Fuji GW670 Vs Mamiya 7?

S

Sikario

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Has anyone had experience with both these cameras? How do they compare... optically, size, usability, viewfinder quality?

I have never seen them back to back to compare size and weight and it's difficult to tell on the net, has anyone got any photos of the two together? That would really help me.

I think ideally I'd go for a Mamiya 6, as I am more accustomed to square format, but they seem to be rarer and more expensive. Here in the UK anyway.

I don't really need another medium format camera but I can't help but search for them on ebay, and I need to quench my thirst for another. Help!

:p

Thanks.
 
I think the obvious deciding factor will be lens options.

However, I had a great time with the fixed-lens fuji 645 cameras. I never got my hands on a 670; I wanted a gsw690 for a long time, but now they are hard to come by.

The mamiya 6s may be a better overall deal than you think; bear in mind that the lenses can be had for next to nothing, whereas there are really only two semi-inexpensive lenses for the 7 system, namely the 65 and the 80mm. When I did the math and realized that I could have two barely-used mamiya sixes sharing three lenses for the price of a new 7ii system with two lenses, that's the path that I took. The only slightly bitter pill I had to swallow was the lack of the 43mm on the 6. Now the 6 has become more scarce and therefore more expensive, so the deal may not be as sweet as it was a year or two ago.
 
i'd get the 6x9 version if i wanted a fuji. it doesn't balance as well as the mamiya 7, and if you're not getting the extra 2cm...

the bodies and lenses are otherwise comparable, except for the meter.
 
The Fuji is a heavier and bigger camera. The rangefinder patch is nicer in the Mamiya and I found the viewfinder brighter as well. Optically, both companies make great lenses.

I have two Mamiya 6s and the collapsing lens mount does make a big difference in carrying the camera. The 6 and 7 are the same size otherwise. (I too perfer the square format.)
 
Sikario,

The GW670 is big, but feels hollow, the shutter sound is a "clank". The lens is amazingly sharp. I would have gotten a Mamiya 7 if it's not so expensive.

I love the 6x7 format. Square format composition still weirds me out.
 
Sikario said:
Has anyone had experience with both these cameras? How do they compare... optically, size, usability, viewfinder quality?

I have never seen them back to back to compare size and weight and it's difficult to tell on the net, has anyone got any photos of the two together? That would really help me.

I think ideally I'd go for a Mamiya 6, as I am more accustomed to square format, but they seem to be rarer and more expensive. Here in the UK anyway.

I don't really need another medium format camera but I can't help but search for them on ebay, and I need to quench my thirst for another. Help!

:p

Thanks.
Click to expand...
I used a GS670 III for a number of years and loved it. It was a great camera for street-shooting in Paris, and it worked well for landscapes in Maine as well. A bit on the heavy side, and with a shutter that goes "ka-chung," but a superb lens (IMHO as good as the Mamiya) and very rugged construction.

I eventually sold it in order to get a Mamiya 7 for two reasons: the option for more than one lens and for the reduction in weight and smaller size of the Mamiya.

Having used the Mamiya 7 now for awhile, I love it, but I can't say that it's a)a "better" camera than the Fuji, or b)that the price difference accurately reflects the value of either camera. If you can live with a few ounces more weight and a somewhat cheesy-sounding (but not cheesy performing) shutter, and you don't mind having only a single lens, the Fuji is a better buy.

Larry
 
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