Medium format recommendations?

Strappy said:

:whistle:
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When I bought the tele Rollei (from Fox Talbot) about 35 years ago it wasn't that old ..anyway used it for colour film for a while then thought I'd do some B\W shots...h'mm the film just wound through, so took it back to Fox Talbot and it did the same and he said he would get it repaired. After about a week I went back to collect and asked him to prove that it was ok and he put a B\W film in and it wound all the way through like before WTF.... changed it for a S\H RB67 with 180mm lens and so glad I did so.
Rolleis and me don't get on as the shutter speeds jammed up on my SL66 (also bought about 35 years ago)..so my opinion is Rolleis are over engineered while Japanese MFs are more "crude" but more reliable because of it. My ETRS has had no problem bought about 30 years ago (y)
 
excalibur2 said:
When I bought the tele Rollei (from Fox Talbot) about 35 years ago it wasn't that old ..anyway used it for colour film for a while then thought I'd do some B\W shots...h'mm the film just wound through, so took it back to Fox Talbot and it did the same and he said he would get it repaired. After about a week I went back to collect and asked him to prove that it was ok and he put a B\W film in and it wound all the way through like before WTF.... changed it for a S\H RB67 with 180mm lens and so glad I did so.
Rolleis and me don't get on as the shutter speeds jammed up on my SL66 (also bought about 35 years ago)..so my opinion is Rolleis are over engineered while Japanese MFs are more "crude" but more reliable because of it. My ETRS has had no problem bought about 30 years ago (y)
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Damn, he must have been old by then. No wonder he forgot to get the Rollei repaired.
 
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excalibur2 said:
while Japanese MFs are more "crude" but more reliable because of it. My ETRS has had no problem bought about 30 years ago (y)
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That's one of the reasons I suggested a Yashica 635; it has a comparatively simple film winding system with a separate shutter cocking lever, so less 'clockwork cogs' to develop wear, gum up and potentially misbehave. For around £100 for one in smart, fully-working, condition, you get a MF camera with focusing system, a pretty good lens (for its time) and solid build quality, without having something the size of a small shoe box to lug round with you! Also, if it comes with the adaptor kit (or you buy one separately) you can shoot 35mm film if you fancy 24 or 36 shots instead of 12 big square ones (although shooting 35mm in landscape format is a bit more tricky as you have to turn the camera on it side).

If you desperately crave wide angle or telephoto lenses, you can pick up genuine Yashica 'Yashinon' convertor lenses for around £40 - £60 per set (there's 2 in each set), but there would probably be a slight drop in image quality if you are into pixel peeping and vignette watching. All things considered, I think it must be one of the best value for money MF cameras out there, unless of course someone on here knows different? Going down the Bronica or Mamiya MF SLR route would give more flexibility lens-wise, but unless someone drops on a genuine bargain I imagine that's going to cost significantly more than a Yashica 635.
 
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FujiLove said:
Damn, he must have been old by then. No wonder he forgot to get the Rollei repaired.
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Got the SL66 repaired but after using the RB67 and ETRs realised 6 X 6cm wasn't for me.....and the SL66 was left in the cupboard for years unused until I sold it, h'mm used Jessops on a commision and they had a job selling it about 10-15 years ago and it took months before finding a buyer.
 
The only other question I'd ask before picking a system is if you intend to shoot landscapes and would want to use filters? I love TLRs but using square graduated filters is a bit of a pita involving guesswork although I believe someone was working on paired adaptors to mount interlinked polarisers or NDs :0)
 
stevelmx5 said:
The only other question I'd ask before picking a system is if you intend to shoot landscapes and would want to use filters? I love TLRs but using square graduated filters is a bit of a pita involving guesswork although I believe someone was working on paired adaptors to mount interlinked polarisers or NDs :0)
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I'd wondered about using grad type filters for colour film work with a TLR and thought about setting the required effect up using the viewing lens, then dropping it down onto the taking lens once I'd got it right. Do you think this would work, bearing in mind the Yash uses bay 1 type bayonet filter mounts rather than screw fit ones?
 
Mr Badger said:
I'd wondered about using grad type filters for colour film work with a TLR and thought about setting the required effect up using the viewing lens, then dropping it down onto the taking lens once I'd got it right. Do you think this would work, bearing in mind the Yash uses bay 1 type bayonet filter mounts rather than screw fit ones?
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Ah you want the patented TLR filter device that @stevelmx5 invented!
 
Square grads will always be a challenge unless you build a rail-based holder that could be slid into place over the viewing lens to compose then slide down a fixed amount to cover the same area of the taking lens.

