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I wanted to enter medium format photography to allow a larger negative than 35 mm - this will result in finer resolution photographs that can be enlarged to greater sizes than what is practical with 35 mm (35 mm film results in a 24mm x 36mm frame size). Medium format is what most wedding and portrait photographers use. The film is called 120 or 220, the difference being the length of the roll. Both film types are 60mm wide. The most common medium formats result in negatives that are 6cm x 4.5cm, 6cm x 6cm, and 6cm x 7cm. There are some specialty cameras that produce panoramic pictures that are even wider. Actually, the "6cm" is 55mm in these format definitions. 6x4.5 and 6x7 are nice because there negative makes an enlargement close to 8in x 10in. However, the 6x6 seems to be the most popular format, judging by number of cameras available. The advantage is that the square format does not require turning the camera if you want to switch between landscape and portrait frames - you take the picture, and enlarge whichever 6x4.5 portion of the frame you want.
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The camera shown above is the one I'm purchasing. It is a Mamiya C330, an older Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) camera. It may look a little old-fashioned, but it takes as good pictures as newer cameras - it just doesn't have the electronic automation. And it lets me get into medium format at 1/5-1/4 the cost of buying a used SLR outfit. The C330 is almost the last of the C series. It is a square format (6x6) camera. The lens I have arriving is shown to the left. It is a mild telephoto - 135 mm focal length - about equivalent to an 84mm lens for 35mm. |
Among TLR's, the Mamiya C series (C2, C3, C22, C33, C220, C330, C330s and C330f) is popular because it is about the only TLR that offers interchangable lenses. Other popular TLRs, such as the venerable Rolleiflex 2,8, have a fixed lens. If you need to get closer or farther away, you have to move yourself. This is not always possible doing some things like taking rocket pictures. There are people who get upset if I try walking onto the air station. Rollei eventually offered cameras with other focal lengths, but they were stilled fixed, and if you wanted different focal lengths on a shoot, you needed to carry multiple cameras.
One advantage of the TLR's over newer SLR's (Single Lens Reflex) is that you can still see through the viewfinder when the shutter is closed. For pictures like my rocket time exposures, this allows me to see where the rocket is in the frame, and either lets me stop the exposure before it leaves the frame, and/or know when to repoint and reshoot.