I have a list, and it’s naughty, not nice. It’s a list that gets me in trouble, and one that often keeps me up at night. Ok, ok, so it’s a wish list, a camera wish list, a living document that ebbs and flows with obsessions of the moment. Last week, however, I crossed something off that list. I couldn’t be happier.
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I’ve always been intrigued with the TLR (Twin Lens Reflex…ahhh now the title doesn’t seem so creepy right?) and last weekend I set in motion the plan to acquire one. Conventional knowledge would have you believe that the Yashica Mat 124G is the best place to start for a relatively inexpensive, yet relatively high-performing, entry to the TLR game. That same conventional knowledge, however, has caused second hand prices to skyrocket past reasonable levels, shackling the conventional buyer to a decades old machine for 2x the appropriate price. But as we all know, I am no conventional buyer, I am a man of discerning tastes and abilities. That being said, I set my sights on the Yashica Mat LM, an older (and all manual) model without a coupled light meter or the stylish black trim of its attractive cousin. Why would I do such a thing? Because it’s the lens that matters, and this puppy has the exact same version as the 124G. Thus, hoping to keep my incredibly good eBay streak alive, I placed a bid on an “as-is” LM and won the auction for the low low price of $50 even. Would the gamble pay off? Would I be left with the world’s most beautiful paper weight? Will you even read on to find out?
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I’ve fallen hard for medium format photography, and as I dive headfirst into this new photographic pursuit, I realized something. Here I am shooting expensive film, on a beautiful (thanks Sarah!) camera, paying for quality development, then scanning the negatives on whatever happened to be lying around. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful to even have access to a scanner capable of digitizing 120 (thanks Rob!), but as often happens in this passion of mine I found myself dreaming of something more.
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It all started with this. I had never seen anything like, and I had to have it.
The seed was planted, I’d caught the bug, I was painfully coming to grips with the fact that I couldn’t escape purchasing yet another camera. The only problem was, that version was $850.
After pulling an all night research session, I discovered that with a little know how and the right disposition, one could make a beast like this for themselves. I reasoned with myself, this purchase was different, it’s a project; A DIY creation that means more than any of your other meaningless ebay snap-ups. Plus, I’ve always had a thing for bellows (yes, that was intentionally meant to creep you out.) So it was settled, and the auction prowling began. Biding my time like a seasoned veteran, I let unworthy listings pass with reckless abandon. I had done my research, I knew what I wanted and for how much I was going to get it. After three weeks of uncharacteristic patience, the deal was done, and a beautiful Polaroid Pathfinder 110a arrived at 7S. Cradling my new baby, it glistening in my arms with a renewed lease on life, I couldn’t help but think about how I was about to f**k that thing up…
Read on for more Polaroid conversion…
[gwu] Graham Whitaker Unterberger 