Lightest medium format SLR?

[Spanik]

What would be the lightest 6x4.5 SLR with interchangable lenses? Probably asked a lot, but as the holiday comes I'm dreading to run around with the loaded bag day-in-day-out.

I'd love to have a lightweigth medium format camera but haven't been able to find anything. Most are too heavy or too limited. I'm perfectly happy with a 6x4.5 as I find it difficult to work with 6x6. But need at least a real wide <45mm and something like a 55mm/2.8. Don't mind that it's big.

Tried a rangefinder (Bronica RF645, Fuji 645zi) but they all have slow lenses and don't go wide let alone get you close. Or are heavy as bricks (looking at the Fuji G690).

TLR's are all 6x6, rarely wide and just as heavy. Rather hard to use close up as well.

Why has nobody ever made a carbon fibre camera with plastic lenses?

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

A Mamiya 645 Super or 645 Pro weighs about the same as a pro-level 35mm camera. Get it with the winder grip and it handles just like a 35, and is very easy to handhold.

They do make plastic cameras and lenses; damn near everything made by Canon and Nikon are plastic now.

 

[GaryLH]

I have always liked the mamiya 645 slr... Good lens and body selections for every price range.

But have u looked at the mamiya 6/7 RFs?

Gary

 

[Terry Christian]

I second Chris Crawford's recommendation about the Mamiya 645 Pro. I have one. The body is plastic but solid, and it's much lighter and easier to use than my Bronica ETRSi. Its exact weight will depend on what lens and prism/finder you choose to use with it.

 

[Landshark]

Lightweight SLR with wide lens available doesn't exist unless you're talking about relative weight. Like to a 6X7 SLR <45mm wouldn't be common(if available at all) there's a 30mm fish eye for 6X7 but I'm not sure about 645.
Chris has it covered. That's the best weight/lens compromise for you.
I think the 645E is a relatively light camera. It doesn't have interchangeable finders/screens but otherwise is pretty comparable.

 

[Roscoe]

I'd second the mamiya 645 pro . With the winder, metered prism, and an 80/2.8, I think its actually lighter than my canon 5dii with a 50mm. I have to disagree about the canons being plastic though. Bodies are metal with a plastic shell and bits.

 

[thegman]

If 6x6 is not a deal breaker, there are wide adaptors for Rolleiflex, in the form of a Mutar, but they're pricey and optical resolution will not be as good as a dedicated lens. You can also get in close with a Rolleinar, they actually look pretty decent, and not that pricey.

 

[Oren Grad]

Use a waist-level finder and learn to look sideways when you need a vertical...

Seriously, the interchangeable prism finders account for a lot of weight, and the fully interchangeable backs add still more. I'd guess that the lightest of the Mamiya 645s is the 645E with its fixed finder and interchangeable inserts only. The bare Pentax 645 body, also with fixed finder and interchangeable inserts only, is lighter still but needs 6 AA batteries, so the final weight depends on which batteries you use.

 

[KoNickon]

Doesn't someone have for sale here right now a Mamiya 645E? Fixed. metered, eyelevel finder, which somewhat limits its versatility, but which enhances its lightness. It takes all the lenses that the Pro does.

 

[Oren Grad]

TLR's are all 6x6... and just as heavy.

There are plenty of TLRs that weigh less than 1000g, substantially less than any 645 SLR.

 

[Spanik]

Mmmmm. Lots of recommendations for the Mamiya 645Pro. But I'm using a Mamiya 645ProTL right now and I think it is heavy. Well, the first couple of days it's fine, but after 2 weeks running around 6-8 hours a day with a bag with the 645, 35, 55, 80, 150, light meter and 10 films it does get too much.

So it looks that apart from dropping the prism there isn't a real alternative. Or get a 645E. Replacing the 55/80/150 with the 55-110 might be an alternative but then back to f4.

But have u looked at the mamiya 6/7 RFs?

