Hasselblad 500CM vs Mamiya RB67?

Messiah Khan

Messiah Khan

Santa is your dad
Messages
2,666
Name
Alasdair Fowler
Edit My Images
Yes
Anyone used either or both of these? Any comments? I know the Hasselblad is a more expensive system to run (Lenses etc), but the Mamiya is supposedly much bigger and heavier. Id quite like the 6x6 format of the Hasselblad, but the 6x7 of the Mamiya is also an attractive format which is a usefull size for enlargments. Decisions decisions. :thinking:
 
I've got and use an RB and I love it :clap:

In an honest review though, it is heavy, especially with a moderately tele lens, and when you are learning it can be a bit hard to remember all the things you have to have in place to operate the shutter.

However, once you have your workflow set it is nice and quick to use, produces great negatives, and the sound of the mirror is great. It doesnt have much of a kick, despite what I have read, and you dont need to worry about holding it in different orientations to get landscape or portrait because of the revolving back, you just spin it.

It is relatively slow to take the next frame as you need to manually wind on and then manually reset the mirror, but with practice you can do it in 1-2 seconds with no problem.

If you get one and you dont mind all manual controls you will love it.

HTH
 
I have recently got one, an RZ67 that it, and it is heavy, and slightly odd to hold, but as already mentioned, the mirror sounds wonderful..!
It is slow, I have yet to get any films processed so have no idea how good the pictures are, but it feels like a camera you could grow to love easily.
Look on ebay - there are some bargains to be had..
 
Hasselblad is all about the glass, it is the SLR pinnacle of M/F film.
You pay a premium for the name, and a premium for the lenses.
There is no doubt Haselblad deserve their top spot, whether they are worth the extra money in real terms....I don't know...it'll cost a lot to find out:puke:

There is another 6x7, in the same mold as a Bladd, but not as thunderous as an RB or RZ.
Bronica GS1 is a 6x6 in nearly every aspect, except it is 6x7.
Not sure about lens compatability with the SQ, and they are kinda thin on the ground, but I cant think of another 6x7 SLR with the Bladd/Bronica/Kiev portability.

*chucks in spanner...runs*
 
but I cant think of another 6x7 SLR with the Bladd/Bronica/Kiev portability.but I cant think of another 6x7 SLR with the Bladd/Bronica/Kiev portability.
Click to expand...

Shame on you joxby, ;) the most portable 67 SLR is the Pentax 67. An over grown 35mm camera that shots 67 and was the travel photography benchmark for about 12,000 decades.

I'm pretty sure that the brony GS is has it's own lens line up which sadly makes it a fairly poor bet these days.

As for the two cameras we started the thread with, the blad is small sleek and wonderful. The RB is HUGE, clunky and wonderful. It's more about your preference for neg size and shooting style.

I'd be really hard pushed to make the choice between those two. Probably end up with a brony SQb and the RB. :LOL:
 
Blimey, your right, and I know peeps who won't use anything else, one of my best friends has one, it has a metered prism viewfinder that you can take off and re-mount so the eyepiece is vertical, its beau.
 
The hasselblad is much easier to use outside the studio.
 
Also... ;)

mam7kit.jpg
 
When I first started out I had the choice of using the 500cm and the RB67. I used the RB67 all the time. Lovely camera and you soon get used to manually advancing the film and resetting the shutter. I used it mostly on location hand held with with a Metz CT60 attached. Using HP5 the quality of the negs were superb. I have to confess I did hanker after the Mamiya 7 ***.............:)

Dunc
 
I like the mamiya 7 but most folks these days seem to have a bit of a mistrust for rangefinders. :shrug:
 
I used both at Uni last week and i must say i got on much better with the hasselblad. It is more straight forward that the Mamiya in my opinion and has a much nicer feel to it. Although the rotating back on the Mamiya is really cool i think the hasselblad is definatly worth the extra money.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top