Arax 60 MLU

Hi to all, Shiro here. Actually I have been lurking around the forums for

sometime, really appreciate and thankful for all those contributors of the

information I found here.

 

My main inquiry here is on the camera Arax 60 MLU. Of course if I had money, I

would definitely get a Hasselblad 503CW, with all the benefits, class and future

upgrades. But currently I just graduated from school with a Diploma, and about

to be enlisted into compulsory 2 years army in 9 days time, which has very

limited monthly pay, probably around $250-300 converted to USD.

 

So I don't have a big budget for the 6x6 cameras, so I shortlisted P6TL and A60.

Which, both 6x6 cameras are of low startup price with good lens (CZJ) and

probably camera, the A60 that is. P6TL with shipping = $260USD from Cupog, A60

with shipping = $410USD from Araxfoto

 

I know the build and reliability of A60 is much better than P6TL, from the

information I gathered at this forum. So I rather spend more money to have a

good machine, then to risk getting a cheaper machine which will need servicing

frequently.

 

But I was wondering will it last for years, probably 6-10 years at least with

good care? Even though it's not a lot of money to most of you guys out there, I

consider this sort of like an investment, and hope it would last through

sometime at least, cause I will be using it for casual/hobby. Because my main

photography is still on 35mm DSLR. I also have a Pentax 645N for 645 format,

furthermore, I heard A60 lens can be mounted on my Pentax 645N with an adapter,

which is a plus, since lens can be shared.

 

My next question is, how much better does Biometar 80mm f/2.8 fare compared to

Arsat 80mm f/2.8? If it's a lot, I may try to ask araxfoto whether I could buy

the Arax 60 MLU kit without the Arsat or could I change to Sonnar 180mm if they

have it. Cause I'm just interested in the Sonnar 180mm, Flektogon 50mm and

Biometar 80mm.

 

Last question is, whether the frame spacing problem solve in Arax 60 if you

follow the instructions? Sources say yes, but I would like to get some answers

from real users though.

 

Thanks for reading such a long post, and pardon my bad English. Thanks in

advanced for any answers to my questions.

I tried the Biometer 80 and Arsat 80 side by side, and I thought the Arsat was the better lens in terms of sharpness and resistance to flare. The Russian lenses can be very good (when they're good).

Have you tought about the Hartblei Kiev 60M? It is a bit cheaper but misses some of the accessoires that come with the Arax. But they are also adjusted like the Arax and the M has mirror lock-up. I don't have it long enough to comment on the time it will last. (Hartblei also has the body alone for sale) But I have good experience with both arax and hartblei.

 

The difference between the biometar and the arsat: see for yourself at the lens tests at www.kievaholic.com and www.pentaconsix.com Biggest issue with the arsat is that at the shortest focussing distance light enters at the lever for depth preview. I removed that lever completely (and closed the gap) because you have a preview lever on the body of the Kiev so you don't need it.

 

I don't have any frame spacing problems so far. They are not very regular, min 3mm, max 5mm (rough estimate).

 

Hartblei lists adaptors from P6 to Pentax 654 so that should be possible.

 

The following impression of the lenses you mention is purely personal on the limited use I made of them!

 

The CZJ 180 is a beast of a lens...very heavy. It is fine for portrait if you have the distance needed. I often don't have that inside and as a tele it is a bit short. A very nice lens you don't want to carry a whole day.

 

The flektogon 50 is a mixed bag for me: wide but not wide enough. And only f4.0. But I don't have found an alternative yet.

My Arax 60 MLU is about four years old--I've had no problems so far. I ordered my camera without a normal lens, because I already had a Biometar (that came with my Pentacon Six). I've never had any problem with frame spacing, but, if I use the red start marks inside the camera I get 13 frames--economical, but a PITA to store. I wind my film a bit past the red marks and get 12 frames that are slightly further apart.

 

Having never had an 80 mm Arsat,I cannot say which is better, but IMO the Biometar is as sharp as the 80 mm 2.8 Xenotar on my Rollei 2.8E, so it's certainly a very good lens. I've also been quite happy with my 180 mm Sonnar and 50 mm Flektogon. I especially like the 180 Sonnar, BUT everything Johan De Groote wrote about it's weight is correct!

 

Another lens worth considering is the 120 mm Vega which is sharp and very small(although the barrel build quality is not as good as the Zeiss Jena lenses. It takes the same (62 mm) filters as the Arsat. I use the 58 mm filters from my Biometar, with a 62 to 58 mm step-down ring.

 

I prefer the waist-level viewfinder to the prism and suggest that you get the earlier Rolleiflex-copy WL finder, if possible, rather than the later Hasselblad-type (although this is really just a matter of personal preference on my part, since I've used a Rolleiflex for many years).

I bought a Zeiss Jena 120/2.8 recently. Haven't developed any pics yet but the lens feels good and it's not terribly heavy.

Thanks to all for the answer.

 

Seems like both Biometar and Arsat 80mm are comparable, but Biometar has an edge.

I guess when I will try to ask araxfoto able to buy it without the lens.

Actually I want to get the Arax 60 Kit SE, cause I saw some of the leather finish that Hartblei doesn't have. Sorry lol, I'm a sucker for leather.

 

Yea, I checked the weight of the Sonnar lens, around 1.1kg, that's almost around 35mm wide angle f/2.8 zoom lens.

But this is one lens I really would want, since I'm aiming to use the Arax for portraits mainly.

 

On the WLF, I think I will try on the default ones to see whether I will like to use WLF or not, cause I never used a WLF in my life before.

 

But then, I won't have the money to buy the camera yet, hopefully to be able to buy it within 6 months time, but I just want to do a proper research before buying, to prevent impulse buy lol!

 

Thanks to all again, really appreciated the help.

The CZJ 120 is also nice indeed. Lot smaller and lighter than the 180. I have used it for some portraits (my first try at it) and the outcome was good (as good as it gets for me). Shortest focussing distance is also less than the 180 which is why I prefer it inside.

Shiro,

 

Like Johan said the 180 is a beast(my KIEV 6C+ lens weights 3.6 kg) but the quality is stunning.

 

As for the difference between the Arsat and the Biometar; Take in to account that the arsat lens is new and tested by Arax to be good where as the biometar is available 2nd hand only, so you could be getting a bad one.

 

I do not have had any problems with the frame spacing either but the trick is to always wind the film in one stroke. I've had a few irregular spaced frames that I can mostly account to the film winder getting caught by the camera strap and being wound in 2 parts.

Then again, my cousin who is a pro fotog told me that his Mamyia sometimes does this also and according to him even Hasselblads are not completely immune to this.

 

I don't know about the P6TL but with the A60 you do seem to get both the prism and the WLF as well as a case.

"to see whether I will like to use WLF or not, cause I never used a WLF in my life before."

 

WLF is a bit odd at first but it weights a lot less than the prism and sometimes it's just very practical.

 

Forgot to mention last time, no problems with frame spacing. Wind properly, that's all.

Shiro,

 

My Arax 60 is also an SE model, with black leather--looks nice and is only slightly more expensive.

Thanks to all again.

Hoping to get it within this few months.