Mamiya Press Super 23

elmarman

elmarman

Bail out the Brits too !
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Oct 1, 2012
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I got a new MAMIYA PRESS SUPER 23 in 1968 outfit from Pelling & Cross, London for just over £300-00 with three backs and three lenses, the 65mm f6.3, 100mm f3.5 and 150mm f5.6 -- I used it for many weddings in the 1960's - 1980's and did some local Press work with it especially when teh 'Brentwood Gazette' newspaper started web-offset COLOUR printing -- ONE Photo only - on the Front Page for which I got the sum of 1 guinea ( 21 shillings) I had to use transparency film for the press work . I used it with a Braun Hobby grey outfit with two flash heads and still have that one now ! I did some quite good 'Pictorial ' photos with it as well for Club and Exhibition use -- now all the foam has gone rotten ( as usual ! ) and I have not used it much lately .. It has the swing-back movement so I tried the 'Scheimpflug Principle' to get maximum depth of field but it means getting under a coat and having camera on tripod and using a magnifyer on the ground glass attachment --( no good for Press work ! )

Mamiya Press by pentaxpete, on Flickr

Portugal 02 by pentaxpete, on Flickr

Portugal: Faro Cathedral by pentaxpete, on Flickr


Julie D 2 by pentaxpete, on Flickr
 
A standard 23 was my entry into medium format . It was about as basic as it gets didn't even self cock the shutter and allowed the user to make every possible error. But it was capable of producing great results like your super 23.
 
I have one, too. My favorite lens is the 65mm. It is great with flash, no FP shutter. I sent to Japan for a foam kit for 2 backs and did mine myself. It fit and worked great. If you want the name of the guy I'll dig it out. He was easier and faster than most companies I deal with online in the US.
 
charjohncarter said:
I have one, too. My favorite lens is the 65mm. It is great with flash, no FP shutter. I sent to Japan for a foam kit for 2 backs and did mine myself. It fit and worked great. If you want the name of the guy I'll dig it out. He was easier and faster than most companies I deal with online in the US.
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I would appreciate that information.
 
I really fallen for this system. Got a Universal, a super 23 and a press 23. Bought my first body just because I couldn't resist such an ugly camera.

Managed to break the shutter in my 100/2.8 a while back. Two of the five shutter blades are locked in open position after a fall. (shooting concerts while intoxicated is all fun and games until you break your camera.) So if anybody have some tips on how to open it up to reach the shutter I would appreciate it. After just unscrewing the front lensgroup it start to look kind of complicated.

Btw. The 50/6.3 almost covers the polaroid back. The edges isn't great but still. 50 mm polaroid is kind of neat.

example.
8028791462_05335b6112_c.jpg
 
I've had my Super 23 since the mid-70's. Have the 100mm f3.5, 50mm f6.3 (I think) and the 250mm f8, several backs, extension tubes, and several other items. I love it for landscape work, although I used to do weddings with it, and it worked well. Besides, it's a physical workout to carry and use it - keeps me in shape!
 
Hi everyone, I just joined this forum after buying my first MF camera, a Ricoh Diacord L. After shooting with it for a while, I have really fallen in love with film again and especially MF negs. I started doing some research and plan to build a LF pinhole camera and have been thinking about a camera with interchangeable lenses. The Mamiya and Koni-Omegas look really cool. Any advice when looking for one? I would probbaly use it most for landscape/cityscape work.

Thanks,

Ed
 
Some of the best B+W pics I have ever seen were taken by a friend-of-a-friend with a Mamiya Super 23. On the other hand, they weren't especially sharp -- which reflects the experience of everyone I know with the early Mamiya-Press lenses (later ones were much sharper). He was just a brilliant photographer. Modest degrees of enlargement covered up shortcomings in the early lenses.

Cheers,

R.
 
Roger, that's great to know. I do tend to like sharp (er) photos rather than very soft ones. I know I said I was planning a pinhole camera but will tend toward the sharper soft photos in that genre.

Thank you for your response. Can you comment on the Mamiya vs the Koni-Omega?

