A request - Comparison pics: Bronica RF645 and Mamiya 6 & 7

[jmooney]

Hi All,

I was hoping if someone were to have a Bronica RF645 and Mamiya 6 and/or 7 they could post some pics of them side by side and from the front and back just to get an idea of their sizes in relation to one another. Any pics are much appreciated!

Take care,

Jim

 

[brian steinberger]

Jim, I have both the RF645 and the M6. I'll post pics tomorrow.

 

[brian steinberger]

Jim, here's the pics of my two beauties. The Bronica RF645 looks only a bit smaller than the Mamiya 6, but feels alot smaller when you handle it. I can not stress enough how nice the RF645 is to handle. All the controls are in the perfect place and the metering is better than either of the Mamiya's. So why do I have a Mamiya 6 you might ask? Firstly because it's square! Square is not for everyone, but I personally love the square format. Secondly, the lens can be retracted (as you can see in the one pic), a very nice feature when hiking or when you need to fit the camera into smaller spaces (The Mamiya 7 or 7II doesn't have this feature). Thirdly, I do like the Mamaiya 6's shutter better than the RF645, it's a simple "click." The Bronica makes a weird moaning sound (which is actually the shutter re-cocking). And lastly, I believe that the Mamiya glass may be a bit better overall than the Bronica glass, but this is nit-picking.

If I could only own one of these cameras, it would be the RF645, but I would want to have another camera for 6x6. The controls, metering, and overall feel of the Bronica RF645 are just fantastic! Both are great cameras and you can't go wrong either way.

 

[jmooney]

Brian,

How hard is it to shoot horizontals with the Bronica? I know I seem fixated on this but all my life my cameras have been turned the other way round....

Thanks again for taking the time to post the pics!

Jim

 

[brian steinberger]

Jim, I was weary like you when I looked into this camera about the vertical viewfinder as well. Though I almost found it intriguing or unique. This is a feature that sets the camera apart from my other cameras. It's unique and forces you to look at things differently. I shoot almost equal amounts of vertical and horizontal photos. It did take me a month or two to get used to "oh I want to shoot a landscape, well then I have to turn the camera on its side." But now it's like second nature. The way to shoot horizontals is drop your right grip hand down to the right and underneath. This is the opposite way most 35mm SLR shooters do. The reason for this is firstly, with your right hand below, your left hand does not interfere with the metering or the rangefinder for focusing. Secondly it's more comfortable and allows your right hand and arm to make a triangle with your elbow against your chest for maximum support. I may be able to take a pic of me holding the camera for horizontal scenes. If you'd like let me know. The vertical viewfinder is certainly not for everyone. Like I said I shoot about 50/50 vertical/horizontal, so for me I'd be flipping a standard viewfinder just as much. If you don't shoot many verticals or don't like them, then this may not be the camera for you. If so, I'd recommend the Mamiya 7. But then again, you never know, it may open up your eyes to new scenes and new ways of seeing! It did for me.

 

[philosli]

The way of handling the Fuji 645 for landscape mode is exactly the same as RF645 (you need to keep the rangefinder "up" for focusing).

The other thing for this default vertical orientation is the flash. If you use flash, then the flash needs to cover the entire vertical frame in portrait mode, while most flashes are landscape by default. So you need to use a wider-angle setting on the flash. Or like Fuji GA645, you can use its dedicated bracket that can rotate a mounted flash, or its dedicated flash unit whose default coverage orientation matches GA645's.