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Buying medium format cameras in New York ;)



 
 
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  #1  
Old July 22nd 08, 11:23 AM posted to rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Toni Nikkanen
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Posts: 255
Default Buying medium format cameras in New York ;)


I'm proceeding in the right order, first asking about buying film, and
now about cameras for shooting that film

I'd like to buy a Mamiya 6 or 7 body with some lenses (50/75mm for M6,
50/80mm or just 65mm for M7), and the availability in Europe isn't
that great right now. As I'm coming to New York the 6th of August,
maybe I'll have some luck buying my camera there. I've been checking
the web and so far the best deal in New York for used Mamiya 6/7
equipment that I've found is from Adorama.com - for example, $649 for
M6 body and $499 for the 75mm. Maybe I'll just go and pick it up as
soon as I arrive, and test it shooting some rolls and get them
developed quickly so I'll know it's actually working - I don't want to
spend 2 weeks by shooting black frames you know.

Are there other options I should consider? The stuff would have to be
available for pick-up the 7th of August at the latest.


--



  #2  
Old July 23rd 08, 01:54 AM posted to rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
David J. Littleboy
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Posts: 2,618
Default Buying medium format cameras in New York ;)


"Toni Nikkanen" wrote:
I'd like to buy a Mamiya 6 or 7 body with some lenses (50/75mm for M6,
50/80mm or just 65mm for M7), and the availability in Europe isn't
that great right now. As I'm coming to New York the 6th of August,
maybe I'll have some luck buying my camera there. I've been checking
the web and so far the best deal in New York for used Mamiya 6/7
equipment that I've found is from Adorama.com - for example, $649 for
M6 body and $499 for the 75mm.


FWIW, KEH at least will ship internationally. Adorama might, too. There are
hassles and inconveniences and expenses associated with buying
internationally, but get those taken care of leisurely and spend your travel
time travelling instead of shopping.

Also FWIW, I'd recommend the Mamiya 7 over the Mamiya 6. I found that for
rectangular images, 6x7 feels a _lot_ larger than 6x6 cropped to a
rectangle. I know it's only a 70/56 increase, but a 6x7 slide seems enormous
next to a 645 one on the light box. (Partly this is because making a 13x19
print from 645 is beginning to be a stretch (for we unrepentant grain
sniffers) but razor sharp 16x20s from 6x7 are like falling off a log.

And if you can afford the 43/4.5, it's said to be an amazing lens.

--
David J. Littleboy
Tokyo, Japan


  #3  
Old July 23rd 08, 07:40 AM posted to rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Toni Nikkanen
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Posts: 255
Default Buying medium format cameras in New York ;)

"David J. Littleboy" writes:

FWIW, KEH at least will ship internationally. Adorama might, too. There are
hassles and inconveniences and expenses associated with buying
internationally, but get those taken care of leisurely and spend your travel
time travelling instead of shopping.


I know this and have ordered from KEH a couple of times as well as
Adorama. However, that means I would have to pay customs and taxes,
which would inflate the price about 30%... compared to just getting
onto the return plane with the camera on my neck


Also FWIW, I'd recommend the Mamiya 7 over the Mamiya 6. I found that for
rectangular images, 6x7 feels a _lot_ larger than 6x6 cropped to a
rectangle. I know it's only a 70/56 increase, but a 6x7 slide seems enormous
next to a 645 one on the light box. (Partly this is because making a 13x19
print from 645 is beginning to be a stretch (for we unrepentant grain
sniffers) but razor sharp 16x20s from 6x7 are like falling off a log.


I've been considering this and some other points and have found it to be a
very tight match - because while all you said is true, then again,
projecting 6x6 slides is far more likely to happen. Used Rollei 6x6 projectors
are readily available at reasonable cost, but 6x7 is another matter...

