Mamiya Medium Format owners group

Woodsy said:
Though I don't use it any more, I've kept and stored my RB67. Loved that camera! I'll eventually go back to it when sheet film stops being made :/

Long live sheet film! :D
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What do you MEAN sheet film not being made??

May that day never happen!
 
ChrisR said:
I'd just priced up a Mamiya 6 with 3 lenses on eBay, and was convincing myself not to buy! Yes, I'm probably going to start either with a folder or a TLR...
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Seen those 2 go for £1750 & £1850...:shake:

No idea what I'm doing with the best part of 2k's worth of film camera, how did that happen ??

S'looking more like an investment than summat I should be shootin with, gonna throw my bag away and buy a safe..
 
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joxby said:
Seen those 2 go for £1750 & £1850...:shake:

No idea what I'm doing with the best part of 2k's worth of film camera, how did that happen ??

S'looking more like an investment than summat I should be shootin with, gonna throw my bag away and buy a safe..
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You'll have to come to the Geenwich Meet with a forklift truck then!:LOL::LOL::LOL:
 
joxby said:
Seen those 2 go for £1750 & £1850...:shake:
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What, when did that price rise happen!? I might have t think about selling up again and buying up all the Astia I can find before it's gone forever :puke:
 
with a 6 you can take a flask and sandwiches, with 5x4 you need to leave the house fat..lol
 
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!

:D(y)(y)

OK, back to business...please excuse my ignorance here but what exactly is the great magic of the 6 and similar rangefinders?

I accept that IQ will probably be very good due to the basic design concept but the whole rangefinder thing strikes me as a bit less practical for landscapes when filters are used?

BTW, anyone here who thinks a "review" type write-up of the Mamiya M645J would be practical or useful?

Sitting at home and the weather is cloudy, not exactly perfect beach weather so it will give me something to do!;)
 
I have the Mamiya 6 with all three lenses. There are two things that make it the ideal landscape camera - 1) the lens quality is superb due to there being no limitation on how close the back of the lens can be to the film as there's no mirror, and 2) the whole kit is small and lightweight to easy to carry. Try taking an RZ with three similar lenses in a backpack up the mountains of the Lake District and you'll know what I mean :)
 
ChrisR said:
This thread is interesting and made me lust after a Mamiya 6 (not the bigger guys). But I keep trying to remind myself that my shots are nowhere near good enough to require that extra detail from the 120 film, and >£1K is a lot to pay for an entry into 120.

I'm wondering if Andysnap would comment on his move from Yash Mat to Mamiya 330? I'm put off by the mirror image thing though...
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To be honest Chris I've not really taken enough shots with the C330f yet to come to any firm conclusions but......I miss my Yash.
The Mamiya is a fantastic system, the lens are superb, the build quality is top notch and the IQ (so far) seems to be most excellent but the Yash was so nice to use, simple and intuitive and I never had a problem with the reverse image thing, just took my time until I had the compo as I wanted it.

But the Mamiya is such a great camera/lens that I shall be using it a lot more as the weather improves (if that ever actually happens) and I still think that square landscapes work. (y)

Andy
 
Hi all,

I've got an M645 Pro SV Kit, with 35, 45, 150, 210 and 120 macro lenses.

Regrettably, not getting as much use as I'd love to give it....need to remedy when weather improves.

Peter
 
Hey Everyone

So here I go and disappear after getting you all interested...just had a rough week t work that will hopefully end with a quiet night tonight...

Some of you may have seen my restoration / large format adventure on another thread on here...

So, as soon as possible in the new year I am looking at getting a nice RB67 Pro SD because all my favourite emulsions are sadly not available in my newfound love of 4x5...

Cheers everyone!

May I ask for some Mamiya MF images to be shared here?

Promise to share one or two of my own soon!
 
Will stick a few up later this evening (y)
 
antonroland said:
May I ask for some Mamiya MF images to be shared here?

