Pentax 67II or Mamiya RB...what you think?

[michal_makowski1]

Hi I'm new in MF so I want to know Your opinion about this cameras. I

know meaby this is funny question but let me know what you think. It

is hard to get good informations about P67II here in Europe. I'm

interesting in landscape primary and macro sometimes. Thanks for Your

opinion. Regards, Michal

[psychophoto]

I use the RB quite a bit and have been very pleased with it. I use mine for just about everything, including landscape, macro, and handheld work (a lot easier than many seem to think!). True, it's a little heavy, but then most any 6x7 SLR is far from flyweight. I don't know what kind of lenses you tend to use more of, but if you tend to shoot wide and ultrawide, the Pentax has a clear advantage. The RB lenses, particularly the new KL lenses, are superb, but there is a lens or two that doesn't quite measure up. Among them is the 50mm. I know there are some sharp ones floating around out there, but from the 3 I had before buying the 65mm plus things I've heard from other people, the 50mm is largely considered a dog of a lens. I tend to shoot more "normal" and short tele focal lengths, so this hasn't really been much of an issue for me. One definite advantage (as I see it) of the Mamiya is simply the interchangable backs. Again, I don't know your shooting habits, but I find being able to switch films mid-roll, shoot polaroid, etc, to be indespensable. Other niceties with the RB are the rotating back (you get spoiled by it fast), leaf shuttered lenses, and the bellows focusing. The bellows in particular is nice for close-up work that would require extension tubes, etc with other systems. With the 65mm, I can focus down to about 12 inches. That's my two cents' worth. Cheers.

[allan_jamieson2]

Michal, either one of those cameras would perform well taking landscape

photographs. But the Pentax 67II is much more like a giant 35mm camera in

its styling, including excellent metering and will be that bit easier to adjust to

for somebody not used to medium format cameras.

 

I have just bought a Pentax 67II myself, from Robert White, to replace my

completely manual non metering Pentax 67 camera. After 2 weeks of bad

weather I managed to get a chance to use the camera yesterday afternoon

and it is quite an improvement upon the previous model. Apart from the

accurate metering that it has, it is much, much quieter when you press the

shutter. Pressing down gently on the prism as I took some pictures I was

conscious that there was less vibration from the shutter and the mirror, than

with the previous version.

 

There are two macro lenses for the Pentax; a newish 100mm model and an

older 135mm version. The 100mm lens has an extension tube that I think

allows one to one macro focusing; but I don't have personal experience of this

lens. The 135mm lens is optimised for close focusing, but doesn't give

anything like one to one macro, unless you add on an extension tube

yourself; it doesn't come with one supplied.

 

PS Check out the archives in the Pentax 67 forum, which is also here on

Photonet, there is a lot of information on the Pentax 67II there.

[morthcam]

My local camera store owner (an independent shop, he's a working photographer who doesn't obsess over equipment) has been an RB fan for years and years. He says that he will only shoot KL lenses from now on, he thinks they're on par with Zeiss glass.

 

BUT if you like wide-angle, be aware that there is no 50mm KL for the RB. I asked about that on the Mamiya.com RB forum, and the response from Mamiya was that the RB is most popular in Japan with portrait photographers, so the 50 doesn't sell in large numbers. Therefore, they're not going to produce a 50mm KL.

[david b]

If you're just doing landscape, I'd get the Pentax, assuming you didn't want to go to large format (which for my exclusively landscape work I have done).

[roberto_manderioli]

Although the RB is a great system, perfectly usable for landscape, I find the P67II is better in this area. It is lighter and easier to handhold. If you use the AE prism works just like a 35mm on steroids.

Another plus is the mirror lockup that can be used even handheld .

The RB is huge and very heavy. If I had to hike with that beast on my shoulders I would rather go for a Fuji GX680 which would allow movements (a real plus for landscapes) or even better a 4x5 folding camera.

 

Just my .2�

 

Roberto (Italy)

[allan_jamieson2]

I didn't realise that the RB didn't have any good quality wide angle lenses

available for it; having a 65mm lens as the first decent quality lens would be a

bit limiting for the kind of photography that I do. The Pentax 67II has two

excellent wide angle lenses available for it; the 45mm and the 55mm. It would

be worth having just for these lenses alone, which are incredibly useful focal

lengths to have in landscape photography.

[richard_ennis2]

May I also suggest the Bronica GS-1. This is much smaller and lighter than the Mamiya and offers the convenience of changing backs. You have to flop the camera to the sid efor verticles, but have not found this to be a big problem. It doesn't have the mirror slap of the Pentax, syncs at any speed, and you can get the lenses at bargain prices on the used market. I love mine for landscapes.

[robert_zembowicz]

Michal,

 

I agree with Richard - I compared Bronica GS-1 to Pentax 67 and Mamiya RB, and got myself GS-1. I do mostly landscapes, and GS-1 is smallest while having great optics. I also got rotary finder G, which (in addition to spot metering that regular finder does not have) is a blessing for verticals and for low-angle shots, because you look through the finder from the top rather than the back.

 

Another important feature for landscape is the leaf shutter - this eliminates the shake that P 67 has...

 

Overall, great camera for landscapes. I can easily hike long distances with my GS-1 hanging down from my neck, with two lenses on a belt and a Gitzo Explorer tripod. Very light combination.

 

From time to time I also use GS-1 when travelling, loaded with ISO 400 negative you can even do decent hand-hold shots thanks to small weight and no shutter-induced shake. Sure they are not cristal-sharp as on a tripod, but not always you can set up tripod when travelling, even if you carry one with you.

 

For studio, though, Mamiya probably would be better because of rotating back. But it is too heavy for hiking...

 

Pozdrowienia,

 

Robert

[george_rhodes]

I recommend the Pentax system. I use the Pentax 67 to shoot nature scenics. The Pentax mirror slap and shutter vibration that so many complain about are very easy to neutralize by shooting technique and have never caused problems for me. I make a living completely from selling my 6X7 scenics and 35mm wildlife images. I frequently produce excellent quality 24" X 30" prints from my Pentax 67 negatives and transparencies. I use the 45mm f4 and the 90-180mm f5.6 zoom and have found both lenses to be of outstanding optical quality. I also highly recommend the 90mm f2.8, but have not used it since acquiring the zoom. With pentax, for wide angles you would have the choice of the 45mm, 55mm, or the 55-100mm zoom. All three lenses are of excellent optical quality. I've never done macro work with my Pentax, so I really can't comment on that, but I have used the 135mm macro for scenics and found it to be a very good lens for that purpose. My 90-180mm focuses closer than the standard 200mm, so I suppose it could be used for close-up work with an extension tube. For many reasons, including better depth of field, I prefer 35mm for macro work.

[gene crumpler]

The latest 55mm f4 on the p67 is my favorite lens for most work. Razor sharp. The p67 wins hands down in the WA lens range with 55, 45 and the fish-eye.