Digging out some old negs

[david_chilvers]

Hiya

 

I`ve been having a clear out and came across some 120 negs and slides

that I want to scan. As my flatbed has given up the ghost I`ve

ordered a Epson 4870 as I need something when restoring old photos

for clients. After reading the good reviews of this scanner and

having had my apetite wetted I quite fancy buying a second hand MF

camera.(I sold all my film gear a while back) but can`t get over that

feeling of setting up and the wait for results from 120 roll film.

I started in MF with a trusty 330f but it is so long ago I can`t

really remember just how it would stand up against modern MF gear and

all my old negs are somewhere in the loft from a recent move(or lost)

My budget is quite low hence the thoughts of the TLR`s which seem to

be really good value for money now. One of my last MF cameras was a

rf645 which gave excellent results but with a couple of lens would be

above my budget me thinks.

Any suggestions?

[trace_dibble6]

David,

Of all the cameras I've used over the years, the most bang for the least bucks was in a Mamiya 124G. It had plenty of limitations, but for less than $200 I got a solid, all-manual, well constructed camera body with a very good lens.

[custom film holders for fl]

The 330F was and is still an outstanding camera that optically can compete with brand new cameras just fine!

<p> Doug<p>

<a href="http://home.earthlink.net/~dougfisher/holder/mainintro.html">Dougs

MF Film Holder for batch scanning of 120/220 medium format film with flatbeds</a>

[david_prouty]

Trace,

 

Do you mean a Yashicamat 124G? I never heard of the Mamiya 124G.

[david_chilvers]

Doug

 

Had a look at the neg holder and if the 4870 checks out ok for films then I will be oredering one.

Thanks

[trace_dibble6]

Whoops. Yes, David. I meant Yashicamat 124G

[david_chilvers]

Well I`ve now had a day to play with the scanner on some of my slides and must admit I am quite amazed at what it can do for the money. I found the connection and installation very straight forward. The sofware is very easy to find your way around and opens in import in PS or Elements. Scanning times are (IMHO) very fast when compared to when I had the Nikon 8000. The results are not as good as the 8000 but to be quite honest they are not that far behing(shadow and highlights). I scanned some slides that I had scanned with the 8000 so it was a tough test but if you didn`t have them to compare I would say that most people would be very happy with the results and more so at the price. They need quite a lot of sharpening and i would say a fairly good grip of PS to get the best.

As I said in my first post I was looking towards a 330 but I think that the larger the neg the better with a flatbed and my wife has OK`ed a withdrawal:-)

I`m looking for a camera that would be for return visits or places that I know images await at certain times so at this stage portability isn`t so important. I had a RZ67 at one time and am looking at that route. I am attracted to the RB SD because I`m told that lens quality has been better with the later KL versions and they can be had cheaper than the RZ. I`ve never used an RB but would gather that it is very similar to the RZ and I love the revolving back.

Has anyone got anything to add about the two Mamiyas or can point me to some web site reading so that I can compare.BTW I did consider a 5x4(as the 4870 has holders for that size) but I`m not sure the budget and the really slow operation would suit me.

 

Thanks very much for any help and advice

[mjk]

Here's an example of a picture taken with Yashica 124G scanned with Epson 4870.

 

<a href="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/2768743-md.jpg">Yashica 124G scanned with Epson 4870</a>