#645 format camera

[dancuny]

Early M.I.O.M. Camera

This blog is a journey into the world of a camera I stumbled upon during our European escapade last year. Whenever we venture to a new destination, I make it a point to unearth the local flea markets, a treasure trove of unique cameras and photo items that are often elusive in the US. The thrill of discovering these items, especially being on the West Coast, where European finds are a rarity, is an experience in itself. 

 One of my favorite flea markets was just outside Prague, and my wife and I went to it. It was in an industrial area, and we took the train to get to it, but it wasn't so much the cameras and photo items found as the atmosphere of the place that made it memorable. I did find some great cameras there, too, that are harder to find on the West Coast of the US.

 While in Brussels, my wife and I went to a flea market in a square or small park in town. There were about 40-50 vendors there. Most of the items were in boxes with many other items, so you needed to rummage through a lot of items to find what you were looking for. I didn't have much time to look as my wife was under the weather, and it would start to rain later in the morning. I picked up a few Rollei parts for a reasonable and fair price along with this MIOM compact bakelite camera, for which I paid 1-2 euros.

The Company:

Let's delve into the intriguing history of MIOM, a brand that has left an indelible mark on the world of photography. The journey of MIOM begins in 1887 with architect Félicien César and engineer Fabius Henrion, who founded the local lighting distribution company: 'Fabius Henrion et Cie,' with a capital of 100,000 francs in the Nancy and Lorraine region. Despite facing numerous challenges, the company's legacy was preserved when it was acquired by the CGE, Compagnie Générale d'Électricité (General Electric Company), in 1898.

 MIOM, an acronym for Manufacture d'Isolants et Objets Moulés, (Manufacture of Insulators and Molded Objects) was a subsidiary of the Compagnie Générale d'Électricité (General Electric Company) which started in 1929. As the MIOM name suggests, It was created to produce electrical components for the company. 

 As photography grew during this time, MIOM created a photographic department in 1937 that molded simple cameras in "Cégéite," which was similar to what we now call bakelite. The name derived from the name of the parent company: the Compagnie Générale d'Électricité.

MIOM's early cameras were very similar to the model I have. They were very flat in appearance and used 127 film to produce 6x4.5cm negatives. Some of the other early models were the Rex and Lec Junior. I believe the model I have is only known as the MIOM, which is printed on the back. There is no camera name produced on the camera like the REX or other cameras of that time.

Then, in 1938, the cameras took on a different appearance, resembling the Czechoslovakian Pyonyr cameras, designed by Fritz Kaftanski, who had recently moved to France to get away from the war problems taken on within that region during the late 1930s. It's suspected that Fritz Kaftanski was involved in the design of the newer Photax camera.

 The Photax cameras had a larger negative area, used 620-size film, and produced 6x9cm negatives. The Photax design had a lens that rotated out from the body on a helical and included a very simple shutter that only worked when the lens was in the extended position.

This new system was beneficial to amateur photographers at the time. It prevented the camera from accidentally taking a photo if the lens was retracted. The new Photax camera also included lenses from Boyer, a French optical company that produced wonderful optics.

 Photax cameras were the best-selling cameras in France for 20 years and produced cameras well into the 1960s, with the Photax VI released in 1966. However, like many European camera manufacturers of the era, MIOM faced significant challenges in the 1960s with the rise of Japanese brands such as Nikon, Canon, and Minolta.  

 Today, MIOM's legacy lives on in the vintage camera market, where its models are sought after for their distinctive design and the quality of their optical systems. The story of MIOM reminds us of a golden age in photography when craftsmanship and innovation defined the industry.

My Camera:

This description should be straightforward and short, as this camera is simple without many bells or whistles. However, its simplicity and unique design make it a valuable addition to any vintage camera collection.

 My MIOM camera is 3.5" tall, including the viewfinder, by 5.5" wide, including the strap lugs, and 3" deep, weighing 9.4oz. It is very lightweight and compact. On the front of the camera, there are two shutter options. These settings are on the top and bottom of the 60mm Rexor lens, serial number 3147, on the camera. The camera has a crinkle finish within the acrylic, which makes the gripping easy and somewhat drop proof.

