Many thanks! I'm happy you enjoyed it!

Thanks! And cheers to Canada!

Thanks for your comment! Yes the C330 is a really cool camera system. I especially love the 55mm lens - I think it's basically the most lightweight quality 6x6 camera with a 55mm wide-angle! I admit that I shoot my Rolleicord Va more than the C330 because it is that much more compact. But yes it doesn't have interchangeable lenses and focuses only to .9 metres ...

@@tomscameras I ordered the 55mm and 180mm lenses. Waiting on them to arrive.

Well it’s easy: if you use ISO 400 film, just set your shutter speed as close to 1/400 second as possible! 😄

@@tomscameras If you use the reciprocal of the shutter speed, then F 8 will give you close to the recommended exposure. Always the reciprocal of the shutter speed at F8. It however, is true that winter sunlight is a lot brighter than summer sunlight , About 6000 Kelvin as opposed to 5500 Kelvin , so in winter sunlight you should be able to expose 400 film at F11 or F16 and be pretty much on target. Also , excluding positive film which has a relatively low latitude , the greater latitude of negative film , about 3 stops either way would give decently exposed negatives. Another tip to remember is that when using negative film , always expose for the shadow areas and when using positive film , expose for the highlights.

Hey Michel, many thanks for your feedback, I really appreciate it! This camera actually belongs to a good old friend who bought it in the late 1980s to start a photography career! Thankfully he invested in the Professional S back then :) his life turned into a completely different direction, and he handed over this camera to me, that sort of long-term loan that happens between guys that know for a life-time ... By the way I also think the smaller Mamiyas are great choices, e.g. the C220 is considerably lighter. But the C330 has some useful extra features, yes :)

All quality mechanical cameras will be rising in price. Look at the Leica M4 or M6 ... crazy prices today. I still think the Mamiya C series is "sort of" affordable, especially the 55mm lens is still a bargain if you compare this with the few wide-angle 6x6 alternatives out there. But yes, the situation is completely different to 10 years ago!

I agree, I sold my YashicaMat 124G in 2012 when I thought film was dead. I got back into film 2 years ago, I ended up buying a YashicaMat 124G in serviced condition for 400.00! My Mamiya 330f coat 250.00 a year ago and the prices are rising. I think the Mamiya C220 / C330 cameras are some of the best medium format cameras. You don’t have to be concerned with leaky film backs, film backs for a lot of medium format cameras are now becoming very expensive. There is a great lens selection for the Mamiya C220/330, 55mm, 65mm, 80mm, 105mm, 135mm, 180mm and 250mm. I have used the 250mm, but did not like it, it was very large and the only one that must be cocked by hand, it will not cock with the winding mechanism.

Thanks for your comment! There is a long personal story to that camera. It belongs to a good friend of mine who took utterly *amazing* photos with it 30 years ago, and he gave it to me many years ago, the sort of "long-term loan" that only happens between good friends! But yes this Mamiya works like a Swiss watch. I agree that Cologne is a great place to make pictures, but I'm sure one can take much better ones there than I did in this video. :) Maybe that's one point of my message that I need to say more clearly in future: It (almost) doesn't matter where you live in this world, there are always good photo opportunities right there where you live that others would love to expore as well, but for them it's a long travel ... yet for the person who lives there, it's just everyday situations!

Yes, what you say is very true! One of my best friends recently got into analog photography and bought a 1950's Rolleiflex. I immediately noticed that waist-level perspective in his portrait and street photos! And in those cases where it is really better to get the shot from eye level, you can do that as well by using the finder's "see-through" feature!

@@tomscameras As a FYI: earlier Rolleiflex models have a waist-level focussing feature. Below the eye-level frame finder square peep hole is a magnifying glass, and many people do not know what it is for. On the top right corner of the opened focussing hood there is a small knob at the end of a lever, pull it. and a mirror opens up under a cover, reflecting a small portion of the screen image, which can be seen through the magnifying glass. For purely eye-level operation, focus with this device, and then snap it back to use the open frame finder for composing; the operation is no slower than using the waist-level finder.

