Mamiya C330 - How good is it?
Neville J. Parakh
I am considering purchase of a Mamiya C330 TLR and would like your
opinion. How good are the lenses (compared to say a Mamiya 6 or Zeiss) -
the ones I'm interested in are the 55mm, 80mm and the 180mm. It will be
used
primarily for landscape with some portrature. Does Mamiya still service
them?
Is there any particular model I should be looking for, or staying away
from?
Where do you recommend I purchase it?
Thanks in advance.
neville (e-mail: n...@dsi.bc.ca)
Garry Lee
These are fine cameras. Get the 135 as well. Very good portrait lens.
The cameras are ideally suited to tripod use as they are heavy.
Optically fine lenses. Not as Good as Mamiya 6 (I have both) but not far
off. Good flare control.
Do not get pentaprism. Image too small and makes cameras too heavy.
Good buy. They are great tripod cameras as you don't lose your image
during shooting and there's no vibration etc.
Steven R. Brodhead
Neville J. Parakh wrote:
>
> I am considering purchase of a Mamiya C330 TLR and would like your
> opinion. How good are the lenses (compared to say a Mamiya 6 or Zeiss) -
> the ones I'm interested in are the 55mm, 80mm and the 180mm. It will be
> used
> primarily for landscape with some portrature. Does Mamiya still service
> them?
> Is there any particular model I should be looking for, or staying away
> from?
> Where do you recommend I purchase it?
camera on the Medium Format Digest at http://www.ex.ac.uk/mfd/welcome.html
lately. There are also a number of Web pages devoted to this camera.
From all accounts, the lenses are excellent - as good as more recent Mamiya lenses.
The camera line has been around since the 50's (through various models). It was discontinued by Mamiya in 1994.
They are easy to find used.
The main limitation with the Mamiya TLR's is the range of lens only extends from 55mm to 250mm (comparable to approx.
35mm to 150mm for 35mm cameras.) They are completely manual so you will need a hand held lightmeter. They produce
square 6X6 cm images (similar to Hasselblads). For you applications, the lens range should not be a problem.
For a medium format camera system, this line does not require you to be ultra-rich or mortgage the house to buy one. Locally
I have seen mint cameras (C330 F) with 80mm lens for $500. If you cannot find them locally, they are readily available from
dealers that
advertise in Shutterbug magazine. It is recommended that you buy the "black" lens - not the "chrome" lens. The black ones
are multi-coated while the chrome ones are not.
I have a C330 F (about 10 to 15 years old) which I bought used and have been enjoying it alot. My camera was in
virtually brand new condition and cost me $525.
MLAFLY
In article <01bbaf0b$d15cc6c0$a4a75786@banff>, "Neville J. Parakh"
<n...@dynapro.com> writes:
>Is there any particular model I should be looking for, or staying away
>from?
>Where do you recommend I purchase it?
>
>
I continue to keep my 220. Why, I don't know. It requires a separate
shutter cocking motion after rewinding the film. Truthfully, I don't
notice the extra step anymore.
Still, I'd recommend only the 330's as they cock the shutter
simultaneously with the film rewinding motion. Also, get only the black
lenses. I found the 55 only moderately sharp but the 80, 105, 135, and 180
were very sharp.
Mike
Neville J. Parakh
Thanks for the suggestion - I'll keep the 135mm in mind.
What are the optical differences you see between the C330 lenses and
the Mamiya 6 lenses? Are the Mamiya 6 lenses always sharper, only
sharper wide open, sharper at the corners, better colour contrast, etc.??
How much is the difference?
Garry Lee <gl...@iol.ie> wrote in article <52ru0k$f...@nuacht.iol.ie>...
Bob
I have just traded my C330 for a Pentax 645 system. What a difference, the
Mamiya was cumbersome to use, it was heavy, and the results were not
spectacular. Not bad as a backup camera though. I shoot weddings part
time and have found a number of times that the Mamiya was just too slow to
set up. (auto feature sure is nice to have on the Pentax), changing film
could not be done fast (have a spare 220 back for my Pentax) Another
concern is getting the thing fixed if need be, the camera has been out of
production for a few years. You said you were interested in landscapes, I
found the Mamiya to be difficult to level ,i.e.: since the image you see is
reversed all your adjustment must be reversed, but this just takes some
getting used to, Finally ,think about your purchase, I think you would be
better off with a more modern camera!
