Re: [KOML] Newbie seeks advice

[Geoff McAuliffe <mcauliff@UMDNJ.EDU>]

Aric Rothman wrote:

> I am a MF newbie (don't have a setup yet, shot a C330 and loved it).  I've
> read raves about the Koni-Omega lenses, and how their quality to price ratio
> is very high.  Any recommendations on getting set up with a K-O?  Any
> recommendations re other budget MF setups?  My primary interest is in nature
> photography and some informal portraiture.
>
> TIA,
> Aric

I have both cameras, a K-O and a Mamiya C-220, both are good low-budget MF
cameras. I prefer the 6x7 format of the K-O and it is faster and easier to focus
than the TLR (unless you have a brighter screen installed). Also the K-O is much
easier to use at eye level. However, for portraiture the 135mm for the K-O is
very expensive and hard to find, more than twice what a 135mm costs for the
Mamiya. The 180 mm for the K-O only focuses to 12 feet (I am told) and  is not
so useful for portraits. If you want to do any close-up work the TLR is easier,
as long as you remember to raise the camera (after focusing and framing) 50 mm
to compensate for parallax. Also the bellows exposure correction on the side of
the Mamiya is not known for accuracy, do your own tests. There is a wider choice
of focal lengths for the Mamiya.(55, 65, 80, 105, 135, 180, 250). Avoid the
chrome lenses, parts are no longer available.
I don't know whose lenses are sharper, both are more than sufficiently sharp for
my needs.

Good luck!
Geoff
--
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Geoff McAuliffe, Ph.D.
Neuroscience and Cell Biology
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
675 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08854
voice: (732)-235-4583; fax: -4029
mcauliff@umdnj.edu
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