Plaubel 69 proshift or second Fuji RF?

[MvdW]

Hi Everyone am new to your forum. I currently use and enjoy Fuji GSW690III and have Mamiya RZ system which although it has produced excellent images is quite a heavy beast in the field. Would like to add second 6x9 RF to make up field kit and was thinking of the GW690 90mm lens. However a Plaubel 69 Proshift is available here in South Africa at about roughly 1,5-2x price of Fuji RF. Shoot mostly B&W Landscapes, some architecture and street stuff and would like to hear if any opinions, previous experiences of photographers in similar situation

Thanks Mark

 

[shadowfox]

Welcome to the zoo 🙂

I never heard of the Plaubel 69 Proshift until you mentioned it above, man, that's one weird looking camera. Sounds cool, although I'd be worried where can I send it for CLA or repair, and how much.

I've used Mamiya 7 with its 65mm lens, it's pretty amazing in usability and in results. Although it's not 6x9, it may be a good second body for you, it's also a good bit smaller than the Fuji.

 

[foto_fool]

I look at the Plaubel and I think "Gliiiiide..." but that ain't going to happen for me in my lifetime.

The few Plaubel lenses I have seen reviewed have outstanding resolving power (check this link for one test I can recall the url for). If my choice was between $1000 for another Fuji 6x9 or $1500 for the Plaubel I think I would go for the latter - and then treat it really well so it doesn't need repair.

BTW - the Mamiya may be heavy but the lenses probably have the highest resolution for landscape work. You just need a REALLY heavy tripod to go with the heavy camera!

 

[Honus]

I would think it would depend on whether you would take advantage of the lens shift and the wider angle of the Super Angulon lens of the Proshift. It would certainly be great for architectural work and landscapes as well. Neither would be a bad choice.

 

[Frank Petronio]

I think -- but am not certain -- that the Plaubel is pretty basic and simple -- doesn't it use a modified Graflex back? I think it is essentially the old Graflex XLRF design so there might be shared internal parts. So probably a good technician could keep it running in most cases - better places like SK Grimes in Rhode Island or Precision Camera Works in Chicago.

 

[rich815]

Plaubel's have good rep for nice images but anecdotally can have some issues. If you're happy with the GSW then why not a GW? I love my GW690III....

 

[Telewatt]

The Plaubel 69 W proshift is one of the best cameras I ever worked with..😉

Great Optic, fantastic shift and easy to handle...



Regards,
Jan

 

[kuzano]

The shift would certainly be a plus

The shift would certainly be a plus

on architectural photography, but I've used a lot of Mamiya's with that roll film back. Looking at the relationship of camera to the back, that camera is a real tank. Much more to pack around than another Fuji. Also, the reason for shift is pretty much alleviated by the functions in Photoshop for skewing your images to get rid of the perspective merge of shooting up on buildings.

If I wanted perspective control, I'd look for a Graflex XLSW with the Angulon and then find the rear bellows attachment and ground glass viewing system for roll back 6X9. You would not have the shift (Photoshop is easy to fix that), but you would have a lot more perspective control with the bellows back. The other bellows back camera would be the Mamiya Universal with the bellows back. The widest lens there would be the 50mm, but it's capable of covering the larger 3X4 inch Polaroid pack film. The lenses of the Mamiya are equal to, or better than the Angulon 47.

The plaubel fills the need to have a "kinky" camera, but the Graflex XLSW or the Mamiya Universal give you much more flexibility and a much larger inventory of used parts at very reasonable prices.

 

[Abbazz]

The other bellows back camera would be the Mamiya Universal with the bellows back. The widest lens there would be the 50mm, but it's capable of covering the larger 3X4 inch Polaroid pack film.

If I recall correctly, only the 75/5.6 and 127/4.7 lenses were able to cover the 3x4in. format on the Mamiya Universal cameras. The 50mm would not have enough coverage for significant movements on 6x9 film.

Cheers!

Abbazz

 

[kuzano]

Ooops... correct...

Ooops... correct...

I thought the 50 was also branded for the Polaroid 600SE, like the 75 and 127. The 50 and 65 Mamiya Sekor JUST cover 6X12Cm. No movements on6X9.

 

[Abbazz]

I thought the 50 was also branded for the Polaroid 600SE, like the 75 and 127. The 50 and 65 Mamiya Sekor JUST cover 6X12Cm. No movements on6X9.

Not even 6x12:

Picture linked from Bob Hutchinson's http://bigcamera.com/ website

Cheers!

Abbazz

 

[MvdW]

Thanks to everybody for the advice. I went ahead and purchased the Plaubel - cameras like these or medium format rangefinders are not that freely available in Southern Africa. It is in good nick, feels good to hold with the S-shaped Mamiya Press like back and is pretty solid. First roll of Tmax produced fine sharp images however one backlit shot although quite acceptable did not exhibit the flare control of the Fujinon lens. The 47mm lens is seriously wide and I am looking forward to all the new creative possibilities ahead

Cheers Mark

 

[Honus]

Mark - congratulations. Post some images when you have a chance - I would like to see what you can do with it.

 

[MvdW]

Been awhile - the Plaubel Makina proshift turned out to be quite a gem and am rather pleased with it. Trying to post Flickr images here -

 

[ChrisN]

Yes please! And do you have some more photos of the camera itself?

 

[MvdW]

Plaubel 69W Proshift pictures

Plaubel 69W Proshift pictures

Hi - Am trying again to post pictures. This has proved to be a unique camera and though I have not done the shift feature justice the wide coverage has been very useful. Film winding and resetting the shutter separately took some getting used to after the Fuji rangefinder. The wire framefinder does work well and the lens is satisfyingly sharp. Cheers Mark

.

 

[MvdW]

Thanks for the repair information - let's hope it won't be needed. It certainly is a marvellous camera however I managed to stumble upon a very good Mamiya 7 deal down here and must say that although 6x7, it is currently my everyday camera. Just out of interest did the South African purchase contain a 135mm Sinaron S ?-saw a record of a similar sounding package.