$200 Budget What Would You Buy?

[mdruziak]

I want to start playing around with 120 film. At this point I'm guessing I will be doing a few portraits and some landscapes along with a little street photography. Sharp, contrasty high quality images are a must, so lomo cameras are out. I prefer images taken with telephoto lenses at small apertures.

Suggestions?

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[Alpha]

You will mostly find telephoto lenses for the 645 format, and they tend to be expensive. I like the Pentax 645. Quality system and super cheap these days.

[2WheelPhoto]

I want to start playing around with 120 film. At this point I'm guessing I will be doing a few portraits and some landscapes along with a little street photography. Sharp, contrasty high quality images are a must, so lomo cameras are out. I prefer images taken with telephoto lenses at small apertures.

Suggestions?

With $200 I'd buy some decent film for the camera and photo paper

[maris]

KEH can do a used Mamiya RB 67 with a bargain 180mm lens and a 120 film back for a fraction over $200. I use this combination and the picture quality is unexcelled in medium format

[djacobox372]

Telephoto lenses at small apertures in medium format for $200????

Id buy a lottery ticket, its your onlyhope.

[Mike_E]

I'd start looking at some TLRs like a Rolleicord or a Yashica MAT 124. You could get one of these, a couple of rolls of film, a daylight tank and chemistry to process your own B&W for about the amount you named. If you want the ability to change lenses and foresee having extra to invest at some point, have a look at a Mamiya C330, it's a little above your stated ceiling but does have the option of interchangeable lenses.

They are fixed lens cameras but 80mm on a medium format approximates a 50mm field of view in small format which makes landscapes doable. As the compression is still the same regardless of format you get good performance in portraiture. And as they are fairly small and can even be focused at right angles all the while being away from your face they are great for street shooting.

I have and love an RB67 system but they are heavy to carry, hard to hold (a tripod is Highly advised) and will scare the begeebers out of women, children and smallish animals.


HTH
mike

[mdruziak]

Thanks for all the tips. I have purchased my lottery ticket and set up some ebay searches!

I shot with at TLR many moons ago and really enjoyed that experience. I don't know anything about different TLR models. Are there specific models that I should look for or avoid?

[Mike_E]

Yashica 124 and 124Gs are essentially the same. The G model just has gold plated contacts for the meter battery (big woop as the meters aren't that great anyway) and the straight 124 seems to have sturdier winding gears at least that seemed to be the difference between the two I had.

I have not owned a Mamiya TLR but if they are anything like the RBs they are tanks built to stand up to pro use and are of pro caliber.

The Rolleis are legendary but the only copy I have had is a distressed Rolleicord I bought for next to nothing and is still in a tray waiting for me to take it apart and fix it. (Btw the Yashica ground glass seemed to be a bit brighter than the Rolleicord that I have. I don't know if that's normal or just from individual examples)

The Minolta Autocord has quite a cult following so maybe someone here can give you some idea on it or any others.

[mdruziak]

So here is what happened with my $200 120 film camera quest.

I purchased a 124G off of eBay. The camera turned out to be in worse condition than that seller described (meter didn't work, cosmetics were not as described). The seller was great and refunded a big chunk of my purchase price rather than take the camera back. I fixed the meter (aperture was uncoupled from the indicator), cleaned the camera up, touched up some of the scratches with a Sharpie marker and ran a roll of film thru the camera. It works GREAT!

However, last night a deal I couldn't pass up fell into my lap: An excellent condition Rolleiflex T with box, manuals, and leather case. It was like opening up a time capsule. There were only a few scratches on the leather case other than that everything was almost like new. The lenses, shutter blades and everything are clean, shutter speeds seem good including B and the slower speeds. It was last used a year ago.

So now I have to TLRs. I'll run a roll or two thru the Rolleiflex and see which one I'll keep. One thing I don't like about the Rollei is that the shutter and aperture are controlled by the same lever on the type T. This isn't as convenient as the controls on the Yashicia.

[djacobox372]

A rolleiflex T in great condition is worth around $500, maybe as much as $650 if it's condition is mint.

I thought your budget was only $200?

If you sell what you have you should be able to buy a great 645 setup with a bunch of lenses and backs.

[mdruziak]

A rolleiflex T in great condition is worth around $500, maybe as much as $650 if it's condition is mint.

I thought your budget was only $200?

If you sell what you have you should be able to buy a great 645 setup with a bunch of lenses and backs.

Do you really think they are worth that much? The only thing wrong that I can find with this camera is there is a little oxidizing of the metal about the size of a thumb on the left side. The meter doesn't work, but I guess that is pretty common with these cameras.

Here is a pic:



I went slightly over my budget for this camera but not by a lot. Sounds like I may have gotten a good deal.

I really like shooting with a TLR so I will wind up keeping one of the cameras and selling the other.

[dxqcanada]

eBay pricing shows between $350-650

[greybeard]

Be on the lookout for a Mamiya C220 or C330.

[djacobox372]

A rolleiflex T in great condition is worth around $500, maybe as much as $650 if it's condition is mint.

I thought your budget was only $200?

If you sell what you have you should be able to buy a great 645 setup with a bunch of lenses and backs.

Do you really think they are worth that much? The only thing wrong that I can find with this camera is there is a little oxidizing of the metal about the size of a thumb on the left side. The meter doesn't work, but I guess that is pretty common with these cameras.

Here is a pic:



I went slightly over my budget for this camera but not by a lot. Sounds like I may have gotten a good deal.

I really like shooting with a TLR so I will wind up keeping one of the cameras and selling the other.

That's what they're paying for them on Ebay.