After expressing my interest in analog photography, my Grandfather couldn’t believe that I had paid £40 for my Olympus OM30. The next time I saw him he handed over his old cameras gathering dust in the loft. One of these soon became my main shooter, the Mamiya MSX500.

Since coming into my possession, the MSX500 is now my go to camera. The lens is sharp, the shutter accurate and the light meter reliable – If I want the shot I know I’ll be using the MSX500. But learning to shoot an SLR wasn’t easy.

The Camera

Mamiya introduced the MSX series of cameras in May 1974. The series featured two models, the MSX500 and MSX1000. The ‘500‘ and ‘1000‘ indicated the top shutter speed of each model, with the only other difference being a self timer present on the MSX1000. The MSX models offer TTL spot metering, displayed as a needle on the right hand side of the viewfinder, which eliminated the need for stop down metering when paired with a Mamiya SX lens.

The Film

As mentioned in my previous 6v6 post, I had bulk ordered some Kodak Color Plus 200 when I ordered my first camera. Color Plus is my most used film to date, probably as it’s easy to find and cheap to buy. This makes it the perfect film to use as test rolls for new cameras.

The Good Shots

I love the noticeable grain on this shot. As you can see, conditions were poor on the day I decided to test of the camera. I think I’d like to get similar shot to this in better conditions.

This is a shot of a pub closed for refurbishment, although it looks more like it was abandoned during a party. The poor conditions seem to have led to muted colours, which I quite like. It really adds to the feeling of abandonment.

A fun little portrait of Bron shooting an Ilford Sportsman, another camera gifted to me alongside the MSX500. Unfortunately it has an issue with the winding mechanism I have been unable to repair. This is the first time I knowingly used a shallow depth of field to separate the background from my subject.

A damaged jetty leading into the murky waters of the Blackwater River – a perfect subject. I would reframe and get the jetty closer to the bottom left hand corner of the image on a retake.

These beach huts are famous in the landscape photography community in my area – an image of them was shortlisted in the 2017 Landscape Photographer Of The Year Awards. When shot at high tide with a slow shutter speed, the float eerily atop the ghostly water. I couldn’t emulate the shot due to low tide, but I loved this sign and had to grab a shot. If I had taken a step to the side, I could have got all of the beach huts in the shot. I also think returning a high tide in good conditions would make a more appealing image.

I only noticed these boats upturned on the sand on our way back to the car, meaning I must have walked past them once before and not taken them any notice. The colours seem more saturated compared to other shots, making me wonder if perhaps I was still learning how to get the correct exposure with other shots.

The Not So Good Shots

I was trying to capture the seagulls sat upon the two poles emerging from the water, but it seems I chose a shutter speed that was too slow to shoot handheld.

In better conditions, this shot might have worked, but against the typically grey British sky, the birds are hardly visible. I think a tighter crop would be better compositionally, meaning I would have to shoot with a longer lens.

From a technical standpoint, there is nothing wrong with this shot, but looking at it now I feel there is a better shot to be made. Due to the bad weather, the cafe had no customers sat outside. This could have given a really ironic image featuring the ‘open to public’ sign juxtaposed alongside the empty deck. You can also see my reflection in the door on the right side of the image…

Once again, shooting something before thinking about why I was shooting. I think an image could be made featuring this wall, perhaps I could’ve asked Bron to stand on the wall; everyone loves a rebel right?

The famous beach huts. I don’t think they have appeal in poor conditions and at low tide. Unfortunately it’s a case of wrong place, wrong time.

A boring shot of a boring landscape. I think I was trying to capture the light over the island, but it hasn’t worked.

Final Thoughts

It’s easy to see why the Mamiya MSX500 is my go to camera, as even from the first roll there is some great images. I have since gone on to shoot some of my favourite images from this camera; when the stars aline and I’m presented with gorgeous conditions and a good roll of film the results are sublime. The only reason I would move on from using the MSX500 is the lack of lenses to be found compared to the major brands. I do have an adapter to take Pentax M42 lenses, but I can’t get my head around metering when using the Sigma 135mm lens I have.

Similarly to my first roll, there is a mixture of poor ideas and poor execution with the 6 bad images. It will be interesting to see as this blog continues how my compositional skills have improved.

Do you remember what it was like shooting your first SLR?

Let me know in the comment section.

What Next?

Lomography has a great selection of images shot on the Mamiya MSX500

Buy Kodak Color Plus 200

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