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Mamiya RB - what to look for?


stefan_haas

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Most important is to look for a "S", it has the much better viewfinder, fully enclosed, and you cannot fire with darkslide in or without advanced film. SD is only better as you can place the darkslide into the back and you can use the shift and the macro lense.<br>

General, there are no problems with this bodies alltogether, maybe some very very used examples need replacing of the focus rails as they run uneven, my first one was from a local wedding fotographer and very used ans scratched, but worked fine^^

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There are various light seals that have to be checked as well as bellows damage. Putting a bright bulb inside. With the bellows fully extended, checking it in a very dark room will reveal where the leaks are. Seals on the back and the dark slide light trap tend to leak if the camera is old and in need of service.

 

Lenses tend to get gummy and slow down or even stick. Make sure the shutter opens and closes properly, fire it off the body to see if it works and then looking through the back of the body to be sure it is still fireing OK. This weill check both the body and the lens for proper shutter tripping.

 

If you have never owned one of these, take it to a camera repair shop as they will probably check it for a small fee or many times for free in the hopes of getting your business later.

The more you say, the less people listen.
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My first one was a Pro (not ProS). I made one or two double exposures by accident before I got the hang of it. After a couple of rolls though, it wasn't a problem. I've got a ProS now and have never needed the non-double exposure safety.

 

I also picked up a 150mm lens for cheap becase the shutter seemed to be sticking. I dry fired it 50-100 times and it works like new.

 

They are big cameras, so if you don't mind the size, I'm sure that you'll be happy.

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I am with Ryan, if a lens wasnt used for years the shutter can be sticky, but with some firing it becomes ok, I had this with my 50mm lens, which was like new but some years old,. Alltogether, as mentioned above, this systems, bodies and lenses, are "unbreakable", without weak points. My first one was really old, the lightseals were just "pasta", but there were no leaks.
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I'm one of those rare birds who actually prefers the original RB67 without all the interlocks in the Pro-S and Pro-SD. Mainly because I ONLY use the RB67 as a studio camera, I am often playing with stuff like multiple exposures while going back and forth between 120 and polaroid backs. But I also use the RZ67 for Field Work. If I didn't have BOTH the RB67 and the RZ67, I am sure that I'd want at least a Pro-S for general purpose use. And nowadays, you can get an RB67 (not Pro-S) body with WL finder and RB adapter, but no back, for like $100.

 

I also REALLY prefer the pro-SD backs because of the darkslide holder slot, (It's AMAZING how easy it is to misplace a darkslide when you need it with the other backs) and the fact that they are ergonomically almost identical to the RZ backs.

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Actually, Pro (non-Pro S) models DO HAVE a darkslide (volet) shutter release safety, and they DO HAVE as well a darkslide (volet) holder on the left side of the body.

 

However, as pointed above, the weak point are the foam seals. A rotten but complete foam seal may still be light tight, but if it misses a small bit, a light leak is granted. Consider that bits of rotten seals are very sticky and can jam the whole mirror mechanism.

 

Of them all, the worst weak point is the back's hinge seal. It has no light trap of any sort: just a hinge with some foam pad. An incredible lack of engineering in a camera of this level. Useless to say, this seal HAS to be just PERFECT, as the film's emulsion faces the hinge.

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Douglas, it was not your message I was referring to. However, as we're on the subject, I think it has to be considered that double exposure is the DEFAULT in large format. From my point of view, it's not bad to develop a consistent method in photographing. Training ourselves to deal with double exposures in mid-format, will be a knowledge baggage that we will bring with us on the next step to large format.

 

Secondarily, double exposure is a must with pre-exposure and strict application of the zone system. I personally dislike cameras which require tricks to perform a double exposure. I guess, however, that both proS and proSD have a handy double exposure facility.

 

I understand that an accidental double exposure can be highly irritating. It happened to me as well, of course. That was a lesson I just couldn't forget, though; and whenever I photograph on large format, I'm glad I took that lesson long ago on a cheap 120 film...

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  • 1 month later...

mine came with a case of deteriorating lightseal foam. make sure you check for that. a lot of rb's are 20 years old or so, and the foam turns into this gooey mess with age. it can get all over your mirror, or worse, your lens.

 

thankfully, the shop i bought it from was nice enough to fix it for free when i brought it back the next day.

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