Mamiya 645e opinions

[gandalfk7]

Hi,
I wonder the Pros/Cons of the Mamiya 645e,
I wanted to hear something from who has some experience on it..

I read that has non interchangeable film back nor finder.

I wish to do some portrait with it.

any opinions?

thank you very much


Matteo

 

[emraphoto]

the 645e has a hinged door back with a 120 or 220 insert (depending on what you have). it comes with a fixed finder and eyepiece (with diopter if i recall). obviously it can accept all manual focus mamiya lenses for the 645 format. i also believe it has ae capability.

the camera can most certainly shoot portraits and ultimately the final product isn't going to be any different than an interchangeable back model. the only difference is in the operating procedures... film will have to be loaded and it will take a bit more time during the process vs. having a few backs loaded up. unless you are on a demanding schedule or have impatient models and art directors you will be fine.

it can also accept a power grip.

 

[gandalfk7]

hi, thank you for the answer!
no, I won't be in a hurry while shooting so I can stand a "long" film change time.

 

[sevo]

It is the entry level companion to the 645 pro, with fixed prism/fixed back. It is the cheapest AE/prism late M645 you can get. But M645es of any kind (except for the digital-back-able AF versions) are dirt cheap, and the price difference between a M645e, M645/1000s with AE prism and M645pro with 120 mag and waist level finder - where the 1000s is more reliable and the pro is more versatile - is negligible, on any day, either might be the cheapest of the trio.

As long as you stay clear of the M645 Super (which had a very high rate of electronics and gearing failures), it really is a matter of features and personal preferences which one to buy. The e is the most restricted - but if you don't want to remove the mag or prism, it has two failure points less...

Sevo

 

[delft]

Although it doesn't have interchangeable backs, you can have multiple inserts pre-loaded (and stored in a nice little box). This means you still can't change film mid-roll, but loading a new film isn't that much of a hassle.

Dirk