deciding on whether or not to sell mamiya 7

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noah b

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Hey guys, I'm having a slight conflict deciding on whether or not to sell my mamiya 7 II to get a fuji gsw 6x9. My only concern is the rangefinder brightness. I'm fine with a fully manual camera since I have a voigtlander vc meter. The bigger negative also is rather appealing. I have a 4x5 too and want to have my MF rf a different aspect ratio than my view camera. What are your thoughts?
 
I have a Mamiya 7 (with the 80mm) and a Fuji GW690II right now, thinking eventually that I would sell one. Although big rangefinders they feel very different in the hand. The M7 is much more ergonomic and quite a bit lighter. It just fits in the hand better. Having AEL is a big plus as well. When I use the Fuji I bring another camera with a meter just to make sure. Most camera bags can easily fit two cameras without really any problem.

The M7's shutter is just a ''click'' whereas the Fuji is more of a ''CLACK". I find the M7 easier/faster to load. The built in lens shade of the Fuji is a bit loose but is nice to have.

6x9 is very nice- you might as well go as big as you can. I like 6x7 also. I don't shoot much so having 8 pictures on a roll is actually an advantage for me. 6x7 is a pain to store in neg sleeves. 6x4.5, 6x6, and 6x9 all go in the same size Printfile.

Lens quality is a wash. There might be a difference, but no one besides the MTF heads will notice.

I have no idea which one I would sell. The Fuji has big negs and M7 has interchangeable lens. The M7 is very nice to carry around. The Fuji is quite simple mechanically. The M7 patch is a little brighter and is square. Shouldn't really be problem to use either. I wear glasses and have an easier time with the frame lines of the Fuji.

Tough call!
 
I'd keep the Mamiya 7, personally. The GSW is a bigger beast and I think the neg performance side of things is not terribly important as things will be so close. If you crop 6x7 to 5x7cm you will have your different aspect ratio and lose a little neg, but unless you are printing really big this wont even result in any noticeable difference as the fuji is 6x82 I recall, so its only about 12mm longer.

The Mamiya is very quiet and more ergonomic, so to me, its a no brainer.
 
I would keep the Mamiya, but then I have one. It is light and easy to use and deathly quiet. Of course you know that. I might consider picking up the Fuji to test, and then deciding on selling one or the other. I would never trade the Mamiya in directly for an untested camera.

The aspect ratio is a completely different issue, but I would have a hard time justifying anything other than either square or 4x5 aspect ratio. Of course, that is me.
 
I'm trying to decide whether or not to sell my 7II/43/65 kit to help fund the new Leica M9. A really really tough decision.
 
jplomley said:
I'm trying to decide whether or not to sell my 7II/43/65 kit to help fund the new Leica M9. A really really tough decision.
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This is my kit exactly except I have a body for each lens and there is no way I would consider an M9 worth giving this up for... 😀 ...but courses for horses

Double Negative said:
I doubt I'd ever sell the Mamiya 7II. It's so portable, and the results are incredible. Unless you really need the negative size...
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Couldn't agree more... I do prefer the 2:3 ratio of 35mm and thought I would prefer a 6x9 MF but once I used the Mamiya 7II, I ffell in love with it. I actually forget sometimes just what this camera can do and only yesterday I scanned this single image from it and was reminded again just what this camera can do. For MF the handling is superb.

...and this is recovered from having accidentally left the EV on -1

3939621909_e4e1315f8e_b.jpg
 
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I sold a 6x9 Fuji (among other things) to fund the purchase of a Mamiya 7 and never regretted it. I was not crazy about the 2:3 aspect ratio of the negs from the Fuji and would usually end up cropping the left/right sides to end up with something nearer to the 6x7 anyway, so the bigger neg was not much advantage to me anyway. I can't imagine you not regretting getting rid of a Mamiya 7 at some stage .. it's such an amazing camera in many respects.
 
Yup, my Mamiya 7II is my "cold dead hands" camera -- as in good luck prying it away. When I'm developing negs I definitely feel like a kid at X-mas when I open up the Jobo.

Pretty good chance you would regret giving it up at some point.

That's a beaut, Craig -- care to share your scanning tips? I still get cranky over scanning my 6x7s.

JT
 
JCT said:
That's a beaut, Craig -- care to share your scanning tips? I still get cranky over scanning my 6x7s.

JT
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Thanx JT 😀 I wouldn't really say I had much in the way of scanning "tips". I use a Nikon 9000ED for 6x7 with Vuescan. On the scanner I use the original holder with a single piece of AN glass (from focalpoint.com) on top; in Vuescan, basically everything is turned off except I do tend to have light grain reduction on. I also have .ini files for each film type that includes settings made using a clear piece of film base to set the exposure lock. And I scan at full resolution as a greyscale image. Don't think there's much more to it 😀
 
If you haven't tried a Fuji 6x9 before you may be surprised at the differences in feel. I have a Mamiya 6 and I just couldn't get used to the noise of the Fuji GW690III shutter mechanism - it really sounds crude compared to the Mamiya. I also preferred the Mamiya viewfinder and having a built-in meter and interchangeable lenses was much more convenient.
 
craygc said:
Thanx JT 😀 I wouldn't really say I had much in the way of scanning "tips". I use a Nikon 9000ED for 6x7 with Vuescan. On the scanner I use the original holder with a single piece of AN glass (from focalpoint.com) on top; in Vuescan, basically everything is turned off except I do tend to have light grain reduction on. I also have .ini files for each film type that includes settings made using a clear piece of film base to set the exposure lock. And I scan at full resolution as a greyscale image. Don't think there's much more to it 😀
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Ah-ha, I figured this was the 9000ED. 😀 I use an Epson 750 with the betterscanning holders, but there really is a *big* difference. Sigh. My better half is not going to be thrilled when I start lobbying for the Nikon scanner 😉 . Nice approach with using the film base for exposure, similar to what I was taught for densitometry.

Thanks for the input!

JT
 
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