So tell me more about TLR's please?

I bought my SL66 from Photocraft in 1980 and they are still going and the great place for S|H gear in central London was Jessops and has closed. Also bought from Fox Talbot and I think they have gone also.
 
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The last three times I've been in Express Imaging in Cardiff they've had a Microcord for £99. If it's still in there next time I go in, I might make a cheeky offer. Anybody got any experience with them?
 
Well you either like TLR or you don't? ;) is there a middle ground where guys use both?...... excluding DSLRs and just only MF
 
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abdoujaparov said:
The last three times I've been in Express Imaging in Cardiff they've had a Microcord for £99. If it's still in there next time I go in, I might make a cheeky offer. Anybody got any experience with them?
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No experience, but they are highly regarded.


Steve.
 
Yv said:
Well one thing is for sure, there is a lot of love for the TLR systems in here, which fills me with encouragement that I am not being completely mad in opting to go down that route :D
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Well, to be balanced, I enjoy using TLRs and they're extremely charming, but they also have some serious limitations. My Bronica SQ-A doesn't look anywhere near as appealing, but I ordinarily find it much easier to work with to get the images that I'm after.
 
If I wanted to go sq I'd choose the Bronica also as I've seen some VG sharp shots from the lenses...maybe it's you that has posted them (y)
 
skysh4rk said:
Well, to be balanced, I enjoy using TLRs and they're extremely charming ...
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If it's balance you're after, I don't like using TLRs. I can't find a way to focus them comfortably, the way the front extends when focusing isn't compatible with the way i hold the camera. I can't find a way of focusing and obtaining the image I'm after without using a tripod.

I agree that they look nice though.
 
I really enjoy using my Yash mat. Onl'y recommendation from me is if your hand holding then use a faster film (400).
 
Strappy said:
If it's balance you're after, I don't like using TLRs. I can't find a way to focus them comfortably, the way the front extends when focusing isn't compatible with the way i hold the camera. I can't find a way of focusing and obtaining the image I'm after without using a tripod.

I agree that they look nice though.
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This is one area where the Minolta Autocord has an advantage over most other TLRs, I find. Ergonomically, the front focusing lever allows me to hold the Autocord much like I would my SQ-A.

That said, it took a bit of practice to get really comfortable with focusing it though and SLRs are still more comfortable for focusing.
 
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Funny thing is that I find just the opposite. It feels a natural way to hold and focus a camera, this may be because I'm a left eyes shooter so an slr for me feels awkward as my massive nose is in the way.
I also find that I can handhold even slower films at 1/30th or 1/15th fairly easily.

Andy
 
Strappy said:
Some of them, certainly. I struggle to get on with my RZ67 for the same reason as TLRs but the first time I picked up a Hasselblad it felt completely natural.
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Yes, you're very right; handling will certainly vary between even SLRs as well.
 
excalibur2 said:
Nah This is my little world, but did send an email to a guy in classifieds once, about a lens, and he didn't bother to answer :rolleyes: and it's a shame the rules don't allow us to sell\buy things to each other here.
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Its ok, just consider F&C classifieds to be the Summer House in the formal garden of Crusty Mansions, if you get lost, Jenkins the gardener will show you the way back to the main house ;)
 
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Too much information..... :)
 
Roberts has gone a nasty shade of puce. Some one get him a brandy before he faints!
 
A brandy you say.... well go on then, just the one.:)
 
UPDATE**

I am now the proud owner of a very pretty TLR, and so far not too much grief from HTMBO.

So, because I am woman, and because I NEVER do what men say, I took all the general advice on board from this thread, and then used it to be a bit mad and went for something different and less well known, the one I linked to earlier, the Beautyflex. It has already arrived and is in excellent condition, not unused but very clean compared to many TLR's I have seen and seems mechanically very sound, but will put film through it this weekend and then find out for sure. The optics look very clear, viewfinder is bright enough for me, even indoors and it looks oh so cute [hence I gave in to the £99 price tag, its a gurl thing]

beautyflex by Yvonne White LBIPP - WhiteGoldImages, on Flickr
 
Cool. I can smell that leather ever-ready case!
Looks like the filter and hood bayonets are a standard size. Keep an eye out for accessories!
 
ianp5a said:
Cool. I can smell that leather ever-ready case!
Looks like the filter and hood bayonets are a standard size. Keep an eye out for accessories!
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Good thinking, will do!!

Just a small question, shutter can be X, F or M - M is definitely manual [bulb], the other two both seem to fire at whatever speed is set on the dial, any ideas? Wondering if 'F' is for the flash synch to work perhaps? Not a huge amount of info about these on t'interweb, other than they are as good as other similar TLR's and were imported into the Netherlands [iirc] as Fodorflex. Some lovely photos taken with them and of them on Flickr, so hopefully I have got a nice camera at the sort of money that was less than I expected to spend. I will go through a lot more of the info on some of the flickr stuff over the weekend too, see what tips and tricks I can glean from there.
 