Graham A. Patterson
"Neville J. Parakh" <n...@dynapro.com> wrote:
>I am considering purchase of a Mamiya C330 TLR and would like your
>opinion. How good are the lenses (compared to say a Mamiya 6 or Zeiss) -
>the ones I'm interested in are the 55mm, 80mm and the 180mm.
rangefinder, and an SLR (Hassleblad?) here. Settle on the design that
you are comfortable using, then worry about fractional differences in
optics if you must. The best lens in the world is worthless if you
don't enjoy using the camera! A C330 of C330f with the lens set you
mention will be cheaper than the other two.
>It will be used primarily for landscape with some portrature.
It's a bit big for the real wilds - I'd choose the Mamiya 6 - but it
is a sound design for portraits. Compared to an SLR the bulk and
weight for the same format isn't a lot different.
>Does Mamiya still service them?
>Where do you recommend I purchase it?
Can't comment re Canada.
>Is there any particular model I should be looking for, or staying away
>from?
Pick one of the 330 models, and the black series lenses. See my web
page for the differences.
--- Graham Patterson http://www.rdg.ac.uk/~slspatte/
Sedimentology: The hard study of soft rocks
*** Unless otherwise stated, opinions expressed are mine ***
Murray White APPO MPA
Neville J. Parakh wrote:
>
> I am considering purchase of a Mamiya C330 TLR and would like your
> opinion. How good are the lenses (compared to say a Mamiya 6 or Zeiss) -
> the ones I'm interested in are the 55mm, 80mm and the 180mm.
down to 135. Make sure you get a prism (not the Poro finder) or if you
don't mind waist level viewing, get the chimney viewer that has a great
magnifier 9x if I remember.
Does Mamiya still service
> them?
> Is there any particular model I should be looking for, or staying away
> from?
Each has its own little things but from what you are wanting it for, I
don't see any problems. As a wedding photographer, when I used the C3,
C22 and C33, zone focusing was awkward and having looked at later
models, that problem still has not been fully addressed.
> Where do you recommend I purchase it?
Go to camera shows and check them out. Find out prices from local
stores. Ask Q's and see if you can try it out before you lay out a lot
of $.
Glenn Stewart (Arizona)
In article <3251AE...@MCI.com>, Steve.B...@MCI.com says...
> It is recommended that you buy the "black" lens - not the "chrome"
> lens. The black ones are multi-coated while the chrome ones are not.
The most important aspect of the "black" lenses over the "chrome" ones for
the Mamiya C- series cameras is not the coatings, but rather that the
"black" lenses have the Seiko shutter assembly, for which parts are still
avaliable. The "chrome" lenses are equipped with the discontinued Seikosha
shutter assembly which is no longer supported by anyone I know of. When
it's out of timing, you're finished.
Regards,
Stew
Norton
"Neville J. Parakh" <n...@dynapro.com> wrote:
>I am considering purchase of a Mamiya C330 TLR and would like your
>opinion. How good are the lenses (compared to say a Mamiya 6 or Zeiss) -
>the ones I'm interested in are the 55mm, 80mm and the 180mm. It will be
>used
>primarily for landscape with some portrature. Does Mamiya still service
>them?
>Is there any particular model I should be looking for, or staying away
>from?
>Where do you recommend I purchase it?
>Thanks in advance.
>neville (e-mail: n...@dsi.bc.ca)
The Mamiya TLR lenses are superb in sharpness.
I have a 55 and a 105, both are great.
You can get a good 330 used for cheap. I paid 200 bucks for mine with
55mm lens.
They can be serviced, and since there's so many still in use, parts
are available. The 220 is ok, but more awkward to use. The 330 cocks
the shutter, and has a larger winder.
Also, it has a parallax indicator.
Robert Gonzalez
Glenn Stewart (Arizona) (gst...@goodnet.com) wrote:
: In article <3251AE...@MCI.com>, Steve.B...@MCI.com says...
:
Not true.
I purchased a C-3 from Brooklyn Camera Exchange and the shutter speeds
were all wrong. I sent the lens back and they serviced it. It works
fine now.
Glenn Stewart (Arizona)
Yes, it is true.
Mamiya no longer supports the Seikosha shutters (chrome). Our local shop with
an excellent repair center will not repair them, and several others I've
contacted will not/cannot repair them either.
As I said, I don't (didn't) know of anyone who would support these shutters.
That's true. You apparently got lucky and found a shop with a good stock of
repair parts, or one that was able to canibalize an old lens for the shutter
parts you needed. Or, possibly, your lens/shutter was not worn enough to need
replacement parts, but only needed a clean/lube/adjust job.
In most cases, when these lenses become worn enough to require parts, you're
out of luck. This fact is more important than the coating technology used.
Regards,
Stew