The Mamiya-Sekor lens on the C330 can produce extremely nice results, and the camera has some unusual and useful features including a bright view screen and a bellows allowing extreme close-ups. I also have the 180 mm lens which provides additional versatility.
Ergonomics are the weak point; the camera is big and heavy. I'm not able to get through a roll without at least once catching the shutter cocking lever with a finger. It is a camera that is more comfortable on a tripod in the studio. Two accessories are nearly mandatory to realize the camera's potential: an eye-level prism finder, and a paramender for properly framing close-ups. The viewfinder does have a auto-adjusting bar that helps compensate for parallax, but that doesn't fully correct the view, and one must also remember to properly adjust the aperture if the bellows is cranked out. I'm too cheap to put out the bucks that the accessories for this camera require, but I am going to try harder to get used to the quirks of shooting it as it really can produce some good pictures.
These images were made on Tri-X and developed in D-76. I processed the previous roll with this same combination at a 1+1 dilution and got some uneven development, with light stripes showing on the left and right sides of the negatives. For this roll I used the D-76 in stock solution and gave a little more agitation. That showed some improvement, though not to perfection.
Some previous images from the C330 are in my Flickrstream.
1 comment:
I like the composition in the first shot. The big Mamiya has a reputation for great lenses. I would not know about portability, though.
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