Beginners Medium Format Camera?

I want to start Medium Format photography, but I want a camera on a beginners budget, but still gives really good results.

With good MF equipment being as cheap as it is now, there’s very little reason to bother with anything less than top quality.

If you don’t mind to use TLRs, there are plenty of good ones there at or below the $100 mark.

The cream of the crop TLRs are, of course, the Rolleiflexes. The later ones are quite pricey, however the early ones are surprisingly affordable. Most people are surprised to learn that I paid $60 for mine. Not long after I bough it, I got an Ebay second chance for one just like mine but in nicer shape for $100. Mine is an Automat 3, which has a coated Schneider Xenar(Tessar-design) lens.

I also paid $70 for a Rolleicord Va, one of the latest and best of the Rolleicords. It has the same Xenar lens, and is overall a very nice and well finished camera.

The Yashica-Mat is another one that’s a favorite of a lot of people. The 124G is the most popular and the priciest-good examples sometimes sell for $150+. Save yourself a few bucks and get the plain 124. It’s really a better camera, but typicall sells for around $100.

I’ve never used a Minolta Autocord, but most who use them praise them very highly. Some models of them fall around the $100 mark or less.

Depending on how much you want to spend, you could also get yourself set up with a basic SLR system. A Mamiya M645 or Bronica ETRs, both 645 format SLRs, will run about $200-300 used for a body, 75mm lens, prism, and 120 film back. A Hasselblad 500CM or Bronica SQ-A(6×6) format with a lens, back, and finder, can be had for about $500 used, although keep in mind that most anything other than the basic Hasselblad kit is quite pricey.

The Basic Parts to a Medium Format Camera

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