@@Seele2015au Yes! A friend just got a Rolleiflex that has this feature, it was amazing to see how it works! My Rolleicord doesn't have it.

Unfortunately, I don't have the patience for darkroom work. I tried that many years ago but maybe I am too chaotic a person to really have success with that. So what I do it is to go to an analog photo lab, fortunately there's one left where I live (Kontrastlabor in Cologne). They offer weekly film development and also do custom analog prints. I have great respect for anyone with an own darkroom, at the same time I'm also equally happy to support labs and other suppliers that still offer services for analog photographers ...

@@tomscameras Yes, I agree that working in the darkroom isn't for everyone. But fortunately you found a way for someone to do it for you. For me, I'd like to keep everything at home, going somewhere can pose some challenges, but having someone instruct you is really nice too. I unfortunately don't develop nor print at home, but I'm ok with sending my film out for developing, scanning and "digital" printing. If I was going to do everything myself, scanning would be my only choice :(

@@Ryan-lc4bl Well even though I think that "full analog" is a great goal, it's not carved in stone. I mean, every technique has its own advantages. So if you only develop the negatives and then scan them, that's of course also great. Especially given the fact that 99% of your photos you're sharing digitally anyway!

It’s true!! Thanks for filling in!

Many thanks Tony! Appreciate your feedback!

Thanks! I think the C220 is a very nice choice! IIRC, you loose the automatic parallax indicator and you have to cock the shutter seperately, but apart from that they should be very similar yes! And the C220 is about 300 grams less which is very nice, I find the C330 is a bit on the heavy side. I also really recommend the 55/4.5 lens! There's not many affordable wide-angle options for 6x6. This lens is very good and also pretty compact!

I think all the Mamiya 6x6 are still astonishing value for money! But yes, it is a bit like with Yashica 124G‘s or Pentax K1000‘s: everyone wants one specific model and many photographers don’t realize that the same manufacturers also offered slightly different models that offer the same but cost much less today!

@@tomscameras I was just looking at Craigslist and some guy wants $1200 for a C330 with 2 lenses I don't think he will get it but this shows how insane the film camera market is right now

Hey! I have no experience with the really cheap TLR‘s. A friend got a Yashica for a few bucks but then it didn’t work. But that’s maybe also bad luck / a non trustworthy vendor. Basically if you want to keep it low budget you either go cheap TLR or an old folding 6x6. I love the folders cause they are sooow small but I’m not a fan of the old small / basic rangefinder / viewfinders. But regarding quality: 6x6 is just awesome yes. I believe many basic 6x6 will very easily beat the most sophisticated Leica. If they work well (no light leaks, decent lenses etc.) and if your motives / your shooting style supports the large format ...

@@tomscameras well 90% for me is family (documentary style) and like 10% products and my designs,.. was thinking it will be fun to start by getting family and friends to line up and stand still for a portrait😁 Yepp, Im noticing there are also a lot of pseudo-tlrs and cheapo MF junk that wont really work. I love the folders but they look a lot flimsier and prone to damage than TLRs🤔

I absolutely understand your point. I'm also not shooting the Mamiya often even though it is a brilliant camera with a lot of advantages, and the results are breathtaking! The Minolta Autocord has at least the advantage that it is much more lightweight compared to the Mamiya ...

@@tomscameras I have a Hasselblad 503 which i shoot all the time. I should sell the Minolta I just don’t use it.

@@terrywbreedlove That's very understandable! I had a Hasselblad 500 C/M years ago when I shot my first paid jobs and totally loved it!

Wow! Seriously? What a coincidence! Did anyone react to your camera? I got actually quite a few reactions from others while we were walking around filming this video! :)

@@tomscameras There were not so many people around that day, but yeah I got some response. But it's not only with excluded to TLR's, with any medium format you get response. Once I was with my C330 out in my (small) hometown, passed by some kids (5-6years) "Cooool camera sir, is that one were the pictures comes out from the back?!" I was happy kids of that age still recognise it being a camera

Thanks for your feedback! But of course everyone’s got their own taste!