6*6 SLR's

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Hoodi

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To my eternal frustration I'm still a long ways off being able to technically afford a medium format SLR setup.. However, I may be in a situation whereby I can pick something up on expenses :naughty:

I'm still in two minds over whether or not I'll do it, but I'm wanting to know what my options are.
So I'm wondering what the basic contendors are in the low end 6*6 market. By low end I mean second hand, because the nature of the beast is that most of these cameras won't have had hugely heavy usage, and they're built to last...


Anyway, up till now all I've used are Bronica's - so they're naturally on my shortlist, and in turn it's the SQ-A I'd likely get (don't see much point in getting an SQ-Ai as they seem to sell for considerably more for very little gain, I wouldn't use the TTL metering).

So yeah, budget is about £300 second hand. Any other suggestions elder wise ones?
 
Bronica SQ stuff is bloody brilliant and for that sort of budget you wont get better. If you wanted to stretch the cash a little further then the only real option is to go 645. if you do then I'd avoid the Bronica ETR range as it's just not anywhere near as good as the 6x6 kit but the Mamiya 645 certainly is.
 
You'll get a really good condition Pentax 645 for under £300 if current fleabay prices are anything to go by. 35mm handling in a medium format camera.
 
Mamiya RB67! :love:

m197806920001.jpg


Sorry I've no idea how much they're fetching. I never actually owned one but I did have the use of one for a while and it was just bloody awesome.!
 
I definitely don't want a 645 camera, but I'm not sure if I might be tempted by a 67... Hmmmm. Time to go look at 6*7 images methinks!
 
You can't get your hat on -the Mamiya RB 67s are going for daft money!

https://secure.ffordes.com/index.htm

The rotating back is great. The only thing I'd say is it's a real huge camera and more of a studio camera perhaps? Certainly a tripod job.
 
Even less on the 'bay Cedric :

£300 no bids
£275
£255

Although the ffordes do seem to be in shinier condition :)

The rotating back sure sounds interesting. I was actually just thinking that having the camera at 90 degrees on a tripod with a WLF would be a nightmare (I don't like the prism finders I've tried on the Bronica's much.). Is the finder an oversised 7*7 to accomodate the rotating back, then? :)

Size doesn't bother me too much, but I can't seem to find a coherent review of the camera. Shutter speeds seem a little limited at 1 > 1/400, but I could forgive that if it has MLU, which I also can't find any reference to :<

edit : this would suggest that indeed the finder is oversized to allow for either orientation :D
 
I'm damned if I can remember what the situation is with the viewfinder and the rotating back Hoodi - it's been a few years. It was lent to me by a pro who specialised in boudoir photography with a view to purchase after he bought a 'blad. I did a few weddings with the Mamiya and loved it, but I was using two Mamiya C220 TLRs at the time. In the event he preferred the Mamiya to the 'blad and took it back!

I can't find any full reviews on the camera either . I think at the time they would have been doing in depth reviews on this camera it would have been in the photography mags - Amateur Photographer and the like before the internet was invented. ;) You should be able to get hold of the relevant back number or just the fiull review if you contact them.

Some user reviews here but not really what you're looking for.

http://www.camerareview.com/
 
Hi, I have a Mamiya C330 that I bought a year since and have never used, such a shame, but I never get chance, (it's for sale if your interested drop me a pm, it's within your budget !, inc, 2 bodies, 2 finders and 3 lenses, film cable release and light meter.)

Cheers,

Alan.
 
Yup, the viewfinder is marked for portrait and landscape. If you're going to consider 6x7 though, the pentax is just lovely too. Definatley one on my list of cameras I must own one day.

As for RB reviews, all you need to know is that for quite a few decades, about 60% of working snappers (working off a tripod that is) used one, the rest divided up amongst everything else. ;)
 
ahahahhaha at the Pentax 67, it's like some crazy MF SLR / 35mm SLR / MF rangefinder hybrid :D edit : seems a bit expensive though :\

Getting more and more tempted by the RB67 the more I read about it...

and cheers GAELICSTORM7, but I'm after an SLR not a TLR :)
 
ahahahhaha at the Pentax 67, it's like some crazy MF SLR / 35mm SLR / MF rangefinder hybrid
Click to expand...

