I'll use present tense from now on because there are plenty of used, second-hand, pre-owned cameras available to purchase at photo stores and on eBay... the C220 and C330S system is the cheapest of the extensive Mamiya range and, compared with today's electronic marvels in both small and medium formats, is relatively simple to operate once the user has adopted to the different hand-holding technique demanded by it's taller shape.

Film loading is, as with any roll-film camera, the most difficult operation to master especially when in a hurry. What the C330S does have though, unlike all 6x6 SLRs, is a straight film path with no bends or wrap-arounds... just a long pull between the two film-spools. Once threaded, and the film to camera index marks are lined-up, the back is snapped shut and the rapid-wind crank turned until it automatically stops.

The rapid-wind crank also cocks the lens shutter through a mechanical cam/ lever action... all very robust and simple. Robust? Well the shutter cocking lever on my 180mm example lost a fixing screw on active service which meant that when the wind-on crank was cocked the shutter immediately fired. Result? A roll of double exposures... or two rolls, actually, before I realised what was happening!

However, the simple nature of the camera revealed itself... by cocking the lens before winding-on the problem was temporarily resolved. What this minor hiccup did reveal though was a shutter almost as quiet as that of a Leica rangefinder.

Lenses are removed by releasing a sprung clamping bracket. Crude but effective describes this action, but it works... a coupling linked to an internal drop-down baffle also stops the film from being fogged during a mid-roll lens change.

The lenses themselves distinguish the Mamiya from any other TLR... there is a range of them. The widest angle of view is with the 55mm f/4.5, equivalent to a 28mm on the 35mm format followed by the 65mm f/3.5 which is the equivalent of 35mm on 35mm. There are two standard lenses at 80mm and 105mm, but the 180mm f/4.5, the equivalent of an 100mm portrait lens is probably more useful. There’s also a 250mm f/6.3 which is not too useful being slow (dark viewfinder) and rather inconvenient in cramped spaces having a minimum focus distance of just over 2 meters... which from memory framed an area only 12 inches square.

This camera can be asked to do most photographic work both in the field and studio, with the 55mm (or 65mm) and 180mm lenses. Add a hand meter, an electronic flash, a couple of filters and a tripod and you would have a very workable as opposed to a truly comprehensive kit. For any practising photographer, either in or out of a studio environment, a simple working outfit like this will pay for itself time and time again. Having a large comprehensive system usually only makes one person rich... the camera dealer.