TLR under Grey Skies – A response to Geoff’s TLR challenge

By Paul Quellin

For months after I got a Mamiya C220, I struggled with focusing. There were all sorts of possible explanations and I even visited an optician to discuss the issue in detail. Finally a series of tests, proved one respondent to an article here, was right. It was an issue with shims in the focusing screen. The camera had been described as professionally serviced. When I eventually sent it to a professional service centre, they were surprised just how much of the original shimming was missing.

When the Mamiya returned, suddenly using it was a very different experience. I have been enjoying the C220 ever since. Shooting lots of rolls? Well no, there are too many cameras in my collection, so the Mamiya doesn’t completely dominate. Each time it’s turn comes around now though, it is hard to resist quickly following up with another roll.

October and early November saw a prolonged period of fairly dry weather, but almost completely devoid of sunshine. Conditions poorly suited to so many subjects. Feeling the need to use the Mamiya anyway, I got out and did what I could. A roll of Ektar; well a woodland scene might still look okay, even in horribly flat light. The Ektar went by pretty quickly and regardless of the results, the feel of the Mamiya just makes you want more. The area of woodland near Ramsey Isle Of Man is now managed by the Manx Wildlife Trust and they are doing a fine job.

Here are some of the images taken in the Hairpin Woods:

As soon as the Ektar came out, a roll of FP4 went in. The daytime skies continued the unchanging, steely grey routine. The answer seemed to be to go out at night. Night shots in a small town on a weekday night, can be a little experimental. Cars move when you don’t want them to and don’t move when you do. People go past when you are setting up, then with cable release at the ready, nobody appears for ages. The FP4 roll went by quite quickly. The Ektar went to a lab and the FP4 went into the bathroom.  Here are a couple of images from a quiet Thursday night in Ramsey:

The sneak preview (I can’t be the only one) as I hung up the FP4 negatives in the bathroom, left a feeling of satisfaction. No stunning images on either film, but frankly, that didn’t matter much. Following the rhythm that a TLR requires is oddly satisfying. The Mamiya had again been a pleasure to use and I had a record of some locations that will inevitably change in time. Almost as soon as the FP4 was out, a roll of TMax 400 had been loaded. Some more night time jaunts to follow soon.

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About The Author

By Paul Quellin
Very keen photographer in the 1980s, then there was a gap. Came back to find digital and gradually embraced it. A hankering for film persisted though and eventually a hybrid photographer has emerged. Lots of work I need to do on digital, but the feel of film cameras and the anticipation of the results is special to me. Can't stop buying old film cameras. My output is quite varied and whilst film is slowing me down a bit, I would always rather push that shutter button and take a chance than leave it for a better day.
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Comments

Daniel Castelli on TLR under Grey Skies – A response to Geoff’s TLR challenge

Comment posted: 02/01/2025

Ravioli House? Book my flight!
I used a C220 decades ago. A nice camera, sharp lens, big negs. But eventually I decided that a being a two format user was just too confusing, like wearing two watches. But I like the nighttime photos.
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Paul Quellin replied:

Comment posted: 02/01/2025

Hi Daniel. I haven't tried the Ravioli House Daniel, but yes, book a boat or a flight. On the rare occasions we get some nice weather, the island certainly has plenty of photo opportunities. I suppose I have become used to switching around formats, though that probably just means I haven't mastered any of them.

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Rick on TLR under Grey Skies – A response to Geoff’s TLR challenge

Comment posted: 02/01/2025

Two of my favourite prints hanging on the walls at home are from my C220 with 65mm lens. It’s a big, heavy, awkward but wonderful camera :-)
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Paul Quellin replied:

Comment posted: 02/01/2025

Hi Rick, they certainly are rather like a house brick. In the end I opted for 220 over a 330 on the basis of a weight saving. Couple of times I have thought some of the 330's functionality might have been useful, but I dare say my shoulder injuries would be worse. I do also lug around a Canon 1DX mk ii, with some chunky lenses, so actually weight wise the Mamiya can feel like a nice break.

