Best TLR under $200?

filmfan · 10-01-2012

So I used to own a Rolleiflex 3.5F that I bought for this price range off of craigslist. I have since given it to a friend and am in the market for a new TLR for under $200. I realize that I got lucky on my first Rollei, so I am expecting some sort of Yashica, Minolta, or Rolleicord for this price.
All things being equal (meaning condition), which one should I go after? If it's a little bit over $200, that's fine.
Thanks,

-S.

wallace · 10-01-2012

Either Cord V, Va, Vb or Autocord. I have both and can't decide which to part with...

Thomas

ruby.monkey · 10-01-2012

I've seen tidy Mamiyaflexes of various generations pop up on eBay for about that. Nice cameras if you don't mind the weight.

ChrisP · 10-01-2012

Ricoh Diacord G. Its a sleeper but has a really nice lens. One day these will sell for big bucks on ebay.

Quote:

Originally Posted by filmfan

So I used to own a Rolleiflex 3.5F that I bought for this price range off of craigslist. I have since given it to a friend and am in the market for a new TLR for under $200. I realize that I got lucky on my first Rollei, so I am expecting some sort of Yashica, Minolta, or Rolleicord for this price.
All things being equal (meaning condition), which one should I go after? If it's a little bit over $200, that's fine.
Thanks,

-S.

Hibbs · 10-01-2012

I have a Yashicamat 124G ($150) and a Super Ricohflex ($40) but if I were you I would take a look at a Ricoh Diacord. I think I'd like to have one of those.

~ Hibbs

graywolf · 10-01-2012

Of the easily available TLR's, in the same condition, I would rate them:

1. Rolleiflex. With a bit of hunting and a bit of luck you probably could come up with an Automat for that price.

2. Minolta Autocord. This is about the best TLR camera there is for use with flash. Watch out for the broken focus lever problem.

3. Yashicamat. I like the pre-meter ones, but most will prefer the later ones. Nice cameras but not as rugged as the first two. Often seem to have oil on the inside of the rear taking lens element, not hard to fix.

froyd · 10-01-2012

I agree with Graywolf. I purchased my 'flex on RFF for around $200. keep checking back and if you are not in a hurry, you are bound to find a good deal.

Whatever you do, be wary of purchasing such old machines from anybody on Ebay other than reputable sellers. I did fall for the "don't know much about this camera, but looks OK to me" story from a random guy and ended up with a nice paperweight not worth the cost of repair.

f16sunshine · 10-01-2012

The Yashicamats are copies of the Rolleiflex. By that I mean all the controls are in the same place as a Rollei. If you take a later one with a Yashinon lens, you have what I consider an equal to any Tessar or Xenar Rollie. I suppose that could be said of the Minolta, Ricoh and other tessar clones in that era. The Mamiya 80mm f2.8 is the only Gauss (Planar)lens TLR aside from the Rollei that is easy to find and affordable. Not sure if that is important to you or not. The Mamiyas are quite heavy but, you do get the opportunity to use other lenses and focus much closer as well. The 180mm on the Mamiya is very capable and goes nicely with the 80mm for Portrait shooters. If you have ever desired to shoot with Rolleiflex next to a Tele Rolleiflex but shied away from the price a Mamiya system might be a nice option.

filmfan · 10-01-2012

I am now trying to decide between the Rolleicord ($195) in the classifieds and the Yashica mat ($115) in the classifieds...

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/phot...shicamat/cat/4

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/phot...ica-635-/cat/4

pschauss · 10-01-2012

You might also try a Flexaret. Ebay seller Cupog sells them CLAed for a bit over $100 including shipping.

wallace · 10-01-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by filmfan

I am now trying to decide between the Rolleicord ($195) in the classifieds and the Yashica mat ($115) in the classifieds...

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/phot...shicamat/cat/4

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/phot...ica-635-/cat/4

go for the Rollei, which is much better built and has the removable hood. good price.

kehng · 10-01-2012

i had a rolleicord and a rolleiflex 2.8. kept my semflex instead. som bertiot lens offers something my leicas and blad doesn't have. Oh and I paid like £50 for it

R.MacDonald · 10-01-2012

There are Rollei's out there if you look. I recently haggled an antique dealer down to $20 for a mint Automat model. The only negative about it is that it is lacking a flash sync

KoNickon · 10-01-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by wallace

go for the Rollei, which is much better built and has the removable hood. good price.

Actually, the Rolleicord III does NOT have a removable hood, so don't make the decision based on that criterion. Only the Va and Vb have the removable hood.

I didn't see a price for the Yashicamat in the ad you referred to; if he was willing to break up that listing, $115 is a good price. I assume that's a 4-element lens on the Yashicamat -- I forget whether at that point (the camera looks to be late 50s-early 60s vintage) they called their Tessar clones Yashinons or Luxamars. Either way, it's a really good lens, virtually on a par with the Xenar on the Rolleicord. You will get with the Y'Mat a brighter focusing screen, aided by an f2.8 viewing lens, plus the crank wind.

Matus · 10-01-2012

I had Rolleiflex T in the past and have Minolta Autocord now and while the Rolleiflex felt 'better' (I can not quantify that) to me, the Autocord is a great camera with a great lens.

