Entry Medium-format set-up.

kalum.ko

kalum.ko

Member
Yo guys,

For a while now I've been wanting to get into using a medium format set-up.

I know there are some people on here with some pretty good knowledge in film, I literally know shit all about what I need. Hoping you guys could give me a hand in getting a set-up.

Ideally I'd like to spend under a grand on the entire set up. Is this unrealistic?

I'm guessing for the set-up I'm going to need: Body/Lens (been looking at mamiya c330), Film, Scanner, and stuff to develop?

Sorry if there is a thread about this already. I searchbarred but everything that came up was for sale medium pants etc. haha

thanks!

Kalum

 
For >$1000 get a hasselblad 500c, definitely my favorite medium format for the price and you can find one on ebay for less than 1000
 
this. plus the zeiss glass is so sharp. i would recommend this option if you can afford it. if you are interested in a tlr however, you can get a rolli for a lot cheaper than that. if you went that route you will sacrifice being able to interchange lenses but really thats not a big deal 90% or more of the time
 
I'm thinking the TLR. You can't adapt MF lenses to dslrs like a gh2 right?

I've thought about just getting a full frame instead, but I wanna try out film for once
 
What format do you want, 645 (rectangle, 16 shots per role), 6x6 (square, 12 shots per role), or 6x7 (slightly wider than square, 10 shots per role?)....
 
Thanks for the clarity on those formats. I didn't know to much about the shot per role. 645 would be ideal, but I'm pretty stoked on anything.

I also have a Canon MG5320 Printer/ Scanner. Will that scan at a high enough quality to digitalize the photos? I have no idea how the whole process goes. I will read up on google tonight
 
Like Jamie/Zac say: it's really important what kind of Medium format camera you want.

You say you want a C330 (TLR), which brings us a lot further. I guess it really depends what you want to use it for. I love the 6x6 format and it's great for anything where the subject isn't moving (landscape, architecture, portrait), because all TLR's have a leaf shutter that only goes up to 1/500 MAX and most only go up to 1/300.

As far as TLR's go: there's a LOT of great camera's out there that are pretty cheap. Mamiya made great ones, Rolleiflex being the best of course. You can get Rollei's with a Tessar design (75mm) (great camera I think) for 300$ easily. The Xenotar/Planar TLR's by Rolleiflex are better (but more expensive), but the Tessars are GREAT too stopped down.

You can always upgrade your camera later if you really want to go on with shooting film.

As far as everything besides you camera goes:

- Film. Obviously you're going to need this. I don't know if you're planning to shoot B/W or color, but either way, you're gonna have to try shooting different films. In the beginning I'd recommend just buying some different films and see what you like and what speeds you want. Buy some different films by Fuji and Kodak in both color and B/W and see what suits you.

- Light meter. Old(er) TLR's don't have light meters and the Sunny 16 rule doesn't always work. I've never used one of those fancy digital meters before, but analog meters work just as well and are very acurate too. You can get a Gossen Lunasix for 30-35$. That's a great light meter for the price.

- Filters. I don't know if you plan to shoot B/W, but if you do you probably want some filters: at least an orange and blue one to start off.

- Developing: B/W uses a different process than color (which uses C-41 processing); both use the same method, just different chemicals. You need developer and fixer (that's your chemicals), a thermometer (invest in a good one as the chemistry is VERY sensitive to temperature), some bottles, a daylight processing tank, cylinders to measure your chemistry).

- As far as scanning goes: I'd recommend getting something not too fancy in the beginning. A Canoscan 9000f or Epson v600 are good choices. In the 150-175$ range and good results for the price.

All in all you should be able to get a killer set-up with this for like 750$ I guess.
 
TLRs are a pain in the ass. Get an SLR.

You won't get an entire Hasselblad kit and everything else needed for film photography for under $1k.

For 6x6, the best inexpensive ones are the Bronica SQ-A or SQ-Ai. For 6x7, the Pentax 67 or 67ii are great cameras. Mamiya makes the best MF cameras though, and you can find a 6x7 RZ67 for around $500.
 
I should also note that Mamiya glass is better than Zeiss. As much as I love Hasselblads, they are insanely overpriced for what you get because it is a veblen good.
 
ive shot a fair amount on an rz 67 and the glass is very sharp. aside from the bulk of the body its a great kit.
 
No love for the medium format rangefinders?

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I was at Foto Den Boer on the Hugo de Groot the other day and there was a guy with a Mamiya 7 and René also had one out. Daaaaamn those things are nice. First time I ever held one. It's a little plasticy, but very well built and a joy to hold.
 
It's more like atrocious. It's poorly built, but it's light and the images it churns out are amazing. Once you see the quality of the results after you've been won over by the portability, you'll never complain about the third rate construction quality again.
 
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