Medium Format

christopher

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I'm looking to buy a medium format camerea, and I was wondering what the practical price range for used ones would be? (CAD please)

Do many places develop medium format film, or do I have to take up that hobby?

What is usually the price-range for medium format films?

thanks! 8)

(oh yeah, what is the different between rangefinder and viewfinder? it was posted on another thread and was curious, google didn't help me)
 
Well, just a few years ago a clean, used big name brand (Hassy, Mamiya, Rollei, Bronica, Pentax, Fuji...) MF SLR would have been at least $1500 (US dollars) for a body and one lens, and many were a lot more expensive than that. But have you seen what Hassys are going for on EBAY right now?!?! It makes me drool. The used market for MF SLRs is flooded as everyone abandons film for digital. You should be able to find a good camera and a lens for well under $1000, maybe under $500.

If you are willing to explore the past some, you can get great vintage MF gear for under $300, and darn decent vintage MF gear for under $150.

Check out http://medfmt.8k.com/ for everything you need to know about specific MF cameras.

Any pro lab that does film developing (I'm sure there are digital only pro labs by now) will sell and process 120. I think it's easier to develop than 35mm myself; the rolls are shorter, easy to spool up.

A roll of 120 film is 80 inches square just like 35 exposures of 35mm. BW is slightly cheaper for a roll of 120 than a 36 exp roll of 35mm. Color is about the same. Of course, 120 is only offered in the fancy schmancy pro versions so it's not like a $6 4 pack of Kodak Gold 200, but i think it compares about the same in price to pro 35mm.

Viewfinder is what you look through. A rangefinder helps you determine distance to subject for focusing. Sometimes they are combined into one unit.
 
I have 500CM Hassys w/80mm lens, got it about 2-1/2 ago, paid $1500, there one Buy-it-Now on eBay for $850

As for cost: film, development and enlargements are about the same as 35mm, The big different is the cost of prints (proofs) when the film is development, 35mm: .05 thru .20 cents for M/F .50 cents
 
Jeff Canes said:
I have 500CM Hassys w/80mm lens, got it about 2-1/2 ago, paid $1500, there one Buy-it-Now on eBay for $850

As for cost: film, development and enlargements are about the same as 35mm, The big different is the cost of prints (proofs) when the film is development, 35mm: .05 thru .20 cents for M/F .50 cents

And the "buy it now" means that's what they are hoping to get for it. In the auctions that win with bidding this rig will probably go for $650 to $700.

MF proof cost varies from lab to lab. I have two pro labs I can go to, one of them charges $0.60 to 0.75 for MF proofs, the other charges the same price as 35mm prints ($0.15 - 0.30).

Hey Jeff: I have a question about the 500CM. Does that have a focal plane shutter or a leaf shutter? Do all Hassys have leaf shutters? In the body or in the lenses? With the 500Cs and 500CMs going so cheap I really want one.
 
500 series are leaf only, 200 & 2000 series are focal plane, it think the old 1000s are FP too

F series lens work only with the 200s & 2000s, C’s lens only with 5OOs and the CF’s on both, IMO 99% of the Russian copy are Fs

900 series are the Super Wide and have a fixed 38mm lens, leaf

XPan is a 35mm true horizon panoramic SLR 24x72mm frame and has it own lens, my guess is a focal plane on this one, that 60/40 on the guess

H series cameras are full automatic 645 SLR, has it own lens, i think this one is focal plane,
 
That's an awesome resource! thank you very much everyone for posting. I found some on ebay, and I want to experiment with the ones I posted in the collectors portion of the forum, I'm just not sure what film to use, etc...
thanks again! 8)
 
In 1997 (or thereabouts) I sold my 35-mm gear with the intentions to move up to medium format. I really wanted a Mamiya RZ67 system and an AE meter prism and a couple of filmbacks. I normally always buy new because I don't like getting surprises with broken expensive equipment but god the new pricing was through the roof. I would have spent a good $4K just 'starting'.

My one and only experience on eBay was not good, partly because of PayPal. I affectionately call them ePray and PreyPal. It was bad engouth eBay has had numerous investigations for auction fraud, and just before eBay announced they were acquiring PayPal the FBI annouced an investigation of some 100,000 unresolved escrow accounts where PayPal conveniently forgot to tell people that refunds/withdrawls originating from credit cards required the recipient to have a commercial PayPal account.

Good ole bat & switch. Um-hum.

I'd be inerested in hearing how you make out, which system you go with, etc.
 

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