Yashica Mat 124 Review
When I took this step forward, back to film, I wanted something more than what I could get from 35mm.
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Here it is with its beautiful brown leather case, with a story of its own
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Gossen Sixtomat
Sixtomat exposure meter.
The Sixtomat, manufactured by Gossen in Erlangen Germany, is a exposure meter to be used for photographic and cine purposes. The meter only measures reflected light. The sensor can be shut off for light by a metal rolling blind. This roller blind protects the sensitive parts of the meter like the sensor and the glass of the reading scale. The blind is made of special V2a rustles steel.
The Sixtomat has been made in different versions and also in different colors. Most common is the black version rare are the dark blue and dark red versions. The first production date is around 1950 and since then a large number of these meter have been made. Later on this meter has been improved and merged into the Sixtomat J the Sixtomat X2 and the Sixtomat X3. There are some minor differences in the production versions like the color of the scale on the film sensitivity knob and the knob itself. The meter has been developed shortly after the Sixtus 2. The Sixtus 2 is the first post WW2 meter since 1936. The Sixtomat is a complete new design after the well known bakelite versions.
An application for the German patent was done on December 24 1949, the USA patent for the Sixtomat was requested at June 2 1950 by P. Gossen & Co. GMBH Erlangen Germany under number 2,699,087. The inventors are the son of Paul Gossen, Hans Gossen and Erwin Pfaffenberger.
In December 1950 the American Cinematographer has placed an article in their magazine presenting this meter; “Sixtomat. New, Automatic Exposure Meter.” The Sixtomat is being imported and distributed in the USA by the Mitropa Corporation, New York City and the retail price in that time was about US $32.50. This article describes the function of the meter extensively.
It is clearly an automated version of his predecessors, the Photolux, Ombrux, Blendux, Cimbrux, Sixtus, Ombrux 2 and Sixtus 2. The red button for changing the sensitivity of the meter is now incorporated in the mechanism. When rotating the knob, you can see the scale changing from red to black or vice versa. A internal switch changes this sensitivity accordingly, replacing manual pressing the button. It is a meter of the next generation of Gossen exposure meters for photographic and cine purposes, measuring reflected and incident light (some of them) by use of what Gossen called the ‘rollo’ a movable blind. The electrical function of the Sixtomat is still based on the older predecessors with the red button on top. This button enables the meter to measure with different light sensitivity. This function is incorporated into the Sixtomat but invisible for the user because it is mounted on the axle were also the knob is mounted. The sensitivity changes when the scale goes from black to red and vice versa. In the newer versions of the Sixtomat this function has been removed. The notch on the axle is still there but the switch has been removed at the same time the metal roller blind has been replaced by a diffuse one enabling the meter to measure reflected light en when the blind is in front of the sensor. also to measure incident light.
The first Sixtomat exposure meter, from the early fifties and still available in the early seventies so it last for more than two decades. In a Gossen brochure from 1971 it still available and in the meantime, more than 1.500.000 meters have been produced. The types that are manufactured are as far as we know the Sixtomat, the Sixtomat X2, The Sixtomat X3, the Sixtomat Deluxe I, the Sixtomat J. Even between the meters of the same type, there are differences in manufacturing. Also there are meters made in different colors but of the same model, like the Sixtomat normally in black is also in dark blue and even in dark red. The Sixtomat X3 has been made with a complete transparent housing.
There are several versions of the Sixtomat from 1950 to the 1970th onwards;
Sixtomat, first Sixtomat with metal roller curtain only for reflected light.
Sixtomat, as above but with a ‘L’ on the read out scale and different exposure times, for Leica?
Sixtomat-I deluxe, the metal curtain has been changed to a plastic one enabling measurement of incident light
Sixtomat J, still figuring out what exactly the differences are
Sixtomat Dual,
Sixtomat X2, predecessor of the Sixtomat X3 except for the color finder
Sixtomat X3, Final Sixtomat for measuring reflected light, incident light and color temperature. Sold until the seventies.
