best medium format camera money can buy

Hi : TO all the photo experts and cameras aficionados,I like to

post a tender subjective question.What is the best medium format

camera or camera system money can buy?and Why? I ask because there

may be something out there that I never heard of and is a gem to

use. I have a Hasselblads,Mamiya 6 and playing around wtih Bronica

EYRSi. Now please don't get all crazy over this,just share..... KM

Probably the Alpa 12 SWA. No electronics at all, Just a metallic frame linking a lens and a magazine. No rangefinder, no mirror, nothing but the essential.<br>

<br>Otherwise, I have a Rolleiflex SL66SE, and I consider it comes immediately behind the Alpa. And now absolutely less expensive. When you say "a gem to use", that's one.<br>

Best in what sense? Highest image quality is one thing, but even that could mean, sharpest, best "bokeh" (itself highly subjective), fastest lenses, and many more. What about widest range of accessories, ergonomics (again highly subjective), toughest, quietest, anything else?

The Mamiya RZ67 Pro II is the industry standard based on what I see rolling through my local

rental studio.

I'd second the one on the Rolleiflex SL66SE. The built-in bellows, the accessories, the curtain-shutter up to 1/1000, the open bayonett for lens hacking, the macro capabilities, the well-thought-out bellows, the retro-mount, the many lenses that were made for the Rollei under-cover, the accurate light meter, the exacting f-stops, the built-quality, the Zeiss lenses, the feel of ultimate precision.

There isn't that much difference between the main MF models in terms of sheer quality. However many of them are good at different things. I think that the thing that would do most to improve my photography would be to have two or three systems accessible to me at all times- so I think the best MF investment for me would be someone to carry the equipment I've got now; a 6x6 slr and a 67 rangefinder each with a few lenses, and maybe add a Mamiya 67 for its tilt & shift and macro capability. None of these cameras are expensive, but if I had all of them accessible to me all the time I think I'd do better than if I had only the most expensive or "best" MF camera in the world, whatever that is.

Take $400, buy a Holga 120N for $20 and spend the rest on Ilford delta 100. Which at

$2.50 a roll will give you 146 rolls of film.

 

Then go shoot...

The best? for what kind of work?

 

For general all round work and reliability, a Hasselblad 500 series camera and a

Hasselblad SWC/M.

 

For studio or studio-on-location work, especially portraits: a Mamiya RZ67II

 

For use with a digital back: a Hasselblad H1.

 

For use with archtectural /studio type movements, an Arca-Swiss 69FC or Linhof TK69,

either with a roll film back.

 

For backpacking and street shooting: a Mamiya 7 rengefinder or a Fuji GSW690III.

If money is no object, i would look for a model with front movement. Reason: a better control over depth of field.

 

That leads to Hasselblad Flexbody with 60 and 150mm CF lenses (widest and longest to use full 15d). Or Rolleiflex SL66SE.

 

I would also consider a nice 6x12, probably the Linhof 612 (since i like this format better than 6x9 or 6x17).

 

To replicate 35mm approach to mf, Pentax 645 II is probably the best overall but Contax 645 has something unique : a vacuum to make 220 film perfectly flat. Nice to have with fast lenses like its 80mm F2.

 

Finally, what would i suggest to someone that already has a Blad, a Mamiya 6 and a Bronica ETRSI ? Brobably a nice Rolleiflex TLR with Xenotar or Planar (old models F or new G something). Reason : silent, no black outs and light + low tripod.

Easy. Pentax 6x7 and its lenses. Big bang for the bucks.

Gilde. Its more of a panoramic camera, but it will also do 6x6. And it provides tilts and shifts as well.

 

http://gilde-kamera.de/en/index3.html

 

Its worth a look, they have promises of a digital back to come...

In WW2; a Medalist on the allies side.

Victor: thank you ,your the man!!! Everyone take example please.. Great camera,I checked it out ,and will do some more reading on this camera....thank u ...KM

Kal, please, moderate your enthusiasm.<br>

First, keep in mind that the Gilde camera is <u>heavier</u> than a Linhof Master Technika 4x5" : 2 900 gr.<br>

And a Linhof has all movements, and can also use 6x12 backs.<br>

I don't consider that the Gilde is a "medium format" camera, even if it uses 120/220 films.<p>

Second, <i>"Everyone take example please"</i>. These words are a total lack of courtesy. <br>

I suppose that we are no more at school, isn't ?<br>

Anyways, it is you who solicited our opinions, and we did not go to fetch you.<br>

Kal, You did not inform us whether your intended use for the future camera will be outdoors or inside a studio. The weight of the camera, as pointed out above, may prove to be a major factor for the usefulness of the camera. Your Mamiya 6 and even the Hasselblad both are relatively light cameras.

JeanLL: No insult intended,it's just that I've never heard of this camera before and I wanted other(if interested to take note)... I am grateful for your post also and did extra reading on the ALpa but I was happy to really see something that I had not been familiar with ,again sorry for getting too emotional... smile ,smile

Another camera which is probably much more known, as it uses some Graflex camera parts : <a href="http://www.skgrimes.com/paqpro/index.htm">PAQ PRO XL 6X9 </a>

but nevertheless very interesting. Very close to the philosophy of the Alpa system, or the Horseman SW 6x9. Less expensive, and for people living in the USA, probably easier to order than the Alpa.<br>