Mamiya C220
Draw a Venn diagram of medium format cameras with one circle being interchangeable lens cameras and the other being twin lens reflex (TLR) cameras. Not much of an overlap is there? But if you look very closely, there's one set of cameras at that intersection: the Mamiya C series. Beginning with the Mamiyaflex C, Mamiya introduced a series of ten TLRs between 1956 and 1983 that became as sought-after for their durability as for their ability to make impressive images.
All of the Mamiya C Series cameras feature automatic film loading and advancing, which was fairly standard in the medium format cameras of the day. What separates these cameras from others is that the film never has to make any bends as it feeds from the supply spool to the take-up spool. This helped the film stay especially flat and with the pressure plate on the rear door, these cameras are remarkable in their ability to keep the film plane very flat.
The most striking feature of the Mamiya C cameras, though, are the bellows. With an especially long bellows draw, the Mamiya C cameras can achieve remarkably close focus.
The lenses that Mamiya created for these cameras run the gamut from 55mm to 250mm focal lengths. Given that range, there's almost no shooting situation that these cameras can't handle.
The Mamiya C220 was released in 1968 and was the sixth camera in this system. The C220 was the first to have a back that did not have a red window, so it could use the then newly-released 220 film, which did not have a paper backing running the entire length of the film. Aside from the newly redesigned door, the C220 featured a film winding knob with a fold out crank to help make film advancing easier.
One feature that is not present on the Mamiya C220 is an automatic shutter cocking system. Beginning with the C3, this would become standard, but for C220 users, advancing the film and re-cocking the shutter are two different steps.
Even with the incremental changes and advancements that Mamiya rolled out in the nearly three decade production run of the Mamiya C Series, it's a cinch that any one of these cameras can provide years of use and enjoyment. With more lens options than any other TLR and closer focusing than other SLRs, Mamiya C users will not have to pick just one part of the Venn diagram.
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