Alternatively, round screw on grads could be used easily and interlinked so long as you accept their limitation of the grad line always being in the middle of the frame.
 
stevelmx5 said:
Square grads will always be a challenge unless you build a rail-based holder that could be slid into place over the viewing lens to compose then slide down a fixed amount to cover the same area of the taking lens.

Alternatively, round screw on grads could be used easily and interlinked so long as you accept their limitation of the grad line always being in the middle of the frame.
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I was thinking more along the lines of using one of those small, square Cokin type filter holders with a Bay 1 adaptor (if one exists), then swapping the whole thing out to fit to the taking lens, which would mean the grad line stayed in the same place as when on the taking lens?
 
Mr Badger said:
I'd wondered about using grad type filters for colour film work with a TLR and thought about setting the required effect up using the viewing lens, then dropping it down onto the taking lens once I'd got it right. Do you think this would work, bearing in mind the Yash uses bay 1 type bayonet filter mounts rather than screw fit ones?
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stevelmx5 said:
Square grads will always be a challenge unless you build a rail-based holder that could be slid into place over the viewing lens to compose then slide down a fixed amount to cover the same area of the taking lens.

Alternatively, round screw on grads could be used easily and interlinked so long as you accept their limitation of the grad line always being in the middle of the frame.
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Well, on most TLRs, you can fit filters on both the viewing and taking lenses. As such, you set up your photo and filters with the Cokin holder on the viewing lens and then just move everything to the taking lens once everything is ready to go.

That said, I usually just hold the filter over the viewing lens, determine where I want it, and then slide it into the holder for the taking lens in approximately the same position. With soft grads, this generally works. I don't see any reason why this wouldn't work for polarisers too.
 
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The only problem with setting up a polariser then moving it is that when you unscrew it there's a fair chance you will move the rotating filter and it's pretty difficult to see where it was before.
 
stevelmx5 said:
The only problem with setting up a polariser then moving it is that when you unscrew it there's a fair chance you will move the rotating filter and it's pretty difficult to see where it was before.
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Just put numbers or markings on the polariser so that you know how you wanted it aligned. Problem solved.
 
Don't polarisers have a reference mark any more? The ones I have do. Or has this gone the way of depth of field scales on modern cameras?
 
Weather looks a bit iffy anyway. I may take the trip for a trip. Won't take anything cumbersome :)
 
FishyFish said:
I don't think I'm going to be able to make the Churnet Valley Railway thing on Sunday unfortunately, so please don't anyone lug a MF camera there on my behalf. Thank you for the offers to do so though. :)
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Due to the recent mild weather I need to tidy the garden before any birds start nesting and can't be disturbed, so that's me done for this weekend. :(
 
Yaaay! Well done that man and welcome to the Yashica TLR club, I'm sure you'll like the results from it. I'd suggest getting a lens hood if you haven't already got one and can find one at a reasonable price, as I've found the 635 can be a bit probe to lens flare (more a haze than spots), however, perhaps see how you go first as the 124 has internal baffles, so may cope better with stray light. (y)
 
Mr Badger said:
Yaaay! Well done that man and welcome to the Yashica TLR club, I'm sure you'll like the results from it. I'd suggest getting a lens hood if you haven't already got one and can find one at a reasonable price, as I've found the 635 can be a bit probe to lens flare (more a haze than spots), however, perhaps see how you go first as the 124 has internal baffles, so may cope better with stray light. (y)
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Thanks. I've already ordered one (plus a set of lens caps as the camera didn't come with them).

Not shot it yet, but the focussing is so much easier than with my Lubitel.
 
FishyFish said:
Thanks. I've already ordered one (plus a set of lens caps as the camera didn't come with them).

Not shot it yet, but the focussing is so much easier than with my Lubitel.
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Hardly surprising as it's in a different league really... you do realise that there's no excuse for any unsharp photos now though! ;)
 
FishyFish said:
Quick Yashica Mat 124 G question...

When loading film, after aligning the arrows and closing the back, will the crank automatically stop the film at the first frame, or do I need to stop it myself when the "1" appears in the window?

Thanks.
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As far as I remember it should stop automatically. Until someone with more recent knowledge comes along, there's an easy way to find out ;0)
 
stevelmx5 said:
As far as I remember it should stop automatically. Until someone with more recent knowledge comes along, there's an easy way to find out ;0)
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Thanks Steve. That's what I'm now assuming.

When I loaded a roll earlier I stopped winding when I saw the "1" and then fired a shot. Upon trying to advance the film it wound on about an inch and then I had to back-wind to cock the shutter. I'm expecting an "interesting" first frame as a result. :)
 
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