mamiya 6 - bellows and lens question

[chatanooga]

Hi all
Seriously considering a '6' but am slightly wary about the folding mechanism. I've never handled one so have no idea how it can robustly lock into the taking position and so give consistent focus accuracy/ alignment, etc. Anyone care to comment?

And finally, regarding the 75mm lense how does it compare to the 80 available for the 7/ii, or are they essentially the same design? I'd be particularly interested in hearing user's feedback on how well the sharpness holds up near the edge of the frame. I like to take relatively close 'planar' shots , things like barn-doors, etc - so spectacular centre performance with merely ordinary edge performance might not be what I need.

rgds
Chat

 

[oftheherd]

I'm going to bump this as I'm as sure there are some current and/or former users of the Mamiya 6.

I am not one of them but I find it difficult to believe that anything put out by Mamiya would not be worth the money. That said, I do seem to recall some saying there were some problems with the 6 and that it wasn't as reliable as the 7.

Welcome to the forums and I hope someone with experience with those two cameras will chime in.

 

[chatanooga]

hi oftheherd
thanks for this 'promotion'!
rgds
Chat

 

[nksyoon]

I don't know the locking mechanism in detail - when I pull out the lens, it just clicks solidly in place.

Mine had a small light leak on the bottom section of the bellows - this was repaired and the seller (KEH) reimbursed the cost of the repair.

There have been many stories about the film winding mechanism being fragile and that there are no spare parts. This may have been due to people being rough, eg shooting and winding fast. I have had no problems to date with mine.

According to the distributors in Switzerland, there are still parts available for the mechanism.

 

[chatanooga]

Nick
Thanks for this info - good to hear there is a possibility of fixing the infamous winder!

 

[john_s]

Hi all
Seriously considering a '6' but am slightly wary about the folding mechanism. I've never handled one so have no idea how it can robustly lock into the taking position and so give consistent focus accuracy/ alignment, etc. Anyone care to comment?

And finally, regarding the 75mm lense how does it compare to the 80 available for the 7/ii, or are they essentially the same design? .........

The retracting lens stage seems very robust. After reading that the bellows (which you can't see from the outside) can develop pinholes, I reduced my use of the retracting lens stage. I use it when I'm travelling, but tend to leave it extended for a whole session rather than retract it when I put it back in my shoulder bag. I don't know how much difference it makes.

The 75mm lens is sharp edge to edge. I have read that the 80mm lens for the M7 has better out of focus rendition, (e.g. I think at Ryuji Suzuki's site he says that) but I haven't noticed it in the photos that I've taken.

I have several M6 bodies, because I was paranoid about the "unrepairable" winder problem. But one (the one that has had the most use by previous owners) has another problem. I will have it fixed if I really need the body. See:

http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=008QDh