If in a good order (i.e. not in an instant need of a CLA) both will probably cost more than $200. In that case I would go with a nice Rolleicord and just live with the limitations (darker screen, shutter cocking, slower viewing lens) and enjoy the simplicity

The big advantage of the Rolleicord (at least according to repair guys) is its simplicity and robustness - there is not much that can go wrong (Rolleiflex T is supposed to be less robust from inside).

All of the cameras above have Tessar lenses which have their own rendering (which I find great for portrait at arounf f/4 - f/5.6) and do not lack sharpness.

Ezzie · 10-01-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by pschauss

You might also try a Flexaret. Ebay seller Cupog sells them CLAed for a bit over $100 including shipping.

Second that, Tessar formula lens is sweet. The original under lens focusing arm on most models (which the Minolta copied on the Autocord), but more robust. And 35mm adapters are cheap and easy to get hold of. I too bought mine from ebayer Cupog, ready CLA'd for under 100 bucks (a Va).

Doesn´t have the quality feel of a Rollei, but it is built more than well enough.

Brian Legge · 10-01-2012

One positive about the Autocord - there is an affordable repairman in the US. I'd assuming any camera you buy may need work unless the seller knows when it was last serviced.

You might want to check with Karl Bryan on his current Autocord service costs to see if you could pick up an Autocord and CLA for $200. Some Autocord with broken focus levers (but otherwise in good condition) are cheap. I picked one up for $40. He replaced the lever and re-lubricated the helical for $90. No other work was needed and it turned out to be great camera.

z.bruce.li · 10-01-2012

For the same amount of money I will go for Autocord over Rolleiocord, after trying both recently. I have a Rolleiflex 3.5F as main body, so the crank wind for film advance and crank rewind for shutter cocking feel more at home. But more importantly, triggering shutter in Autocord is pressing down a button which is same as Rolleiflex. On the other hand, the Rolleicord need to side swipe the shutter release lever which for me at least cause camera shake. On top of that you have the film flatness benefits and Rokkor lens quality. In fact, my Autocord is too good for me to keep it. It matches my Rolleiflex and does not offer enough differentiation.

Gid · 10-01-2012

It might help to check out this link if you're considering Yashica. I bought a D a few months ago for less that $100 in very good condition.

http://www.frugalphotographer.com/info-YashicaTLR.htm

filmfan · 10-01-2012

I went with the Yashica Mat from the classifieds ad for $115 that the seller said was in "good shape (quite good actually)". I am satisfied.
Thanks guys.

mkvrnn · 10-01-2012

Your best bet would be to forget the budget and buy a selection. You can always resell the ones you don't like, although you might find it difficult to choose the ones to part with.

My advice would be to start with a mixture of Rolleis and YashicaMats with a sprinkling of Minoltas and Mamiyas. I've always had a soft spot for Microcords and Microflexes too.

Rollei Automats are great value if you find a well looked after one. A simple Rolleicord should last forever so perhaps just one Vb model will be enough, but I like to have one or two in reserve. Personally I find grey Rolleiflexes rather addictive so it might be wise to steer clear of the eatlier T models if you can, otherwise you could find yourself in competition with me trying to buy every one on the market. For similar reasons E and F models are best avoided, and they tend to stray above the sensible £200 limit anyway.

Yashicas seem to appeal to people who want to take photographs rather than just admire their cameras, so if you fall into that category then just buy a few YashicaMats. A 124 is the obvious choice, or a 124G if you can live with that 1970s black look, but the 24 is the bargain of the range because some people think you can only use 220 film which is nonsense of course. The standard YashicMat is as good as any, and all of that range have the Yashinon 4 element lens.

You will need at least one Minolta Autocord, obviously. And if you want to feel like a proper photographer then a Mamiya is essential. Any of the range will give you the interchangable lenses and close focussing bellows, but what really counts is the weight so for that reason I'd go for the C33 rather than the C330F or S.

Did I mention the Flexaret? You will need one of those, and it's always useful to have a spare Weltaflex or Photina in case of emergency.

Whatever you decide to do, don't stray into the SLR market. Those Bronicas and RB67s might look tempting with their massive lenses and interchangable film backs, but you will need a serious trpod to hold them steady.

je2a3 · 10-01-2012

Got my first Yashica-Mat $85, second for $58. Both worked out of the box. My Rolleicord III cost $101 slow speeds needed exercise + slight lens haze, now fixed.

Shutterspark · 10-01-2012

If it were me I would get a bargain Autocord (stiff helical/broken focus lever etc. but with a good taking lens) and send it to Karl Bryan. I've gone this way twice now and have two perfectly working Autocords for just over $200 including CLA.

PMCC · 10-01-2012

I bought a creampuff Autocord at a user price and sent it to Karl for a tune-up. Now I have a working gem near-collectible Autocord, for relatively small money. But on the record, it's a top dollar camera.

jwicaksana · 10-01-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by mkvrnn

Whatever you decide to do, don't stray into the SLR market. Those Bronicas and RB67s might look tempting with their massive lenses and interchangable film backs, but you will need a serious trpod to hold them steady.

Talk about timing! My eBay searches all morning revolves around Bronicas and Mamiya RB/RZ!