Opinions on Seagull 4A-109

Just bought an awesome Seagull TLR 4a 109 camera. I don't own a $2k Rollie or any other medium format camera- just this great $200 camera that I love. My images are beyond awesome. I don't understand all the gear whiners in this forum- are they just poor photographers? Do they not know how to take great images so they complain and compare their gear to Leica or Hassy? If I just had a Hassy or a Leica M9000-lol. It's a poor craftsman who blames his tools. My $200 Seagull will FU your $10k Leica any day of the week. Lol- gear twats.

Why does Bob Chong-- who hasn't posted his typical negative hater feedback in 4 years get to sit atop the Seagull forum? This idiot know little about photography or this camera --based ignorant submissions- sounds like the guy bought a goodwill camera and gor burned. Lol

Ok, you folks talked me out of the Seagull. I was looking forward to that new camera smell, and incidentally it goes on ebay for $260 new -- B&H is the worst camera shop to buy anything from anyways, never mind sticking another $350 in their pocket for a Seagull; I have had a horrible experience with their used department, and according to their customer service I was not the only one!!!

 

So then how is the Yashicamat 124G compared to Rollicord or Ikoflex? I am hoping to get a TLR with bulit-in meter so I don't have to carry my heavy Pentax spotmeter with me. And since I will be using the camera on sailboats, I don't want to dish out too much money for something that may end up at the bottom of the ocean.

 

Steve, thank you for the hint on the light fall offs with leaf shutters. It is very logical - I should have thought about it!!! Will try to run a roll thru my new Mamiya 7 (when it arrives) to make sure that it won't fail me on the corners since I will be primarily use it for landscapes.

I have used a Mamiya 7 for years and have not noticed any light fall off in the corners. The M7 has no weaknesses other than price.

I don't understand all the gear whiners in this forum- are they just poor photographers?

IDK under which label you'd file me. - I had something Seagull (with crank), bought it used back in 89 or 90, shot it together with my C330 for which I had no 80mm lenses back then. Same meter, same film, soaked together in the same tank: The Seagul negs were 1.5 grades softer than the Mamiya ones. I also considered the camera a tad harder to focus and ended reselling it for those reasons.

If we are talking B&W: You 'll get the hang of processing and printing for your kit. Integrating something significantly different is a huge step upwards. For me it was too big. - I didn't get the hang of handling the output of my Bergheil's uncoated Heliar either.

I don't own a $2k Rollie or any other medium format camera

Means you have a huge advantage over me. Enjoy it!

I have two Seagull TLR, one with English name plate

the other with Chinese nameplate.

 

I also have a Rolleiflex TLR with F3.5 lens.

IMO, the picture quality of Seagull TLR is on par with

my Rolleiflex TLR.

 

However,I prefer Seagull winding knob film advance then Rolleiflex's crank

Edited July 31, 2018 by MTC Photography

I owned a Seagull once.

 

I bought a Rolleicord Va and a Rolleiflex Automat, rid myself of the Seagull, and didn't look back.

 

I guess I'm a poor photographer, but good medium format equipment is cheap these days. I rarely use TLRs these days as I prefer SLRs, but shoot the snot out of my Hasselblad and use a Mamiya RB67 a fair bit. None of these cameras cost me a fortune, and I'd rather have a camera where I both KNOW that bad results are my fault and also that I actually enjoy using.

 

In all honesty, I find anti-snobs like vintagephotographer in this thread to be just as obnoxious as equipment snobs. I don't think anyone can argue with good results regardless of how you get there, but using a Rolleiflex or a Hasselblad doesn't make you a bad photographer or mean that you're trying to compensate for your lack of skills as that poster seems to suggest.