Medium Format TLR for under $300

[julien_boudreau]

<p>Hello, </p>

<p>I've been looking for a TLR camera for a while, but don't want to spend much money as I mostly use 35mm. There's a local Yashica MAT 124G for sale with everything in working order, and looks to be in great condition. He's asking $225, and I figure I can get it for $200. </p>

<p>This being said, is there a Rolleiflex or cord under $300 that would equal or exceed the quality? Seems to be a lot of models and it's hard to decipher which ones are worth getting. I'm OK with F3.5, as this is what the Yashica has. </p>

<p>Thanks, </p>

<p>J</p>

[doug grosjean]

<p>A bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush. If you have a line on a Yashicamat that you know works well, and you're happy with the price, go for it. A classic TLR that you haven't seen / held / checked out may need a CLA to work properly.</p>

<p>FWIW: I went from 35mm film to a Ciro-Flex TLR, to a Rolleicord V and a 'Flex, and some other MF cameras I picked up as well. Even the lowly Ciro-Flex TLR will put 35mm film to shame. The difference between a Ciro-Flex, a RolleiFlex, a Kodak Medalist... is far less than the difference between 35mm and medium-format.</p>

[doug grosjean]

<p>Also FWIW after checking your bio... I went from a Rollei TLR to a Nikon D90. A 2.25 square negative, scanned at a moderately high resolution, will give you around a 25 mega-pixel image. When I bought the D90, friends condescendingly suggested I must be really glad to finally have a good camera. I was like "Well, I certainly wasn't handicapped with the Rollei."</p>

[tom_cheshire]

<p>Before buying the 124G, put it on "B" at f3.5 and look through the lens from the back. These 124G's have a nasty tendency to haze. Actually, it is not haze but a sort of greasy film. Bought 4 last year, all the same. Easy to clean though.</p>

<p>By the way, you might be able to get a Mamiya C series tlr for less.</p>

[jean_yves_mead]

You'd be lucky to find a problem-free Rolleiflex for anywhere near that budget; and the Rolleicord's ergonomics won't match the Yashica's.

[chris_waller]

<p>That seems a bit pricey to my mind for a Yashicamat 124G. I bought an excellent Yashicamat recently in the UK for the equivalent of about $120. They are great camaeras but I prefer the Mamiya TLRs. </p>

[georg_s1]

<p>Buying a used camera local is a good idea - and while I've never shot a YashicaMat 124G yet I've heard a lot of good things about it. That said I wouldn't trade my late Minolta Autocord CDS for any other camera - okay, maybe for a mint Rolleiflex 2.8 in perfect working condition :-)</p>

[ian_gordon_bilson]

<p>Before you decide -check out the C-series Mamiyas.<br>

I went from Hasselblad to Mamiya, and honestly don't feel I sacrificed anything much in optical quality.<br>

And,here's the thing :If you find the 80mm lens (standard for the format) is not your cup of coffee,you can try the 105mm,or the 65mm,or the 135mm,or the 180mm,or the 55mm..or the 250mm.<br>

Try that with a Yashica,or a Rollei.</p>

[julien_boudreau]

<p>I've played around with the Mamiyas, both the C220 and C330, but they're just too big. I want something small, and the Rollei/Yashicas fit the bill - unless there's other models in that size range. </p>

<p>I've seen some Rolleis for $300 - they're the Xenar F3.5 lens. Anyone know how that lens compares to other lower price models such as the 124G mat and the C220?</p>

[tom_cheshire]

<p>The Xenar (or Tessar) are 4 element designs the same as the Yashinon on the Yashica, Rokkor on the Minolta, Belar on the Flexaret and Rikenon on the Ricoh. You might want to try a Ricohflex with a Rikenon lens or Ricohflex Dia. The Ricohflex Dia comes marked as a Ricohflex often but it is the same thing as long as you see the lens is Rikenon. The Mamiya C series lens is a 6 element design copied from the Rolleiflex. If you really want to save $ buy a Ciro-Flex F which has an f3.2 lens and it is a 4 element.</p>

[thomas_l.]