Sixtomat X3, version in a transparent housing
Sixtomat X3 with ‘Tower’ label’, version for Sears.
See versions for an overview.
Gossen and Leica.
During time, gossen has made several Leica versions of their meters. Some of them are recognisable by the word Leica or just the “L” on the sacle or the meter itself but some others have no special mark but can be recognised by the values on the scale.
Special thanks to Richard W Holzman and Simon Spaans for additional information and articles.
via Gossen Sixtomat.
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Why I love Mamiya C220?
I absolutely love my Mamiya C220 medium format film camera. This camera was made between 1968 and 1982 and still takes professional quality images almost a half century later. Now that is amazing! The fact that the camera is still relevant is a testament to the survivability and pervasiveness of medium format film and film cameras in general. The Mamiya C220 is a twin lens reflex (TLR) type of camera that takes interchangeable lenses. The C220f is the next generation of this camera and was manufactured from 1982 to 1995. I bought my C220 with a 55mm lens because of quality of the optics and it is suited for my type of wide angle photography. I also love this lens because I can focus as close as 9″ which affords me some incredible angles and perspectives not normally possible. If you want to try medium format film then this is an inexpensive way to explore this medium. On a side note the black lenses are newer than the chrome ones in case you are interested.
Top 3 Reasons Why I Love the Mamiya C220 TLR
- The C220 may be from the 1960′s, but it still produces professional quality prints nearly 50 years later making it timeless and a great investment.
- The C220 is fully mechanical and does not require a battery.
- The C220 is a medium format camera that produces those big 6×6 negatives.
There is something magical and beautiful about the 6×6 format to me. I just love that square look. A standard roll of medium format 120 allows 12 exposures. My RZ67 Pro II and Mamiya 7 Rangefinder are both 6×7 formats so I get 10 exposures per roll.
The C220 is known as the simplified version of the C330. One is not “better” than the other, just a few minor differences. The C220 requires you to cock the shutter separately. In regards to the shutter cocking, I actually prefer this method. It is probably because of my large format experience. The C220 is solid built and I use it with the traditional waist level viewfinder. As you might of guessed there is no meter in the camera and it is fully manual and no batteries are required! I also love being able to flash sync at all shutter speeds (through 1/500th). I prefer the lighter weight of the C220 over the C330 in most cases because I do a lot of hiking and climbing. I think the difference is a little less than a pound. The C330 (f/s) cocks the shutter when the film is advanced and it has a larger crank for advancing the film. Besides the auto shutter cocking and the parallax/exposure compensation arm in the finder, that is about it for feature differences. They both take the same lenses so you could have one of each if you prefer and share your lenses between them. For more detailed information on all of the various models go here.
If you are not familiar with TLR cameras, they are actually very simple to operate. You look through the waist level viewfinder (in my case) at the ground glass. There is a pop-up magnifier for critical focus. There are other viewfinders available for the C220 and C330, I just prefer the standard waist level viewfinder. You look through the top lens and you are taking your photo with the bottom one. The aperture and shutter are part of the bottom lens too. TLR’s eliminate the need for a big mirror which is a source of vibration and poor image quality in some cases.
You will find the C220 to be extremely quiet to operate and you can hand-hold slow shutter speeds (e.g., 1/8th, 1/15th, etc) otherwise not possible with a SLR type camera. Plus this camera is fully mechanical. Did I mention there are no batteries!
You may have to deal with the parallax issue from time to time, but this is not an issue for me typically. You will notice this in your closeup/macro photos the most. Basically, what you are looking at through your top lens does not exactly match what you are photographing with the bottom lens. To help address this issue you can simply look at the scale on the left side of the camera to determine your degree of error (e.g. 1, 1.5. 2) then refer to the lines in the top of your viewfinder to ensure you have all of the critical information in your scene. It sounds more difficult than it is in reality. There are accessories like the Parallax Paramender that you can find on eBay to address this but I don’t personally use this because I am not always shooting on a tripod with this camera. In regards to exposure compensation you can refer to this same scale for a range of correction from .25 stops to 2 full stops. For more detailed information on exposure compensation, go here.
