tlr

The Best Medium Format Film Cameras to Buy in 2024

The past decade has seen an explosion of film users. Whether this is driven by a sense of nostalgia, or a desire to experience the past (for those too young to have shot film earlier in their life), for the simplicity, or perhaps because some celebrities have taken to shooting film, it doesn’t really matter. The reality is likely a combination of many factors.

A Look at the Ginormous Gowlandflex Twin-Lens Reflex Camera

The Gowlandflex is a ginormous twin-lens reflex (TLR) camera invented by famous American glamour photographer Peter Gowland. The camera equipment shop Camera West got its hands on one through a trade-in and made this 3-minute video that offers a look at the unique camera.

A Simple Hack for Easier Focusing with TLR Cameras

If you have a TLR camera, here's a simple trick you can try to help you to focus more easily. All you'll need is some rubber bands, scissors, aluminum foil, and a ruler (optional).

How I Made a ‘Frankencamera’ Digital TLR

I really enjoyed reading the Photography: The Definitive Visual History and it got me thinking about blending older forms of photography with newer digital equipment. I became obsessed with TLR (Twin Lens Reflex) cameras -- not for their ability to view through one lens while capturing an image through the other, but for the style of photography that this type of camera forces the photographer to adopt.

A Review of the $350 InstantFlex TL70 Instax Camera

Film’s not dead, we know that. I love the nostalgia of instant film. The look of surprise when you can give a physical photo to your subject. The stories of photos the way they were when we were young. The way people over a certain age shake it while it develops.

I first got a Fuji Instax Neo Classic 90 camera. It’s mainly automatic and allows minor exposure adjustments. I longed for something a bit more manual. Then MiNT announced a new instant camera in March 2015 called the InstantFlex TL70. The camera is modern Twin Lens Reflex, with that retro look of older Rolleiflex.

Lubitel 2 TLR Lens Retrofitted with a Canon EOS Mount

If you want a lens that most or all photographers don't have, one way is to retro fit a vintage lens with a new mount. That's what Washington DC freelance photographer J. David Buerk did with a lens he found on an old Lubitel 2 twin-lens reflex camera, and the results are quite nice.

Videre: A Medium-Format Pinhole Camera with a Twin-Lens Reflex Design

London-based photographer Kelly Angood has had quite a tumultuous year so far in 2013. Last month she announced that she would be turning her popular cardboard medium format camera design into a proper do-it-yourself kit. After launching a Kickstarter campaign to take preorders, she quickly raised over £23,000 (~$34,000) from over 600 supporters.

However, the fact that her camera was based on Hasselblad's famous design turned out to be a dealbreaker. After being informed that she was putting herself at risk of a lawsuit, Angood decided to cancel the project and turn her back on the money. Now, one month later, she's at it again with a different (original) camera design and a new camera kit Kickstarter campaign.

Beautiful Homemade Polaroid Twin-Lens Reflex Camera Made of Wood

Feast your eyes on this gorgeous twin-lens reflex camera that was designed and built from scratch by photographer Kevin Kadooka, a mechanical engineering student at the University of Portland. It uses a Mamiya-Sekor 105mm f/3.5 Chrome lens and has a Polaroid back for shooting 4.25x3.5-inch instant film, and is crafted out of laser-cut birch plywood.

Rolleiflex Still Happily Making Analog TLR Cameras, FX-N to Debut at Photokina

Did you know that Rolleiflex is still producing its high-end analog twin-lens reflex cameras? Apparently there's enough photographers out there buying them for there to be a small, niche market, because Rollei is planning to show off a new model at Photokina 2012 next week.

The FX-N is a 6x6 medium format TLR camera that is an updated version of the Rolleiflex FX, a camera that costs over $5,000. The only difference it has with its predecessor (or sibling) is that it features a new Heidosmat 80mm f/2.8 viewfinder lens and a Rollei S-Apogon 80mm f/2.8 main lens that offer a shorter minimum focusing distance of 55 centimeters.

Concept Ilford Film Package Doubles as a Twin-Lens Reflex Pinhole Camera

Film usually comes in pretty boring boxes, but what if you could reuse those boxes as a pinhole camera? Designer Linna Xu won the Packaging category of the 2010 Adobe Design Achievement Awards with this concept, creating these awesome boxes for Ilford medium format film that double as pinhole cameras resembling old school twin-lens reflex cameras. Each box allows users to explore the world of medium format photography without even having a medium format camera!

Make a Point with This Vintage Camera Pencil Sharpener

This cute little vintage twin-lens reflex camera by Chinese stationary company deli is actually a pencil sharpener in disguise. Instead of loading it with film, simply stick a pencil into the top "lens" and turn the handle on the back to sharpen it. It has an adjustable sharpness knob, and the top half pulls out when you need to dump the pencil shavings.