Medium format cameras use roll film, and the frame is much bigger than a 35mm negative. The usual sizes are 6×4.5, 6×6 and 6×7. A bigger negative holds more detail at the same print size. The cameras are bigger too, and most of the classics are systems built from separate parts. Here's how the main ones differ and what to look for when you buy.
TLR or SLR
A twin-lens reflex has two lenses stacked one above the other. The top one feeds a ground-glass screen you look down into at waist level, and the bottom one takes the picture. The trade is that most TLRs, the Rolleiflex included, have a fixed lens. Browse them on the medium format TLR page.
A medium format SLR works like a 35mm SLR, looking through the taking lens via a mirror. The classic systems are modular, so the body, film back, viewfinder and lens all come apart and get swapped. That's flexible, but it means you need to check what's actually in the box. See the medium format SLR page.
Rolleiflex
Franke & Heidecke introduced the first Rolleiflex in 1929 after three years of development, and it was the company's first medium format roll-film camera. The Rolleiflex 2.8F ran from 1960 to 1981 in several versions, with an 80mm f/2.8 taking lens, either a Zeiss Planar or a Schneider Xenotar. It added coupled exposure metering and a removable focusing hood. The 3.5F, made from 1958 to 1964 in three versions, used a 75mm f/3.5 Planar or Xenotar. Rollei also made a simpler line for amateurs called the Rolleicord. The company went insolvent in 2014 and was dissolved in 2015.
A Rolleiflex is a fixed-lens camera, so the condition of that lens is the condition of the camera. Ask for a flashlight-through-the-lens photo of the taking lens and check the viewing lens and screen are clear too. Yashica built TLRs as well, and the Yashica-Mat 124G page covers that one. More on the Rolleiflex brand page.
Mamiya TLRs
The Mamiya C330 came out in 1969, followed by the C330 Professional F in 1972 and the C330 Professional S in 1983. It focuses with a bellows and takes interchangeable finders. Mamiya's TLRs use their own lens mount, covered on the Mamiya TLR mount page. The bellows is the thing to check. Light leaks can come from old bellows on any medium format camera, so ask for a photo of the bellows extended and look for worn corners or pinholes.
Mamiya RB67
The Mamiya RB67 is a 6×7 SLR system released in 1970. The Pro-S followed in 1974 and is the most common version, and the Pro-SD arrived in 1990. RB stands for rotating back, which lets you switch between horizontal and vertical frames without turning the camera. Focusing is by a bellows with 46mm of extension.
The body is fully mechanical and needs no battery. Each lens carries its own Seiko leaf shutter, and electronic flash syncs at every speed. The catch is weight, with almost 2kg for the body alone before you add a lens, back and finder. It's a camera for a tripod or a strong neck. Check the bellows for pinholes, check the film back's seals, and make sure the listing shows every part you're paying for. Lenses are on the RB67 mount page.
Hasselblad V system
Hasselblad's first cameras, the 1600F and 1000F, used focal-plane shutters named after their top speeds. In 1957 the 500C replaced the 1000F and moved the shutter into each lens, using a Compur leaf shutter. The name came from that top speed of 1/500 and the Compur Central shutter. The 500C/M added an interchangeable focusing screen and the improved A-series film magazines such as the A12. The line later continued with the 503CW, and the whole family became known as the V system once the H system arrived.
A heavily modified 500 EL, the Hasselblad Electric Camera, flew aboard Apollo spacecraft from Apollo 8, and three 500 EL cameras went on Apollo 11. Eleven Hasselblad cameras are still on the lunar surface, since only the film magazines came home.
The thing every Hasselblad buyer should know is how the lens and body stay in step. If a lens comes off with the shutter and body out of sync, you can end up with a released shutter on a body with the mirror down, or a cocked shutter with the mirror up. Forcing the lens back on in either state can do permanent damage. Ask the seller to confirm the camera cocks, fires and the lens comes off and goes back on normally, and never force one on yourself. The 500C page covers the earlier body, and lenses are on the Hasselblad V mount page.
Pentax 67
The Pentax 67 looks like a 35mm SLR that kept growing. After a 1965 prototype, it launched in 1969 as the Asahi Pentax 6×7, was renamed the Pentax 67 in 1990 and became the 67II in 1999. With the plain prism and the standard 105mm f/2.4 lens it weighs 2.3kg. Unlike the RB67 it's completely battery dependent, running on a 6 V PX28 or 4SR44, and it won't complete a cycle when the voltage is low. Early bodies were criticized for a film advance that slipped over time and caused uneven frame spacing, so ask for a negative or a scan if you can. Lenses are on the Pentax 67 mount page.
And 6×4.5
If 6×7 is too heavy, 6×4.5 gives you more frames per roll in a smaller body. Mamiya's version is the Mamiya 645 1000S on the Mamiya 645 mount, and Pentax made the Pentax 645.
What to check on any of them
- Every part is shown. On modular systems, look for the body, lens, back and finder in the photos, and check the listing title matches what's pictured.
- Bellows and seals. Ask for the bellows extended under a light and the film back opened. Pinholes and crumbling foam both leak light onto the film.
- Shutter. On leaf-shutter lenses, ask for a video of the slow speeds. The blades should open and close cleanly with no oil on them.
- Glass. A flashlight shone through each lens should show clear glass with no fog or growth.
What we'd buy
For a first medium format camera you'll carry around, a TLR like the Rolleiflex or a Mamiya is the easiest to live with. For portraits on a tripod, the RB67 needs no battery and its bellows gives you plenty of focusing range. If you want the camera that defined the format, buy a Hasselblad, and buy it from a seller who can show it working through a full cycle with the lens on and off.
