[Leica] Re: 6x9 camera

[lrzeitlin at optonline.net (Lawrence Zeitlin)]

On Jul 15, 2006, at 11:29 AM, Don Dory wrote:

> Bill,
> The Fuji's are a medium format camera in either a 6X9 or a 6X7  
> format so not
> really an XPan competitor per se.  Durability wise they have held  
> up very
> well, the rangefinder seems very robust and the leaf shutters seem  
> to always
> fire.  Lens wise, Fuji makes a very competitive lens and with a 6X9  
> image
> that is plenty good.
>
> Some carp about the polycarbonate construction but carp even more  
> about the
> weight of the older all brass G690.  If you want or need a largish  
> image and
> a fixed 65mm or 90mm will do the job these are relatively  
> inexpensive high
> quality tools.
>
> Don

If anyone is really curious about the 6x9 cm negative size but does  
not want to spring for a big buck Fuji, you might try to find a Kodak  
Medalist II. These cameras are WW2 era masterpieces of rugged design  
and were used by the Navy as combat cameras. The Medalist II is an  
improved version of the Navy issue Medalist I, offering better lens  
coating, an improved focusing helix and both X and M sync. The 100 mm  
f3.5 Ektar lens is reputed to be one of the best lenses that Kodak  
ever made - and that's when they were still making good lenses. The  
downside is that they are chambered for hard to find 620 film. You  
can get around this limitation by rerolling 120 film on 620 spools, a  
fiddly, but not difficult, proposition. B&H also sells 620 film,  
possibly made by Adox. Best is to try to locate a Medalist which has  
been converted to load 120 film. Ken Ruth, at Photography on Bald  
Mountain, still does such a conversion. The price is fairly high. As  
of a few years ago it was around $200, but that includes a complete  
CLA. Most Medalists will probably need that by now anyway. KEF almost  
always has a few converted Medalists in stock at very reasonable prices.

On a personal note, I used a Medalist for several years instead of a  
4x5 Speed Graphic, and I can attest to the quality of the images. The  
frame has the same aspect ratio as a 35 mm camera so most on this  
list should be familiar with the compositional advantages and  
disadvantages of that format. What they will not be used to is a  
camera image 6.25 times greater than a 35 mm image. The camera itself  
is about twice the volume and weight of a Leica M3. It is as easy to  
enlarge a 6x9 cm image to 16x24" as it is to enlarge a 35 mm image to  
5x7". The 100 mm lens on the larger negative is equivalent to a 43 mm  
lens on 35 mm, roughly a slight wideangle. Of course the negative is  
large enough to crop and still retain good image quality.

Finally, Yale Joel, who also used a Medalist on field assignments,  
told me that the camera, when slung around on its neck strap, makes  
an effective mace for use in crowd control. Bear that in mind if your  
next trip takes you to Lebanon.

Larry Z