Promise to share one or two of my own soon!
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When I used to dabble in B/W about 30 years ago:- RB67 180mm lens with lens diffuser, FP4 dev in Unitol...yeah ok I know about the curtains :LOL: ..I made a holder to hang paper later.
6721000px.jpg



This photo is hanging on the wall...a home print by chemicals, my scan is not as good, but I would think if I gave the neg to a lab they will have no problem making a nice digital print.
RB67 180mm lens with diffuser
mary2.jpg



With the RB, multiple exposures are easy and used to have fun like this... also great for producing identical twins:-
Spot the difference
spot-the-difference.jpg



I was testing out some of my old film (12 years OOD) with Rb67 65mm last year. The pro stuff was useless (colour problems) but the ordinary stuff lasted quite well e.g.
rb67-1000px.jpg
 
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Here are a few of mine, all taken with the 50mm C lens.

1) Fuji Acros 100, devved in Neofin Blue


Llyn Padarn to Bwlch Llanberis by Rob Hooley, on Flickr

2) Adox CHS 50 in Rodinal, the white part at the top of the building was caused by some water drops on the end of the lens


Cathedral of Science by Rob Hooley, on Flickr

3) Adox CHS 25 with a yellow filter, devved in Rodinal


Ribblehead Viaduct by Rob Hooley, on Flickr

4) Ilford PanF 50 in Rodinal


Station Approach by Rob Hooley, on Flickr

5) Fuji Provia 100F, devved by Peak Imaging


Sunset At Kimmeridge by Rob Hooley, on Flickr

6) Rollei ATP, rated at ISO 32 and devved in 1:300 Rodinal


Hitting the Bottle by Rob Hooley, on Flickr
 
Some awesome images(y)(y)

Please keep them coming!
 
Any one on here have any experience of what the 110mm 2.8 is like wide open, fuzzy/useable/sharp?

Thinking of having a dabble in film again, and just wondered what that lens was like. Thanks :)
 
I use a Mamyia RB6x7.. had it for years.. still use it a lot.

The problem with using film these days though is that it's all down to the scanning (unless you get decent prints from the trannies). So many examples of 120 film on the net are poorly scanned, and this puts people off.. thinking their digital cameras are better.

Medium format film still kicks digital's ass if you have access to a decent scanner.

Mamyia RB6x7
Sekor 90mm f3.5 @ f8
Fuji Provia 100F
Flextight X5 scanner.

Click for full res.


Even this doesn't do it justice as the JPEGing has added some colour noise and messed with skin and fabric detail a bit, although the retouching was a rushed affair if I'm honest. The 16bit TIFF off the Flextight is amazing though.
 
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aarrgh... keep double posting if I hit return in teh message box!! Ignore.
 
I've had the Mamiya 645 Super for a while with the 80mm 2.8. I'd love to try the 80 1.9 and a wider and longer lens. I love the construction, simplicity in design. Beautifully sturdy and well balanced camera. The only thing that I struggle with is focus and recomposing at short distances. Digital has spoilt me with the various focal points available.
 
hsuffyan said:
The only thing that I struggle with is focus and recomposing at short distances. Digital has spoilt me with the various focal points available.
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This does concern me. I've have owned an RB, but many years ago, and then it was just a studio camera, with everything shot at f8 and that was that.

I want to get back into film, but am wondering how I'll cope with focus when I tend to shoot everything wide open?

I'm also trying to find out what the difference in DOF wide open of the 127mm 3.5 against the 110mm 2.8.
 
treeman said:
This does concern me. I've have owned an RB, but many years ago, and then it was just a studio camera, with everything shot at f8 and that was that.

I want to get back into film, but am wondering how I'll cope with focus when I tend to shoot everything wide open?

