Well am still undecided on whether I should bid heavily on the Plaubel 6x7 camera. The bokeh and the small size are the main things I love about this tool.
On the plus side:
- A compact and light 6x7 camera I can place in my small camera bag along side my M6 Leica's.
- The bokeh (blurred background) you get at f2.8 with the 80mm Nikkor lens is supposed to be amazing.
- I could use the camera in the field along with the 5x7 to create the "Forgotten Laughter" photos
- There are repair shops for the camera.
- The camera I am most interested in is located in my city. Which means no shipping costs, no duty, no GST tax and I am getting a 5% discount from the seller.
- The camera I am most interested in was bought new and the seller claims only 8 rolls of film have gone through it.
On the negative side:
- The camera sometimes has electrical and film advance problems, you need to be careful when opening and closing the lens (cables sometimes get caught in the bellows).
- You need to make sure you do not use intermediate shutter speeds as this can lead to electrical issues.
- The camera may cost up to $2000 CAD.
Update: I was outbid on the camera in the last 5 seconds of the auction. My max bid was $1501 USD the winning bid was $1526 USD (around $1850 CAD). I was a bit unsure with this camera as there was a 1mm NICK on the front element. Not sure what a NICK is but I did not like the sound of that word or the look of the itty bitty damage in the product photo.
On the plus side:
- A compact and light 6x7 camera I can place in my small camera bag along side my M6 Leica's.
- The bokeh (blurred background) you get at f2.8 with the 80mm Nikkor lens is supposed to be amazing.
- I could use the camera in the field along with the 5x7 to create the "Forgotten Laughter" photos
- There are repair shops for the camera.
- The camera I am most interested in is located in my city. Which means no shipping costs, no duty, no GST tax and I am getting a 5% discount from the seller.
- The camera I am most interested in was bought new and the seller claims only 8 rolls of film have gone through it.
On the negative side:
- The camera sometimes has electrical and film advance problems, you need to be careful when opening and closing the lens (cables sometimes get caught in the bellows).
- You need to make sure you do not use intermediate shutter speeds as this can lead to electrical issues.
- The camera may cost up to $2000 CAD.
Update: I was outbid on the camera in the last 5 seconds of the auction. My max bid was $1501 USD the winning bid was $1526 USD (around $1850 CAD). I was a bit unsure with this camera as there was a 1mm NICK on the front element. Not sure what a NICK is but I did not like the sound of that word or the look of the itty bitty damage in the product photo.