I love to use this camera for street photography too. Be sure to read the tips I have below for using the C220 for street photography without a light meter. Depending on the exact C220 you have it could be over 40 years old and it is as relevant today as it was in 1968. A great place to view over 20,000 photographs made with the Mamiya TLR cameras is on the Flickr TLR photostream and their is an active discussion group here too. If you want to narrow in on just the C220 then there is a a Flickr photostream for this too.
Sample Photos
The square 6×6 format of the Mamiya C220 is part of the reason why I love making prints with this camera. Plus I get a lot of enjoyment using film and developing it myself. Shooting black and white film in this special camera is not only a lot of fun but don’t forget it still produces professional quality prints that will compete with almost any camera made today. For these photos I used Tri-X rated at EI1250 and developed in Diafine. Keep in mind this is a fully manual camera so there is no need to set the ASA (ISO) and you will probably need a light meter for most shots. I used a light meter for all of these photos but you can estimate your exposure on a normal sunny day using the Sunny 16 Rule and F/8 technique discussed below.
Fallen Trees – f/5.6 at 1/30th EI 1250
Woods Ave Trees – f/8 at 1/60th EI 1250
Tree Roots – f/8 at 1/30th EI 1250
Lime Kiln – f/8 at 1/30th EI 1250
Big Trees – f/8 at 1/30th EI 1250
Sunny 16 & F/8 Rules for Street Photography
When using a fully manual camera like the C220 or RZ67 Pro II there might be times when you don’t have the time to use a light meter. Street photography is a good example of a situation when you won’t likely have time to meter your scene because things happen too quickly. You can employ some old school rules to help you get the shot. If you haven’t tried these techniques go out around your city or town and have some fun with it. Leave your light meter at home!
The Sunny 16 Rule is an old fashioned method used to estimate exposures for daylight photography without a light meter. On a sunny day when your subject is in the sunlight you can set your aperture to f/16. Then you would set your shutter to the reciprocal of your film speed. For example if you were using Tri-X 400 your shutter speed would be 1/400 or the closest setting you have for your manual camera.
If you don’t want f/16 as your aperture for creative reasons then you can simply use the basic relationship rule between ISO, aperture and shutter speed to make changes. In general if you use a larger aperture (smaller number) you would increase your shutter speed. This is known an inverse relationship between the aperture and shutter. If you want to step down your aperture by two stops from f/16 to f/8 then you would increase your shutter speed by two stops in order to keep the exposure the same. If you think about it, it is logical. If you make the aperture opening smaller (bigger f/stop number) you have more depth of field and require more light for your exposure. On the other hand if you make your aperture open bigger (smaller f/stop) then you need less light for your exposure.
Photojournalists “back in the day” used a neat little trick that you can still use today. By setting your aperture to f/8 and pre-focusing they would typically get the shot. Use the Sunny 16 rule that I described above and you should be able to get a high percentage of keepers that should grab everything from about 6 feet to infinity.
Resources for TLR
Graham Patterson has compiled a lot of very useful information on the C220 that you may want to check out if you are interested.
Mike Rosenlof posted a review on Mamiya TLR on photo.net that is worth reviewing if you are interested in getting one of these cameras. You’ll learn more from the readers comments than you will via the article, but I would suggest reading both.
The TLR forum at photo.net is a good place to ask questions and learn.
Flickr has a Mamiya TLR discussion forum that is good two good general TLR groups with the first here and the other one here.
Be sure to leave your comments or suggestions at the bottom of this article. If you like my articles be sure to use the “Like” or “Share” buttons located at the bottom of each article so we can get more feedback from other photographers.
You can view more of my large and medium format images on my Flickr stream.
You can read more articles on large format photography by clicking here or on medium format here.
Source: http://blog.blackandwhitefineart.net/2011/01/mamiya-c220/
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