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User comments btil June 2003

Marc,

I totally comply with what you said about the different formats. I too use or used all of the mentioned systems. In my eyes the Contax 645 is the best compromise between portability and quality - but without feeling like a compromise at all!

I would like to add one camera to the already mentioned ones, if you want maximum portability with best quality: it's the Plaubel Makina 67 - works and feels like a big Leica M6. Because of it's retractable lens it's body is very slim, the Nikkor lens is one of the best lenses ever produced. And if you want maximum portability, you don't need to have interchangeable lenses at all. Sadly, they don't make it any longer. You can only obtain it on the 2nd hand market.
 
Dirk,
I have two Mamiya 6MF bodies and the three associated lenses plus the panoramic adaptor and the close up attachment (which I find difficult to use accurately).
I fully recommend the system. It is 6 by 6 i.e. square, which I also like very much and I find it suits my style. I am just sorry that Mamiya forsook the square format. I did write to the importers about it recently but they did not reply.
The cameras are very easy to use and although the metering is not TTL, I find it pretty accurate.
They are reasonably light and they are compactish. A real benefit is the collapsible lens front which much reduces the size of the camera when carrying it.
I have a diopter lens attached to the viewfinder and I find that the rangefinder images snap in and out of co-oincidence very nicely (I also wear my glasses). This sort of focusing is to me often much more satisfactory than autofocus depending upon what I am photographing.You know what you are focusing on and that the camera is focused on it and that it will stay focused on it without having to hold down any buttons.
Lens changing is easy although I do sometimes forget to release the light shield!
Film loading is also easy once you get the knack of it. 120 only gives you 12 pictures but that concentrates the mind and 220 is available and convenient. I do not find processing costs unacceptable because I take fewer pictures and have less wastage than with 35mm so it probably works about the same.
I have one body fitted with the panoramic adapter. This takes 35mm film which is convenient and can produce some very good results.
The display could be better and I sometimes find it hard to read particularly as it is in red and I do not see red very well.It gives shutter speeds on the left side of the viewfinder.
I sometimes see the system advertised second hand but not very often. This makes me think that other people must have the same feelings towards it that I have and not want to part with it.It would be much cheaper than buying a new alternative system.
John
 
I also have the Mamiya 7 and found it to be the best all around package, I have and used all but the 210mm lens and they are all excellent although I do wish them to be faster.

The lens build quality is very good, well d&ed, focus is very smooth. I also use the panoramic adaptor and found it to be a good accessory to investment and me too have 2 Mamiya 7 body and one always have the panoramic adaptor.

I have compared it with the X-Pan 2 years ago (43mm on Mamiya 7 and 45mm on X-Pan) and their result is very close, difficult to tell the difference in sharpness and overall picture quality is close, very close, although with different color reproduction character.

The only thing I don't like much is the camera body, for what it costs I would expect a better/stronger built body.

The camera construction is pretty weak, although in normal use the lens fitting on the body is very well secured but if you simply apply small amount of force on the lens you can actually pull them lens approx. 1mm away from the body and you can see a gap between the assembly of the camera.

although my Mamiya 7 has been with me for almost 7-8 years I have always tried to take more care of them in stead of some 135 SLR that you can really carry them around without much care.

Since my Mamiya is older version so I can only comment base on the fact I found, it may have been improved on Mark II, one other issue is the surface finish is not very strong, it got scratched easily also the view finder glass could be improved, it is no where near the brightness of a Leica M6.

Brgds/kaisern
 
I have found my Mamiya 6 to be pretty well constructed with no problems of gaps(!). I don't find that the black body picks up marks as much as my black Contax G2. In fact I wish I had bought the chrome G2 for this reason. I agree that for that sort of money you expect excellent build quality.
John
 
> > > > My Mamiya 7 are both gun grey, kind of powder like coating on the camera body, > can be scratched even by finger nail, with some force applied of course. The > camera body cost should at least cover a die-cast body, probably magnesium > alloy, I hope if Mamiya do have the mark III come out it will be better built > body, adding incident light meter on top, TTL, bright view finder and accept a > digital back. > > Brgds/kaisern > >
 
I would have liked TTL but I read that it was not technically possible.
John
 
> > > > Leica proved the TTL can be done on M6 and M7 so I believed it should be > feasible for Mamiya 7 provided that the camera is much larger to house > necessary wire and circuit. But of course I could be wrong. > Brgds/kaisern > >
 
I have found an interesting discussion of the Mamiya 6 which refers to the initial wish to provide TTL metering.I cannot attach the web page but the address seems to be http://medfmt.8k.com/mf/mamiya6.html
I hope that makes sense.
I know this isn't strictly within the Contax thread but I think it follows on from the original question of which system is best.
It must have been disappointing to have the problems with the finish on the cameras. Did you complain to Mamiya?
Best wishes,
John
 
M6 and M7 have focal plane shutters, which means the lens is always "open" and passing light to the focal plane shutter. Leica takes their TTL light meter reading off a white spot on the front of the focal plane shutter. Contax 645 takes it's reading from an SPD cell in the prism finder, like most SLRs.

However, Mamiya rangefinders, like the Bronica rangefinder and the Fuji rangefinders, all use lens leaf shutters. That means the lens is always "closed" and doesn't pass any light into the camera body until the actual exposure for the photograph. Hence, TTL light metering isn't feasible when using leaf shutters. That's one of the trade-offs in exchange for flash synchronization at any shutter speed and total absence of internally induced vibration or shake during exposures. That's life.
 
Thanks for that Craig. It makes perfect sense when explained like that.
Best wishes,
John
 
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