[dougjgreen]

Nowadays, the priced of used Medium Format Gear has plummetted. If you don't mind buying used, there are tons of great choices, for well under $1000.

For under $200, you could get a Koni Omega 6x7 rangefinder with lens and back, or a really first rate TLR like a Yashica Mat-124 or Minolta Autocord, or a Rolleicord. You could even get a decent 6x6 TLR without a meter for under $100 (Yashica Mat, Yashica D, Ricohflex, Meopta etc.)

For $400-500, the field opens way up, to most of the very modern 645 systems from Pentax, Mamiya, and Bronica, as well as complete Mamiya RB67 and Pentax 67 outfits, as well as some of the finest Rolleiflex TLRs with a Planar or Xenotar lens.

$600-900 now opens up the field to very modern near state of the art outfits like the Hasselblad 503, the Rolleiflex 6006, and the Mamiya RZ67.


My recommendation is to get an inexpensive TLR in the $100-200 range as a starting point. Even if you eventually grow to one of the top tier MF systems, you'll still have use for a good 6x6 TLR for candid street shots, portraits, and other hand-held field shooting. Personally, in this group, I'm extremely partial to a Yashica Mat-124.