<p>I got my Mamiya 6 with the full assortment of lenses a month ago from Japan. My early impressions:</p>
<p>1. I can see that the film winder could be fragile, but IME it's always the problem you don't anticipate that bites you, not the one you think will happen. Consider all of the '6 owners that HAVEN'T posted problems to the Internet.</p>
<p>2. Plastic/rubber appears to have degraded ever so slightly over time - it's a little sticky, especially if my hands are the least bit sweaty. No biggie so far.</p>
<p>3. Images are NEEDLE-PRECISION-TACK SHARP. WOW. Looking at a tripod mounted RVP 100 chrome on my lightbox with a Schneider 4x loupe takes my breath away. I should also add, my Bronica ETR images (when tripod mounted) look fantastic, too. But there seems to be something "extra sharp" about the Mamiya - believe the hype.</p>
<p>4. I'm good with the bokeh, at least so far. Some have complained of it. Maybe I'm just bowled over by the tonality, creaminess and "medium format look", but I like the OOF areas and what have you. Quite pleasant.</p>
<p>5. Leaf shutter! You can squeeze a couple of extra stops out of your shutter speed and still get good results. I think I shot an available light portrait of a buddy at 1/15 with the 50mm lens and the in-focus areas are perfectly sharp, at least on the 4" reference print.</p>
<p>6. Leaf shutter! This camera is so quiet to operate, it puts a grin on your face, especially when you are trying to be quiet and hear the light "click" of the shutter. No mirror slap is nice.</p>
<p>7. Rangefinder limitations and pros/cons - they exist.</p>
<p>8. Not digital! For good and bad. Returning to film after 10 years (though not exclusively) has been an excellent challenge for me and reinvigorating. I shoot differently with my DSLR than with my Bronica ETR than with the Mamiya. And I love shooting all of them, but especially MF film.</p>
<p>9. Be prepared that you may only be able to shoot B&W through this one day, if she serves you loyally and stays functional. The lovely color emulsions seem to be dying off a few at a clip. Commit to hoard film (I need to spend my $200 on 120 film yet this month, note to self). </p>
<p>10. The 150mm is a bit tough for me to focus, as the RF overlap area is a bit hard to see, or else I just need more practice (probably both). It's the least used of the 3 lenses on my rig so far.</p>
<p>11. You're buying into a (most likely) fully depreciated, devalued, obsolete operating system (film) and can get fantastic deals - hence the risk outlined above. And, yeah, I love seeing images from a 5DMKIII or D800, and want to want to upgrade my digital rig, but...I enjoy film. No matter what anyone says, a DSLR WILL be obsolete quickly. If you buy new in this market, you get great image quality at the top end, but...you're pre-paying someone else's depreciation. </p>
<p>12. We have lots of options as photographers today. Don't overthink it. Maybe buy two Fujis, or buy a Mamiya 6/7. But buy one. You'll buy more. I'm in the process of getting my granddad's Ikoflex restored. Why not? We live once - if a camera helps you get off the couch and shooting, or just "fits" properly in your hand, that's what counts. The Mamiya 6 feels right in my hand, as does my ETR. And I'mg digging formats other than APS-C or 135, especially square - "refreshing" is the word that comes to mind when I look through the finder.<br>
Good luck with the decision and getting to know your new camera(s)!</p>