Home Search Gallery How-To Books Links Workshops About Contact
|
Introduction People keep asking me about these. I have not used them. I do own and use the complete Mamiya 6 and Mamiya 7 rangefinder systems but not the SLR systems. Overall Mamiya cameras have never been made to the quality we take for granted in Leica and Canon and Nikon. Mamiya is expensive and they give spectacular results, however things have always fallen off a lot. Modern Mamiya lenses are spectacular, however the old ones from the 60s and 70s in the TLRs and press cameras were poor compared to American and German lenses of the time. Mamiya 645 (Today) The Mamiya 645E system was offered as a promotional package up through 2004 and it was a screaming deal at $700 or less brand new. Just remember that the lenses and accessories outside of the promotional package are expensive. If you want to buy something new and start in medium format by all means go look for it here used. This 645E was a complete camera with a lens, back and auto exposure. For this $700 you'll get far better, sharper images than ANY Nikon, Canon, Leica or whatever 35mm or digital camera. The M645AF is also slick with autofocus. The autofocus action sounds and acts like a Nikon from 1988. Note that the price is a little higher than the manual focus camera at $3,800! You can see more here. The image quality is the same as the $700 645E manual focus camera. RB67 and RZ67 (Today) These have been the staple of studio pros for decades and are still made today. Mamiya makes a ton of lenses and accessories for both of these. I've never used one since they are as big and heavy as my 4x5, however, by all means go get one if you want it. The 5.5 pound RZ67 has an electronic shutter and auto exposure. I'd prefer it over the older mechanical RB67 below. You can see the RZ67 here The six pound RB67 is an older design with mechanical shutters. You can see it here C3, C33, C330 and other twin-lens reflexes (old TLRs) The TLRs have been around for many decades. I owned a C3 system and thought the lenses were the only medium format lenses I've ever used that were less than spectacular. The TLRs are unique in that they have interchangeable lenses! The TLRs are probably the best way to get a screaming deal for a full multi-lens medium format system. 23, Super 23 and Press Cameras (old) These are from the 1960s. They were attempts to win the press market away from Graflex and Linhof and then Rollei They were poorly made and the optics were so-so. On the other hand, you can get a complete 6x7 or 6x9 cm (2x3" as referred to in the model number) camera and lens for a couple of hundred dollars. For this $195 you'll still have a camera capable of producing images far better technically than ANY 35mm or digital camera made today. I had a standard 23 camera. The lens was pretty mediocre and the mechanical construction was second rate. By second rate I mean things fall off. Just look at a Rollei and a Mamiya of the same vintage and you'll see what I mean.\ These press cameras have interchangeable backs and lenses. The only catch is that I never found any dark slide for mine and as far as I know it's a hoax: you loose a frame every time you change anything. Recommendations If you want it, buy it. Mamiya is probably the most popular brand of camera used professionally for studio work. |
Home Gallery How-To Links Workshops About Contact