Above the lens are your shutter settings: "I" for instant, which has a shutter speed of approximately 1/50 sec., or "P" (B) for timed photos. Below the lens are two options for aperture settings. Looking online at other information on the Photax camera, the settings are 1 (Grand Diaphragme) for f16 or 2 (Petite Diaphragme) for f22. The words in the paratheses are written inside the camera's back door.

There is no latch or lock to hold the back onto the camera to load the MIOM camera with film. The back is held onto the camera's body with friction, and the back fits snuggly onto the camera's body. On either side of the camera are a couple of protrusions. I put my fingernail in between these nubs and pull, and the back will pull away from the body. You must do this on both sides so as not to crack the plastic and render the camera useless.

Once you get the back off the camera, I notice there are two red dots on the protruding nubs, which indicate which side fits together. The camera winds to the left, so you put the empty spool from the previous 127 rolls from the right side to the left and put the fresh roll of 127 films into the right side. Break the tape on the roll and bring the leader to the empty spool. Thread the leader into the spool slots and wind the film a few turns to ensure the film is lining up on the spool or until you see the arrows on the paper backing pointing outwards. Once you reach this point, it's time to put the back onto the camera. Once the back is on the camera, wind the film until you see the number 1 in the red window. Now you're ready to take the first photo.

 Once you take the photo and wind to the next frame, you'll get eight exposures on each roll of 127 film. Now that all the frames are taken, it's time to take the back off the camera and process your film.

My Results:

For total transparency, I had three rolls of older VP 127 film in my drawer. One roll's expiration date was June 1971. That roll went through the camera fine, but when I rolled the film onto the developing reel, something went array, and the film didn't process correctly. I loaded one of the other two rolls I had left, dated Sep.1968. This roll got jammed within the camera, so I'm unsure if I didn't load it properly or, due to the age of the film, it broke, but the film was very crinkled when I went to process it, and none of the images came out.

 It was an operator malfunction, and I didn't load it properly. Five rolls of film are arriving today from one of my favorite camera stores, Glazer’s Camera, in Seattle, WA, so I'd like to take the film, process it, and scan the images today.

I received the film, loaded the camera, walked through the neighborhood, and took images. Luckily, this roll turned out, and you can see the results below.

My Conclusion.

I'm writing this portion of my conclusion before I have images from the camera, so at this point. In contrast, the camera is compact, and an earlier version of the MIOM cameras made, the film issues have made the experience somewhat frustrating. Once I get the images, I'll complete my conclusion and give you an honest assessment of the camera.

The images confirmed my suspicions. The camera was made to put cameras in the masses hands and for them to go and take photos of friends, family, and memorable moments. This camera did a decent job for a camera almost 90 years old. The plastics are rugged and on my camera, I’m missing the rear viewfinder glass so it was a bit more difficult to fame the images, but overall a decent camera.

 Thank you for taking a few minutes from your day to read about this early version of the MIOM cameras.

 Until next week, please be safe.

[tokyo-camera-style]

Place M, Shinjuku, Tokyo

Fujifilm GA645Zi

Mamiya 7 with 65mm f4 lens

[skydarcyedwards]

Trying To Love Her

Sky Edwards

2024

Double exposed medium format photograph

Ilford Delta 3200

Ensign Selfix 320

[ultralowoxygen]

Grazing by fishyfish_arcade Via Flickr: Bronica ETRSi Zenzanon 150mm f/3.5 MC Fujifilm Pro 160NS Lab developed. Home scanned and converted with Negative Lab Pro

[gowns]

i've gotten into medium format photography and it's a good challenge for me, because digital photography is so automatic that it's starting to get frustrating for me. like, i almost get bored with it, or into an uninspired non-creative working space, like i'm just a copy machine. and 35mm format is so similar to my digital cameras. medium format (especially on older cameras) introduces more novelty, more engaging the neurons!

and the whole process of developing and scanning 120 film is so slow and methodical; delayed gratification, like planning a christmas surprise for yourself.

so i've been trying out different cameras. rolleiflex, pentax, mamiya. ebay is my friend. i ordered a new prism viewfinder for my mamiya 645 1000s, then discovered it was a viewfinder for a mamiya 645 pro, which is totally different. and it was non-returnable, so i was like. well. i can try to sell this or get the mamiya pro. so i ordered a mamiya pro body. and it's missing a crank !!! so now i'm sitting here with my 90% complete camera body like. uhhhh ok i guess i have to order a crank. and i did some research, and got a power winder grip WG401. and i also got another mamiya lens (i can share lenses between the bodies, which is nice, but i was like, well, i have the 80mm, and i want a 55mm....... so..........)

something funny about getting a camera delivered to me in bits and pieces. extreme delayed gratification.

