jonathan_james

<p>Phwoarr!</p>

<p>I use both German folders (various Voigtlanders) and Japanese. In terms of results, there is little to choose between them if you get good models. My Mamiya 6 is bulkier than some of the others but produces excellent images. I use it mainly for infrared shots these days so definition is not the key element.</p>

<p>Other Japanese jewels are the Fujica Super 6 which has excellent build quality and lens performance but again is a little bulkier. My other favourite is the Takane Super Mine which is not as solid but has a first class lens.</p>

<p>My obsession is with folders with coupled rangefinders and unit focussing (as opposed to front cell focussing like the Zeiss cameras). However, in truth the differences in performance are probably only observable on an optical test bench and for landscape use I am virtually always using hyperfocal focussing so rangefinders are pretty much irrelevant.<br>

My most portable pair are a Voigtlander Perkeo II with color skopar lens and a Konica Pearl III. Both easily fit in a coat pocket and produce fine images.</p>

<p>I have one of these which is overdue for a service. I send my folders to a company in Liverpool for service - Newton Ellis. The lens is excellent and I have some images from it which were very pleasing indeed. It's well worth spending a little on to get it back to good order.</p>

<p>A bit slow catching up with this thread. Folders are easy to use, but not nearly so user friendly as a tlr. The main thing to get used to is the viewfinder. These can be very difficult to use. Both Zeiss and Voigtlander had devices to assist. Zeiss made an albada viewfinder to slot into the accessory shoe and Voigtlander made the kontur finder - very weird but effective. Either of these will help you frame your shots. Alternatively, the Ensign Selfix cameras had very good built in albada finders.<br>

Frame counting is usually by looking through a red window on the back of the camera to check the number on the paper backing of the film. Although I have several folders with automatic winders, less than half of them wind accurately so the red window is usually the better option.</p>

<p>It depends what you are going to use the camera for. I use my folders almost exclusively for landscape. Hyperfocal distance is how I focus almost invariably. Although most of my folders have coupled rangefinders, they rarely actually get used. The rangefinders often lose alignment anyway. If you are going to use it for candids or portraiture, a rangefinder might have some benefits.<br>

How about the super baldax? It's small and light, has a coupled rangefinder, uses unit focussing and has a selection of available lenses. Mine has the Schneider Radionar. It's just three element but stopped down is indistinguishable from any of my four element lenses. If you shoot at f11 to f16 then something like this is great.<br>

The Perkeo is a good choice too as already described. The Super Isolette is more expensive but a good one is really the best 6 x 6 ever made. The lens is well up to modern standards and the build quality is far and away better than any other folder I have ever encountered. <br>

You could end up with a long list of candidates - why not look at Jurgen Kreckel's website at certo6.com for some other alternatives?</p>

<p>I strongly recommend that you visit the western highlands - Ullapool is not a bad centre to go to and Gairloch is another. Glencoe is an excellent place to visit and Fort William is well worth a look. As far as midges are concerned, they are indeed a major pest. I have never used it myself, but I have it on good authority that an Avon product, Skin So Soft, is very effective at keeping them off. The other major issue in the west of Scotland is the rain, which can last for days and even weeks.<br>

I would have thought that with the 5D and the lens you mention that you will be fully equipped. I am a big user of the standard lens (50mm on full frame sensor) and use that alone for at least 85-90% of my landscape shots.</p>

<p>I have always used Newton Ellis in Liverpool and they have never let me down.</p>

<p>If you email me your address, I will post you some. I have loads and don't need them all. They are all the old metal ones so they will survive whatever gets thrown at them.</p>

<p>In terms of maintenance, I have used Newton Ellis in Liverpool for work in the past and nothing seems to have been beyond them. Why not give them a call and see what they have to say about it?</p>

<p>I have a Mamiya 645 AF which I bought second hand. It's great, but I have just discovered an issue - I cant't fit it to my tripod because it has only a 3/8" socket. I have tried to fit a generic adapter to reduce the thread size to 1/4", but the adapter won't screw in more than half a turn. I assume that the thread size is unusual. Has anyone any idea where I can get hold of an adapter which will fit? I am in the UK, for what it's worth.</p>

<p>Sergei, those images are sickeningly good! I feel like I should quit landscape altogether. The light is fantastic and those must be some of the most awesome locations on the planet. You do them more than justice.</p>

That's very helpful Chris. I have tensioning issues on two of my folders, a Konica Pearl and a Super Baldax. I'll have a go with your adaptation.

You need yashica guy! Go to www.yashica-guy.com without delay - everything you need to know is there.

If you can get some Konica 750 you will get great results with just a red 25A filter which you can just hold over the lens if need be. However, it is hard to come by, being discontinued in 2005. I have about 80 in my freezer - the weather in the UK this year has been so lousy that I have hardly run off two of them so far! I use it in my Mamiya 6 folder and have never had any problems.

