The Seagull Twin-Lens Reflex Camera
H-U-G-E glowing prints! Radiant colors and deep resolution! Handy 6cm long rolls of paper-like film. This is medium format photography.
The Seagull Twin-Lens-Reflex camera is your first-class, entry-level ticket into a new realm. Your subjects and backgrounds project straight through the Seagull's coated, multi-element Haiou 75mm lens to hit the 120 film inside with dazzling images. Total control is yielded to you through manual shutter speeds and aperture settings. Its twin-lens system projects the image outside onto a top-down ground glass viewfinder - perfect for sleek compositions and candid street shooting.
The new fast-advance crank allows for rabbit-quick shooting. Multiple and long-time exposures are a sublime pleasure. This authentic Seagull camera is made in Shanghai and packaged in a seriously gaudy satin-lined gift box.
A Distinguished Pedigree
The Seagull TLR is produced by the Shanghai General Camera factory – located in Song Jiang county. Its first twin-lens camera dates back to 1959, and was aptly named “The Shanghai.” This original design – as well as these cameras that you see today – was heavily based upon Franke & Heidecke’s iconic Rolleiflex – arguably the finest series of TLR cameras ever produced. Following several years of successful domestic sales, an export version was prepared and named the Seagull-4. This milestone item, and its successors enjoyed a broad worldwide appeal as an inexpensive yet quality option for medium-format enthusiasts.
Which brings us to the beauty of today’s Seagull TLR’s. Functionally, they’re not all that different from 1964’s Seagull-4. The optics have improved, a PC socket was added, the maximum shutter speed increased, and little odds and ends got better over time. But the heart and soul of the camera remained true to it’s original 50’s/60’s roots. That fact in and of itself sets the Seagull apart from all other cameras: this living and breathing old-school throwback - still produced with pride and quality to this day – gives you the feeling & soul of shooting a mint-condition classic camera. And that’s priceless.
The Choice is Yours
Although the Seagull 4B-1, 4A-109, 4A-105, & Red/Gold look nearly identically handsome, there are some key differences (browse through our Specifications page for all the details):
Better optical resolution through lens (4 elements in 3 groups), aperture & shutter settings are viewable through a top-mounted window – thereby allowing you to see the values while you compose your image. Auto-advance crank.
Exclusive limited edition colorway. Premum 4-element lens, auto-advance crank.
Entry-level lens (3 elements in 3 groups), aperture & shutter settings must be set on the front of the camera. Auto-advance crank.
Entry-level lens, manual advance allows for variable format (12 or 16 shots per frame), and easy multiple & partial exposures.