help with 'real life' size difference mamiya 6&7

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rbelyell

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fool me twice, shame on me: i just bought a 'texas leica' fuji 6x7 with 100mm lens, and to my utter dismay it arrived well larger than the-what-i-considered-unwieldy-and-sold pentacon 6! my fault, i didnt do enough homework.

so, can anyone help me with my new homework assignment: i do not in any way want to shoot a medium format rig as big as the fuji, so ive settled on the mamiya 6 or 7. imo, 6x7 is a little more flexible than 6x6, so size being pretty close id probably go with the 7. BUT, importantly to me, the size question CAN very much make thing UNEQUAL. please take into account that i will absolutely almost exclusively use the 150mm lens on each camera!

so, can users tell me what the real world size difference is between the 6 and 7 plus 150? and it would be great if anyone could also compare either with the behemouth that is the fuji 6x7 with 100/3.5. PS, for reasons not worth explaining, i do NOT want a folder! so im hoping we can just keep the discussion among the three cams listed.

thanks so much
tony
 
Size in these isn't by any stretch compact, especially if you want a 150mm lens. Personally I believe you're going to be disappointed in this search.

The camera that would come pretty close would be the Bronica RF65. Like anything else a compromise, smaller negative but a smaller camera. It does have both 100mm & 135mm lenses. They're RF coupled & parallax corrected, at least on the earlier cameras.
 
Having a Mamiya 7 with a few of their marvellous lens , begs the question, why the 150?
It'll certainly add depth to the camera with it's physical length and then there's the matter of that lens slowing down the ease of use ( that being the rangefinder patch becomes quite small and the light metering is almost a spot meter). I can't speak of the Mamiya 6 and have only handled a Texas Leica once, which fit my larger hands well (as does the 7)
Peter
 
Moto-Uno said:
Having a Mamiya 7 with a few of their marvellous lens , begs the question, why the 150?
It'll certainly add depth to the camera with it's physical length and then there's the matter of that lens slowing down the ease of use ( that being the rangefinder patch becomes quite small and the light metering is almost a spot meter). I can't speak of the Mamiya 6 and have only handled a Texas Leica once, which fit my larger hands well (as does the 7)
Peter
Click to expand...

I think you've got this backward.

With the 150, the meter covers nearly the entire area within the frame lines, making it more like an average meter.

With the 43mm, the meter behaves like a spot, because it takes up only a small amount of the frameline area.

To the OP, I find the Mamiya 7 to be about as large as a modern DSLR, but not nearly as heavy. Also, I own the 150, 80, and 43, and the 150 is by far my least used lens. It's super sharp (as are all of the M7 lenses), but the MFD is so long that it's of limited use for portraits beyond the 80 (except for giving a bit nicer perspective).
 
I'm assuming you're referring to the Fuji GM670 body? Maybe this will help you

b696cc5e035dff39f0ca5ad228e06c6c



The Fuji 670 and 690 share the same form factor.
The Mamiya 6 pictured above has the lens mount retracted - the Mamiya 7 has a fixed lens mount permanently extended. Otherwise they also largely share the same form factor.

FWIW, I don't think you'll find a more nimble or ergonomic 6x7 (or 6x6) RF than the Mamiya. Edge100 is accurate regarding the metering and longer focal lengths. The 150mm lens certainly could be a source of frustration, YMMV. The system really shines using wide lenses.
732iukxq
 
thanks tony. thats exactly perfect. i also found some net info saying the 6 is about 10 oz lighter than the fuji. in your picture its looks as small in relation to the fuji as the the leica does from it.
tony
 
I stand corrected on the metering, but I will say that compared to other metered cameras in my possession it certainly meters a much smaller area of what you see through the rangefinder. Peter
 
I think, that you are a bit misguided about wanting to use a 150mm lens on a MF rangefinder camera - you will have great difficulty getting the focus right, and you cannot focus anywhere closer than, say 1.5 meters.
if you want a reasonably small MF camera with a good portrait type lens, research the 645 format: Pentax 645, Mamiya 645, perhaps also the Bronica 645. I have a Bronica RF with the 100mm, but the lens, while very good, is big and difficult to focus at close distances.
 
