Medium Format System around 500

[rashed_s]

<p>I have the Mamiya RZ 67 II with a full system and 6 lenses including the fish eye, it is a camera of great weight other wise it delivers superb images and the 6X7 format help to do large prints.<br>

Recently I went for the Pentax 645N and 5 auto focus lenses, it is lighter and much more control with the auto focus, there is no mirror lock up but according to many experts it is not been needed, it is also not high on the price for a second hand, may be the used lenses manual ones are also relatively sheep to find with keh.com, adorama and b&h.<br>

Of course the Hasselblad 503CW I have two of them, one Hasselblad 500 C/W and the Hasselblad Flex body along with Xpan remains my favorites, the quality of these camera are more superiors than all of the other mentioned one.</p>

[Lou_Meluso]

<p>My vote is for Bronica SQ-A on a tight budget! With all this talk about 6x7, don't forget 6x9cm! Mamiya Press cameras...love 'em!</p>

[frank_gary]

<p>Just a quick note on the weight of the RB as I have been looking hard at them as well. When trying one in a shop with one of the larger zoom lenses I did not find the weight to be horrible and even had delusions of hand holding that were note entirely busted. I just weighed my Nikon F5 with a 70-300 and flash/film and it came in a bit over 6 pounds which is more than the weight Mamiya quotes for the RB67 Pro SD with 127 lens and the 120 back. I would consider what I weighed with the minimum carry setup for that camera (I wasn't including extra lenses, spare batteries, more than the film already in the cam etc). When I was looking to buy the only real concern I had was the number of backs I would want to carry as well as fitting everything into a shoulder bag I already owned.</p>

[robert lee]

<blockquote>

<p>Nikon F5 with a 70-300 and flash/film and it came in a bit over 6 pounds which is more than the weight Mamiya quotes for the RB67</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Whoever said the F5 was hand-holdable :-)</p>

<blockquote>

<p>... the only real concern I had was the number of backs I would want to carry</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I find three backs about right: Acros, 400 TMAX, and 400 TMAX marked for two stop push. This, along with the 90mm and 250mm lenses isn't actually that bad to haul around. The awkwardness comes when also carrying a tripod.</p>

<p>I also occasionally use a Koni-Omga 6x7 rangefinder press camera. It's more compact than the RB and viable on a monopod.</p>

[frank_gary]

<p>Ok true no one has ever said the F5 was a simple lightweight cam. I guess my point truely was that body and batteries only the F5 weighs about half the RB and plenty of people would be happy carrying two of them all day. I'll agree that its the addition of a tripod that makes medium format a pain to carry. I use a bit of climbing "string" and a carabiner to snap it to my think tank bag. </p>

[zack_zoll]

<p>Mervyn-<br>

By 'lens quality', I mean that not all lenses (or systems of lenses) are created equal. For instance, a high-end Rolleiflex will almost always produce better enlargements than a Yashicamat, even though the negative size is the same. Obviously there will be much more of a difference with fine-grained film, as film grain is a limiting factor too. At smaller than maximum size (say, 11x14), a 6x6 with excellent lenses and an extremely flat negative plane (like the Hassy or Rollei)will often produce the same or better enlargements than a 4x5 Graflex or even many 8x10 cameras. At those sizes, the larger negative doesn't have a chance to shine, for lack of a better phrase.</p>

<p>To give you an analogy, it's like comparing a ridiculously sharp ten megapixel image with a moderately sharp 20 megapixel image.</p>

<p>As far as the weight of the RB versus the F5 ... the RB is set up differently. There may not be a huge weight difference, but the F5 is denser, and fits in the hands more readily. I have fairly large hands, and I often have trouble hand-holding it. The lack of a proper grip (unless you want to add more cost and weight) doesn't help either. I say it's an indoor camera because 90% of RB users need to carry not only the heavy camera and lenses, but a heavy tripod as well. It can certainly be done, but that's a lot of consideration there.</p>

[jodys]

<p>Much of the dreaded 'weight' of the Mamiya RB is in the prism. If you're hiking, use a standard waist-level finder, hang it on a strap on your shoulder, you'll be fine. The lenses really take a back seat to none, they are world-class optics at rock-bottom prices right now. The biggest advantage of the RB for night photography is the separation of in-lens leaf shutter from the body shutter release, what would be called mirror lock-up on another camera. Basically, when using a cable release, you trip the body release which raises the mirror, then your cable release only fires the whisper-quiet Seiko shutter in the lens. Compared to the ghastly clunk of a Pentax 6x7 (even with MLU), this is a dream system. I should take mine out more often, it gives much better results than the Rolleiflex I usually bring because it's so damn cute.</p>

[mervyn_wilmington]

<p>Zach - I agree generally with your latest comments about lens quality. Your earlier one appeared to relate to the RBSD alone - that is why I remarked on it.</p>

<p>As far as weight is concerned, my D700 with a large zoom is no featherweight. What I can do with the RBSD - when using a waist level finder - is to set the neck strap so that part of the weight is taken by that and the remainder by my hands, and I can concentrate on taking the photograph. It is still rather heavy to carry around though: if I were only fifty years younger..................</p>

[richard baznik]

<p>I agree on the choice of 6x7 rather than smaller formats. Think about the Bronica GS-1, a 6x7 system that I've been using for about 15 years. Prices are very good (KEH, *Bay, etc.) and there is a supply of used gear out there. Good build quality, good optics, lighter and more compact than the RBs. Only drawback is that you can't fit a digital back on the body.</p>

[rashed_s]

<p>How could we relate Nikon F5 with Mamiya RB 67, I use the Nikon F5, some times with the Nikon 300MM F2.8VR, the F5 is the fastest auto focus camera the world have seen, this is not the case with the RB67, neither with its lenses, thats where the weight plays a major rule.</p>

[richardsperry]

An older Hasselblad kit(500c/cm) is in the 500 to 600 range.

If thats what you want, save up and get one.

 

Pristine 501c's are going for about 1000-1100.