Fig 2. New Camera. After the monthlong introduction to medium format via the Holga, I broke down and bought a proper medium format camera. Since the modern MF cameras are decidedly out of my range (cf. Fuji GX680 III at $2500+), I opted to take the path of least financial resistance: eBay!

I found online a Mamiya C330F for a not-too-unreasonable sum, and have since shot two rolls of 2-1/4" film with it. I must say, the results are stunning. I am now able to choose any f-stop I desire (lighting conditions permitting), plus I have control over shutter speeds. This twin-lens reflex camera shares with modern SLRs the option to change the lens mid-roll. In my possession now is the standard 80mm lens, as well as the wide-angle 55mm lens (equivalent respectively to 53mm and 36mm lenses for 35mm film).

Have I mentioned that you can get crisp focus when you use a lens that's not made of plastic?

After spending some time with this camera (and with our old equipment in lab), I've found that I am experiencing a most profound post-war nostalgia. Everything back then was solid state; mechanical. It was all indestructible. Manual focus, manual film-advance-mechanically-coupled-to-shutter-cocking, manual depth-of-field calculations. Every bit of it required thinking, and because it's done by me rather than an etched silicon chip, it's under my control.

This means it's my fault if things don't go right, not the camera's. Need I contrast that with today's cameras?