I feel your pain. When I opened the box that my Fuji rangefinder was in and pulled the camera out (the box was suspiciously big, which should have been a tip off), my wife burst out laughing. Always felt like I needed a stick on red nose and big floppy shoes when I shot it, which wasn't much. I thought that there was no reason a camera needed to be that big! A Mamiya 6/7 is much smaller and human size. The Mamiya didn't work for me though. The bodies feel like loose hard rubbery material on that metal frame and my rangefinder was forever going off. Ended up w/ a little Rolleicord that I liked much better. If you need a 150 lens then that obviously won't work. Nowadays all I shoot is 35mm because it's a small format that is easily carried around, you can take quick photos w/ it, and up to 12x18 the prints are nice and sharp.
 
If u really want compact interchangeable medium format, nothing beats the Bronica RF... The slr 645 from various makers are not too far off.

I agree w/ Frank about the build quality of the Fuji's. I almost bought a Mamiya 6 at one time.. I am partial to 6x6 more so then 6x7 format. Also the 6 is slightly less bulky to carry.. If I remember correctly the front collapses when not in use.

Good luck
Gary
 
frank: would be great, and helpful, to know why you think the 150 a waste of time.

phil: thx, very helpful and good review as well.

steve m: thanks and lol, really. i wont even show it to my wife, its too embarassing.

gary: thx. if you ever see a bronica 100 lens, let me know. i read 'theyre as plentiful as unicorns'!

im very happy shooting my rx1 for my favorite 35mm FOV and for 80% of my digi needs, rest taken care of with my m4/3 gear. for film i have no need/desire to replicate my digi gear. i love my xpan for pano and general 35mm shooting. i want medium format specifically and overwhelmingly only for portrait prints. not digitized proofs, only portrait prints. my style is not to get in peoples faces, and thats not debatable for me, though i know many differ, hence the wanting a telephoto and not particularly caring about 'minimal focus distance'.

long way 'round, none of my gear is big, so i want the most compact 75+mm FOV avvailable, format not so important. ive used folders and i dont like 'em. thats how i got to the M6/7 with 150. from a post above, i am now considering a bronica 65rf with 100 as well. realistically, i think an M6/150 combo is going to be much easier to find, much cheaper and pretty compact vs the M7 and a tad bigger than the hard to find, more expensive bronica w 100.

thats how i see it. if we dont argue my preferences, hows my reasoning?
 
I don't really get all of the hate people have for the 150mm lens on the Mamiya 6... Maybe I'm lucky, but my copy is very sharp and I've never had a problem with focusing it. When my wife shoots with it, that's actually her favorite lens of the three...
 
rbelyell said:
gary: thx. if you ever see a bronica 100 lens, let me know. i read 'theyre as plentiful as unicorns'!
Click to expand...

Just pm u.

Btw Bronica does have its own issue.. So do your research.. Not everyone has run into the issues. When I was shooting a lot w/ the Bronica, I never encountered any of the mentioned issues.

Gary

Ps... Here is the link to the one I am aware of. The winder issue. I never had the problem..
http://arukucamera.net/BronicaRF645.html
The advice was to use it regularly..don't let it sit. Something to check on when u get the camera. Stick a roll of film in and make sure u don't gave this problem.
 
Last edited:
IMO the Mamiya 6 is well made, the 7 a bit less so. I've owned both the 6 and a number of Fuji RFs. If fit and finish are the concerns, I'd take a 6 in good condition over a 7 or a Fuji any day.

There are two main issues with the 6/150 combination. First, it doesn't focus very close. Second, you need to make sure your rangefinder is in as close to perfect adjustment as can be. If there's any doubt, Bob Watkins (Precision Camera Works) is one technician who has something of a specialty in these cameras:

http://www.precisioncameraworks.com/Media/MamiyaInfo.pdf
 
Calibration aside, the biggest challenge using the Mamiya 150mm lens is actually due to the body RF.
I don't recall the exact "magnification", but in Leica terms it's probably close to 0.58.
This is why the system is so heavily weighted toward wides.
About the minimum focusing distance...at best you'll get a full torso at this distance - head or shoulder shots are definitely out of the question.

That said, the Mamiya 150 lens is really inexpensive and plentiful. Not much effort is required to see for yourself.
 
The Bronica rf has the same issue, this is why they went from the 135 to the 100mm. I have heard in the past reports that the 135 plus body needs to be sent in to be setup correctly for the combo when they still sold the combination.

When I was using it, it was w/ the wide angle and normal.

Gary
 
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