<p>Buy it and use it. The four lens optics will certainly be capable of great photos. But buy it only if it is in really good condition. Local dealer is better than on the internet because you can bring it back. If you are francophone you can check the page "Avant d'acheter un Rolleiflex, guide d'achat et de dépannage" - you'll find a lot of recommendations on what to check... But beware, TLRs are highly addictive, you might find yourself spending way more than 200$ sometime soon... ;-))</p>

<h3 ><a href="http://membres.multimania.fr/mlemandat/"><em> </em></a></h3>

[jeff_bennett1]

<p>I owned a Yashica 124G for 20 years and got some great use out of it. The 4-element Yashinon is quite good and very much comparable to the F3.5 Xenars that I have used on my Rolleicords. The Yashica is definitely less robustly built than the Rolleis, but as someone else noted, the ergonomics of the Yashica are better than those of the Rolleicord with its separate film wind and shutter cocking operations. $200 for a 124G in top working condition would be a decent deal in my view.<br>

Realistically, for $300 you can get a Rolleicord Vb (the last version made) if you are patient or one of the Rolleiflex Automats from the 1950s that used the Xenar or Tessar lenses. I currently have a Rolleicord Vb and have come to appreciate its very nice build quality and its simplicity. There is very little to go wrong with them.<br>

In short, I think you can get comparable image quality with either a Yashica or a Xenar/Tessar Rollei. The choice may come down to how you weigh ergonomics versus reliability and build quality.</p>

[leicaglow]

<p>Also, YashicaMat 124G's are not the same quality as a Rollei TLR, Hasselblad, etc. Mine lasted about 3 years from new, and things just started breaking. It always seemed a little flimsy to me. I was happy with the quality of the images, but it isn't a Hasselblad.</p>

[jason]

<p>Suggest something else than the Yashica-Mat. I use a Rollei Automat which are never expensive.The 75mm Tessar f3.5 a very fine lens. Mine needed a major CLR way back in 1971! Added a brighter screen. When i sold Pentax 6x7 system, I kept the Rollei. Small,totally reliable! My Rollei way more reliable than my Leica-M3! The Yashica is nice but fragile..It was never made for really hard usage. My Rollei used by friends to make use of it's advantages.<br>

In my now defunct studio, it was the Mamiya C series. Wonderful boxes but with limitations. Some of these apply to the Hasselblad.. Each lens has it's own shutter. Every shutter may differ in accuracy. I had stickers on the lenses. Add exposure or use less exposure..A real problem when used with color slide film,the choice of pros long ago..B.D. ( before digital). The shutter on the Pentax , electronic and very accurate, always. The Mamiya sometimes as do Hasselblad make all the right noises, when advanced and shot. The shutter does NOT open! Never happened in the Rollei TLR.<br>

The lenses of the Mamiya wonderful. They are very good but not equal to the Hassie. The Hassie required a "softar" filter for portraits being so sharp. I did Fashion and Portraiture with the Medium Format..<br>

A TLR is hard to use. Adding a pentaprism, never the "porroflex", spoils that special viewing. The latterly reversed image a real bonus to interesting images. You will take ages to set up a shot and walk away..One 220 film took me more than 18 months to expose fully.<br>

I think for $300 seek a SLR! Easier to use. If shutter in body, the lenses easier to use.The 645 format very effective though in last few years I really like the "Square Format". Some years ago,I bought the 1st Mamiya-C and 80mm Sekor lens for well under a $100. Yes shutter is cocked independently of film advance. Great for double exposures. Many film cameras now going very cheap esp. as Kodak may fail..Truthfully Kodak has planned their suicide ages ago. When do they advertise film?<br>

The Rollei most reliable. Mamiya-C have lenses.. Good luck.</p>

 

[anthony_bhe]

<p>Minolta Autocord - decent quality (except for the focus knob, the originals of which were fragile and broke easily), sharp lens, not nearly as expensive as a Rollei or the newer Yashicamats. Crank winder, they also exposed film right off the supply spool so it doesn't get a kink in it if you let it sit for awhile. I got one for $75 a few years ago and am just trying to start using it more again.</p>

[rashed_s]

Why not going for Mamiya C330 which is having the facilities of interchangeable lenss if a TLR is

what you have in mind.