Cameras

Over the years that I have engaged in photography I have rarely sold or otherwise disposed of a camera. Inevitably as my interests have changed or expanded I have acquired new equipment, which is one way to build a collection! However, I have never replaced like for like. Changing a marque will not change your photography, though a change in format or design might. The vast majority of my equipment was obtained used.

The workhorse for many years was the 35mm SLR. I still have the Olympus OM equipment and use it whenever a long or wide lens is required, or macro work is needed. Something pocketable, like the Olympus XA, which was bought for backpacking, comes in useful as either a casual travel camera or as a backup to something else.

An interest in medium format arose about ten years ago. I had an old Zeiss folder from about ten years prior to that, but my real interest started with a YashicaMat (the pre-124 model with a Yashinon lens). The larger compositional space brought a change in approach. How much of this was due to my older eyes finding the finder easier to use, and how much was a shift in visual temperament I cannot say. A 6x6 cm ground glass at waist level is a distinctly different way of seeing.

The TLR design is a compromise, but one I am comfortable with using. This led to an acquaintance with the Mamiya TLR which is still my general purpose camera.

The Mamiya 6 rangefinder makes a good travel camera. The large negative is capable of good results, and the rangefinder design is well suited to photography on the run. The modern high micro-contrast lenses can be too crisp sometimes. Although I miss the contemplative approach that a ground glass screen can afford, the portability and the better situational awareness you get from an eye-level finder score highly for me in unfamiliar environments.

I have played with pinhole cameras for some years. I have a pinhole mount for the Mamiya TLR, and I have made large pinhole cameras using various boxes with photographic paper as the film (hasn't everyone?). Most recently I obtained a multi-format roll film camera (6x4.5, 6x6, 6x7, and 6x9 cm) from Zero Image. This teak box which produces soft images of great depth of focus is almost the antithesis of the Mamiya rangefinder with its sharp and contrasty lenses and electronic shutter control. At the 6x9 setting this camera has a diagonal angle of view of 112 degrees, which is comparable to an 18mm lens on the 35mm format.

I suppose it was inevitable that I would eventually want to work with something larger than roll film. A Wista DX field camera is the latest acquisition. I doubt that it will replace the roll-film cameras, even with a roll-film back, because of portability and mobility issues. However the options introduced by the camera movements should make it the camera of choice for some tasks. At least I already had the enlarger!