Mamiya 6x7 universal w/ Press Back

[irq506]

I just came accross one of these, and have it apart on my desk for a clean, anyone got any experience with these.
It just looks utterly fantastic and amazingly simple!

 

[Abbazz]

Thet are very nice cameras, incredibly rugged and equipped with great optics. You can use them with a variety of backs (Polaroid, Graflok or Mamiya for 120 or 220 roll-film in 6x4.5, 6x6, 6x7 or 6x9, sheet film, ground glass, etc.) and lenses (50 to 250mm). Their 2 main drawbacks are:

- bulk and weight, as the whole set (camera + back + lens) is quite big & heavy and its shape takes a lot of room in a camera bag;

- no idiot proofing of any kind: you are on your own to shoot nice pictures of the darkslide, double or blank exposures, to fog your film by removing the back or the lens without securing the darkslide, etc.

Basically, the Mamiya Universal is like an LF camera without movements (other models like the Super 23 had some back movements), so you have to work carefully and to check everything twice before tripping the shutter.

There are many resources on the web. Unfortunately, Bob Monagan's Medium Format Photography Megasite is not fully working at the time, but you could check Claudio Bottari's page.

Cheers,

Abbazz

 

[Michiel Fokkema]

Hi,
I used to have one. I had 6x9, 6x7 and polaroid backs, 50mm, 65mm 100/2.8 and the 150mm. I used it primarly for landscapes and therefore switched to a Linhof 6x9. More versatile. But it is a nice camera indeed.

Cheers,
Michiel Fokkema

 

[irq506]

Polaroid back mmm... i have a nice stock of Type 55 residing in the fridge.
The one Im about to start playing with has a standard lens, 6x7 pressback and the body is black and very nicely brassed up!

 

[borrel]

I too have become enamored of the Mamiya Universal. Found one in Beirut a month or so back for a really good price. The light seals on the body and the Polaroid pack film back needed attention, but after some cleaning and black felt replacement it's now perfectly light tight. It has the standard 100mm, and I've added the 127mm for 4"x5" and acquired the Polaroid 545 holder. Now waiting for a 75mm to turn up. A really good resource for these cameras is Tony Sansone (http://members.cox.net/gmhsint/mamiya.html). I've used the Universal to play with image transfers (http://abdallah.hiof.no/image-transfers/ taken with the 100mm) and some 4"x5" (http://abdallah.hiof.no/20070407_mamiya_test/ taken with the 127mm). Have fun with your camera - it's great!

 

[borrel]

Polaroid back mmm... i have a nice stock of Type 55 residing in the fridge.
The one Im about to start playing with has a standard lens, 6x7 pressback and the body is black and very nicely brassed up!

Be aware that in order to use your T-55 film, you need a 545 back for your Mamiya Universal. Both the 545 and pack film Polaroid backs fit right on to the Universal without the need for an adapter frame. However, the large rear opening of the Universal does cut off a narrow strip at either end of the 4x5 format (http://abdallah.hiof.no/20070407_mamiya_test/). Your 100mm does NOT cover the 4x5 format, but it covers the pack film format nicely. Even the 127mm (which along with the 75mm was designed to cover the "whole Polaroid format") does vignett slightly in the corners as you see from my first tests.

 

[irq506]

A guy came in a few weeks back with a 6x7 120/220 press back with a home made box and a beautiful Schneider large format lens on it, literally looked like a really cool getup. Im finding it hard to get lenses in good shape for this camera, and am liking the idea of copying what this guy had.
Any suggestions for use with this roll back to use with anything else?

 

[ChrisN]

Mamiya Universal Press System:

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=30842&d=1154951378