Two different flash settings - X for electronic flash, which is what you want it set to if you're using flash. The other one would be for flashbulbs. (Although I think that's "M" on my Yashica)
 
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I have a dim and distant memory of things breaking if you move that lever when the shutter is either cocked or not cocked, but I could be wrong. That's not really helpful, I know.
 
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The letters are for flash synchronisation. X is electronic flash; the other two are for different types of flashbulbs.
 
I believe the shutter on these is a bit of a bum. ..

Ah no sorry, it says 'Rectus' not 'Rect...'

[Insert little yellow fella blushing]
 
One thing to remember (IIRC which isn't a given!) is that if you leave a film in some TLRs for a while, it can get kinky... Can't remember whether it's an unexposed frame that gets kinked or the last exposed frame but it's worth remembering. Again, IIRC, it's something to do with the film path going over a roller somewhere along the way - hopefully someone with more recent experience can throw a little extra light on this. Of course, a TLR's natural habitat would be the Goodwood Revival so I'm fairly sure you wouldn't be leaving a film half finished there (or at something like the Wiscombe Park VSCC [or Prescott] hill climbs!)

Enjoy the Beautyflex!
 
StephenM said:
The letters are for flash synchronisation. X is electronic flash; the other two are for different types of flashbulbs.
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Yes, that now makes sense, thanks Stephen...is there a preference on which it should be left on for general use, as in sans flash?

Nod said:
One thing to remember (IIRC which isn't a given!) is that if you leave a film in some TLRs for a while, it can get kinky... Can't remember whether it's an unexposed frame that gets kinked or the last exposed frame but it's worth remembering. Again, IIRC, it's something to do with the film path going over a roller somewhere along the way - hopefully someone with more recent experience can throw a little extra light on this. Of course, a TLR's natural habitat would be the Goodwood Revival so I'm fairly sure you wouldn't be leaving a film half finished there (or at something like the Wiscombe Park VSCC [or Prescott] hill climbs!)

Enjoy the Beautyflex!
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Thanks Nod, I am not the sort to leave film in for too long, so hopefully wont be an issue ;)

TheGreatSoprendo said:
I believe the shutter on these is a bit of a bum. ..

Ah no sorry, it says 'Rectus' not 'Rect...'

[Insert little yellow fella blushing]
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Ah yes, I have to admit to a schoolgirl giggle at the name... ;)
 
Nod said:
One thing to remember (IIRC which isn't a given!) is that if you leave a film in some TLRs for a while, it can get kinky... Can't remember whether it's an unexposed frame that gets kinked or the last exposed frame but it's worth remembering. Again, IIRC, it's something to do with the film path going over a roller somewhere along the way - hopefully someone with more recent experience can throw a little extra light on this. Of course, a TLR's natural habitat would be the Goodwood Revival so I'm fairly sure you wouldn't be leaving a film half finished there (or at something like the Wiscombe Park VSCC [or Prescott] hill climbs!)

Enjoy the Beautyflex!
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In theory, It's the second frame after the film has been sitting for a while (how long is debatable), although this problem is not necessarily unique to, nor does it apply to all, TLRs. In practice, I've only ever seen this issue twice with a medium format SLR and it was difficult to see.

Minolta Autocords and, I believe, Mamiya TLRs don't have this problem as the film path is straighter.
 
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Yv said:
So, because I am woman, and because I NEVER do what men say, I took all the general advice on board from this thread, and then used it to be a bit mad and went for something different...
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I dunno, WOMEN! You try to give them sensible advice and they all know best! Harumph. Double port please, Roberts.
:p:exit:

Beatyflex, I must admit, is darn near irresistible. But, you know the rules, pics or it didn't happen (and that's not digi pics of the camera, of course). ;) :pics::snaphappy:
 
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ChrisR said:
I dunno, WOMEN! You try to give them sensible advice and they all know best! Harumph. Double port please, Roberts.
:p:exit:

Beatyflex, I must admit, is darn near irresistible. But, you know the rules, pics or it didn't happen (and that's not digi pics of the camera, of course). ;) :pics::snaphappy:
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:LOL: She is already loaded with first roll of film, and will hopefully get chance to go out and play tomorrow. I the meantime, if I can be bothered stirring myself from the semi-prone position I am currently enjoying, I shall break the F&C section by posting some digital pics of her, slightly better than the phone pic above. Oh and with a name like 'Beautyflex', can't be anything but 'she', right?!

Meanwhile, I also have a spare 620 spool for the Duaflex ordered too, so after it arrives and I have groped around in the dark, will load that up and see whether it still wants to play at picture taking too.
 
My YashicaMat has the X, M switch that I see is still fixed firmly in the X position with a chunk of plastic that I cut to shape and pressed into the slot where the lever travels between X and M. I put it there back in the early 80's and it's still safely there today.
I didn't want any chance of it shifting during a wedding. As the flash would still fire on M, but the frame would be dark. And you wouldn't know until too late. I'd heard stories of photographers accidentally knocking the lever out of the X position at weddings. Much to the horror of the couple. I saw one Hasselblad with a big blob of araldite glue on the lever, and other cameras where they had bent or snipped off the lever completely.
 
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