Have looked from far to the Mamiya 6 (not a fan of 6x7 at all). But it is limited at 50mm and f4. Could live with the 50mm probably but not sure about 4 and it being a rangefinder. The f4 might be compensated by the leaf shutter. Not very easy to find around here either. But then I could take the Bronica RF645. Problem is the badly aligned finder and missing 100mm framelines.

There are plenty of TLRs that weigh less than 1000g, substantially less than any 645 SLR.

Yes, but not if you want more than a single focal lenght and a wide angle. Having to take 3 bodies or a C330 isn't lighter than a 645 with its lenses.

 

[GaryLH]

Mmmmm. Lots of recommendations for the Mamiya 645Pro. But I'm using a Mamiya 645ProTL right now and I think it is heavy. Well, the first couple of days it's fine, but after 2 weeks running around 6-8 hours a day with a bag with the 645, 35, 55, 80, 150, light meter and 10 films it does get too much.

So it looks that apart from dropping the prism there isn't a real alternative. Or get a 645E. Replacing the 55/80/150 with the 55-110 might be an alternative but then back to f4.



Have looked from far to the Mamiya 6 (not a fan of 6x7 at all). But it is limited at 50mm and f4. Could live with the 50mm probably but not sure about 4 and it being a rangefinder. The f4 might be compensated by the leaf shutter. Not very easy to find around here either. But then I could take the Bronica RF645. Problem is the badly aligned finder and missing 100mm framelines.



Yes, but not if you want more than a single focal lenght and a wide angle. Having to take 3 bodies or a C330 isn't lighter than a 645 with its lenses.

Have thought pairing the 645e with just two lenses? The 80 and your favorite wide maybe?

Good luck
Gary

 

[kuzano]

First item that may elude you.....

First item that may elude you.....

Any fast WA lenses. I don't think I have ever seen a 45-55 lens faster than 3.5. That's going to be a problem with all choices 645 to 6X9..

Somebody please correct me if I am wrong?

In normal lenses, Mamiya has a fast 80 at f1.9. Would work on the light 645E, or all others including up to the Pro TL. Also agree that the Mamiyas starting with the Pro and forward are relatively light.... and have options for metering in the prism or straight prism.

Stay away from the Mamiya Super... problems with the shutter electronics. All others very reliable.

Now, for really light but no lens interchangeability are the older Fuji GS645S with a 60mm lens, and the scale focus GS645W with the 45 mm lens. VERY light, plastic over stamped steel frame. The meters are very good... over under meter light, and the rangefinder on the GS645S is right on.

Fuji shutters in the GS series are adversely affected by the EXTREME cold. Sticking in VERY cold weather. Not a fixable problem if you get one of the sticky ones. Not all are affected.

The best overall 645 in my book is the Fuji GA645Zi w/ zoom lens. Excellent camera on every point .... 55 - 90 zoom lens that excels in sharpness. Superb Autofocus. So quiet, both on film transport (automatic feed) and shutter. My first Zi was so quiet I thought it was broken. I had to look at the film count to see if it had actuated. Not Kidding!.

First one led me to buy and use four more of the same. Best 645 I ever used out of Bronica, Mamiya and Pentax. Reliable? I had one with 134,000 shutter count. Never had to have service on any of them.

For you... maybe not so good. f3.5 lens.

Fast lenses, zoom or prime are just not MF available outside normal focal length. Another surprise for most folks, very hard to find a MF lens that focuses close, ie shorter and 3 feet without using system cameras and lens extenders. Nil on Macro.

 

[Doug]

Any fast WA lenses. I don't think I have ever seen a 45-55 lens faster than 3.5. That's going to be a problem with all choices 645 to 6X9..

Somebody please correct me if I am wrong?
... ...
Fast lenses, zoom or prime are just not MF available outside normal focal length. Another surprise for most folks, very hard to find a MF lens that focuses close, ie shorter and 3 feet without using system cameras and lens extenders. Nil on Macro.

