whitecat
Lone Range(find)er
I used to have a Mamiya 6 and it's a great camera. I had the 7 II and while a great camera it is VERY loud with the shutter. Like a metal slap. I now have a Bessa III and it's a GREAT camera. Highly recommended and the best viewfinder of the 3.
benlees
Well-known
deirdre
Well-known
Can I ask why not a Mamiya 7? That's got 6x7 format. It also has more lens options than the Mamiya 6, though that can be both a plus and a minus.
segedi
RFicianado
Sold a Mamiya 7, didn't find it portable enough. Mind you it is light, the photos are awesome and I didn't find it to be too loud at all. Louder than my Bronica RF645, but not nearly as loud as the thunder in a hasselblad! I think 80mm in medium format is plenty wide for my tastes. So even though I haven't used it, I say do your best to try to get one of each in your hands, look through the viewfinder and pick what feels best. For me, I think it would be the Fuji GF670 (I like the black Bessa III, but not the price premium for essentially the same camera.)
Matus
Well-known
I have never handled the Bessa, but have Mamiya 6 with all 3 lenses. Here are my $0.02:
Based on what I have heard - the lens on the Bessa is a very good one sharpness/contrast wise - I would not be concerned about that. Somebody mentioned that out-of-focus areas sometimes do not look all that great with the Bessa. I do no knot about that but the 75/3.5 for Mamiya 6 is not bokeh king either. These are slow (f/3.5) and super sharp lenses not designed as portrait machines.
One point on the angle of view on Mamiya 6. As the image is square it really guides you to different compositions. I very rarely take image with thinking of cropping it later to rectangular. This in turn makes the 75 lens feel a bit wider than 50 mm does on small format even though it would be very similar on 645.
When I chose Mamiya 6 I knew I want more than 1 lens (IF the Bessa would have 65 or 70 lens instead of 80 i might have got it instead), but I did consider the Bessa III seriously. Mamiya 7 was also a very strong candidate, but more expensive AND it does not collapse. After about 30 rolls here is my experience with Mamiya 6:
+ the lenses (all 3) are GREAT - sharp from wide open on.
+ the collapsing feature of the lens mount is VERY practical - it saves about 3 cm. If you check the numbers the Mamiya 6 with the 75 lens collapsed is a little bit THINNER than the Bessa III closed.
+ the camera is quiet (though this rarely plays a role for my usage) (I am surprised to hear that Mamiya 7 is not)
+ well built, but I would expect it to get damaged if dropped from 2m on concrete (most cameras would, after all).
+ the focus and aperture rings are smooth with the right amount of resistance. I love how the focus feels.
- The metering is a bit tricky as there is no TTL. It takes some time to get used to - for critical shots I would use external meter. The area used for metering is pretty much the view of the 50 mm lens. But the only solution is to get an MF SLR instead of MF RF, period.
- the exposure compensation requires (for me) two hands to use. There is no indication of it in the viewfinder - it is easy to forget (I do so from time to time - last times 2 rolls
)
- if the winding mechanism breaks it is nearly impossible to get it repaired (or so I keep reading all the time)
- there is no wider lens than 50 mm (sometimes I wish for 35 or 40)
- 150 lens needs well calibrated rangefinder AND experience to focus properly on close distance wide open. The Mamiya 7 should be the same in this regard.
***********
I would choose the Bessa III (80 or 55) if:
- one lens is enough & you want a new camera
- you shoot in public (street stuff) - people are more friendly/open/curios when they see someone using an "old" camera - that was my experience with the Rolleiflex.
- want both 6x7/6x6 options
- if you prefer 6x7 to 6x6 than the 80 mm on Bessa may feel wider than 75 on Mamiya 6. The 55 version of the Bessa is about 28 mm in small format.
If I were you I would think (a lot) about how I want to use the camera. If you find out that you need just one lens AND want camera that is rather compact than the Bessa III could be better choice than Mamiya 7. Also cheaper. Do not forget the Bronica RF645. Users seem to love it. If you do not want long lens (expensive, to few produced) than it is cheaper than Mamiya 6.
The wide Bessa III should come rather soon (about 2 months or so), so if you are not in a hurry this could be just the right amount of time to give it a thought. Try to put your hands on Mamiya 6 or 7 if you can.
It seems that you are from Europe. Should that be (north) Germany than you could stop by and have a look at mine Mamiya 6. Feel free to PM me.
Based on what I have heard - the lens on the Bessa is a very good one sharpness/contrast wise - I would not be concerned about that. Somebody mentioned that out-of-focus areas sometimes do not look all that great with the Bessa. I do no knot about that but the 75/3.5 for Mamiya 6 is not bokeh king either. These are slow (f/3.5) and super sharp lenses not designed as portrait machines.
One point on the angle of view on Mamiya 6. As the image is square it really guides you to different compositions. I very rarely take image with thinking of cropping it later to rectangular. This in turn makes the 75 lens feel a bit wider than 50 mm does on small format even though it would be very similar on 645.
When I chose Mamiya 6 I knew I want more than 1 lens (IF the Bessa would have 65 or 70 lens instead of 80 i might have got it instead), but I did consider the Bessa III seriously. Mamiya 7 was also a very strong candidate, but more expensive AND it does not collapse. After about 30 rolls here is my experience with Mamiya 6:
+ the lenses (all 3) are GREAT - sharp from wide open on.