Ed
 
Ed Weatherly said:
Roger, that's great to know. I do tend to like sharp (er) photos rather than very soft ones. I know I said I was planning a pinhole camera but will tend toward the sharper soft photos in that genre.

Thank you for your response. Can you comment on the Mamiya vs the Koni-Omega?

Ed
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Dear Ed,

From my limited but not entirely negligible experience, Koni-Omega lenses were vastly sharper than early Mamiya, and detectably sharper than later ones, though this will probably trigger hate mail and accusations of ignorance from Mamiya addicts.

Koni-Omega backs sometimes succumbed to abuse from the ham-handed, but equally, of the two Mamiya backs (6x7 and 6x9) that I use on a Polaroid 600SE with adapters, only one is reliable. Bear in mind that we are now talking about cameras that are decades old (though my 600SE was new when I got it).

Cheers,

R.
 
My Lord Hicks : Thanks for your input about the Mamiya Press Super 23 -- I must have been lucky then as my lenses are very good -- Ron Spillman ( Remember HIM ? ) got me to write a review of my outfit for a photo magazine year ago and published some of my B&W prints -- the only trouble now is that all the foam sealing has gone on the film backs and they 'wobble' when I attach them so I have not used it for a long while -- been playing with some of my latest 'Free Gift' cameras !!
 
Ed Weatherly said:
Hi everyone, I just joined this forum after buying my first MF camera, a Ricoh Diacord L. After shooting with it for a while, I have really fallen in love with film again and especially MF negs. I started doing some research and plan to build a LF pinhole camera and have been thinking about a camera with interchangeable lenses. The Mamiya and Koni-Omegas look really cool. Any advice when looking for one? I would probbaly use it most for landscape/cityscape work.

Thanks,

Ed
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Do a search of RFF. I and several others have posted about it, including some tips on what to look for when buying.
 
Roger Hicks said:
Dear Ed,

From my limited but not entirely negligible experience, Koni-Omega lenses were vastly sharper than early Mamiya, and detectably sharper than later ones, though this will probably trigger hate mail and accusations of ignorance from Mamiya addicts.

Koni-Omega backs sometimes succumbed to abuse from the ham-handed, but equally, of the two Mamiya backs (6x7 and 6x9) that I use on a Polaroid 600SE with adapters, only one is reliable. Bear in mind that we are now talking about cameras that are decades old (though my 600SE was new when I got it).

Cheers,

R.
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No hate mail, just a note to let you know you must be wrong. :D

Of course I have zero experience with the Koni-Omega, but once thought about getting one. I can only say I have always been satisfied with my Super Press 23, but again, have not compared it to other MF camera systems. I think you have commented before that the later lenses may have been better than the early ones, but I would not know. Nor do I know if the K-O have the same variety of lenses (or maybe better). I never heard of them being bad lenses.

However, Mr. Weatherly, I think you would like the Super Press 23, or even the Universal. But I would never discount Mr. Hicks' experience and opinions.
 
Roger Hicks said:
Some of the best B+W pics I have ever seen were taken by a friend-of-a-friend with a Mamiya Super 23. On the other hand, they weren't especially sharp -- which reflects the experience of everyone I know with the early Mamiya-Press lenses (later ones were much sharper). He was just a brilliant photographer. Modest degrees of enlargement covered up shortcomings in the early lenses.

Cheers,

R.
Click to expand...

I know that the early 100mm f3.5 is suppose to not be the best lens in the world but really it isn't that bad. I went through my old negatives and these are from right after I adjusted my RF (you judge):

full frame at f3.5, tripod, cable release, about 6 feet, Arista EDU 400, Rodinal 1:50, 6x9 format:

5777486409_39a08ca4c5.jpg


small portion from the center of image:

5777486685_0aed270fec.jpg


and from the right lower edge:

5778028562_0b984ac184.jpg
 
I would be interested to find your information on how to adjust the Rangefinder please as I always suspected it was 'out' especially with the 150mm lens.
Regards -- Peter
 
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