Don't laugh at it, it's wonderful. :'( ;)

The glass for them is amazing and produces just as good a tranny as the RB, plus you can hand hold the b****r and kick it off skyscrapers without breaking it. What you don't get of course and what makes the RB a step ahead for many, is a great big bit of ground glass to work off.
 
the ability to actually hold it does appeal, but as you say, the ground glass is one of the biggies of MF for me, I wouldn't get a prism with the RB...
I get the impression the RB is built pretty sturdily, too?
 
The RB is the proverbial brick outhouse. The Pentax is the same outhouse, concrete filled and with steel reinforcement.

You'd do well to damage either but the Mamiya just has more in the way of external flaps and levers to snap off. The Rb is far more the classic MF camera and there's nothing on earth sounds quite like one taking a frame.
 
dazzajl said:
If you're going to consider 6x7 though, the pentax is just lovely too. Definatley one on my list of cameras I must own one day.
.
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Damn! Forgot all about the Pentax. :thinking:
 
I love everything about the RB. Once you pick one up nothing else feels quite like it. :love:
 
Preeettttyyy much dead set on an RB67 (probably a Pro S) after doing lots of researching & thinking :)

It was basically a tossup between that or a Bronica. The Bronicas are smaller, lighter & generally more managable, the Mamiya is a brick, but notably better specced and a bit more suited to some "different" types of photography out of the box (bellows focusing :D). That coupled with the fact Mamiya are still in business, but irregardless of that there are simply hundreds of accesories / replacements to be picked up for peanuts. If, say, the mirror went it wouldn't be that expensive to just outright replace the body. I like the idea of in-lens leaf shutters, too.
Following from that the accesories // lenses are cheap for the Mamiya, too. About £130 for a 50mm? Yes please.

There are a couple of knock ons of getting the Mamiya to consider, I think I'll need a heavier duty tripod head, and I also think scanning the shots is gonna go from a bit slow to outright annoying, I can scan 2 6*6 negs // trannies but only one 6*7 :\ ~ so that'll perhaps be something I upgrade down the line.

So yeah, cheers for the advice all!
 
woop!
So I just spent the day shooting with my "new" RB67 Pro S!

What an awesome camera! I've thoroughly enjoyed every minute of using it thus far.

First thoughts :

The finder is a smidge darker than the Bronica SQ-A was, but apart from anything else I was using faster lenses on the SQ-A. It's still a totally awesome bit of ground glass.

I could probably stand to pick up a strap for it. It came with a handgrip jobby, but I think I might get one of the optech medium format straps.

It's actually pretty easy to handhold // carry around. Just what shutter speeds I can get away with handheld is yet to be seen, but the layout of the knobs and levers is incredibly intuitive.

The weighting is a bit skewed! about 60% of the weight is in the lenses (due to leaf shutters?) so whilst it's not hugely forward-heavy, it's noticable that that's where the weight is.

This thing is idiotproof! It has sooo many safety locks and indicators, despite my best efforts to double expose, fog, double wind, and generally destroy the film, I don't think I've managed any of it!

Bellows focussing is awesome. Out the box the standard 90mm lens goes all the way to 1:2 macro. I have a small extension tube which takes it past 1:1 :D

So yes, generally very pleased with it at the moment. I should hopefully have some stuff to look at from it after the weekend (shot a roll of colour neg through first, general test shots) and then some slides to squint at a week or so later :D

Cheers to all for your advice, but especially to cedric for flagging up the mamiya to me in the first place!
 
Well done Hoodi - you've bought yourself a tremendous workhorse tool there, but why am I feeling just the teensiest bit jealous? ;)
 
but why am I feeling just the teensiest bit jealous?
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Probably because you know there's no 800mm lens for it. As someone with no need for the great monster tele, I'm massivley jealous. :):)
 
Spent the whole weekend getting out and about shooting with it. Such a joy to work with, and so invigorating. I adored the project I shot on medium format, and I'm really looking forward to carrying on working with it!

Annoyingly there's a light leak somewhere, which I'm almost certain is on the film back. I'm not sure whether it's from a tiny hairline crack or failing foam light seals, though. I've sealed up what I hope to be the culprits so we'll see how it goes. I'm not hugely bothered if I can't fix it, though - a back in lovely conition goes for £40-£50 on ebay, and I got the setup for an absolute steal, so it's all groovy :D
 
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