+ the collapsing feature of the lens mount is VERY practical - it saves about 3 cm. If you check the numbers the Mamiya 6 with the 75 lens collapsed is a little bit THINNER than the Bessa III closed.
+ the camera is quiet (though this rarely plays a role for my usage) (I am surprised to hear that Mamiya 7 is not)
+ well built, but I would expect it to get damaged if dropped from 2m on concrete (most cameras would, after all).
+ the focus and aperture rings are smooth with the right amount of resistance. I love how the focus feels.
- The metering is a bit tricky as there is no TTL. It takes some time to get used to - for critical shots I would use external meter. The area used for metering is pretty much the view of the 50 mm lens. But the only solution is to get an MF SLR instead of MF RF, period.
- the exposure compensation requires (for me) two hands to use. There is no indication of it in the viewfinder - it is easy to forget (I do so from time to time - last times 2 rolls
)- if the winding mechanism breaks it is nearly impossible to get it repaired (or so I keep reading all the time)
- there is no wider lens than 50 mm (sometimes I wish for 35 or 40)
- 150 lens needs well calibrated rangefinder AND experience to focus properly on close distance wide open. The Mamiya 7 should be the same in this regard.
***********
I would choose the Bessa III (80 or 55) if:
- one lens is enough & you want a new camera
- you shoot in public (street stuff) - people are more friendly/open/curios when they see someone using an "old" camera - that was my experience with the Rolleiflex.
- want both 6x7/6x6 options
- if you prefer 6x7 to 6x6 than the 80 mm on Bessa may feel wider than 75 on Mamiya 6. The 55 version of the Bessa is about 28 mm in small format.
If I were you I would think (a lot) about how I want to use the camera. If you find out that you need just one lens AND want camera that is rather compact than the Bessa III could be better choice than Mamiya 7. Also cheaper. Do not forget the Bronica RF645. Users seem to love it. If you do not want long lens (expensive, to few produced) than it is cheaper than Mamiya 6.
The wide Bessa III should come rather soon (about 2 months or so), so if you are not in a hurry this could be just the right amount of time to give it a thought. Try to put your hands on Mamiya 6 or 7 if you can.
It seems that you are from Europe. Should that be (north) Germany than you could stop by and have a look at mine Mamiya 6. Feel free to PM me.
PMCC
Late adopter.
Yikes. Better stop this thread before we run Mamiya 6 prices up through the roof.
katgut@earthlink.net
Established
Mamiya prices may be high, but they have been steady for years. So you can always sell them and not lose anything. It's like complaining about the price of Nikon scanners--you just can't seem to lose if you decide to sell.
2 more comments about the Mamiya 6: With the gradual disappearance of 220 rolls, it's convenient getting 12 vs 10 shots on a roll.
Also, the wind lever should not be a problem if you don't force it. I really doubt they just break on people unless they're forced. I've only had that situation on some Plus-X that didn't come off the first spool. If that happens at the end of a roll, don't force it, and take out the film in a changing bag.
2 more comments about the Mamiya 6: With the gradual disappearance of 220 rolls, it's convenient getting 12 vs 10 shots on a roll.
Also, the wind lever should not be a problem if you don't force it. I really doubt they just break on people unless they're forced. I've only had that situation on some Plus-X that didn't come off the first spool. If that happens at the end of a roll, don't force it, and take out the film in a changing bag.
Jamie123
Veteran
By the way, you might want to check out the GF670 and Bessa III groups on Flickr for actual pictures taken with the camera.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/voigtlander_bessa_iii/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/fujifilm_gf670/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/voigtlander_bessa_iii/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/fujifilm_gf670/
katgut@earthlink.net
Established
Just checked the prices on KEH of Mamiya 6, and a little shocked. Bargain grade just few months ago was $565--now up to $999.
PMCC
Late adopter.
@katgut: that ain't hay.
tomele
Member
@Matus : thanks a lot for your long write-up. Regarding the winding mechanism, an agreed servicing workshop here assured me that there was no problem with getting spare parts for Mamiya 6 at the moment, and that they happened to change the whole winding mechanism when necessary.
@all : thanks a million for your detailed and very useful comments. This drives me towards a Mamiya 6, although as some of you suggested, I might actually wait until the wide-angle version of the Bessa III is out to make a final decision.
@all : thanks a million for your detailed and very useful comments. This drives me towards a Mamiya 6, although as some of you suggested, I might actually wait until the wide-angle version of the Bessa III is out to make a final decision.
Jamie123
Veteran
Just keep in mind that the Bessa IIIW will enter the market at a price of about $3300.
Michiel Fokkema
Michiel Fokkema
I haven't used the Bessa. I do use the Mamiya 6 a lot. I'd go for the interchangeable lenses any day.
Cheers,
Michiel Fokkema
Cheers,
Michiel Fokkema
Carterofmars
Well-known
The Mamiya 6 may be a little harder to repair; parts are getting more scarce. IMHO your prob better off with the newer Bessa or Fuji. Also having the choice between 6x6 and 6x7 is awesome. The camera is a dream to shot with.
Good luck.
Good luck.
wolfpeterson
Established
This thread is relevant to my interests, having this exact debate. I've read all of this, and I've come to the conclusion that I'll buy whichever crosses my path first at a price that won't ruin me