adrian_twiss6

<p>You got a good deal there - congratulations. I take it you won't be mountaineering with it. It looks like a fairly heavy bit of kit. </p>

<p>Its the front element you remove. You will need about 350-380mm of bellows extension to get infinity focus. I am told that this is because the nodal point of the lens moves forward (IIRC) when the front element is removed. I have a maximum of 320 belows extension on my camera an cannot get anywhere near inifinty focus with this lens when the front element is removed. According to Steve Simmons peroformance suffers when used like this.</p>

<p>Cokin did themselves no favours whatsoever when they began marketing their products with an array of extreme effects filters which were IOM good for nothing but messing about. Many workers did not take them seriously and they were regarded by many as amateur playthings not meant for the serious worker. The fact is that their P and X pro series were quality bits of kit. I have used the X pro series for some years and my only complaint is that its quite a large package to carry around. My only other issue is that the filters (for black and white) in my case don't conform to the Wratten Standard. This is itself of not a massive problem but Wratten filter factors were well publicised. Cokin were never that great at publicsing their filter factors and I had to do some experimenting to get them right. I have never had a vignetting problem with the X pro series but have had trouble with the P Series.</p>

Melissa

 

My first MF camera was a Yashicamat and I moved up to the Mamiyaflex when I started working semi professionally as a wedding photographer (hence the ulcer I now have :-)). In my experience the Mamiya is the better camera. Better built and sharper lenses. Another thing to think about is that, if you should B&W the Yashica had a bayonet filter mount like the Rolleiflex whereas the Mamiya had the more common screw thread (40.5mm IIRC). I now own an Bronica SQB (I don't need bells and Whistles). I like printing square and can crop to print rectangular if I want. If you do go down the Mamiya route there is one thing to remember. If you see a silver lens at a bargain price its not a bargain. The old Seiko shutters used in these lenses are impossible to repair because there are no spares. Always go for the black lenses. Of course if you still see you photographs as rectangles and don't need multiple film backs the Mamiya 645J and 645 1000S are very good value for money. I own two of them, and they are really nice cameras. You do need a prism though to shoot portraits. But early 645 gear is very reasonably priced.

 

Good luck in your search.

Lloyd

 

I have never owned an S2 but was told that the winding mechanism was not as robust as later Bronicas. This was especially so if you were a little enthusiastic when winding on. This promblem was resolved in the S2A and also the later EC. The S series are now quite old and my instincts tell me that the EC would perhaps be a better bet. The lenses from the S series fit but the backs do not. Even better, as other posters have mentioned, the SQ series are highly regarded performers. I personally would not go for an ETR. Although they are fine cameras you can always crop a square negative to 645 proportions and not have the trouble of turning the camera on its side.