plastic_lens wrote:
I have a Norita 66 and it's a great older camera. It's a big SLR, but the thing is very well-weighted and has very minimal mirror-slap, unlike the even heavier Pentax 67. Most Noritas left have been well-used, but most just need a CLA to fix the film advance (Ross Yerkes in CA is the man for this).
I've always been fond of the pentax 67, it's why I haven't sold my system even though I never use it. The business man says sell it, but the artist says keep it! !
Well, the more I think about it, the more I think I really want to go with a WLF option. I could get an eyepiece unit, but I really want to be forced to use a different approach.
About a TLR - do they all focus with a bellows? How is that to get used to? And you can't swap out film with a TLR like you can with a slr system can you?
Thanks again for the advice. I am really appreciating the suggestions, and looking at examples. I was just looking at the yashicamat groups on flickr, and again I am very pleasantly surprised by the images of even the cheaper systems. The yashicamat is increasingly appealing.
I am getting it now, those who say you can't go wrong with whatever system.
Ed Sawyer wrote:
for $400 you are not going to get much. Either cheap disposables, or a piss-beat RB67, pentax 67, or folder, maybe. 2 lenses? Not likely. $700 or so for a Fuji rangefinder (GW/GSW) is about the cheapest you can get into anything decent in the world of MF, I think.
I would argue that the $400 or so for a GA645 gets you something pretty decent if you're ok with shooting 6x4.5 -- I also paid far less than $400 for my RB67 setup and it works pretty well. Hard to kill them.
Mamiya 645E outfits can be had for $300 or so, and they are pretty nice too.
And if you are ok with a TLR, you can buy quite a bit for a few hundred. The 124/124G is my favorite.
pingflood, the yashica is actually grabbing my eye, but I'm surprised that on ebay some are going for over $400. I was thinking $200 should be good.
Do you know about the EM model? Is that worth looking for? How do you focus the 124?
I'm torn between the simplicity of a yashica and the versatility of a C330. Both look like beauts. I'm not getting a sense of how big a c330 is in use though.
The 124 focuses via a knob on the side that racks the entire front back/forth.
I have a 124G (that cost me $125, insane how much they run now on ebay) and had a C330 -- the C330 is ENORMOUS in comparison. Sure, it has interchangeable lenses, but it's just so big and heavy it's not fun to use anymore.
The Fuji GA 645 is actually a very nice option to get into MF. Its the only cam I know that is flat and small enough to fit in any jacket pocket and the easiest to use. You can take it everywhere and use it as anything from a P&S (A mode, aF, auto wind, quick load, pop-up flash which works surprisingly well) to various stages of creative manual (it has Av and M mode, manual ISO override, EV+/-2, pre-focus with buttons, takes filters). The VF native portrait orientation (vertical 6x45) but its very nice and bright, parallax corrected and even tells you what distance the camera has focused to. AF is very loud but prefocused the leaf shutter is as quiet as a whisper. Very versatile camera if the focal length suits. Most copies are in very good condition and I think Fuji services them too. Only disadvantage is the slow (f4) lens, which is otherwise very sharp. There's a wide 45mm version too which is generally $150-$200 more expensive as many people use it as a take-everywhere, hiking etc landscape camera and they keep prices up.
The only gripe I have with my GA645 is that the lens cap is a pain to get on/off when the hood is attached. Easily enough remedied with a third party "pinch" style cap though!
Other than that you nailed it. Autofocus sounds like it's about to break whenever you use it, but it's very very accurate and reliable. My GA645 was brand new when I bought it ~3 years ago; the backstory behind it was that a guy had bought it back in the 90s together with a bunch of other camera gear, and died soon thereafter. Several years later his family went through all of his belongings (apparently he had quite a camera collection) and sold most of the camera gear back to the store where he had bought it. They then sold it off, and I got a 'new' GA645. The batteries were still in the shrink wrap (though long dead)! As nice a camera as it is though, I am considering selling it since when I shoot film these days I'd rather break out the 4x5 (Sinar F1).
I didn't know that, thanks. The pictures I saw made it look like an slr-style camera, so I did not give it a lot of thought. My initial thoughts after reading up on it are that it might be more than I need at this point, but I'll put it back in the pool of candidates.
Brent Ward wrote:
Did you know the pentax 67 can have a WLF?
That's beautiful Brent. I'm not quick to dismiss anything at this point, but what are you thinking is an entry price for a setup with this model, say just basic body and one lens and wlf?
You're right, it's way beyond decent. Definitely the best fixed-lens MF cameras out there that I am aware of. For reasonable money at least. I really like my GW670III and GSW690III. I sold the GW to a friend though, so I'll have to live without it, but I have a Mamiya 7 now to fill that gap. Keeping the GSW690III though.
the Bessa III/Fuji is a sweet looking rig. But Daaaaamn... the price is out of hand! For that much you could have a used mamiya 7 with the 65, 80 and 150 lenses.
the pentax 67 is one I considered for a while too, it has many lens options, and price-wise it's pretty good overall. usability is..( ahem...) quirky. If you can live with the quirks it's a good option to consider. Depending on lens/finder/grip though it can end up being fairly heavy.
Ed Sawyer wrote:
the pentax 67 is one I considered for a while too, it has many lens options, and price-wise it's pretty good overall. usability is..( ahem...) quirky. If you can live with the quirks it's a good option to consider. Depending on lens/finder/grip though it can end up being fairly heavy.
-Ed
If you can use a manual 35mm I never had a pentax 67 be quirky. I've used most 67 cameras in the past.
!