TLR versus Folder, which Medium Format Camera is Best?

[@andrewrothman7805]

If my memory is correct, the 532/16 only takes 11 photos per roll, due to a unique loading system.

[@JeffDvrx]

That Super Ikonta, the 532/12, is one of my favourite cameras ever. I have a 1952 531/2 which I love and is as much a favourite of mine as the 6x6 though :). Zeiss Ikon cameras from that era were works of art in my opinion. Personally I like folders better, their size and weight makes them way more manageable than TLRs and when they have a coupled rangefinder focusing is just as fast and easy as with 35mm rangefinders. Can't beat a nice TLR for style points, but both TLRs and folders are conversation starters and strangers tend to be more likely to say yes when you approach them to ask to take a picture if you're carrying one of those than they are if you're carrying a regular SLR

[@SirRyneaux]

There's just something magical about using a TLR. Thanks for another informative video; keep it up!

[@jw48335]

This was entertaining. GS645 when 4:3 is needed, C330 + adapter + Kiev 88 metered prism when square is the order of the day.

[@carbonejack]

I've got a few folders and a few TLRs. I love them all for different reasons. Now-a-days I'm leaning more and more to the 6x6 format. And they are film cameras. There is an allure of the old classics for me (even 35mm); vintage Nikons, Rolleis, the Canon EF camera, and the like. Love your channel.

[@robin9339]

I find TLRs much easier to get the composition right; I just have to get used to the mirrored viewfinder. When I use a folding camera, I often need to crop and rotate a bit because of the alignment. Most of the folding viewfinders are quite poor, and they use older technology, but folding cameras are much more compact and take up a lot less space than boxy-looking cameras. I have used the Rolleicord V and the Pearl II f/3.5, and both lenses are equally excellent; I couldn’t tell any difference. and yes always look for folding camera with coupled rangefinders they are a lot faster to shoot with :)

[@Dahrenhorst]

The folding camera is - in its folded state - generally smaller, but not necessarily lighter than a TLR. If that is the deciding factor, you should get a folder. In practical use, the main difference is the viewfinder: the TLR has a waistlevel finder, while you need to put the folder to your eye. Effectively, you can take pictures with a TLR somewhat more clandestine, since it is not so obvious that you are taking pictures. Additionally, I personally also find the picture shown in the waistlevel finder of a TLR much more photo-like, since it shows the limited depth of field of the viewing lens. With a folder, it's just like looking to a badly fabricated piece of glas. Last but not least, to me focusing on the waistlevel finder is a little easier than with a coupled rangefinder viewer of a folder, an significantly easier than with a non-coupled rangefinder or a folder without a rangefinder at all. What you mentioned last, is one of the most important point contra folders: the somewhat delicate bellows. The Rolleiflex is one of the larger TLRs, my favorite TLR is the Voigtländer Brillant S, which comes with a 5 element Heliar lens and a Compur Rapid shutter (which does a 1/500s). This Voigtländer is probably the smallest 6x6 TLR and actuallly even smaller than many folders, and also has the brightest viewfinder I've ever seen on a TLR due to its f 2.2 finder lens. This camera is my favorite medium format camera and the one I usually use. However, to me this is not that big a decision, since I'm wheelchair bound and always have 7 or 8 cameras on me, among them at least 3 folders (plus two Pentacon Six, a 5x7 large format camera, and a digital camers). However, while most of these cameras are in their bags, the Voigtländer is sitting on my lap. I have probably around 25 TLRs and only maybe a dozen folders, so this also shows what I prefer.

[@robertyoung1777]

Check out Zaharia Cusnir, Diane Arbus and Francesca Woodman’s medium format photographic works.

[@andrewinaustintx]

A TLR camera will take a good photo - but there is always room my camera bag to for medium format folder. I have one of the last German "klapp cameras" that was introduced in the mid 1950s. It's an Agfa Super Isolette. With the exception of the smallish viewfinder, it is pretty modern for folder. It features automat film winding, a coupled rangefinder and unit focusing lens. The unit focusing Solinar lens performs equally as well the Xenar or Tessar on a Rolleicord.

[@sailorjohnboy2325]

I love folders. I recently found a Zenobia 645 Model C at a camera swap meet. Cleaned the camera and the fungus out of the lens and she shot fine. One accidental double exposure and one bad composition but the rest were keepers.

[@michaelwoernle378]

You are comparing a pre war Super Ikonta with a post war Rolleiflex. To my knowledge an important difference is that the pre war Zeiss Tessar has no anti- reflex coating and may cause problems with color film. So for a comparison I might prefer a post war Super Ikonta with coated lens (then made in Stuttgart, West Germany after Zeiss had been ousted from Jena, GDR).

[@ly776]

If you are in a situation to be hauling around a bulky TLR of course it will give better pictures in general. The folders are so much easier to carry and use for things like street photography, travel photography, anything that requires faster shooting. Of course a crappy TLR will be worse than an excellent folder. But all things being equal a TLR is better - and if your are extremely skilled (e.g. Walker Evans) you'll get the best picture. The other interesting advantage of TLR is that because the photographer is looking down, human subjects are generally more natural when they are being shot by any other kind of camera.

[@mnoliberal7335]

I like my Spring Cameras best but also use a couple of TLRs. Each has their strong points.

[@jameshazelwoodphoto]

I have not received my order #11241 and the tracking number you gave is showing ERROR, plus you have not responded to my emails. What is going on?

[@MakersTeleMark]

You are not looking through what the taking lens is seeing, you are looking through what the viewing lens is seeing. Big difference.

[@lilcholo7893]

Gotta be TLR for me. Actually seeing the image through the viewfinder outweighs any compactness a folding camera gives!

[@massimopraga4476]

Just one comment: I think TLR have a much better viewfinder and a much better focusing mechanism than the flex cameras.

[@Frisenette]

Don’t walk around with irreplaceable cameras, no matter the price you bought it for, in your jeans pocket. Not your jacket pocket either. They will get constantly rubbed and hit by stuff you bump into. They are not to be “USED!!!”, they are to be diligently and lovingly u s e d. Get a small padded bag. Thank me later.