Once again, I celebrate photographic “obsolescence.” I have been wanting to try medium format photography for some time, and last week a listing appeared on eBay for a Mamiya 645J with three lenses. This camera takes 120 roll film, and creates negatives 6cm x 4.5 cm in size. The seller was local to Toronto, so I could avoid shipping/customs fees, although I did have to pay tax. Still, for about $400 I got everything I need to try my hand at medium format film. To put that cost in perspective, the list price for a modern digital equivalent to this camera is well over $5,000 no lens included. I’ll be able to shoot a lot of film with this price differential 🙂 .
The image below was from my first test roll, shot beside the Don River in Toronto yesterday morning.
My Third Eye 
Is the online image scanned from the neg or a print? Either way, the sharpness and detail is impressive – what you’d expect from a large format, I suppose 🙂
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Scanned from the neg, and the neat thing is that it is not a super hi-res scan; there is much more detail in the negative 🙂
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sounds like someone’s got a severe case of PGAD (Photographic Gear Acquisition Disorder) 🙂
I’ve never shot medium format, do you find the camera harder to hold than a traditionally shaped SLR ? Is a tripod a must?
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Guilty as charged; and your point would be? 🙂
I could use this camera handheld, although it is fairly heavy, but my plan is to almost always use it with a tripod, for a slower, more considered type of photography.
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