ken_rowin

One of the problems that I've had in attempting to photograph in semi-public spaces has been in obtaining permission to use a tripod. For example at the Winter Garden at the World Financial Center in NYC, they wanted $500 for a tripod permit. Needless to say I didn't purchase one. Rather, I steadied myself against a convenient pillar and got a very nice shot with a wide angle lens of the courtyard. In Washington, DC it took me a couple of weeks of telephone calls and faxes back and forth in order to obtain a tripod permit (free of charge) to use OUTDOORS on the grounds of the US Capitol. Many places will give permission, but it takes a lot of time.

As above, it seems crazy to me so spend that kind of money on the repair when you can buy a C330 with 2 lenses for that same price. The results are worth it! I have made 16x20's from my handheld negs that are much nicer than any prints from 35mm that I have made. Not quite 4x5 quality, but alot lighter to carry on a 10 mile hike.

I agree with what Mel Brown says. I purchased a Yashicamat 124 some years ago but found it limited - the meter was not accurate (so I used my handheld meter) and I couldn't change lenses. Therefore after renting Haselblads and a Mamiya 7, I purchased the Mamiya C330 with several lenses. The 55mm is rather prone to flare (I still haven't found a lens hood for sale) but the overall system is great. For about the same price as a new MF body, I have a reasonable medium format system (although I still would love the Mamiya 7).

Don't forget, if you process it yourself and then print it yourself, you can crop the negative any way you want to. Certainly this is alot easier with B&W than with color as used enlargers (without color heads) are available at relatively modest prices.

I have used the POTA formula from The Darkroom Cookbook with very good results.

Why are the number of films available in 220 size rather limited? Kodak does not make Tmax100 or Tmax400 available in 220 nor does Ilford make Delta100 or Delta400 in that size. Thus the selection of 220 B&W emulsions is limited to older films such as PlusX, TriX, FP4 and HP5. They charge apx. double for the 220 size, so it doesn't seem that they would be losing any money by having the newer films in both 120 and 220. Does anyone have the answer to this?

I never had great results with PlusX - the negs and prints were always dull and lifeless with a muddy grain pattern. Maybe it's just my way of doing things, but I rarely get too much contrast with Tmax100. Does anyone know why Kodak and Ilford don't sell 220 rolls of Tmax100 or Delta100?

I have found that neither camera meters nor handhold meters (Luna Pro) can do more than get you into the right ballpark. As there are reciprocity problems and contrasty scenes often having street lights and flood lights, I have found that bracketing is the only way to go. With Tmax 400 I have found that 5, 10, 20 & 40 seconds at f16 gives me a good selection of negatives for most cityscapes and street scenes.

I recently purchased a Paramender in excellent condition from Ken-Mar Camera in Great Neck, NY, Phone 800-864-0513 or 516-482-1025. They appear in the Shutterbug every so often and seem to be sold as soon as that magazine appears on the street.

Contact Mamiya at www.Mamiya.com. They have manuals available and much information about all of their cameras.

I had a similar flare problem with the Yashica 124 which I thought was due to the lens design. Further investigation showed that there was clouding of the glue between some of the elements which was readily apparent when bright light was shown through the lens. I was told that it didn't pay to remount the lens.

Perhaps I am the only one who has experienced this problem, but I have had fogging near the edges of almost every 220 roll of film that I have used. Using the same camera equipment (mamiya c330) I had never had that problem with 120 film. This suggests to me that unless you load and unload your camera in the dark or a changing bag, there is less protection from light from the shorter paper strip of the 220 rolls.

By turning the dial on the side of the camera, the needle in the viewfinder gives the approximate location of the top of the frame. It seems reasonably accurate to me, but I have only used it for general photography and not copy work. If you don't see the needle at all with a closeup (less than 3 feet with the 80mm lens) then there is something wrong.

Mamiya made a device called the "Paraminder" which allowed you to focus the picture thru the viewing lens & then easily raise the camera by the exact amount, so that the picture lens would "see" exactly what the viewing lens had "seen". I have seen them advertised for $100-$125 in Shutterbug.