I'm also trying to find out what the difference in DOF wide open of the 127mm 3.5 against the 110mm 2.8.
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I think it's manageable with good technique. I'll post some shots that I've taken recently. If the camera is always parallel to the subject, then you should be able to move the camera horizontally and vertically, as long as you remain parallel. It gets harder as most of the time I inadvertently apply a tilt when composing the image, which puts the plane of focus at an angle and recomposing becomes that much harder! :bang:
 
Pookeyhead said:
I use a Mamyia RB6x7.. had it for years.. still use it a lot.

The problem with using film these days though is that it's all down to the scanning (unless you get decent prints from the trannies). So many examples of 120 film on the net are poorly scanned, and this puts people off.. thinking their digital cameras are better.

Medium format film still kicks digital's ass if you have access to a decent scanner.

Mamyia RB6x7
Sekor 90mm f3.5 @ f8
Fuji Provia 100F
Flextight X5 scanner.

Click for full res.


Even this doesn't do it justice as the JPEGing has added some colour noise and messed with skin and fabric detail a bit, although the retouching was a rushed affair if I'm honest. The 16bit TIFF off the Flextight is amazing though.
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I checked out the full res. Simply wow!!!!

I also checked out the price of the X5 and that also blew me off my feet!
 
Yeah.. the X5 isn't mine I hasted to add.. but we have three of them at work I can use any time I like. I'll miss those if I ever change jobs.
 
Give the wow to Hasselblad for making the X5 scanner :)
 
treeman said:
I do recall being told drum scanners were best, but I've no idea TBH. So do you know what questions one should be asking when getting scans done?
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Can I see a sample :) that is the question, and then ask whether they accept credit cards so you can afford to pay for it (later) :p
 
Pookeyhead said:
I use a Mamyia RB6x7.. had it for years.. still use it a lot.

The problem with using film these days though is that it's all down to the scanning (unless you get decent prints from the trannies). So many examples of 120 film on the net are poorly scanned, and this puts people off.. thinking their digital cameras are better.

Medium format film still kicks digital's ass if you have access to a decent scanner.

Mamyia RB6x7
Sekor 90mm f3.5 @ f8
Fuji Provia 100F
Flextight X5 scanner.
[-img]
Even this doesn't do it justice as the JPEGing has added some colour noise and messed with skin and fabric detail a bit, although the retouching was a rushed affair if I'm honest. The 16bit TIFF off the Flextight is amazing though.
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Yikes! That's is seriously good quality. Good photo too.
 
treeman said:
So do you know what questions one should be asking when getting scans done?
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1. What kind of scanner do you use?
2. Can I see a high resolution sample? (as advised above by dejongi).
 
I couldn't help notice how this couple were interacting and I took a candid shot from the hip. I'm not a softie by any means, but the guy seemed so sincere and totally wrapped up with his young lady.

img012.jpg


Taken at a portrait meetup, we were asked to shoot members of the group against a background of one colour.

img014.jpg


Both shots were taken on the Mamiya 645 Super 80mm 2.8, out of date Provia 100 and home scanned using the v500.
 
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The nice thing about the RB67 is that due to the bellows focusing it snaps in and out of focus very positively compared to the Hasselbald which is a b*****d to focus accurately without a split image screen.
 
I need to build up some muscles...I took my SB67 Pro SD out for some handheld street action this morning. Only took my 90/3.5 KL with me and a sekonic...Damn it is backbreaking stuff :) But as CT says, a joy to focus actually...
 
I might be part of this group soon... Going to look at a C33 for sale today. Does anyone have any tips as to what to look for - I've never owned a tlr (apart from a recesky!)
 
mothdust said:
I might be part of this group soon... Going to look at a C33 for sale today. Does anyone have any tips as to what to look for - I've never owned a tlr (apart from a recesky!)
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Have a good look at the bellows - avoid it it if there are any signs of cracks or pin-holes.

Check that you're getting a full range of shutter speeds - same with the apertures - make sure there's no signs of the diaphragm blades sticking.

Check the state of the seals in the camera back, although I wouldn't reject the camera for bad seals, they're easily replaced.

Other than that just check for general signs of rough handling and abuse.

Good luck.
 
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