My current
Medium Format camera, the Norita 66 is a
Single Lens Reflex 6cm x 6cm
camera based on a design extrapolated from the
Nikon F series (but obviously increased in size and weight to afford
coverage for the
larger negative). The Norita uses either
120 or
220 film, but supposedly isn't
trust-worthy with the latter (although I've never had a
problem).
I've fallen in love with this camera, and after years of buying and subsequently selling used old MF cameras one after another (ebay is a wonderful thing) I've settled on the Norita (at least until I can afford a Mamiya 7).
The Norita possesses a simple, straightforward design. It looks and feels exactly like a bigger, badder 35mm camera. The same design was also eventually used for the Pentax 67 after the Norita was discontinued. The Norita uses a focal plane shutter that allows flash synch at 1/30th of a second. If this isn't enough for you, there is a leaf shutter lens (70mm) that replaces the body's internal shutter.
This thing looks and feels a little bit like a tank. My first Norita (which I later replaced with another) had obviously been dropped from a great distance (big ole dent - right on the prism) with no real damange done save for the cosmetic.
The following lenses are available for the Norita 66:
- 40mm f4.0
- 55mm f4.0
- 70mm f3.5 (leaf shutter - and btw, this lens is huge, don't ask me why... imperfect 70s technology and design budget limitations no doubt...)
- 80mm f2.0 (this lens is the reason I first looked at the Norita - f2.0 for Medium Format is unheard of, and since the majority of my work was ambient low-light at the time... it was important.
- 160mm f4.0
- 240mm f4.0