Mamiya 645E?

[stephen_lepley]

<p>I've just gotten a Mamiya 645E from Ebay. It's was apparently unused, a display model. Came with the original box, literature, winder/handle, 80mm lens, 120 insert, has the prism and on board meter.</p>

<p>Any other "E" users out there? I was a bit taken back by the fact that it was so much plastic! But it seems like a quality product. Just shot a roll of film and am waiting for it to come back. If it's good, I can't tough the camera until Christmas.....my wife is getting me my Christmas gift early this year.</p>

<p>What's the deal with the "E"? Is it a cheaper model? Have any upgrades? I like the fact that the mirror can flip up, it has auto exposure. Those tiny little plastic tabs white tips on the sides of the film loader tells me to treat it very carefully or those suckers could snap one would think.</p>

<p>I've been playing with an old Mamiya C330, have aquired a few lenses for it and decided rather than digital I wanted a more modern Mamiya medium format camera.</p>

<p>Any idea what years the E model was manufactured?</p>

[charlessalomons]

Have an E as well. Was my first medum format camera. Happy with it. Also, Mamiya lenses are very high quality and relatively cheap. The only accessory I know of is a rapid winder that mounts on the right side. Would get a light meter and tripod too. Enjoy !

[randall ellis]

<p>I'm not sure when the were first made, around 2000 perhaps?, but I didn't upgrade my 1000S because of the plastic feel of the newer E. I also prefer a waist level finder, and I don't believe that the E has that as an option. As stated above, the only other option that I am aware of is a motorized winder...</p>

<p>- Randy</p>

[stephen_lepley]

<p>Thanks guys. I do own a complete Yashica 636 kit, its the later one that has the 4 element fix "normal" lens, wide and telephoto snap on lenses, also the 35mm conversion kit.</p>

<p>I have a Mamiya C330 with a 180mm lens, 105mm lens, and the 80mm lens is coming. It's also a 6X6 I believe. With the Mamiya C330 I picked up a prism top so that I can switch between waist level and eye level. I use both those cameras with a hand meter.<br>

The Mamiya 645E I picked up because I wanted a more updated system that had on-board metering and allowed lens changes. And I confess, the fact that it's a Mamiya and the cost were both a consideration. I didn't realize that it was mostly plastic but as long as the images are good, it's not a problem for me. I'm not a pro and I can treat it gently.</p>

<p>I've written Mamiya and given them the serial number and asked them if they can tell me when that series was discontinued and if they could tell by the serial number what year it was manufactured in.</p>

<p>I guess I'm just in search of a Mamiya users group, some place where "E" users or 645 users in general go to talk about shooting medium format with their 645's. You know, the E states in it's manual that it's a heavy duty professional model but I understand that when they introduced it for $1500 they very quickly dropped the price to $700. I think the all-plastic body hurt them, people felt it was too cheap. Also the fact that it didn't allow the pro's to change film backs hurt sales.</p>

<p>I'm liking it but still waiting for my first roll of film to come back and see how I did. Unfortunately, it's my coming Christmas gift. I'm going to have to put it away until Dec or at least my birthday in Nov.... or my wife will really be pissed at me! </p>

<p>Fortunately I've got the C330 and the Yashica so I can keep shooting medium format film. When fall in New England hits, I intend to catch it on Medium format using the Mamiya C330 6x6.</p>

<p> </p>

[gary_watson]

<p>It's tough enough. The Super/Pro/ProTL were plastic, too. It's not as flexible as these upmarket models but it does deliver. Get some extra inserts--which really aren't that flimsy--and cases for quicker film handling. No mid-roll back changes but it's faster than reloading a single insert. Mamiya lenses are plentiful and affordable in common focal lengths.</p>

[stephen_lepley]

<p>Thanks Gary. Well, obviously I'm excited about having it and looking forward to using it on a regular basis. <br>

