your thoughts on this?

[snowqueen]

As ive recently got into medium format ive been looking at cameras, i found this ......

what are your thoughts on the camera and ease of use...

Thank you ...

THIS MINOLTA AUTOCORD,CIRCA 1965, SERIAL #410537, IS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION WITH NO DENTS OR DINGS AND PERFECT VULCANITE. THIS IS THE RARE AND DIFFICULT TO ACQUIRE CdS METER 12/24 EXPOSURE CHOICE. THE SHUTTER WORKS AT EVERY SPEED AND SOUNDS ACCURATE BUT HAS NOT BEEN TESTED. THE ROKKOR 1:3.5 75mm COATED LENS, SERIAL # 1111136, IS FREE OF FUNGUS, HAZE OR SCRATCHES AND IS IN SUPERB CONDITION. THE FILM WINDING LEVER WORKS PROPERLY AND THE SELF TIMER WORKS GREAT. NO LENS CAP IS INCLUDED HOWEVER IT DOES COME WITH A PRINZ K2 BAYONET BASE FILTER TO PROTECT THE TAKING LENS OR TO USE AS A FILTER. MOST IMPORTANTLY, THIS AUTOCORD HAS A LEVER WHICH OPERATES THE FOCUSING MECHANISM AND UNLIKE MANY THIS ONE IS SILKY SMOOTH. THESE LEVERS ARE OFTEN BROKEN AND ARE QUITE DIFFICULT TO REPAIR. I COULD NOT CHECKOUT THE METER BECAUSE I COULDN'T PURCHASE THE PROPER SIZE BATTERY BUT THE BATTERY CAN BE FOUND ON EBAY. THIS MINOLTA IS KNOWN TO HAVE EXCELLENT QUALITY IN ALL ASPECTS INCLUDING THE ROKKOR LENS, CITIZEN MVL SHUTTER AND ALL MECHANICAL COMPONENTS. THERE IS SOME PAINT LOSS, MAINLY IN THE REAR CORNER ON THE SIDE OF THE WINDING LEVER, AS SHOWN IN THE PHOTOGRAPHS. THE ONLY COMPARISON THAT CAN BE MADE IS TO THE ROLLEIFLEX TLRs WHICH WERE PRODUCED IN LIMITED QUANTITY AFTER THEIR TLR PRODUCTION HAD CEASED IN THE 1980s.

[frank1]

The minolta has a good reputation, I'd prefer the mamiya as you can change lenses. From 55mm to 250mm though that adds to the initial cost. Usual comes with an 80mm as standard and there's no light meter. I don't use my mamiya these days, damn the digital and all its evil minions. The square format I'd say is possibly a limiting factor. Hope it goes well for you if you do choose the camera

[Roger_Provins]

The Minolta Autocord is undeniably a very nice camera with a very sharp lens. The particular one you have found on eBay is priced way, way over the top and without a battery - which are not so easy to find as he makes out - otherwise why didn't he get one to prove the meter works? It seems it also will need resealing. You'll have to pay VAT if you import from the US. Steer clear of this one.

If it's a TLR you particularly want also have a look at the Yashicamat 124-G - last Yashica TLR produced and very well regarded.

[LargeFormat]

I get a bit worried when the seller needs to resort to so many words and in upper case.

I've always had a bit of a hankering for the Mamiya C330.

[zx9]

....................
If it's a TLR you particularly want also have a look at the Yashicamat 124-G - last Yashica TLR produced and very well regarded.

I had a Yashicamat 124-G some 25 + years ago, the negs. are as sharp as you like. (I say are because I have only just got them back from Yorkshire) As for built in meters most TLRs with would have used Mercury cells which are not now sold, so a hand held meter which uses AA or 9V batteries is the way to go (IMO).
You will learn a lot more with a hand held meter as most will do incident as well as reflected light readings. The time it takes to transfer the reading from a light meter to the camera is not important as you will work slower with a TLR and have more time to think about how and why you are taking each shot.

[Benchista]

I wouldn't particularly reccommend a Yashicamat 124G - the windon mechanism is fairly prone to failure. An earlier 124 would be a better bet, but of course a Rollei is always a far better bet than any copy.

[zx9]

I wouldn't particularly reccommend a Yashicamat 124G - the windon mechanism is fairly prone to failure. An earlier 124 would be a better bet, but of course a Rollei is always a far better bet than any copy.

Er Yes, but why pay for a badge, you can get a lot more useable Yashica for your £ than you do with Rollie. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[snowqueen]

Thanks guys for your thoughts,
i did think myself that it had a big price ticket!

I will look at all the cameras you have mentioned, do you have any pics taken with them that you could share with me?

Think i will steer clear of this one, thanks again

[Benchista]

I wouldn't particularly reccommend a Yashicamat 124G - the windon mechanism is fairly prone to failure. An earlier 124 would be a better bet, but of course a Rollei is always a far better bet than any copy.

Er Yes, but why pay for a badge, you can get a lot more useable Yashica for your £ than you do with Rollie. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

Quite the opposite, actually. You'll almost certainly get a much more usable Rollei for your money than a Yashica. My 124G is nothing but a paperweight now - it might as well be a Nikon for all the use it is. ALL my Rolleis work, even the tattiest. For basically the same money, you get a lot more quality with any Rollei. The days of having to settle for second best on price grounds are long gone.

[Roger_Provins]

I wouldn't particularly reccommend a Yashicamat 124G - the windon mechanism is fairly prone to failure. An earlier 124 would be a better bet, but of course a Rollei is always a far better bet than any copy.

