Greg87 wrote:
Just a quick question about the Voigtlander Bessa... can you use colour film in it? I'm completely unfamiliar with the medium fromat camera, so excuse my ignorance, it was just the first question that popped into mind when I read your post. Is it tricky to use or pretty straightforward?
It uses 120 size roll film. Not only is it available in color, but it is being made by all of the major film manufacturers with the most up-to-date emulsions, both positive (slide) and negative, pretty much everything that you can get in 35mm. Most brands cost around $4.00 per roll and they can be processed through Wal-Mart (which sends them to regional labs) or photo shops (most of which do the same). Processing ranges between $3.00 and $6.00 per roll depending on where you go.
The Bessa and other folding 120 cameras were directed at the amateur market when 35mm was still considered a specialty "miniature" format. So, they are simple use, not much different than a manual 35mm camera. You do have to focus manually, set your exposure manually, and zoom using your feet (i.e. walk toward/away from the subject). If considering medium format, however, you should also take a look at other cameras in the same used price range, such as non-folding rangefinders, SLRs or twin-lens reflex (TLRs). They will produce better pictures more reliably because they have bigger lenses and a rigid box holding the lens and film plane in the proper relative positions. I would not get a folding camera as my first medium-format.
August
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