I watched a documentary on David Bailey yesterday...and he clearly uses a Mamiya 7 for casual shoots on location. Impressive as he could obviously afford any camera he wanted.
My RF is a humble Canon G111 1.7 QL...but I am impressed with it and want to upgrade...the Bailey doc has added momentum...but not willing to spend silly money. Any suggestion in the (up to) $1000 range?
A Bronica RF with standard lens sold for £540 earlier today on eBay...and a Mamiya 7 !! with lens didn't sell at about £950 as it didn't hit the reserve price...the pics made it look mint....I think my £1000 should give me lots of options...I'm not interested in silly stuff that is overpriced because of some mystique surrounding the name!!
I have a A3 print from my humble Canon..it is pin sharp and generally impressive...it cost me £35 on eBAy....that is my starting point in terms of determining value vs IQ...
corposant wrote:
I understand where you are coming from, but the universe of RFs in medium format is much smaller, so you are at the mercy of the market.
Aside from Fuji (no longer made), Bronica (ditto, with the company basically defunct), and Mamiya, what choices do you have?
Lots, if I am not mistaken. Besides the modern Voigtlander Bessa III there are quite a few old cameras that can be restored to full functionality. For example, Zeiss Super Ikontas. I am sure someone more informed will be able to advise which models are worth searching out!
Well, the best film rangefinder is the Leica M3 so not sure why it even needs to be debated.
As for medium format, you can cobble together a rangefinder Alpa setup I believe, though that might break the budget a bit. Edit: nevermind, thought there was a RF accessory for Alpa, but it appears not.
It depends on the aspect ratio that you prefer : squarish - Mamiya 6/7. 2:3 The Fuji fixed lens. The latter will be cheaper if you decide only for one of them, or at the limit of your budget ( depending on patience ) if you get both the 90mm and the 65mm cameras.
You should be able to find a Mamiya 6 with the 75mm lens for around a grand (US). It's a 6x6 camera so slightly smaller negative than the Mamiya 7. But unlike the 7 you can collapse the lens into the body and it's very very compact for a medium format camera. Makes it easy to carry everywhere.
He wrote 1000 USD, but he meant 1000 GBP. Which is quite different amount of money.
Quite a lot of things to get. As small camera I would get probably Contax G2. Or M3, but thats bit hardcore for today.
Fuji MF RF (ah what a shortuct) is tiny bit more expensive. I saw Mamiya 7II for 1150 GBP, not exactly cheap but perfectly worth it. Fuji is good, MF Fuji lens are not same as 35mm, neither is build quality. Different league and much better. I would probably get it if I needed to look at money.
Tho for 1000 GBP, I think you can have whole Contax G2 system. But its only 35mm ofc..
Save up and get one...