Almost funny to think of medium format cameras as "Little Fellas", but once you've worked with 8x10, they surely are.
Fact is, I don't use medium format very much at all. I'm much more likely to use a 6x7 or 6x9 roll film back on a large format camera. However, I do have a pair of fine Mamiya twin lens reflexes, and once in a while I do some portraits or landscapes with them. I started out as a kid with a Yashicamat TLR, like using them, and so I stuck with the TLR rather than go to a Hasselblad as most guys did. I went up to Large Format instead, and did things with cameras they simply couldn't because only LF cameras have perspective control and movement to compensate for distortion. That's why they are still in use in pro studios.
However, I digress . . . . here's my two Mamiya twin lens reflexes. A C330 I will use in the studio occasionally, and a lighter C220 that will go out in the field once in a while. I have several lenses and many accessories for these fine cameras.
Moving further down the scale, I do use miniature cameras (this is what large format snobs call 35mm cameras), and as I shoot Pentax in digital I use Pentax in 35mm. Reason I don't use Nikon? I did at one time, but when I moved into large format I couldn't justify the weight of these things, so I bought a Pentax MX, and at that time about 1980, it was the company's flagship camera. Tiny for a 35, rugged as all get out, and very reliable. Best of all, Pentax lenses are fantastic. Their service couldn't compare to Nikon, though. But as I didn't use 35mm much, it didn't matter.
I stuck with Pentax in the digital realm because their cameras were from the start, backwards compatible, and I could use old vintage lenses, some of which I had, and that tickled my fancy. Still does. Pentax DSLRs are vastly underrated, and if you want a great camera, weather sealed and reliable with top drawer optics, you'll spend 35% less than Canon or Nikon for a better built camera in each category. But again, I digress. . .
Why do I use 35mm? It's light, fast, and I get into action very quickly. It produces fine pictures up to 5x7, and if you use slower film, an 8x10 is acceptable in quality. It's hard to take candids with a monorail!!!
and this is really the province of 35mm . . . candid people shots. Here's one of my 4 Pentax MXs, and I have lots of lenses for them. As the lenses fit my digital K3 and Ks2s, I always have what I need. That's a .22-250 cartridge for scale. The MX is a tiny camera! In fact, the smallest 35mm SLR ever made. It was Pentax's retort to the popular Olympus OM-1, another fantastic camera.
My other miniature camera system is the wonderful Olympus Pen FT half-frame. I had one as a lad, kept it, and never looked back. The tiny negative (it's half of a 35mm frame, vertically aligned) allows me to shoot grain effects way more easily than 35mm full frame, it's optics are spectacular, and it's even smaller than the MX. It can't be classified as a full frame camera, so the Pentax MX still wins as the tiniest 35mm SLR. But that's quibbling. I have a few of these as well. Vintage cameras are old now, so it's always best to have a spare or three.
To wrap this camera display series up, yes, I have a medium format pinhole camera I use as well. It's a Noon, a custom made job from Poland. Very nice, but I only use this camera on 2 1/4 square because the designer stretched the concept too far, and the 6x12 masks don't produce quality pictures. Pinhole is fun! but you still want good results. This camera is best at 2 1/4 square so I leave it there. I'll post more photography articles in this forum again, but I'll concentrate on the pictures produced and how I do it, rather than the toys themselves. Thanks for looking in.
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
News 
Site map 
SitemapIndex 
RSS Feed 