[ztb300]

Shot some medium format 120 film in Santa Barbara. Been really loving Kodak Tri-X film. Such cool shots

.

Film - Kodak Tri-X 400

Camera - Pentax 645

[wretched-mog]

sandy hook, nj

shot on kodak ektar 100 using a mamiya 645

(first time using this camera, way prefer this aspect ratio for medium format compared to the 6x6 on my yashica...)

[50-foot-woman]

Welcome friends and film enthusiasts to The 50 Foot Woman

Late in 2022, as the weeks edged closer to my birthday, I decided to buy myself a seemingly random present. My husband looked at me, bewildered, as I explained to him why I was on Ebay looking at a medium format camera called a Mamiya 645. While I have been making short films for the last eighteen years, and I could frequently be seen at family parties with a Holga around my neck, I had never really expressed a deep interest in film photography. Certainly not enough to warrant the amount of money I was about to drop on this camera.

After a moment, he shrugged. “Whatever, babe. Do what makes you happy.”

Of course, there was that 2-3 year period about ten years ago when I became obsessed with Super 8 film. While there was not a lot of information available, I scoured websites, visited forums, and plunked down $60 on my first Super 8 camera - a Bell & Howell 431. Six months pregnant with my first child, I shot part of my graduate thesis film with it - feeling the pressure that it was now or never. If I didn’t finish my degree soon it was not likely that I ever would once the baby came. (Spoilers: I finished the film and my degree)

As one might expect, my life took a dramatically different direction once my daughter arrived - followed by a brother, then another within five short years. The Bell & Howell came out a few more times to document my kid’s birthday or Christmas and then ended up in the back of my closet.

I eventually found my way back to making films, but I traded Super 8 for a much cheaper and more reliable format - digital. Don’t get me wrong - I am very proud of the films I have made on digital - but as of late I found writing difficult, my ideas dull, musty, and I was looking for a change. Holding the Mamiya in my hands felt like just the spark I was waiting for. 

Shooting with the Mamiya was great - even though I was terrible. On a roll of 12-14 shots, maybe two or three turned out something close to good. But I loved it. I wanted more. And before I knew it - I was pulling that Super 8 camera off the shelf too.

Without really knowing why, I started documenting my process - my wins, my failures, and what I’ve learned. I’m sharing that now as a weekly blog and video series called The 50 Foot Woman. So I hope you will join me for The 50 Foot Woman…one middle-aged gal’s odyssey into still photography and motion picture film.

[iso3200net]

Monochrome summer: fishing boats

Summer 2018, a completely different time, a completely different world - pre-pandemic, pre-everything.

Here are three fishing boats anchored in a port in Tkon, Croatia, in August 2018. The rain stopped not that long ago, the sky was still cloudy.

Taken with Pentax 645 medium format film camera, and smc Pentax‍-‍A 645 75mm F2.8 lens, on Ilford Delta 100 film. Developed in Adox FX‍-‍39 II, 1‍+‍9 dilution, for 9‍:‍30 min at 20‍.‍5‍°‍C. Scanned with Canon CanoScan 8800F flatbed scanner, using VueScan.

[jarvillephoto]

Alameda Point, 2024. Mamiya 645 Medium Format Film Camera

[melai-liling]

My journey into 120 medium format photography.

I started with the Lubitel 166B, which has been a real conversation starter. But...I soon realized that wlf are not my thing.

So I moved up to the Asahi Pentax 6x7 with a 75mm f4.5 and a 200mm f4. A much easier and fun camera to use. The experience has been awesome.

Then I upgraded to the Mamiya RB67 Pro S with a 90mm f3.8 and a 100-200mm f5.2 W. The camera is wonderful to work with with the bellows focusing. However the camera is quite heavy. With the 90mm lens the camera is 7lbs! With the 100-200mm lens...the camera is more than 10lbs! But I really love the rotating back of the camera and the superior quality of photographs the camera creates. Plus the filmbacks can be removed midroll to switch film stocks. Which is a wonderful bonus! It is my favorite camera out of all the cameras i have ever used.

