I have never handled the Bessa, but have Mamiya 6 with all 3 lenses. Here are my $0.02:
Based on what I have heard - the lens on the Bessa is a very good one sharpness/contrast wise - I would not be concerned about that. Somebody mentioned that out-of-focus areas sometimes do not look all that great with the Bessa. I do no knot about that but the 75/3.5 for Mamiya 6 is not bokeh king either. These are slow (f/3.5) and super sharp lenses not designed as portrait machines.
One point on the angle of view on Mamiya 6. As the image is square it really guides you to different compositions. I very rarely take image with thinking of cropping it later to rectangular. This in turn makes the 75 lens feel a bit wider than 50 mm does on small format even though it would be very similar on 645.
When I chose Mamiya 6 I knew I want more than 1 lens (IF the Bessa would have 65 or 70 lens instead of 80 i might have got it instead), but I did consider the Bessa III seriously. Mamiya 7 was also a very strong candidate, but more expensive AND it does not collapse. After about 30 rolls here is my experience with Mamiya 6:
+ the lenses (all 3) are GREAT - sharp from wide open on.
+ the collapsing feature of the lens mount is VERY practical - it saves about 3 cm. If you check the numbers the Mamiya 6 with the 75 lens collapsed is a little bit THINNER than the Bessa III closed.
+ the camera is quiet (though this rarely plays a role for my usage) (I am surprised to hear that Mamiya 7 is not)
+ well built, but I would expect it to get damaged if dropped from 2m on concrete (most cameras would, after all).
+ the focus and aperture rings are smooth with the right amount of resistance. I love how the focus feels.
- The metering is a bit tricky as there is no TTL. It takes some time to get used to - for critical shots I would use external meter. The area used for metering is pretty much the view of the 50 mm lens. But the only solution is to get an MF SLR instead of MF RF, period.
- the exposure compensation requires (for me) two hands to use. There is no indication of it in the viewfinder - it is easy to forget (I do so from time to time - last times 2 rolls 🙄)
- if the winding mechanism breaks it is nearly impossible to get it repaired (or so I keep reading all the time)
- there is no wider lens than 50 mm (sometimes I wish for 35 or 40)
- 150 lens needs well calibrated rangefinder AND experience to focus properly on close distance wide open. The Mamiya 7 should be the same in this regard.
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I would choose the Bessa III (80 or 55) if:
- one lens is enough & you want a new camera
- you shoot in public (street stuff) - people are more friendly/open/curios when they see someone using an "old" camera - that was my experience with the Rolleiflex.
- want both 6x7/6x6 options
- if you prefer 6x7 to 6x6 than the 80 mm on Bessa may feel wider than 75 on Mamiya 6. The 55 version of the Bessa is about 28 mm in small format.
If I were you I would think (a lot) about how I want to use the camera. If you find out that you need just one lens AND want camera that is rather compact than the Bessa III could be better choice than Mamiya 7. Also cheaper. Do not forget the Bronica RF645. Users seem to love it. If you do not want long lens (expensive, to few produced) than it is cheaper than Mamiya 6.
The wide Bessa III should come rather soon (about 2 months or so), so if you are not in a hurry this could be just the right amount of time to give it a thought. Try to put your hands on Mamiya 6 or 7 if you can.
It seems that you are from Europe. Should that be (north) Germany than you could stop by and have a look at mine Mamiya 6. Feel free to PM me.