I've owned and used most Yashica TLRs at one time or another - none have ever broken. In particular I had a couple of 124Gs for many years and they worked faultlessly. I too have seen reports on various web forums of wind-on mechanism failure but those I had never went wrong. I'd suspect user abuse - some people will break anything

[zx9]

We will have to disagree on that one Nick. Sort of goes along with my recent lust for a M3 but I found a Bessa R body for £100 ish and I can buy an awful lot of film for the £400 difference. I still lust for a Leica of some sort perhaps a M4-2 but for the time being a ton on a 'disposable' Bessa gives me a usable RF.

Trudy, I will try to do some scans from the Yashica when I get a bit of time.

[snowqueen]

We will have to disagree on that one Nick. Sort of goes along with my recent lust for a M3 but I found a Bessa R body for £100 ish and I can buy an awful lot of film for the £400 difference. I still lust for a Leica of some sort perhaps a M4-2 but for the time being a ton on a 'disposable' Bessa gives me a usable RF.

Trudy, I will try to do some scans from the Yashica when I get a bit of time.

Thamk you

[Benchista]

We will have to disagree on that one Nick.

Check out current prices before you disagree with me! Sure, if you want a top-of-the-range Rolleiflex, it'll cost a fair bit more, but a 'Cord or an Automat are very solidly in Yashica price territory, and generally less than a 124G - it's rather different to the situation of 5 years ago, when I would've agreed with you.

Sort of goes along with my recent lust for a M3 but I found a Bessa R body for £100 ish and I can buy an awful lot of film for the £400 difference. I still lust for a Leica of some sort perhaps a M4-2 but for the time being a ton on a 'disposable' Bessa gives me a usable RF.

The Bessa R is a rather nice little camera. The only real issue with it is rangefinder misalignement on occasion, but it's a nice user experience - by coincidence (no pun intended!), I got my R out last night and intend using it this weekend - as you say, the price makes it almost disposable, so I'll fit in in my pocket with a 35mm pancake for a bit of fun at the Coventry v Nottingham rugby match and end-of-season party. I wouldn't take my M3 for that! Incidentally, I think the M3 (or M2) is perhaps the nicest Leica to use - if you're thinking of an M4-2, you might as well get an M6 for the metering. Still a very nice camera, but there's something extra special about the M3

Trudy, I will try to do some scans from the Yashica when I get a bit of time.

Don't get me wrong, the 124G is capable of very good results, the equal of anything a similarly-priced Rollei can deliver. My concern is purely that if you end up with one that's had a hard life, it might not have much longer left in it.

[Benchista]

I'd suspect user abuse - some people will break anything

I don't think you're far wrong - I suspect it's the ones that have had heavy usage at some time that are suspect. Problem is that it's not always that easy to spot, and close to impossible if buying on ebay. I would buy another one if I could handle it first, and put a film through it to check, but not otherwise.

[zx9]

The Bessa R is a rather nice little camera. The only real issue with it is rangefinder misalignement on occasion, but it's a nice user experience - by coincidence (no pun intended!), I got my R out last night and intend using it this weekend - as you say, the price makes it almost disposable, so I'll fit in in my pocket with a 35mm pancake for a bit of fun at the Coventry v Nottingham rugby match and end-of-season party. I wouldn't take my M3 for that! Incidentally, I think the M3 (or M2) is perhaps the nicest Leica to use - if you're thinking of an M4-2, you might as well get an M6 for the metering. Still a very nice camera, but there's something extra special about the M3

Time to eat my own words, within two hours of my post, I err. part exchanged the Bessa for a M2. I flippantly said 'O that's a nice usable M2, was it made in 1965' I now have a M2 that's the same age as me, and I got for the Bessa a little more than I paid for it Right I promise to stop taking the post off topic, going to take some pictures now.

[TimF]

We will have to disagree on that one Nick. Sort of goes along with my recent lust for a M3 but I found a Bessa R body for £100 ish and I can buy an awful lot of film for the £400 difference. I still lust for a Leica of some sort perhaps a M4-2 but for the time being a ton on a 'disposable' Bessa gives me a usable RF.

Given that even the youngest M3 is now over 40 years old, I think that speaks volumes about relative quality; plus the fact that you'd likely not lose much if you should choose to sell it at some point. Whether any Bessa will last that long, or retain its good feel, is something we won't know for many a long year. Enjoy it anyway.

[frank1]

This post has made me give my Mamiya a good look over. Though my 55mm was in a bit of a sad state, the iris blades woundn't open. So for all who may come across this here's what I did to fix it. I unscrewed the lens on the front not the glass but the whole housing. It'll resist but not too much, then I used a very gentle fingernail just to push one of the blades and with that the blades opened and my lens is back to its old self. Alas only to disappear till another time when a query on such cameras comes around

[snowqueen]

Do you not use it very often?

I cant wait to get one, ive not really picked up my digital for a while, ive fallen in love......with film

[snowqueen]

So i have some research to do with the cameras you have mentioned

Bessa R

Mamiya C330

Minolta autocord

Yashicamat 124G

Rollei

and

M3 ????? which is?

pros and cons with all of them it seems, there is a little second hand camera shop in brighton that im hoping to visit next week, ive seen some of these in there so will have a look and feel, will get back to you if i find anything that might be ok.

thank you for your thoughts and input

[zx9]

Sorry Trudy I was going off topic when I talked about the Bessa R and the Leica M3, it was with reference to Nick's comments about copies and originals. The M3 and Bessa R are both 35mm rangefinder cameras.