Finally I added the Mamiya 645 Super with a 55-110mm f4.5 and a 75-150mm f4.5. With both lenses being f4.5 it is a nice touch. The photographs produced by the 645 Super are a little smaller than the photographs produced by the RB67 Pro S but are still of superior quality. Plus like with the RB67 Pro S the filmbacks can be removed midroll to switch film stocks. Absolutely wonderful. Next I want to get an RZ67 Pro with an AE prism finder.

[ericlwoods]

Analog Therapy/Father & Son Lawn Duty & Galavanting: Fujifilm GA645 Professional - Lomography 800

This post is with a favorite. Fujifilm GA645 Professional Partially because of this camera I no longer have any Pentax 645 camera in my life. The digital 645D was done in by a lens, that has also fended off every GFX GAS fit so far.. And this camera effectively replaced the 645N in my life workflow as the carry about automatic exposure and AF medium format film camera. A better camera? No. A…

[tokyo-camera-style]

Shinjuku, Tokyo

Random 645 Fuji meeting

top: Fujifilm GA645Zi

Left: GA645 wide

Right: GA645

[blazejmarczak]

F$EARS

Photography has a very special relationship with the real world. Photographs are traces of memories, freezing the present and becoming records of the past the very moment they are created. They are rooted in and represent reality, yet they are something else, evoking a myriad of feelings and provoking different responses and interpretations as time goes by. A photograph of a once commonplace and ordinary subject turns into an object evoking feelings of nostalgia and longing for something gone. Photography reflects reality and enables us to reflect on ourselves and discover or rediscover something about ourselves on a societal or personal level. I am using photography to learn about the reality I am surrounded by. By recording what's in front of me, I am becoming familiar with my subject matter. I hope that the images I make can also be included in the vast repository of collective human memory. I like to think of myself as an archivist of the present, though I know that the moment I make the image, it is an image of something that is already in the past, an image of a memory. Nostalgia is stimulated by our memories. Photographs are perfect nostalgia-inducing devices; however, my aim is not to use them as such, quite the contrary. I am using colour photography, contemporary image-making techniques, and a 'neutral' aesthetic to avoid tinting my images with an artificial patina. I am avoiding decontextualising my subject matter and finding ordinary subjects interesting enough in their own form to not have the need for obscuring them with stylistic devices. I want my photographs and my materials and technique to be timestamps in themselves too.

In 'F$EARS,' I choose my subject matter not for its nostalgic qualities but to have a record of something that was disappearing due to changing socio-economic circumstances. Sears and other vast department stores and shopping malls in general occupied an important place in the lives and memories of previous generations. They influenced the economy and shaped the topography of Canadian cities. Their closure indicates a significant change in societal habits and changes in the Canadian urban fabric. Using photography to record these changes is my primary interest. As a newcomer to Canada, I don't have memories attached to what was once considered one of the economic icons of post-war Canada, although I appreciate the nostalgic responses many of the viewers have to this image. Every change takes us into unfamiliar territory and makes us anxious about our future. My title is a contemplation on the socio-economic uncertainties brought upon many people affected by the closure of 'Sears' and a contemplation of what this event might signify in the near future for retail and cities as a whole.

Process

'F$EARS' is a photographic composite consisting of nine separate digital images captured and exposed in quick succession, then combined to create the final image. Nine frames were exposed separately in short intervals and later combined digitally to create a final composite photograph. This technique was originally developed during the film era. For creating 'F$EARS,' I used a Cambo Actus view camera, which works on the same principles as a traditional technical camera but instead of large or medium format film or traditional digital back, I am using a digital mirrorless camera.

My lenses are from medium format Pentax 645 system and were designed about 40 years ago to be used with film. They create image circle large enough for me to utilise the rear shift movements available in the Cambo Actus to capture separate images needed for the creation of wider-angle images without optical distortions.

Photographed on 31st Oct 2020. Printed by Błażej Marczak. Edition: 30 + 2AP.

[ultralowoxygen]

Zenza Bronica ETR by Steve Green Via Flickr: Zenzanon MC 50mm f2.8 lens Cinestill 800T 120 film