Question:
How much cheaper is medium format 2nd hand compared to brand new? It’s just that I think I could benefit from medium format now im going to be doing more enlargements. Thanks….
If your talking about a straight comparison between used and new kit, you’ll pay approx half the cost for Bronica ERTSi, Mamiya 645 and Pentax 645. More expensive kit will cost progressively more (as a percentage), but still saving a similar amount of cash. Bear in mind these prices are for earlier models or those with some signs of use. Look into all the offers available. Some promotions make it more sensible to buy new (i.e. free backs). If you’re looking at older (discontinued) kit, you can save more money. — John Preston, Lancs, UK.
Response:
Robert White photo has some GREAT GREAT prices on medium format gear, and they’re in the UK. Check them out at www.robertwhite.co.uk In many cases, Mamiya and Pentax MF cameras are as much as $1100 cheaper than we’d pay for the exact same camera here in the US! Kerry
Response:
How much cheaper is medium format 2nd hand compared to brand new?
Depends on the brand. On the two extremes, a Hassy, like a Mercedes, depreciates very slowly. Bronica, on the other hand, depreciates much more quickly (but they still make good gear- even if they do use home-grown flash technology that pretty much forces you to buy a Bronica flash if you want TTL). -Mike
Response:
How much cheaper is medium format 2nd hand compared to brand new? It’s just that I think I could benefit from medium format now im going to be doing more enlargements. Thanks…. — Photo Gallery www.smithers-nasa.freeserve.co.uk U P D A T E D —— 19th December 1999
Response:
see Budget Guide to Medium Format http://www.smu.edu/~rmonagha/mf/budget.html You may be surprised at how many medium format cameras can be bought used for under $1000 US, including older versions of the current models (ETRS..) for under $500, you can buy some surprisingly good optics and camera setups such as the classic bronica S2A/EC with nikkor optics, Kowa 6/66 with leaf shutter optics ($300 up), rolleicord/flexes TLRs with zeiss optics, rangefinders such as koni-omega and mamiya with leaf shutter lenses, and even current Kiev 60 (big 35mm form factor) and Kiev-88 system cameras (hassy clones). As you have noted, the image size of medium format is nifty in the darkroom, provides greater tonality, and with decent optics often exceeds the resolution possible on smaller film formats such as 35mm. IMHO, it is much, much cheaper to shoot larger film formats and get higher image quality than optimize the design and production of smaller format lenses to try and achieve similar levels of performance. regards and good luck – bobm — * Bronica 6×6 medium format: http://www.smu.edu/~rmonagha/bronica.html site * * Medium Format Cameras: http://www.smu.edu/~rmonagha/mf/index.html megasite*
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