Fast wides? Sure...
Pentax’s 35mm f/3.5 SMCP FA AL 645 weighs 560g, focus to 0.3m
45mm f/2.8 SMCP FA 645 weighs 475g, focus to 0.6m
55mm f/2.8 SMC-A Pentax 645 weighs 410g, focus to 0.45m
and the normal 75mm f/2.8 SMCP FA 645 weighs 215g, focus to 0.6m

Macro? 120mm f/4 SMCP FA 645 Macro weighs 735g, focus to 0.4m

I think among the lighter 645 SLRs, the Pentax 645NII weighs 1280g (45.2ozs.) without batteries

Zooms tend to be slow and heavy, but there are several:
Pentax 33-55mm f/4.5 SMCP FA AL 645 weighs 585g, focus to 0.4m
45-85mm f/4.5 SMCP FA 645 weighs 870g, focus to 0.5m
Also there’s a 55-110mm f/5.6, 80-160mm and 100-300mm I believe.

 

[Terry Christian]

Have thought pairing the 645e with just two lenses? The 80 and your favorite wide maybe?

I wholeheartedly agree. I have an 80 and a 150, and never seem to use the 150. Either an 80 and a zoom would be nice, or an 80 and a wide-angle.

 

[oftheherd]

One of the reasons I don't like 6x6 is that unless you are printing square, there is only about 645 worth of usable negative there. But it you can accomodate yourself to that, consider the Mamiya C330. Interchangable lenses, close focusing with all lenses because of bellows. Weight, yep, it there.

 

[Spanik]

The Mamiya 35mm is a f3.5, the 45mm and 55mm a f2.8. Problem with taking only 2 lenses is that I "need" at least the 55mm. That's my walkaround lens. But often it isn't wide enough so I switch to the 35mm. Same way the 55mm isn't close enough so I go to 80mm or 150mm. I only use slides and projection so I have to use the size to the maximum available. Usage is about 15% for the 35mm, 70% for the 55mm 10% the 80mm and the remaining 5% the 150mm.

As for close focusing: the Mamiya 645 35/45/55/50shift all focus to 0.45m, the 80mm to 0.7m and the 80Macro to 0.375m. Nothing to complain about.

Being more a WA user it's hard to go to anything else than an SLR. The C330 goes to 55mm but there it stops.

Ok, so I guess I'll have grin and bear it.

One of the reasons I don't like 6x6 is that unless you are printing square, there is only about 645 worth of usable negative there.

Exactly my feeling as well, always too much street or clouds in the photo.

 

[drew.saunders]

I have a Mamiya 645e with the 55/2.8, 80/2.8 (that came with it in a kit), 120/4 macro and 210/4 (that I picked up recently for $75!). The 55 and 80 are both quite small and reasonably light. The Winder/grip is a very convenient accessory, which adds a bit of weight, but it's still a very light setup for a SLR.

 

[johannielscom]

Get a Baby Graphic with wide lenses and a 6x9 film holder.

Can't get any lighter.

 

[Matus]

I once had a Pentax 645N that I found very interesting. At the time I only had the 45-90 zoom lens (which is heavy) and the whole combo was indeed heavy to hold longer at eye level (some 2.2kg). There are lighter lenses, but 645 SLR is not going to be light whichever way you look at it. I have Mamiya 6 now which makes it to about 1.2 - 1.3kg with lens mounted. That is a large difference.

Just for an overview - the weights* of a few 645 SLRs (which their respective normal lens - 75 or 80) mounted and ready to shoot:

Contax 645 - 1.85 kg
Petax 645N - 1.72 kg
Mamiya 645 Pro TL - 1.85 kg
Bronica ETRSi (with AEII finder) - 1.85 kg
(* all the numbers is what I managed to find on internet, so there may be mistakes)

and for comparison:
Pentax 67II (with 105/2.4): 2.3 kg

So - not much differences in there. The Pentax is the lightest, but it does not allow to change film mid-roll, what would be a minus in my book.

If you want really light camera in 645 get something like Fuji GA645 which weights only 0.8 kg and then get whatever medium format SLR that you prefer and live with the weight 🙂