Gray's Mill, Chickamauga Creek, Catoosa County, GA. Rolleicord vB
A twin-lens reflex is one of the easiest camera types to handle and use -- although it may not seem that way at first if all or most of your experience is with digital photography. The biggest difference is film itself. It has to be bought, stored, loaded into the camera, then processed, and most likely, scanned. A lot of hassle compared to the almost instant access of digital photography. Is it worth it? Some of us like the slower, more contemplative approach of the TLR. And I love composing in the square format. But it's not for everyone.
Most TLRs take 120-size film, which makes a negative or transparency 2-1/4 by 2-1/4 inches. That's more than three times the size of a 35mm negative.
Henry County Courthouse, McDonough, GA. Yashica 124.
Load a roll of film into the camera by opening the back. Move the empty spool to the take-up position and insert the new roll in its place. (Most cameras have spring-loaded buttons to make this easier.) Pull the paper leader across to the take-up spool and insert the tongue into the spool. Turn the crank or winding knob to make sure it's connected, then wind the film until the arrows on the backing paper are aligned with the arrows on the sides of the film chamber. Close the back and wind the crank or knob until it stops. You are now ready to make your first exposure.
Hold the camera in the palm of your left hand (if you're right-handed). Looking down at the camera, you will see a small window with some numbers above the lenses, and either a small lever or wheel on each side of the lenses. Turn the wheels or move the levers to set the shutter speed and aperture. You will see your settings in the little window above the lenses.
Pond and barn. Keith Road, Catoosa County, Georgia. Rolleicord vB.
Some TLRs have built-in exposure meters -- the Yashica 124 series have CDS meters that are fairly accurate for use with black and white or color negative film. I'm sure the Rolleiflex has an accurate meter, but I've never owned one, so I can't say. My Autocord has a selenium cell meter, but I don't trust it with color transparency film. I use a separate, hand-held meter, in my case a Minolta Flashmeter III incident meter that's now 40 years old but still accurate.
Abandoned church and cemetery near Charleston, SC. Minolta Autocord.
So when you've selected a subject and taken a meter reading, set your shutter speed and aperture. Raise the viewing hood on top of the camera, frame your subject, and use the focus knob to focus. The image on the screen will be backward, but that's something you will get used to very quickly and it actually helps in composing the image. If you need to focus more accurate, flip up the magnifying lens in the hood. Press the shutter button to take the picture, then turn the crank or winding knob to be ready for the next exposure. And that's it!
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Photography and text copyright 2026 David B.Jenkins.
I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.
If I sold everything but one of my TLRs, I could get on with making wonderful images for the rest of my life just with that one camera. It might not be the easiest to carry camera ever, but it sure is capable.
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