Prior to getting my hands on the Belair X 6-12, I have never used any medium format cameras before. In fact I have never seen what a 120mm film roll looks like outside of its wrapper. So what you’re reading here is purely the views of a total newbie ;)

What drew me to the Belair was actually the bellows because it really reminded me of the old bellow cameras from the 20’s or 30’s.

Here’s what I like about the Belair:
1) It’s light and it doesn’t take up much space (especially with the viewfinder and lens removed from the body).
2) It has a really eye-catching design that sparks the curiosity of people around you. I’ve had strangers coming up to me asking me what it is I’m holding in my hands. So if you’re single or you wanna make some new friends, just lug the Belair around. It’s a terrific conversation starter. Lol! ;)
3) You can take photos in 3 different formats - 6x6, 6x9 and 6x12.
4) You can take multi-exposure shots.

Now, here’s what bummed me out about the Belair. Out of the 7 rolls I shot on the Belair during my Cambodia trip with eleanorrigby236, 3 of them were FAT ROLLS! Which makes me think that the Belair is pretty prone to getting fat rolls. Being the newbie that I am, I wouldn’t know what to do with a fat roll or how to prevent it from happening again, but luckily I had an experienced film shooter with me on my trip ;) So a handy tip when it comes to inserting a fresh roll of film into the Belair: hold down the roll on the left as you’re spooling it on the right.


6x12 shot taken on Fuji Velvia 100, which was from my fat roll

The Belair comes with 2 lenses; the 58mm and 90mm, and both these lenses has its own respective viewfinder. But if you ask me, the viewfinder is pretty useless regardless of whether if it’s for the 58mm or the 90mm. Looking through the viewfinder gives you a general picture of what you’re shooting.

How the Belair works is that, you set the ISO on the camera according to the film that you use. You “guess” your focus by setting the distance between you and the subject with the closest being 1m and the furthest being infinity. (Now, I say “guess” because the viewfinder is useless as it isn’t coupled to the lens). As for aperture setting, well the Belair only has 2 settings: f/8 for cloudy and f/16 for brightly lit places. Once you’ve “done the math” and adjust your settings, you then press the shutter button.

But even if you don’t get the settings quite right, sometimes the results can surprise you, for instance this rather artsy looking shot which was taken on a redscale film:


Belair 6x6 shot on Lomography Redscale film

Despite the quirks & what I feel is a rather hefty price tag for a toy camera, I still find myself having fun with the Belair. It can produce some nice shots that might just surprise you.

Belair 6x6 shot on Kodak Ektar 100

–La Petite Feérie