the figures in front of me, but I know there's not a lens that you can get close enough for a tight head shot. Its inherent with rangefinders of course, but this one seemed extreme.

I'm always surprised the Bronica GS-1 is hardly ever mentioned! It's a 6x7 SLR similar to the RB67. It's probably not as robust, but it is cheaper and there's no compromise in image quality. I hand hold regularly down to 1/125 and really enjoy the camera!
 
I would get the 645 because it offers you much more lens options. Mamiya's own lenses are great, and you can use all the excellent and cheap Carl Zeiss Jena and Russian lenses with an adapter. This is impossible on a 500-series Hasselblad because it doesn't have a shutter in the body. OK, it's with stopdown operation, but that's not much of a problem in practice - medium format work is slower anyway.

Since the whole point of an interchangeable lens system is the interchangeable lenses, I would try to maximise the use you make of this. (The adapter costs $35 at Arax, and you get lenses like the 30mm fisheye for under $200 or the 50mm and 180mm Zeiss lenses for under $100.)
 
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