Medium Format Cameras?

[selmerdave]

Thanks Luke. I'm not loosing too much sleep about the light meter, I have an old hand-held that seems to do as good a job as any inside of my cameras.

I have now discovered that the crap that was all over the outside of the camera (smoker?) is also inside the taking lens. With the shutter closed from the front it looks clean and clear, but holding the shutter open and looking through with the back open is not a pretty sight. So I'm going to have to take it to someone to try to get that looked after. I ran a roll of 120 through it today just to see what it comes out like, in case any other problems turn up. I'm expecting the photos will look quite crappy, but who knows, maybe it won't be that bad.

I have the number of a local guy that was recommended to me that does work on older cameras for very reasonable prices, so I'll probably try him.

Dave

 

[mysteryscribe]

I smoked three packs a day for twenty of my thirty years behind the lens. I never noticed any damage from the nicotine stains. Your camera might be fine with just an extra uv coating lol.

 

[Don Simon]

Selmerdave, if you haven't taken the Yashica in for cleaning yet you can probably save some money by cleaning the focussing screen yourself - on most TLRs the whole focussing screen unit should be easy to remove; so you can clean the screen, the mirror and the rear element of the viewing lens, making everything nice and clear.

 

[selmerdave]

Hi Zaphod,

With 35mm cameras I know the focusing screens are usually very fragile and should never be touched, is this different with TLR's? I don't see any easy way to get it out, but there are some screws that could probably be undone to get it out.

I have cleaned both front and rear elements, the problem appears to be the inside of the lens. The inner element has a couple of notches in the outer ring as though it could be removed, and perhaps that would allow me access to the inner elements for cleaning, but that's a little scary to me and I don't want to ruin it.

Comments? Thanks.

Dave

 

[Luke_H]

The first night I had my Mat 124G, I got out my jeweler's screwdrivers and immediately took out the four screws on top of the camera to get at the ground glass and viewing mirror. I cleaned the mirror and glass carefully with lens cleaner. It wasn't too complicated. I'd give it a 1 out of 4 on the DIY difficulty scale.

I didn't mess with the taking lens other than using a cotton swab soaked in lens cleaner to clean the outside elements.

 

[Don Simon]

I've done the same (cleaning the screen and mirror) with a Minolta Autocord. Same thing, four screws out and the whole thing lifts off. You can then easily clean the mirror and glass as it is, or if you're feeling more confident you can remove the individual plates of glass for better cleaning (the springs they're held in by can probably be removed safely, but make sure you don't lose them). The notches on the ring of the taking lens need a specific tool; best to take it to someone who knows what they're doing. It shouldn't cost too much to have the rear lens element taken off as it's not hard; it's simply a question of finding someone with the tool that does it (by the way, said tool is expensive so unless you plan on regularly taking the back off TLR lenses it's cheaper to ask or pay an knowledgeable enthusiast to do it for you).

By the way selmer, although it's generally not a good idea to touch anything near the mirror, behind the lens mount inside an SLR, high-end SLRs actually allow you remove and replace the focusing screens; the idea being that you can choose between various screens; those designed for very sharp focusing, those with lines for architecture shots etc. The same is true of TLRs.

 

[selmerdave]

Many thanks guys, the focusing screen is now "just spiffy". It wasn't hard I was just worried about damaging it by cleaning it the wrong way. I'll take the lens to get looked at as soon as I get a chance.

Dave

 

[df3photo]

I have a 1986(ish) Mamiya 645 that is great... I just bought another Mamiya 645 but newer, stillhave yet to play with it... I purchased the new one for around $200 from a friend. Great cameras!

 

[Efergoh]

I've had my Kiev for a couple weeks now. Been shooting with it, but tonight was the first time I got around to printing anything from it...

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=575208#post575208

 

[selmerdave]

Took the 124 to the shop, and it's back now.

The bad news: the lens issue was the coating on the inside element, it had gone completely bad and there was no way of cleaning it. The good news: the guy had a replacement element and replaced it. He also redid the light seals while he had it open, and it turns out the light meter works perfectly, he gave me the right battery for it. That all added up to about 90% of the purchase price, but it's not that much of a total and if I get what I'm hoping I'll get out of it I think it's well worth it. So now it should be working perfectly, I have a roll of 220 in it so when I get that back I'll report on the results.

Dave

 

[nealjpage]

Well, I'm back to this thread. I managed to break my Yashica TLR the other day :er: and now it's time to get a new MF. I really liked the weight of the TLR as well as the cool "retro"-ness of it, but I never really did enjoy shooting with it. It just seemed akward to me. My appetite has been wetted for MF, though, and I'm jonesin' for a replacement. I haven't gotten a clear consensus if the prisim-view 645 (Bronica ETRsi, for example) are simple to use for hand-held work. I have a tripod, but don't really like to use it. I realize from some of the other discussions that 645 is a dying format, but at the moment I'm willing to get something a little more SLR-like feel while compromising a bit on the size of the neg. Life's a compromise, right? My budget's also not that large, so I figured that a decent body with a back and good glass should fit within my meger budged if I stick with the 645s. Thanks everybody.

 

[Efergoh]

The Kiev pictured above is "SLR like."

It is a heavy tank, but it shoots pretty well, and is easy as pie to use (so long as you have a hand held light meter). The view finder comes off, and you can shoot it like a TLR without having to consider the stacked lenses.

It is a Pentax knock off if you'd rather buy the real deal. I had my Kiev in hand for less than $100, and it shoots like $1000.

 

[Steph]

I owned a couple of seagulls when they first hit the american market.. the glass was adaquate the mechanics were pretty bad. At the time they were being made in a state factory with politcal prisoner labor... the quality control was non existant. I am sure if they are still being made they are better now.

I guess I am bit late answering this thread... Seagulls are still made and sold on the website below. However they are not cheap and a used Yashica 124G from eBay is probably a better bet in terms of quality.

http://www.firstcall-photographic.co.uk/scp/35mm_Cameras/Medium_Format_Cameras.html

 

[Cuervo79]

interesting read, I´ve seen the different photos and the richness of them makes me want to buy one, but I still haven´t got everything out of my 35mm nor my dslr so I´ll just keep reading... hehehe