You will probably get a great deal of feedback on this one! I have use various folders including a super baldax. Mine has the schneider radionar lens - a three element design. However, at f16 the results are indistinguishable from my more upmarket folders. It really is very good indeed. Good examples tend not to command big prices and they come with coupled rangefinders and are unit focussing, which is said to be superior to the front focussing models.

 

My only Ensign at present is the Commando, which is not often seen. This has the unusual distinction of being one of only three cameras (I believe) to focus by moving the film plane rather than the lens itself. However, the lens is only respectable in performance being an uncoated 3 element design. Close focus is poor.

 

I used to have an ensign selfix 16-20. This was a very elegant little camera. The front cell focussing four element Ross Xpres lens is a good performer and all round I would rate the camera more highly than the Commando.

 

For really impressive results, I love the Agfa Super Isolette. If I had to make do with one folder only, this is the one I would keep. They are pricey, but the lens is brilliant and the build is first rate. You need to make sure that the winding mechanism works as the camera won't function otherwise.

 

Check out this link for lots of info.

 

http://www.certo6.com/

Benjamin is right. Think about it - infrared film isn't as tricky to use as some people make out. I use a minolta XGM with a tokina 28mm lens and loaded with good old Kodak HIE. Set to f16 and using a red 25A filter it is virtually point and shoot on a sunny day. You could pick up this combination these days for next to nothing at all and you get superb quality. The cost of the digital modification would pay for a whole lot of film plus the d and p.

Apparently there's a guy called Ross Yerkes who repairs and maintains these. He may well be able to advise where you can get stuff. I always bought my gear through ebay and I never had a problem.

All the Mamiya 645's are landscape when held upright. You don't need to go to the larger formats to get the best of medium format. The biggest difference comes in going up from 35mm. The difference between 645 and even 6 x 7 is much less significant.

Well don't forget about his home page then - find it at http://westfordcomp.com/holga/index.html

Peter Evans, who lives in Japan, got me a Super Fujica 6. I am a big admirer of the japanese folders. The front standards are absolutely rigid, unlike some of the European cameras of the same period. The Super Fujica is one of my most treasured folders. It has a great feel to it and a really sharp lens. If you get out and use this baby I doubt you'll be disappointed.

I had exactly the same problem years ago when I cleaned the front element on a Zeiss Ikonta. The problem was what Roger describes. I just had to unscrew the front element again and attach it from the opposite starting point. The infinity focus mark should really have made it obvious if I had thought about it at the time I reattached the front element the first time.

I routinely use Konica IR film in my Mamiya 6 folder. Here is an example of what it can do. I'm fortunate in that I was able to pick up a red filter designed for this camera. Before I got it, however, I simply fixed a larger filter to the lens with blu tak.<div></div>

I use PS 7 to do my image manipulation. Here is a photo of the Victorian

cemetery in Bradford which I took recently on Konica infrared 120 film and

scanned. On the negative is this odd flare type artefact. What tools do I need

to use to get rid of it? I am a PS novice, I have to say.<div></div>

Right, the criteria are medium format, lightweight with a decent viewfinder for street use. Why not try something really cheap which has very low risk? I am a big user of folders. Mine all have coupled rangefinders, but in all honesty, I rarely need them. Generally I use hyperfocal distance to focus. In the street, I preset the lens using f16 as my aperture. I can then point and shoot at will.

 

You could make use of one of the folders which has a large albada or similar viewfinder. I have had an Ensign Selfix 6 x 6 which had a very user friendly albada finder and the excellent Ross Xpres 4 element lens. Ensign also did the Selfix 820 which was the 6 x 9 version. You could also look out for one of the earlier Voigtlander Bessas without the rangefinders. I've never had one, but they look pretty handy. They don't seem to fetch much at auction, so you could have a go for very little outlay indeed.

 

Agfa did the Billy Record which would also meet the criteria, but they are reputed to have bad bellows, so you might need to factor in the cost of new ones. I had a Kodak Monitor with the very high quality Anastigmat Special lens. The viewfinder wasn't bad at all, but not as easy as the Ensign.

I am so ***ed off! I have a Mamiya 645 Pro TL. The camera is just fine - does

a great job. However, I have now had 3 80mm N lenses for it and they all have

the same fault - a dodgy diaphragn. One of them has been repaired and I took it

out to use a couple of weeks ago. The diaphragm won't close at all! Another

had a sticky diaphragm. It could only be used if you stopped it down before

shooting. I got this repaired but it is beginning to show signs of slowing down

again. The third one went straight back to the supplier because the diaphragm

was sluggish.

 

I am completely fed up with them. I want to find an old series 80mm to use

instead, but haven't been able to source one. It's all highly annoying because

I'm a big user of a standard lens. My repairer tells me that he sees a lot of

these. They are apparently particularly susceptible to cold weather as well. I

am not at all impressed.