How do you develop pictures from a vintage twin lens reflex camera?

Question

I'm considering on buying one. I'm no professional but I want to learn. I'm just worried I wont be able to develop the pictures.

Answer 1

It will probably take 120 film which is available in both black and white and color. Any place that processes film can send it off for developing and printing, but I don't know of places that do it on the spot.

Actually, you will enjoy the experience and learn quite a bit.

If you can buy a Mamiya C3, C33, or C330, those have interchangeable lenses and are quite versatile + there are a lot of them out there and the prices have dropped significantly.

Old Yashicas are fun. I bought one of those recently at a garage sale for 10 $$ and it was in superb physical condition, I did have to have the shutter mechanism cleaned, but I know a man who actually worked in the Yashica factory putting my camera together, so he did it.

The only problem that you will encounter, and this is mainly on close up photographs, is the problem that the viewing lens is higher than the taking lens and you might have to compensate for it. You can measure center to center of the lenses and mark a tripod so that if you are focusing on something close, you can raise your tripod to adjust for the difference and your picture will come out the way that you saw it through the viewfinder.

Answer 2

you didn't say how vintage. if it is more than 50 years old, the original lenses may not have the proper coating for color photography. also be very sure that it takes a roll film that you can purchase readily, most roll film formats are obsolete and not available anymore. just because some professionals continue to use 120 film is no guarantee that you are looking at a 120 film format camera!

Answer 3

Black & White: #1: The sky is blown out. Might have been saved by burning in during printing. The tree trunk is overexposed. #2: Blown out sky. Possible to burn in during printing. #3: Back tree trunk is overexposed. Could have been burned in during printing. Should crop the right side to get rid of the white blob in the upper right corner and the one about 1/2 way down. #4: Blown out sky. Possible to burn in during printing. #5: Rocks in foreground are overexposed. Would be hard to burn in during printing but possible. Color: #6 & 7: Really just kinda blah. Good color but just not interesting pictures. #8: This would have benefited by trying a different composition from a different position. The sidewalk and wall are distractions which should have been eliminated. #9: Would have benefited from a polarizer. A polarizer works just as well with black & white as it does with color. Often, using a Yellow filter with black & white improves contrast. When faced with a dark subject and light subject close to each other you can meter both separately and try an average exposure. If the darker object meters at f4 and the lighter one at f8 just count up from f4 and down from f8 and use f5.6. A spot meter that does this is a good tool to have. I suggest the Minolta Spotmeter M if you don't mind buying used equipment. These are my opinions and, as we all know, opinions are like noses: everybody has one.

Answer 4

it probably has 110 film that has ten to a roll. to purchase the film you can use a camera shop or 7dayshop spelt like that they are based on jersey so no vat the order is free when you spend i think its fifty which when you look at what they sell it wont take long to get to the fifty pounds. most camera shops also have someone that can develop them as well if you cannot

Answer 5

if you shot B+W its the same as 35mm easy enough in a home darkrrom.

colour film (particularly Positives- which a good medium format TLR deserves!) take it to the corner lab and they will send it away or you can take it to a prolab to be developed, good luck go hard

Answer 6

I would love to know the answer to this myself.