Seagull TLR

[PaulC]

I ran across this site http://www.kauserinternational.com/Photography/Seagull/Seagull%204A-105.htm listing new Chinese-made Seagull TLRs for sale.
I didn't know anybody was still making these - trust the Chinese to spot a market! Has anybody got any experience with them?

[rick_oleson]

Yes, they're still making them! I don't have one myself. I believe all but one model (the 107?) have triplet lenses, the top-of-the-line is a Tessar type. I hear both ways on them, many users are happy with them and others have had quality problems. At the price, you have to assume that you're not getting a Rolleiflex. My personal problem with them is that for that price I CAN get a Rolleiflex, and have done so on numerous occasions - and I believe that a 50 year old Rolleiflex is likely to give better overall results for the same money than a new Seagull. However, recycling 50-year-old cameras does nothing to encourage makers to keep producing new ones, so if you're in the market for a TLR and want a new one, I encourage you in the interest of perpetuation of the breed to buy one of these.

[scsambrook]

I remember selling these back in the 1980s - the ones we had then were very cheap and nowhere near as good as the secondhand YashicaMats and Minolta Auocords that were always being traded in. This one looks rather more up-market, but - as rick says - you can certainly get better for the same money and probably for a whole lot less.

The Mamiya TLRs are a great alternative to a Rollei - standard lenses maybe not as good as a Planar but very much more versatile.