Currently I'm still too undecided about which one to choose and will probably
buy the one I find first

The Mamiya 7 with 65mm lens might be a workable choice if I only manage to buy
ONE lens. If two, 80+50mm would be neat. If I wanted to shoot panoramas on 35mm,
then the 43mm would be really nice.. excuse me, I'm going to return my lottery
ticket now..
  #4  
Old July 23rd 08, 10:48 AM posted to rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
David J. Littleboy
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Posts: 2,618
Default Buying medium format cameras in New York ;)


"Toni Nikkanen" wrote:

I know this and have ordered from KEH a couple of times as well as
Adorama. However, that means I would have to pay customs and taxes,
which would inflate the price about 30%... compared to just getting
onto the return plane with the camera on my neck


I thought you'd say thatg. For 15% (which is what I thought VAT was), I'd
rather spend that day seeing something NYC (with an already tested camera)
other than the inside of a camera store. But 30% is seriously painful.

Also FWIW, I'd recommend the Mamiya 7 over the Mamiya 6.


I've been considering this and some other points and have found it to be a
very tight match - because while all you said is true, then again,
projecting 6x6 slides is far more likely to happen. Used Rollei 6x6
projectors
are readily available at reasonable cost, but 6x7 is another matter...


That's an issue I keep forgetting: I only make prints.

The Mamiya 7 with 65mm lens might be a workable choice if I only manage to
buy
ONE lens.


That's what I ended up doing. I like the 65mm AOV. I got back into MF with a
Fuji GS645, and since then have found normal "normal" lenses to be too
narrow.

If two, 80+50mm would be neat. If I wanted to shoot panoramas on 35mm,
then the 43mm would be really nice.. excuse me, I'm going to return my
lottery
ticket now..


Yep. This gets into lottery ticket territory quickly.

When I got the M7, it was a toss-up between the GSW690 and the M7. The lack
of interchangeable lenses on the GSW690 put me off, and I got the M7. But
I've never had enough spare change since then to get the 43/4.5, the
availability of which was the reason for choosing the M7.

The embarrassing thing is that I've done this before. Many years ago, I
bought a new Hassy 500C (which means you can compute the value of "many"
here), but never had enough money to buy another lens for it. I had the
stick shift focusing handle and the meter-in-the-knob meter, and dragged
that thing all over the place; from the Green Mountains of Vermont to
Daibosatsutoge, Yatsugatake, and Mt. Fuji.

--
David J. Littleboy
Tokyo, Japan


  #5  
Old July 25th 08, 09:33 AM posted to rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Toni Nikkanen
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Posts: 255
Default Buying medium format cameras in New York ;)

"David J. Littleboy" writes:

I thought you'd say thatg. For 15% (which is what I thought VAT was), I'd
rather spend that day seeing something NYC (with an already tested camera)
other than the inside of a camera store. But 30% is seriously painful.


Our VAT is 22%, customs tax is something in the order of 3-5%, and
shipping charges are also included.. the formula is something like:
(price + shipping)*1.05*1.22, making 1.3 a very good approximation..


I ended up buying a Mamiya 7 + 65mm from Japan, the price was slightly
cheaper than in Adorama, but I'll be paying a lot more because of
customs and taxes. The good thing is it'll maybe arrive at the
beginning of next week and I'll have some time to test it before I
leave. In the worst case, it'll arrive while I'm already in USA, in
which case I'll take my eminently usable but heavy Pentax 645 system
with me and get aching shoulders (again)


That's an issue I keep forgetting: I only make prints.


Me too, but sometimes I fantasize about wonderful, magnificent projected
slides on my living room wall. Well, no 6x6 slides this time, either...


Yep. This gets into lottery ticket territory quickly.


I returned the ticket, so tomorrow evening we'll see about buying some
additional lenses - and whether I have to go back to work after vacation


When I got the M7, it was a toss-up between the GSW690 and the M7. The lack
of interchangeable lenses on the GSW690 put me off, and I got the M7. But
I've never had enough spare change since then to get the 43/4.5, the
availability of which was the reason for choosing the M7.


I've been considering the Fuji GS/GSW 670/690's as well.. but I guess I've
made up my mind now.


The embarrassing thing is that I've done this before. Many years ago, I
bought a new Hassy 500C (which means you can compute the value of "many"
here), but never had enough money to buy another lens for it. I had the
stick shift focusing handle and the meter-in-the-knob meter, and dragged
that thing all over the place; from the Green Mountains of Vermont to
Daibosatsutoge, Yatsugatake, and Mt. Fuji.


