Is there such a thing as a decent medium format camera in the $100-200 range?

[classcamera]

Hello All,

 

I think the most important thing to say is that a built in meter will always be less relaible and flexable than a hand held meter. The scout is an excellent meter around the 60 dollar mark, and there are good deals on Luna-Pro meters in the used market. <P>

Most everone here has mentioned the TLR cameras (get a Rollei or Autocord, they are the best made), but not one mention of a good folding camera. I would recomend The Zeiss Super Ikonta B as an excellent coupled range finder camera, good tessar lens, and tonns of built in quality. These cameras are currnetly going for around the 150 dollar range (model 532/16) and can be CLAed for around the 50 dollar mark. I personally shoot (with my 532/16) color slides while on vacation since the camera will fit in my pants pocket and really wows the natives.

<P>

Hope this is helpfull,

<P>

Mark

[david_carson]

<p>For a super cheap "meter," try the <a

href="http://www.expodisc.com/">expo disc</a>, which is a lens

cap that fits on your camera that turns it into an incident light

meter. Now marketed for digital camera white balance

calabration, it still works for film cameras.

 

<p>I see them on ebay for $25-33 bucks.

[douglas_green1]

Don't be afraid to haunt local used camera shows for old hand-held meters. I picked up a perfectly nice, fully working Weston Master IV meter for $5 at a show. I keep a Luna-Pro SBC with my MF gear, and I generally carry the Weston Master IV as a spare with my 35mm gear.

[OCULUS New York]

Steven,

See my first-roll review of my new-old Pentacon Six TL with a wide angle 50mm Zeiss Jena (both East Germany) Flektogon up above under a similar post on cheap 120s. In short, this overgrown 35mm-shaped German camera is very high quality, and East German Zeiss Jena lenses are available for pennies on the dollar, compared to their Oberlachen bretheren.

 

My total investment hits around $200 for what you see demonstrated there (camera, 80+50 lenses). I am going to invest in a metered prism though, for another $80, but still well within the reach of a newbie, and the other Zeiss lenses (up to 500mm) are still cheap (under $500). Can you top that with Japanese equipment?

 

Good luck,

Ray Hull

[chip_greenberg1]

You might want to check out : http://medfmt.8k.com/mf/budget.html

 

Medium Format on a Budget. I am bulding a Kowa system and am very

happy with the galss. This is si bit priceier than your budget but leagues

under Hassleblad!

Chip

[steven_clark]

Whatever way I go it's going to have to wait a little while longer. Money's short at the moment and I am underemployed.

[murrayatuptowngallery]

Hello:

 

120 film (12 exposure 6x6, 8 exposure 6x9) in my area develops for $3 at local camera store, $3.50 at local pro lab. Contact print cost I don't know yet...they didn't charge me that day just to be nice.

 

I paid $11 for an old Agfa folder. I decided I wasn't going to pay 10-20 times that for an overhaul and would hope for the best. I tried cleaning the shutter with contact cleaner, unstuck the lens (and it's black paint) with an ultrasonic cleaner (only do this on an $11 investment, not a $200 one!), made the mistake of disassembling the shutter to clean it, realizing later it wasn't necessary, Photo.Net member Mark Hansen reassembled the shutter for me, and I lucked out on the bellows and film door not leaking.

 

I DO want to learn the arcane basics and theory so I can then move to 4x5 & don't want to learn on that $ and time scale.

 

I'm not sure whether this folder will give me any better results than my 35 mm camera yet however.

 

Murray/Holland MI