As an owner of Mamiya 6 (and all 3 lenses) I would love to hear how does the Makina (80/2.8) compares user-wise to Mamiya 6 or the new Bessa/Fuji III.
Purely based on what I have seen on flickr, I find that Plaubel gives the most attractive OOF with wide open shots, plus the size of the camera seems really attractive.
So - how do you guys find the Plaubel in every day use?
My Mamiya 7II is still with the post office... however I can tell you a bit about the Makina 670.
First of all, it's size it absolutely great. Once the lens is collapsed, it's really flat and super-easy to carry, even on long hikes (which I usually do, often 4-8 hours). I use it mostly for landscape photography, or historical places and objects. I don't think I can recommend it for any busy places--it does have bellows afterall. So if you don't want to extend the lens for every single shot, you will most likely leave it out, which might be a bit dangerous in a crowd. It extends quite a bit, and, besides the tongues at the bottom, there is no protection around the bellows.
When it comes to shooting, it will take a short time to get used to, but once you are used to it, you will enjoy the little differences: aperture and shutter speed rings are by the lens, but to focus, you use your thumb and index finger of your right hand to turn the knob around the shutter release button. That may sound awkward, but I got used to it quickly and actually really like it. The shutter and aperture rings have a small "lip" that help you to find/grab them, but they are not rubberized nor do they have any profile/texture that makes it easier to grab them. This would help, in my opinion.
But that is pretty much all there is in terms of handling. To use the meter, you set the aperture and the shutter speed, and then press the little button on the back of the camera. Inside the viewfinder a light will go on--either plus, minus, or a circle, to indicate what the meter suggests. It's quite quick to do, and after just looking through about 120 Images, I can say with confidence that the meter works very well. No blown out images, and only a few slides that are a bit dark--but that was mostly due to experimenting with a polarizer and/or pushing film...
The lens produces beautiful and sharp images, even at 2.8. However, your depth of field is extremely limited at that aperture, so use with care.
The rangefinder is bright, and the spot is also visible even in lower light conditions.
I haven't tried a flash yet. I did some pix in low light, it works, but with ISO 400 it was tough to make people sit still
🙂
Overall, I am extremely satisfied with the camera. For a wider angle, I would have bought the Makina W67 in a heartbeat, but everything I found was at collectors prices. That's why I went for the Mamiya 7II with a 50mm lens... I am curious to see how it compares to the Plaubel.
Most of my
images on flickr were shot with the Makina 670. They are all tagged, so you can click on the "Makina 670" Tag and see only those if you want. I use a local lab and scan by myself with a Minolta Dimage Multi Pro.
