medium format

[messier]

whats the cheapest i can get away with as far as a medium format camera is concerned. maybe second hand?

 

[malachite]

Inexpensive with some quality I'd suggest a Yashica 124. You can pick one up for under $100 or a really nice 124G for just under $200. If you want the cheapest thing money can buy, Holgas go for $15...........

 

[mygrain]

My first medium format was a holga. The next was a Zeiss Ikon Nettar folding very very similar to this Agfa http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=710&item=3872568756&rd=1
for about $20. the shutter was gummed from lack of use but cleaning it was a learning experience and fun. I later found filters, close up lenses, and a couple of hoods for it..all from ebay. My next was a Rolleiflex TLR. I got it for about $170 off of ebay as well. It all depends on what you are looking for...this is a really good reference site...http://medfmt.8k.com/mf/cameras.html

 

[ksmattfish]

There are a variety of medium format folders and TLRs that take quality photos in the $50 to $250 (USA) range.

Bronica SLRs are excellent cameras, and going cheap on the used market these days.

There is a 6x6 SLR called the Graflex Norita. It's pretty much as simple as a SLR gets: aperture, shutter, focus. They were cheap a few years ago; I bt they are going dirt cheap these days. There are accessories and lenses available on the used market, and they are easy to get serviced. I have one, and the 80mm f/2 lens that usually comes with it is as sharp as the Zeiss Planar on my Hasselblad.

There are also medium format and large format press cameras that'll take 120/220 roll film backs. The medium format only models go pretty cheap.

 

[Mitica100]

Have you checked Ebay?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=297&item=3872629774&rd=1

This is an AGFA with an American name. Pretty good darn camera if you ask me. And cheap too.

 

[havoc]

Hey Mitica, do those have Ansco's let you tilt?

 

[ksmattfish]

Hey Mitica, do those have Ansco's let you tilt?

There are no lens movements in any of the medium format folders that I'm aware of. There would be no way to see what you are doing with the tilt.

 

[Canon Fan]

I just picked this one up off ebay last week for $28.50 shipped to my door. However be careful with these unit's as I have found several with inacurrate shutters. This one was pre tested.

 

[ksmattfish]

How's that working for you, Canon Fan? Have you got back any pics yet?

 

[Mitica100]

Hey Mitica, do those have Ansco's let you tilt?

No tilt, that's for large format.

The biggest advantage though is that it's very compact and you can literally slip it in your pocket, as opposed to other MF cameras. The Ansco and AGFA have quite good shutters that stay accurate in time.

 

[ksmattfish]

No tilt, that's for large format.

The biggest advantage though is that it's very compact and you can literally slip it in your pocket, as opposed to other MF cameras. The Ansco and AGFA have quite good shutters that stay accurate in time.

I bought an Ansco Titan folder (very similar to Speedex) at an antique mall for $15. It was pretty beat up, and had holes in the bellows, but it had a sense of quality in the weight of the camera, and the shutter seemed to be working smoothly. I took it home, and found fungus in the lens. I tried fixing the holes in the bellows with black fingernail polish, and cleaned up the rest as good as I could.

Here's a shot from a test roll for that camera. This is scanned from a print; you can see a light flare from a pinhole in the bellows running through the rear legs of the top bull. I burned it in some when printing.

I was impressed enough to look for a cleaner model. I took the beater and stuck it in the window with the lens open for a few weeks, and the fungus seems to have disappeared. I should send it to Certo6 for a complete workover and fancy new bellows. I might try to do it myself.