At 21:35 6/2/03, Thomas Heide Clausen wrote:
Me? I lug around a Mamiya 645-something, a nice mechanical manual-focus
thing. A pile of interchangeable inserts (but not backs), an expensive
80mm lens and a shaft viewfinder. Ohh, and the Sekonic 308II flashmeter
(real MF cameras do not have build-in meter). Build like an OM, operates
very unlike an OM and I think that it can be had 2nd hand for almost
nothing. New, I think the model I have is no longer available (others are,
though, in the Mamiya 645 series)....but it works like a charm :)
I have a Mamiya M645j body and an M645-1000S body plus several lenses and
120 and 220 inserts for them. The original model was the M645, followed by
the M645j and then the M645-1000S. They're the "little brother" of the
RB67 without removable or rotating backs. They were originally being
designed for removeable film backs. At some point during the latter stages
of design that was dropped to keep price down. The frame inside the body
shows vestiges of being set up for dark slide, etc.
Original M645
mirror lock-up (MLU)
two shutter releases (one on top and the other on the front)
multiple exposure switch
1/500th top shutter speed (not uncommon for a MF in its era)
M645j, an identical "economy" version except
no mirror lockup
no shutter release button on the top of the body
M645-1000S, an identical to the M645 plus
1/1000th top shutter speed
self-timer
depth of field preview lever on the body.
Note that all the Sekor lenses have a stop-down switch on them making the
1000S lever on the body a redundant feature. Probably the most useful
feature omitted from the "j" is the MLU lever, but how useful depends on
whether or not one uses an MLU feature to mitigate camera shake with
extremely long lenses or long exposures. For on-location wedding
portraiture, the M645j (with prism finder) has all the necessary features
and it's one of the reasons they have been long-time favorites of wedding
shooters. The 645 format is more economical with film than a 6x6 and the
aspect ratio is about half-way between a 5x7 and 8x10, making them ideal
for shooting to make standard large print sizes. It's very close to 11x14,
16x20, 24x30 and matches 30x40 exactly.
I agree that they're built like an OM. However, numerous design concepts
look like they were lifted straight from a Nik*n F2! Don't know if you
have a metered prism finder, but the linkage tabs on the lenses and mating
pin on the prism look straight out of the Nik*n manual focus design
cookbook. The Sekor 50mm f/4 shift lens (I have one) is also straight out
of the lens section of the same cookbook. Unlike the Zuiko's, it has a
single jackscrew to shift the lens off axis. The lens rotates on its mount
to position the shift in the desired direction (IIRC there are detents in
the rotation every 30 degrees). Likewise, focus and aperture are in the
same direction as the Nik*n lenses. Cannot remember which, but one of them
is opposite the OM.
You can get an M645j with 120 insert, 80mm f/2.8 Sekor C standard lens and
one of the metered prism finders for relatively low cost. The bodies are
very sturdy and the Sekor lenses are excellent.
Among the 6x6 SLR's, in addition to the Hasselblad, are the Rollei, Contax
and Bronica. A good friend uses a newer Bronica SQAi . . . also very
reliable, well built, excellent lenses and not nearly as expensive as the
others.
Also not certain I'm recommending anything, but they've been very reliable
and have served me very well. I agree with Thomas that you should visit a
dealer and handle a few MF cameras to discover what feels right for you.
-- John
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