msbarnes
Well-known
Does anybody in the NYC Area have a Makina 67 that I can play around with? I'm thinking of picking one of these cameras up, and so I wanted to play around with one for a few minutes.
Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
There's one at Adorama but it might not work. They also have a Brooks Veriwide with an SA. Amazing camera.
Phil Forrest
Phil Forrest
msbarnes
Well-known
Thanks! I checked Adorama just a few days ago, in person, and they told me that they didn't have any....they didn't really check though.
I'll let them know that I saw one online.
I'll let them know that I saw one online.
Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
Try to talk with Andy about it. He's THE used gear guy.
Calzone has a Plaubel Proshift but that is a completely different animal.
Phil Forrest
Calzone has a Plaubel Proshift but that is a completely different animal.
Phil Forrest
JChrome
Street Worker
After dealing with Adorama, I have such a distaste in my mouth I don't think I can go back... those guys piss me off like no other.
Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
I didn't say buy it from Adorama. ha!
I know what you mean though. I only stop by there for cheap film if I'm in that part of town. Their rating system is awful. I dare say they are almost deceptive about their gear. I almost bought a Nikon S2 from them a few years ago which they said was working fine yet the snow speeds all were 1/30 second. They acknowledged the issue but when I asked for a discount on the body, they refused and said that the cosmetic condition made it Ex condition so the price remained for a camera which obviously needed a CLA.
Another time I wanted to buy an IR cut filter they had in stock made by a telescope company. It had the same thread diameter and pitch as my Canon 50mm f/1.4 which I wanted to use on my M8. Once I took the camera out of my bag to try the filter on the lens, the salesman took the filter back and said he couldn't sell it to me but didn't say why. Instead he tried to push another brand of UV/IR cut filter on me plus a 48/49mm step up ring plus a hood. I griped a little bit and said I had money for the filter I came in for but he wouldn't sell (because it only ran less than $25 instead of $75 if you ask me.) So I walked out.
msbarnes only said he wanted to fool around with the camera somewhere in NYC. Just going to Adorama doesn't mean he has to buy though.
Phil Forrest
JChrome
Street Worker
I didn't mean to imply that you thought he should buy from them. I was just venting about how terrible they are 
.
I could vent about every single camera store in NYC (except B&H... aside from the high prices). Don't even get me started about K&M in Chinatown...
Anyway, back to the OP. I would join the NYC meetup group. The thread will probably come active here soon for December. It's a good group of guys and they may have some insight.
I am thinking about the Makina 67 as well... and am going through the usual comparison - Mamiya 6 or 7, Fuji GL or Gw 690 series, Fuji GF670 etc. I am leaning towards the Mamiya 7 for the basic reasons, lens choice, lens quality (which I keep reading as superb) and built in modern design/ergonomics. The 35 mm panoramic option sounds nifty as well.
.I could vent about every single camera store in NYC (except B&H... aside from the high prices). Don't even get me started about K&M in Chinatown...
Anyway, back to the OP. I would join the NYC meetup group. The thread will probably come active here soon for December. It's a good group of guys and they may have some insight.
I am thinking about the Makina 67 as well... and am going through the usual comparison - Mamiya 6 or 7, Fuji GL or Gw 690 series, Fuji GF670 etc. I am leaning towards the Mamiya 7 for the basic reasons, lens choice, lens quality (which I keep reading as superb) and built in modern design/ergonomics. The 35 mm panoramic option sounds nifty as well.
They can be assholes in there. They had a camera on the counter one day... a Leica. I just looked at it up close and they said "Don't touch that." Once my friend Cal walked over (Calzone on this forum), they said... "Hey, look at this." Why? Well, Cal is known to buy from them. However, how could they tell I wouldn't buy from them? I've been dealing with these NYC camera shops a long time and many assume you don't have money and aren't worth dealing with. F-em. Thankfully the internet allows me to not deal with these fools anymore.
Range-rover
Veteran
I purchased my Nikon S3 from them, but I purchased it online. When I go in there
I only purchase filters or film in the store. When I purchased a big item, there was
something wrong with it (I got it used) and always brought it back and sometimes
their not that friendly.
Range
I only purchase filters or film in the store. When I purchased a big item, there was
something wrong with it (I got it used) and always brought it back and sometimes
their not that friendly.
Range
msbarnes
Well-known
Ahhh IC.
I did feel that they were a little rude but I figured that it was a New York thing? (No offense to anyone) I just moved to NYC from California (SF/Bay Area) and I've found a few of the workers here to be less patient and more direct.
I did feel that they were a little rude but I figured that it was a New York thing? (No offense to anyone) I just moved to NYC from California (SF/Bay Area) and I've found a few of the workers here to be less patient and more direct.
DKimg
Established
Range-rover
Veteran
No offense taken, as a New Yorker all my life you have to deal with all
kinds in New York. there all different, I go to B&H and everyone say's
hello other places not so much.
Range
Phil_F_NM
Camera hacker
While New Yorkers, Philadelphians and Bostonians may be very "up front" to the point of being rude, I know that once you live in one of those cities for a while and return to your western US place to visit, everything is slower, there is a lot more intolerance and in the end, it feels like people just don't have your back as much in a town like Albuquerque, NM as in NYC or Philly.
Phil Forrest
dtcls100
Well-known
Excuse my ignorance here about the Makina 67, but what advantages does it have over the Mamiya 7? I can see a number of disadvantages but do not know the advantages.
mfogiel
Veteran
The f 2.8 lens, plus it folds down flat.
msbarnes
Well-known
This, these are the main advantages to me.
I went to Adorama yesterday and tested it out. I like the camera. It feels very solid, the viewfinder is clear and bright, and the shutter is quiet. The patch is OK, not Leica good, but certainly usable. The ergonoics are unconventional but I don't find it to be that big of a deal.
And most importantly the staff at Adorama was polite, haha.
Particular
a.k.a. CNNY, disassembler
If you do end up buying one, feel free to show up with it at a NYC meet-up, because I don't remember us having had one there before.
EDIT: You are also welcome without it of course. There is no prerequisite.
EDIT: You are also welcome without it of course. There is no prerequisite.
msbarnes
Well-known
Yes, I'm going to join the NYC meet-ups! with or without a Makina
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
J,
I had a Mamiya 6 with the 50/4.0 for a while. The collapsing made for a rather compact MF camera. The glass was modern and kinda high contrast.
The Makina 67W is of interest to me because of its compactness, but I ended up settling for the old Fuji's that had interchangable lenses for both versatility and durability. I own a 65/8.0, 105/3.5 and the rare 150/5,6 that represent a Super Angulon, a Tessar and a Sonnar respectively. Because I own a GL 690 and a GM670 I can use all these lenses for both 6x9 and 6x7 for 6 FOV's.
The Plauibel 69W Proshift is my 6x9 ultrawide with a 47/5.6 Super Augulon with a 21mm equiv FOV.
Cal
Calzone
Gear Whore #1
John,
All I know is that I get VIP treatment at both Adorama and B&H. I really like the preferential treatment, the special "Calzone" offers, deals and discounts. LOL.
It seems like my friends save all the good stuff for me. That's how I got the M3-DS that had the prism resilvered by Leica Germany where it got a factory overhaul.
Basically these guys are my friends. Also know that my friend Abe I got a summer internship job for his daughter at the hospital where I work, I gave my friend Eddy some bike hats because he is a serious bike racer when I was downsizing, and that all these guys know that I like and appreciate really cool retro gear.
Cal