One of the reasons I bought it was I could find a lot of lenses for it at reasonable rates on Ebay. So next year when I start adding the lenses, I know they will be good lenses, affordable, and readily available.</p>

[steve_parrott]

<p>I had a 645E and liked it. I now use a 645AFD mainly because I really like auto film advance and my poor eyesight is making using a fully manual focus camera more and more difficult. The E was certainly a good little camera. The "rapid winder" I had on mine seemed rather poorly named as it takes two sweeps of the lever to advance each frame, but I like it for the extra grip it gives on the camera.<p>Here are some shots done with my E a couple years ago. This was with Fuji Pro 160S film and a polarizer. I wish Kodak Ektar 100 had been available at the time, still, I have always been happy with how these turned out:<p>http://www.lightanon.com/-/lightanon/gallery.asp?cat=92469</p>

[stephen_lepley]

<p>Some beautiful shots there Steve thanks for taking time to make the link.<br>

<br /> Some of them look almost impressionistic when you can't really tell top from bottom or up from down and the branches covered with color are going in every direction.<br>

<br /> I've spent a life time scoffing at impressionism from a distance and now I'm learning that there are many aspect of impressionism I find pleasing.<br>

<br /> I'll be shooting with a C330 (6x6) and a Minolta X-700(35mm) this fall as well as with a digital Sony Cybershot. This winter the 645E can come out of the closet and I'll see what I can do with it.</p>

[tmcleland]

I also have been quite happy with my 645E. The availability of lenses is both plentiful and affordable, and as a slide

shooter, the quality of the images I've gotten out of it have been well worth it's relatively low price tag. I would bank that if

one is new to MF photography, or simply wants a second/backup MF rig, it's certainly worth having. The zoom lenses they

have were a tad disappointing.

<br><br>

As for toughness, it's not so plasitcy that it can't take a little abuse. It's been through about a million airports (and gets

searched nearly every time I might add), but all through Europe and the US it's never let me down. In fact, it survived a

rather unfortunate meeting with a sidewalk in Sedona. Though I did have to get the lens mount replaced after that one,

otherwise it never even hiccuped.

<BR>

<BR>

<img src="http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/56/l_9845ebffb3b58ff3841c848a74b42f40.jpg">

 

<BR><BR>

In fact, my first two ever gallery shows were taken with that camera. As a result, I was going to trade up for a RB67 a few

months back, but I just couldn't bring myself to part with it.

<BR><BR>

BTW, I'm not sure what the "E" is for either.

[Mike Gammill]

<p>I have a pair of 645E's that I use for weddings with side mounted AP 52 flashes. Great value. Get the 70mm f2.8 leaf shutter lens. Works normally or you can use the built in leaf shutter to get X sync up to 1/500 second.</p>

[stephen_lepley]

<p>Thanks everyone. My first roll should be coming back today so I'll soon know if this is shooting ok. I'm already working on getting another lens for it. Eventually I want to go from wide angle thru telephoto in fixed lenses and then maybe pick up one telephoto.</p>

[fred_paul_smith]

<p>The 645 E is manufactured from the year 2000. I am sure about it because I was then very curious about it. I had from 2000 till 2007 two Mamiya's -J, but I am very glad to be from 2007 the owner of a 645E. I use many years now digital camera's (als a full frame), but I still be very content with my 645E with 80 mm lens and a 150 mm lens.</p>

[stephen_lepley]

<p>I thought I had posted shots here but guess I didn't Here are the first shots off this Mamiya.....</p>

<p>Be warned, I think my new scanner overdid the tones and over-saturated the color a bit. I've found that disabling that feature and adjusting the tones by hand works better.</p>

<p>First shot is Bartons cove in Turners Falls. http://home.comcast.net/~disposable12/Scanned02copy.jpg</p>

<p>Second shot is from Poets Seat looking down on the Town of Greenfield. It was a bad air quality day, lots of haze but I still like the shot.... http://home.comcast.net/~disposable12/Firstshot.jpg</p>

