bought a used medium format today, did i get a good deal?

[adrian]

Hey all. I like photography and have done a good bit of it with 35mm
but know little of this medium format realm. I frequent auctions and
buy things that i can do well reselling. Today I got a Mamiya C220
with a lense that says "Mamiya-Sekor 1:2.8 f=80mm no.789144" and
another lense that is much longer and says "Mamiya-Sekor 1:4.5 f=18 cm
No.847377", also got a flash, and something made by Sekonic that you
look through, it seems like some sort of light meter, but there's
little knobs on it you can use to zoom in with. Everything is in
pristine condition, mint i might say, this thing doesn't even look
used. I got it all for $70. Did I get a good deal? How much is all
this stuff worth? What do I have, and who uses this format and why????
I know these are a lot of questions, i hope someone can help me!
Thanks a lot!

Adrian

[Victor Bazarov]

"adrian" > wrote...
> Hey all. I like photography and have done a good bit of it with 35mm
> but know little of this medium format realm. I frequent auctions and
> buy things that i can do well reselling. Today I got a Mamiya C220
> with a lense that says "Mamiya-Sekor 1:2.8 f=80mm no.789144" and
> another lense that is much longer and says "Mamiya-Sekor 1:4.5 f=18 cm
> No.847377", also got a flash, and something made by Sekonic that you
> look through, it seems like some sort of light meter, but there's
> little knobs on it you can use to zoom in with. Everything is in
> pristine condition, mint i might say, this thing doesn't even look
> used. I got it all for $70. Did I get a good deal?

I think you did.

> How much is all
> this stuff worth?

Look at the prices for similar items on www.KEH.com or on ebay.
IIRC, when I was looking for MF stuff, excellent C220 was worth
more than $100 (without all the extra stuff).

> What do I have, and who uses this format and why????

You have a camera that can use medium format films called 120 and
220 and interchangeable lenses. I has no moving mirror. Lenses
are twins -- you look through the top one, and the film is exposed
with the lower one. When you look to compose the frame, the light
reflects off the fixed mirror, that's why the camera type is called
"twin lens reflect" (TLR).

The size of the frame on the film is about 58 mm square. As you can
see, it's larger than a 35-mm frame. Since films and emulsions used
are basically the same, you get more information on a frame than
you do in 35-mm photography (about 4 times more).

MF is a compromise between (or the marriage of the best things of,
depends on whom you ask) the highly portable 35mm and large format.
Once you see a 2 1/4 inch square slide or a print from a 6x6 B&W
negative, you'll most likely be impressed. The difference between
MF and 35mm is quite dramatic.

Who uses it? Hmm... Whoever is not satisfied with the quality they
get from 35mm films, I suppose. Or, whoever is tired of lugging all
that LF gear around, setting it up, etc. MF used to be the format
of choice for professional photographers, although I heard that many
switch to digital nowadays. It's probably still is for fashion and
studio portrait professionals.

80mm is basically the "standard" lens, equivalent to about 45mm in
the 35mm terms. 180mm lens is a good portrait lens, equivalent to
about 100mm lens in 35mm terms.

You can get more information in rec.photo.equipment.medium-format,
I set the follow-ups there. Also, check out numerous pages on the
web. Just search on Google for "Mamiya C220" (without quotes).

Victor