Anyone buying new MF gear?

[jeffrypittman]

I'm not writing to start a digital vs. MF debate (plenty already done with the pros and cons well

articulated on both sides). I shoot Rollei TLR and 6008AF but also shoot more and more with my

Sony A700 digital SLR (I was a long time Minolta user and stayed with the system and glass).

Many photographers post they are doing the same but still shoot with gear they have (dearly) held

on to, and other have bought on the used market because the prices were too good to pass up.

 

My question is this: Anyone buying NEW medium format gear these days? Lots of great used gear

available for a fraction of the price of new. Using Rollei as an example, the new lenses and AF

cameras are often 2x, 3x, sometimes 4x the cost of a very well maintained used equivalent.

Especially now with the weak dollar vs Euro, the Hasselblad and Rollei prices are so high ($7,000+

for a Rollei 6008AF).

 

If not, how long can these firms continue to produce this gear?

[waltflanagan]

That's why Hasselblad bought Imacon and made the H3 only work with their own digital backs. It's not just medium format, look at Leica. Why buy this stuff nenw when it lasts for 50 years or more?

[stwrtertbsratbs5]

I bought a new Mamiya 7 II during the past year. And I shoot digital, too.

[stp]

Like Robert, I also bought a new Mamiya 7II (and one new lens and three used lenses)

during the past year. And I shoot digital, too.

[akajohndoe]

I would buy a 50mm lens for my Mamiya RZ Pro II if it were not so damn expensive.

[bobmichaels]

Does a Holga count? I mean it does use 120 film. If so, I have bought a new MF camera in the last five years.

 

But my Mamiya 7 system as well as my Bronica SQA system were all used.

 

And my ContaxG system (2 bodies, 5 lenses) were all used. My Zeiss Ikon system including 4 lenses were also used. Also, my Canonet GIII. Not to forget the Nikonos III.

 

Come the think of it, the only camera I bought new is also the only one I seldom use. It's a D-70.

 

So yes I see why so few film cameras of any size are being made any more. I'd be willing to bet that the only film cameras being currently made are some LF and some 35mm rangefinders. The rest are probably being sold from inventory.

[dougmiles]

Well, not exactly 'these days', but I bought a new-from-inventory Pentax 67II two years ago after getting the idea the inventory was running dry... and celebrating thirty years' ownership of a non-MLU 6x7. :-)

[rothelle]

I Shoot with a Pentax 67 and I also have a RZ pro IIS and I shoot digital. But the thing with me is I shoot film more than digital and I also work with large format. And I'm looking to buy a bran new Pentax 67II this year;-0

[bogdan_nicolescu]

Yeah sure, I buy brand new only, best prices ever... Got a brand new Mamiya 645 Pro TL with best Mamiya 645 glass, also Mamiya 7II with three superb lenses, all nice and shiny...

 

M645 system is already discontinued so I guess this won't make much difference to the manufactured... planning to acquire more before it trails off from the market...

 

My son got a digital but for some strange reasons he wants to shoot a funny looking Beltica we found in an antiquity shopﾅhe is seven:)...

[g_lindzey]

Well, I would have purchased a new medium format camera this year but hasselblad discontinued the SWC series a while back.

[blarg_.]

I just bought a new Hartblei-modified Kiev 88-CM. Most of the lenses I've bought for it were "new" as well. When I say "new" I mean new old stock - re-worked by converting the mounts to Pentacon 6 and multicoating the glass.

 

$800 to get an entire camera system with 4 lenses ranging from 30mm to 250mm to get into a VERY expensive hobby. Maybe not professional-level gear, but if I had to pay professional-level prices I'd never have gotten in in the first place.

[kari v]

I went for the Arax60 MLU (modified Kiev60). Works wonderfully. I only bought one new lens (80/2.8, practically free), the rest are used Zeiss-Jena. Going to buy the 30mm fisheye new when autumn comes, with current prices there would be no reason whatsoever to buy second hand. New (or "new") ones are adjusted, properly coated and have one year warranty - $289 (and I pay in euros).

[gary_watson]

I'm piecing together a Bronica 6x6 kit from NOS lenses and bodies that are only marginally more expensive than used. The downside to the MF bargain "avalanche" is that much of it is smoked, worked-to-death gear with issues and/or little remaining mileage. I'm finding enough new or barely used back-up stuff that will last as long as film and processing survive.

[paul_hagan]

Yes going down the same route as Gary. NOS searches for Pentax 67, Maiya 645, Bronica SQ, and Mamiya RB/RZ 6x7. I have already got my hands on a formidable range of kit and have the four systems mostly sewn up with the lenses and accessories I want. These will last as long as film and as long as I do. Yes I shoot digital with a D300 -and it is a pleasure to use- I would not have missed the experience for anything. But film still holds a magic.

 

Paul

[tak_l._poon1]

I bought a new 80mm f/2 for my Rollei. I bought this rather than a used one is that the new one is also less expensive now.

[bradleygibson]

Yes, I'm buying both new and used.

 

In my case the Hy6 camera is the best fit for my needs. Obviously I have to buy that new.

 

Jeff, I've noticed the very same thing as you around pricing--as such, I've been buying used Rollei glass and now have six Schneider lenses from 40mm to 300mm--average cost was only 40% of new, and condition (aside from some minor dust) is good as new--that is significant!

 

That is not to say that I think the medium format industry is healthy as a whole--au contraire... But when it comes to the kind of image quality I am searching for, I simply haven't found a small-format substitute.

 

-Brad

[bengt_ljungkvist1]

Interestingly enough, one can notice, that Hasselblad is purchasing a film back to their H-series! Who is buying that? And a new one, for that? Maybe analogue photographers are not only old fossiles. A little beside the thread maybe, but interesting in its own right.

Bengt Ljungkvist, old H-blad (analogue) neard

[d_purdy]

I bought a new Rollei TLR 2.8FX last year. But looking at the new price of a TLR tele Rollei.. getting up to 7000.00, it is hard to imagine

who would buy such a camera expect a couple of extremely wealthy people who want them as toys. I am guessing they are made pretty

much on demand only. No camera store is going to be having a half dozen of those on the shelf.

[jeffrypittman]

Same as Doug and Bradley, I've bought new and used over the years. The "new" I bought was a couple of years ago before

the dollar was so low and MF used inventory wasn't so plentiful. Great time to buy used if you love the format. Thanks

everyone for your responses. Great to hear what everyone is thinking.

[Vlad Soare]

I bought my RB67 Pro-SD new, because I didn't want to take any chances. A used professional camera is usually very likely to need a CLA, and getting a CLA well done where I live is very expensive and could drive the total price higher than if I had bought new gear in the first place (not to mention it takes a long time).<br>

On the other hand, I did buy used gear whenever the risk was low (for example a 4x5 monorail camera, a spotmeter, etc.).

[jens_g.r._benthien]

Yes, Fuji GW 690III (counter 028), Fuji GSW 690III (counter 031), Plaubel 69W ProShift (like new, only one previous owner). All used in excellent condition, CLA done. Just fantastic.

 

I don't like digital. Too expensive, too limited, too many features a professional photographer doesn't need.

[willem_rethmeier]

New Hy6/75LVr and 5 used Rollei lenses.

40 +55PCS+90Apo+110/2 Zeiss+180/2.8.

For the lenses I paid around $15.000.

New price would be double for those lenses.

Still the whole kit is around $50K

Cheers,

Willem.