<p>And this last shot is an old mill complex now called "the book mill". It has a restaurant, used book store, used music store, and artist studio all stuffed into a couple of buildings in this old mill complex beside a small river. http://home.comcast.net/~disposable12/bookbarn.jpg</p>

<p>I like what the camera is doing but since it's a Christmas gift my wife is going to make me put it on the shelf until my birthday or Xmas.</p>

[roger_martinez]

<p>I haven't had opportunity to hold a 645E, but a year and a half ago I purchased (used) the camera of my dreams (of over 20 years ago), the Mamiya 645 1000s. I have 2 DSLR's, Sony & Leica, and use them primarily for color photography. As of this summer I have taken the 645 off of 'paperweight' status and have decided to use it for B & W photography.<br>

I am amazed at the results. The dig's, even the Leica (both 10mp) and using Lightroom, cannot compare with the Mamiya's use of the Zone system. I won't be letting dust settle on this Mamiya anymore, it will be making dust in my hiking trails to the land of ingenuae lux art (fine art photography).<br>

The joy of the print sure makes hauling this 5 pounder along with my 10+ pound Bogen (purchased 23 years ago) across whatever landscape I am making fresh tracks in. True, no interchangeable back, it is okay, I have a sense of what Ansel Adams felt in making his prints. For speed and convenience, I'll take out the digitals, for savoring the depth of photography, it's all about my Mamiya 645 1000s.</p>

[jclee05]

<p>Hi all,<br>

I recently got myself a mint condition 645e with rapid winder grip GN401, I am waiting for my lenses to arrive from Keh so can't quite test it fully just yet.<br>

I find the grip a little tricky to get it to work, and am having trouble getting a good feel for the winder on the 645e body. Now I am testing it with no film in it, (since the lens is not mounted), just an empty spool. The MLU works.<br>

Is there a proper way to test this camera body/winding mechanism the way it is? I had set the Aperture selection to A, and film speed to 200, sometimes I am able to turn the winder a full circle until it stops, then the shutter would fire, but then the mirror would not return to its original position for me to test it again. Is this lag time expected (since there is no lens).<br>

I hope I am clear enough here. Basically have you had issues with your 645e and rapid winder GN401?<br>

thanks<br>

jc</p>

<p> </p>

[jclee05]

<p>Hi all,<br /> If you are using 645e with the rapid winder appreciate if you could shed some light on your experience with this camera and the quirky winder:<br /> I recently got myself a mint condition 645e with rapid winder grip GN401. It is used but in excellent condition with 90 day warranty, I am waiting for my lenses to arrive from Keh so can't quite test it fully just yet.<br /> At this juncture, I find the grip a little tricky to get it to work properly, I am also having trouble getting a good feel for the winder on the 645e body. I am testing it with no film in it, (since the lens is not mounted), just an empty spool. The MLU works.<br /> Is there a proper way to test this camera body/winding mechanism the way it is? I had set the Aperture selection to A, and film speed to 200, for the test. Sometimes I am able to turn the winder a full circle until it stops, the shutter would fire, but then the mirror would not return to its original position for me to test it again. Is this lag time expected (since there is no lens).<br /> I hope I am clear enough here. Basically have you had issues with your 645e and rapid winder GN401?<br /> thanks in advance<br /> jc</p>

<p> </p>

[jclee05]

<p>my apology for the double posts, I am not sure how it happened, perhaps the administrator can delete the second post.<br>

Update on my 645E issue: the lenses from KEH arrived, it turned out the battery was weak and I had to get a new 6v battery from Walmart ($2.97) The rapid winder works fine now, it does take two turns to get to the next frame. Plan to put a roll of b&w through it this weekend.<br>

It is a beautiful piece of equipment, It is light enough that I can do more MF outdoor. I bought the 55mm f/2.8N and 150mm f/3.5N as my initial set up. The camera, rapid winder, two lenses came to $335, a steal. Can't afford the 645AF, may be some day. Will post some pictures when I have them.</p>