Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2008/02/27
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]At 11:07 AM -0800 2/26/08, Frank Filippone wrote:
>There are differences... the Mamiya RB ( etc.) Bronica S series, Rollei SL66
>and 6000 Series, some early Mamiya 645, Fuji 680, and the Hasselblad are
>somewhat direct competitors. They are tripod mounted, studio cameras for
>the most part. When configured for eye level viewing, off hand, you would
>need muscles like the Hulk to hold them up for any period of time. Having
>said that, a LOT of wedding photographers used them off hand.
>
>The Mamiya 6 and 7 are eye level cameras. Lighter by far, and more
>ergonomic than a Hassy in eye level configuration.
>
>Apples and Oranges.....
>
>Lens wise, most Mamiya lenses are better than one would expect. Better
>than Zeiss? Maybe. But they are certainly top performers.
>
>Frank Filippone
>red735i@earthlink.net
>
The Mamiya 645 is/was also much more a handheld option. I had a Hassy
for a bit, but later got a 645 system for construction photography,
and especially aerial photography. Flash sync was never my concern,
and in every other way the 645 was superior for my purposes.
With the quick change (and cheap) inserts, film change was extremely
quick giving me 15 or 30 shots per roll, and with the compact prism
and winders it was a relatively compact and quick setup that was easy
to use in a small plane or scrambling around concrete formwork.
The lenses I used for this purpose, the 55, 80 macro and 110 were
also first rate. I also used the 50 shift lens quite a bit. The
latter was set up well enough to be able to be used handheld, which
was certainly not true of the Schneider shift lens made for the
Rollei etc.
Some of the lenses for the 645 weren't that good; especially the 35.
If I needed that sort of angle of view in a handheld camera I used
the SWC.
--
* Henning J. Wulff
/|\ Wulff Photography & Design
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