Buying a new camera is always a hard choice, but it’s even harder when you have to relinquish a current piece of gear to do it. After about 3 months of deciding whether or not I should sell my Mamiya 645 Pro kit, I did. I decided I would buy a Mamiya C220 TLR for two main reasons; I wanted to try my hand at square format compositions, and secondly I wanted to experience the joys of using a TLR.
I had a few rolls of expired Portra 160 NC from 2002 and set out with my new camera. The reversed image in the waist level viewfinder was confusing enough, and it soon became clear that I had taken the luxuries of the modern Mamiya 645 for granted. Nonetheless, I had a blast traversing the streets of Atlanta at golden hour on the lookout for things that catch my eye. Using the 80mm f/2.8 blue dot lens was a familiar experience, but I will soon begin to investigate the other lenses for this model (specifically the 55 mm f/4.5 and the 105 mm f/3.5)
Since the Portra was said to have been refrigerated, I metered my shots at ISO 100 just to be safe. There were few noticeable color shifts, but if I could reshoot the roll, I’d meter at ISO 80 because some of the exposures were just a tad underexposed and grainy due to the age of the emulsion.
So far I’m a fan of the images and am beginning to embrace the square format. Once I shoot a few more rolls and know the camera like the back of my hand, I’ll share some more!
Like what you see? Check out my work below
www.trentslens.format.com/
www.instagram.com/trentslens/
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Michael Raven on 5 Frames with a Mamiya C220 and Portra 160 NC – By Trenton Trammell
Comment posted: 18/04/2019
Tom Sheppard on 5 Frames with a Mamiya C220 and Portra 160 NC – By Trenton Trammell
Comment posted: 18/04/2019
If you are interested in Ifrared photography, the C220 is an excellent choice.
You can attach the IR filter to the bottom taking lens and still be able to view, focus and compose in the top viewing lens.
I use my C330 for IR often.
Thanks for sharing your images
Comment posted: 18/04/2019
Mikey Kay on 5 Frames with a Mamiya C220 and Portra 160 NC – By Trenton Trammell
Comment posted: 18/04/2019
I recently picked up a C330f with 80 2.8 blue dot & 180 4.5. If you shoot portraits at all, I highly recommend the 180. The bokeh is pretty stunning. Oh and your images are great here, even if the film was expired. There seems to be some kind of thing on IG about "shooting fresh film" (it's a hashtag), but what about the expired rolls? Should they just end up in the bin?! I'm guessing it's labs and retailers who want to keep their sales up, and that's all well and good, but there is also a huge backlog of film that was stored when digital really took off in the late noughts. I don't shoot that much expired film, but I do occasionally look for 220 film online. The unpredictability adds a bit more excitement to the mix too. :)
Keep up the good work!
Comment posted: 18/04/2019
David Purton on 5 Frames with a Mamiya C220 and Portra 160 NC – By Trenton Trammell
Comment posted: 18/04/2019
Good luck with the lenses, They all have merit. I have a full set...55/65/80/105ds/180super and the 250mm. Not too expensive to collect ( go for as close to mint as possible)...and find a friendly technician. They can all be cleaned and the shutters are great.
Next stop for you...the Mamiya Press 6x9/6x7...the lenses for this model were superb, modelled on their German counter parts...Biogon/Angulon/ Planar/Sonnar.
Anyway, have fun and keep taking pictures!
Mike Connealy on 5 Frames with a Mamiya C220 and Portra 160 NC – By Trenton Trammell
Comment posted: 18/04/2019
"I'm an 18 year old photographer from Atlanta, Georgia."
(That's pretty amazing too.)
Kodachromeguy on 5 Frames with a Mamiya C220 and Portra 160 NC – By Trenton Trammell
Comment posted: 19/04/2019
Comment posted: 19/04/2019
James on 5 Frames with a Mamiya C220 and Portra 160 NC – By Trenton Trammell
Comment posted: 19/04/2019
David Hume on 5 Frames with a Mamiya C220 and Portra 160 NC – By Trenton Trammell
Comment posted: 18/08/2019