Seagull 4a-109?

[hmotte]

I read the other guys post on getting started in MF and no one

mentioned the seagull, the new 4 element 109. What do all of you

experienced with medium format think about this 6x6 for getting started?

AND do you have some resources for labs to develope this in the

Southeast, usa?

Thanks

Harold

[cpj]

The new Seagull is improved over the older ones in that it has a film transport crank which

also automatically cocks the shutter, something which had to be done manually on

previous models. The question is with this increase in internal complexity, will it hold up

mechanically?

 

Any TLR camera selling new today for about $220 is likely to be less than rugged. If 220 is

all you can afford, look into a 25 year old Yashicamat in excellent condition. Personally I'd

go for a Rolleiflex MX or C model from the early 1950s or later or a Rolleicord. There you

would have known reliability and well-known lenses with a track record.

[rich815]

You can get much better used Yashicamats or Rolleicords for same or less. Here are some earlier threads discussing Seagull TLRs:

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=008mVy

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=006aV5

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=006kda

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00D6nV

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=007Xi5

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=003qZj

 

and a link to where you can get better TLRs, as mentioned, for same or less money:

 

http://tinyurl.com/ckpkc

[pavelp]

Seaguls are not mentioned often because they are not mechanically reliable (the shutter tends to croak in unrepairable ways).

 

There are many alternatives to Seagul: Minolta Autocord (famous Rokkor glass), Ricoh Diacord (this is a sleeper camera but it delivers), all kinds of Rolleis (most of them with Zeiss lenses, including the notorious Tessars and famous Planars), Mamiya TLR (interchangeable lenses, Sekor glass, the basic 80mm lens is 5 element, Elmarit like lens, the rest of the lineup is interesting as well).

 

I'd forget about Seagull because you do not want to fight reliability problems when you are exploring new format ("is it me or is it the damn camera?"). To get started in the MF, I'd go with un-metered Minolta Autocord (about $150, budget another $100 to get it CLA-ed by (say) Paul Ebel). It's also a good idea to get a reliable hand-held meter (I recommend Luna Pro SBC, which is dead-accurate and you can find one for $70 on eBay). If you like the results, you can start thinking about your next step. There are so many options.

[ranong]

almost every major city in SE ASia has the facilities to process and print 120 film. HCMC. BKK, and rangoon for sure.

 

eddie

[leeuwtje]

I have a Seagull and a Yashica Mat. I actualy like the Seagull better because of the real 3D feeling the matglass is giving me. Do other recognize this feeling?

[david_gillich]

I bought this camera last Fall (OCT04)to try medium format. I thought it took nice pictures and was small and light, but by JAN05, the entire camera seized up and stopped working altogether. I sent it for repair, since it was under warranty (less than 3 months of use), and it took over four months for the camera to be returned. Once I got it back, the camera looked worse than when I sent it for repair, and I do not trust that it actually works now. Last February(05), I bought a Blue 501CM, and I have never looked back. The Seagull took nice pictures, but it was completely unreliable. It was a wasted $200 on my part since I do not feel I could sell it given how unreliable it was.

[ned1]

I second the used Rolleicord. It sells for less than the Seagull, is more reliable (my 1952 one still takes great pictures) and has one hell of a good lens.