Mamiya TLR's wedding/portrait cameras?
Eam 77 ck
Just woundering why I often see mamiya's TLRs (specifically 330) referred to as
being a camera used for wedding or portrait photography. It seems like whenever
I read an add for a 330 system the descriptoin "wedding system" is mentioned.
Just curious.
Regards,
Ed
Garry Lee / Gearóid O Laoi
Eam 77 ck wrote in message <20000117193151...@ng-fy1.aol.com>...
They are superb tripod cameras, synchronise at all shutter speeds and are
very robust.
They are also big and impress the non-photographer.
They also produce very good quality.
Ted Dodson
>Just woundering why I often see mamiya's TLRs (specifically 330) referred
>to as being a camera used for wedding or portrait photography.
A couple of reasons. I used them for a long time before I switched
to Bronica square SLR's.
For Weddings, the most obvious reason is that they are extremely
quiet. No mirror to go ka-thunk. They're 6x6 film format, which
many Wedding photographers prefer since you are free to shoot,
then compose for a vertical or horizontal later. This also
means not having to flip the camera, and the flash for verticals.
They employ leaf shutters in the lenses, so they can flash sync at
any speed. This is especially important for Weddings where you're
likely to be using high speed film for the ceremony. Once you move
outside, you may encounter daylight that mandates a higher shutter
speed. With a focal plane camera, you're going to be in a quandry
trying to flash sync at 1/60th of 1/125th and get proper exposure.
(This advantage however applies to all LS lenses).
They are great for portraits because again, with no mirror,
there is no mirror blackout. Its easy to see if you have
an experienced blinker :)
The downside is, parallax error on closeups, slow loading
backs, and they're discontinued. Any parts or accessories
you buy are going to be used in most cases. Still, they
are a great bargain, and can create beautiful images.
David Grabowski
>Greetings,
>Just woundering why I often see mamiya's TLRs (specifically 330) referred to as
>being a camera used for wedding or portrait photography. It seems like whenever
>I read an add for a 330 system the descriptoin "wedding system" is mentioned.
>Just curious.
>Regards,
>Ed
Of the TLRs , they have the most of what it takes to make up a good
wedding system. While not addressing the removable backs that SLR
designs employ, they do have a reasonable array of leaf shutter lenses
available , as well as eye or waist level viewers . Add to this the
6x6 format desired by many wedding photographers , mount the camera on
a bracket ( to which it's the only TLR that you can still open the
back on while attached to a bracket) and you have a reasonable outfit
that will serve the wedding shooter fairly well. Results are mighty
fine too.
As to why "wedding system" actually gets mentioned a lot in adds
related to Mamiya TLRs , I can think of a couple of reasons: one is
they really are suitable for weddings. Second the pricing is fairly
attractive to someone starting out in weddings and the seller wants to
stress the capabilities of the camera. Third, the seller may be
getting out of shooting weddings himself with the package , it was a
fairly common wedding package that is still viable to this day in the
hands of a competent shooter.
Specifically the 330 series is looked at more heavily for this purpose
due to it's self cocking shutter capabilities. The 330 also daunts an
indicator in the viewer designed to give rough compensation readings,
or corrections in exposure for bellows extention, and is useable too
for rough parallax correction ( least I use it for that), indicating
roughly where the top of the frame might be in closer on the fly
shooting .
The Mamiya TLR is a good portrait shooter as well, many will say its
day is done and it is certainly not without it's limitations, but at
the same time it's still a good shooter for this purpose as well. In a
moderate or lower useage situation , it's still fairly viable for
portrait shooting, in a high volume situation probably not so ,
especially given that all equipment will be used equipment ( new is
not available any longer). Any way , for a startup camera for someone,
or for low key business use and specifically for weddings, is the
typical market these days for that camera , as well as for the
hobbyist.
David Grabowski