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Jeffery Luhn on TLR under Grey Skies – A response to Geoff’s TLR challenge

Comment posted: 02/01/2025

Paul,
Nice photos! Ravioli House seems like a good place after hiking in the cold woods. Very nice colors in your forests. A lot like California redwood forests. Thick soft floor. Not muddy after a rain. Oh, the smell of foggy wet walks!
I have many medium format cameras and the Mamiya C33 with 3 lens sets is one of them. Certainly not as good for hiking as a Zeiss 120 size folding camera, but spectacular for portraits. Soooo sharp with a strobe and FP4. I keep all the cameras in rotation because they all have their charm. The weight of the Mamiya is considerable, especially when carrying extra lenses, but the results are worth it. Good to hear that you solved the focus shim issues.
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Paul Quellin replied:

Comment posted: 02/01/2025

Hi Jeffery, thank you. This particular area of woodland is very varied. There is a small sheltered Vally where the deciduous trees are thickly coated in handing moss. Round a corner in the path and the north facing slopes are entirely different with large mature beech and pines. A pretty good place for wildflowers and fungi... I need to get up there more often. Somehow I seem to go out with digital kit that weighs more than the Mamiya with two lenses and a few accessories, so the Mamiya doesn't seem so bad. I have a folding 120 too, which I was just using earlier; I love it, but the Mamiya is special. Was it you who suggested the shims all that time ago? I certainly should have taken too much notice of the description of the camera's service history when I purchased it. Have a great day.

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Geoff Chaplin on TLR under Grey Skies – A response to Geoff’s TLR challenge

Comment posted: 03/01/2025

I'll take the fish 'n chips rather than the ravioli! Thanks for the lovely response Paul. The second Ektar image has very vibrant red-browns. I took an Ektar roll to a lab and the colours were a sickly yellow green - you're lab seems to know what it's doing. The B&W shots have a very different feel, precision and sharpness. Love it!
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Paul Quellin replied:

Comment posted: 03/01/2025

Hi Geoff, Happy New year and thank you for responding. The Ektar was a pleasant surprise given the very grey conditions we had for such an extended period. I'll have to check my orders, I can't recall of that roll went to AG Photolabs or Analogue Wonderland. I'll see if I can find the details. The next colour roll may not be so good, as I have a new colour chemicals kit to try, so anything could happen. I also owe you a thanks for making me do more with the TLR; I am now trying to keep using it every week at some point. I've two more rolls out of it in the last few days. Thank you.

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Geoff Chaplin replied:

Comment posted: 03/01/2025

You're welcome, and I'm glad that several contributors have now joined in. Happy New Year to you too!

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Vlkr on TLR under Grey Skies – A response to Geoff’s TLR challenge

Comment posted: 05/01/2025

These images look awesome! The waterfall and fern is wonderful. Did you use the 85mm f 2,8? This combination is when serviced on par with a rolleiflex I remember your first post about the c220 and it's great to see how a good service can completely change the overall experience! It's so easy to buy cameras und so hard to find good repair techs who are still able to service this wonderful analog artifacts.
I did the shin adjustment on my c220 by myself but your post pushed me to give my c system a complete professional overhaul.
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Paul Quellin replied:

Comment posted: 05/01/2025

Thank you. Yes I think the waterfall was the 85mm, although I was swapping the 85 and the 135 around quite a bit that day according to where I could get the tripod without slipping down a wet bank. I don't know what the future holds with getting cameras like this serviced well. The Mamiya went to Newton Ellis in Liverpool as they did a superb job of bring a Kodak Retina back to life for me. They closed recently although their web site says they may start again on a very limited basis around March this year. I'll tackle some jobs myself, but generally not on a really nice camera. I was able to work out it was the shimming with the C220, by taking the focus screen out and trying adding home made shims one at a time until I got the focus right. My attempts were only intended to diagnose it, I really wouldn't trust myself to achieve the right level of precision. I was at least able to send it of with an instruction as to what was probably wrong. Glad you have had your C serviced, I think these things will go on for a very long time indeed if they are serviced. Happy TLR shooting.

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