beginner medium format camera

[larsco2002]

Originally Posted by B&Jdude

WOW! Ole, I thought I was the only guy around doing any shooting with a Zenobia folder . . . a very simple to use 4.5x6 camera 1 - 500 shutter, f3.5 - 22 lens-front focusing. It's a VF camera, but I keep a Prazisa rangefinder in the accessory shoe, and use a Sekonic Auto Lumi meter. I can carry it all in one blue jeans pocket. My Zenobia was $23 including shipping.

I have about 5 Zenobias, including a Zenobia R... uncoupled rangefinder. Indeed, they are the "undiscovered and undervalued" small folder. All of them are in various condition, but they are all light-tight and they all work nicely. Great little shooter. Very close copy of a Zeiss Ikonta 516 645folder, with 4 element tessar style lenses. I don't think I paid over $25 for any one of the ones I have currently.

[fschifano]

A used Mamiya or Pentax 645 in good shape is a smart choice. The Mamiyas, in particular,are very inexpensive on the used market right now, and you get a lot of bang for your buck. They handle a lot like a 35mm SLR, have a wide range of very good lenses, and the negatives are almost the perfect aspect ratio for the most commonly sized papers. Some have interchangeable backs, which means that you can shoot different films without finishing a roll. You simply swap out the backs. There are some models of the Mamiya 645 with interchangeable finders, which means that you can use either waist level viewing or a pentaprism for eye level viewing.