Even that isn't going to break one's neck like a loaded Pentax 645 kit

It's funny that nowadays if you want a quality camera with a
waist-level finder and Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm optics, a Hasselblad 500
C/M kit will cost less than a Rolleiflex, perhaps even significantly
so. I wonder what those cost when they were sold new?
  #6  
Old July 25th 08, 08:31 PM posted to rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
G.T.
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Posts: 692
Default Buying medium format cameras in New York ;)

Toni Nikkanen wrote:
"David J. Littleboy" writes:

FWIW, KEH at least will ship internationally. Adorama might, too. There are
hassles and inconveniences and expenses associated with buying
internationally, but get those taken care of leisurely and spend your travel
time travelling instead of shopping.


I know this and have ordered from KEH a couple of times as well as
Adorama. However, that means I would have to pay customs and taxes,
which would inflate the price about 30%... compared to just getting
onto the return plane with the camera on my neck


Also FWIW, I'd recommend the Mamiya 7 over the Mamiya 6. I found that for
rectangular images, 6x7 feels a _lot_ larger than 6x6 cropped to a
rectangle. I know it's only a 70/56 increase, but a 6x7 slide seems enormous
next to a 645 one on the light box. (Partly this is because making a 13x19
print from 645 is beginning to be a stretch (for we unrepentant grain
sniffers) but razor sharp 16x20s from 6x7 are like falling off a log.


I've been considering this and some other points and have found it to be a
very tight match - because while all you said is true, then again,
projecting 6x6 slides is far more likely to happen. Used Rollei 6x6 projectors
are readily available at reasonable cost, but 6x7 is another matter...

Currently I'm still too undecided about which one to choose and will probably
buy the one I find first

The Mamiya 7 with 65mm lens might be a workable choice if I only manage to buy
ONE lens. If two, 80+50mm would be neat. If I wanted to shoot panoramas on 35mm,
then the 43mm would be really nice.. excuse me, I'm going to return my lottery
ticket now..


I have the 80mm and 50mm, but I'm thinking about selling them and
picking up a 65mm instead, and maybe buying the 150mm at a later date.

Greg
--
Support the Lo Desert Proto Sites:
http://lodesertprotosites.org
  #7  
Old July 25th 08, 09:24 PM posted to rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Toni Nikkanen
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Posts: 255
Default Buying medium format cameras in New York ;)

"G.T." writes:

I have the 80mm and 50mm, but I'm thinking about selling them and
picking up a 65mm instead, and maybe buying the 150mm at a later date.


The 150mm would be a nice portrait lens if not for the minimum focusing
distance, so I don't exactly know what I would do with it...

It seems the 65mm is a real winner as everyone is keen on getting it. I guess
I made a good choice then
  #8  
Old July 26th 08, 12:15 AM posted to rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Andrew Price
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Posts: 118
Default Buying medium format cameras in New York ;)

On Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:33:39 +0300, Toni Nikkanen
wrote:

That's an issue I keep forgetting: I only make prints.


Me too, but sometimes I fantasize about wonderful, magnificent projected
slides on my living room wall. Well, no 6x6 slides this time, either...


If only 6x7 projectors were not so hideously expensive ...
  #9  
Old July 29th 08, 05:47 PM posted to rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Toni Nikkanen
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Posts: 255
Default Buying medium format cameras in New York ;)


Got the camera already, shot one roll of Velvia 50 and had it
developed. It is awesome and I am happy with my choice.
  #10  
Old August 11th 08, 11:28 PM posted to rec.photo.equipment.medium-format
Alan Browne
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Posts: 12,640
Default Buying medium format cameras in New York ;)

Andrew Price wrote:
On Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:33:39 +0300, Toni Nikkanen
wrote:

That's an issue I keep forgetting: I only make prints.

Me too, but sometimes I fantasize about wonderful, magnificent projected
slides on my living room wall. Well, no 6x6 slides this time, either...


If only 6x7 projectors were not so hideously expensive ...


sigh. Yes.


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