An ode to the utilitarian charme of Mamiya's TLR and 6x4.5/6x7 SLR cameras

[RezaLoghme]

Lets discuss camera aethestics!!

While the late-model rangefinders and 645s having a bit of a 1990s camcorder vibe to it, the utilitarian charme of the C3, C33 and C330, the early 645a and of course the chunky RZ is reminding me of a 1970s Ford Bronco, "hardware stores", plaid shirts and some cold Long Island winds. Melville's "Gold Coast" springs to mind.

Owners and collectors, please post your treasures!

 

[koraks]

As far as I'm concerned, this is bunching together cameras that have more differences than similarities between them.

There's the 645 family
Then there's the entirely different RZ stuff
Which is totally different from the 6's and 7's RF's
Again entirely different from the TLR's

The analogies with old cars etc. are beyond me. I guess I'm not much of a connoisseur. Does it work? Does it have a decent lens? Is it practically usable? That's what interests me. My 645 ticks some of the boxes, not all. It sees little use. On the rare occasions I shoot MF, I pick the Bronica 6x6 over the 645 9 times out of 10.

 

[RezaLoghme]

It is about their "utilitarian charme" (esp. the brushed metal parts, leatherette, etc.) vis a vis the smooth 1990s plastic of the late rangefinders and 645 with their Contax siblings.

 

[Donald Qualls]

My RB67 has something none of my other cameras have: extreme versatility. It mounts 2x3 Graflok backs, so I can put Grafmatics and Graflex 22, 23, RH-something backs on it. And I can run 35 mm film in the 220 back, plus I have a Mamiya 645 back. I have lenses from effective 28 mm to 180 and there are longer ones I haven't got (yet) -- and with a 2x teleconverter, I can cover some range of focal lengths.

And as mentioned, it's built like a truck.

 

[ags2mikon]

As Donald just stated the RB67 is extremely versatile. I use the backs with my Horseman cameras, Graflex XL cameras and my Mamiya press G type cameras. It has great lenses and is reliable.

 

[RezaLoghme]

Yeah, this thread is not for specs. It is about the special aesthetic of 1970s Mamiyas. Not to discuss features of the cameras I mentioned. Hope its clear.

 

[grahamp]

I suppose the C series TLRs were a bit like the Volkswagen Beetle - basic, then upgraded as far as possible within the overall design. But the C series started about 15-20 years before the SLR and rangefinders came along. New generation, new materials, new demands.

 

[Paul Howell]

Mamiya Press, good selection of lens, the Universal Multi Back allowed for 6X4.5, 6X6 or 6X9, with ground glass back and extension unit could be used for close ups, or used with 6X9 sheet film. Designed to used hand held. The Cs, I know folks rave about Rolli lens, but the TLR lens were top of the line, the 80mm was 2.8 and unless shooting with very high resolution film was as sharp as needed. Built in bellows, interchangeable finders, although the Konica Omgea Flex had interchangeable backs was almost impossible to use in landscape mode.

 

[GregY]

As far as I'm concerned, this is bunching together cameras that have more differences than similarities between them.

There's the 645 family
Then there's the entirely different RZ stuff
Which is totally different from the 6's and 7's RF's
Again entirely different from the TLR's

The analogies with old cars etc. are beyond me. I guess I'm not much of a connoisseur. Does it work? Does it have a decent lens? Is it practically usable? That's what interests me. My 645 ticks some of the boxes, not all. It sees little use. On the rare occasions I shoot MF, I pick the Bronica 6x6 over the 645 9 times out of 10.

Nicely stated.

 

[RezaLoghme]

Yes good point, the "Press" series also have that aura.

 

[MattKing]

Yeah, this thread is not for specs. It is about the special aesthetic of 1970s Mamiyas. Not to discuss features of the cameras I mentioned. Hope its clear.

As far as I'm concerned, the "special aesthetic" of the 1970s Mamiyas resides mainly in the fact that when I started using them I was in my late teens or early 20s.
Family portrait taken by me (with the aid of a mechanical self timer) using, probably, my C330.
I'm in the white turtleneck at the front - doesn't the hair suit that Mamiya aesthetic ?

 

[David Brown]

I have an RB67 (not RZ), a C220 TLR, and a 645. All have their appeal. But to turn the OP's analogy sideways: It's like having an F-150, a Mustang, and a Galaxy 500. All Ford, all useful, but nothing alike.

 

[flavio81]

Lets discuss camera aethestics!!

While the late-model rangefinders and 645s having a bit of a 1990s camcorder vibe to it, the utilitarian charme of the C3, C33 and C330, the early 645a and of course the chunky RZ is reminding me of a 1970s Ford Bronco, "hardware stores", plaid shirts and some cold Long Island winds. Melville's "Gold Coast" springs to mind.

Owners and collectors, please post your treasures!

I owned Mamiya C2, C220, C330, almost all TLR lenses, the custom Mamiya Aluminium case,
several RB67 pro-S bodies, with 50, 65, 90, 127, 180 lenses...

Today it is "bye bye Mamiya, hello Bronica and Pentax"

Don't get me wrong, the RB67 is close to a perfect machine, except for the size and weight. The Pentax 67 is smaller and lighter (yet doesn't do everything that the RB can do), the Bronica ETRS is very small and light and does most of what the RB can do, albeit on a smaller format.

The Mamiya lenses for the RB are very good.

For the car analogy, i'd say the Mamiya RB67 is a Mercedes Unimog. Slow, big, heavy, but reliable and can get you anywhere, no terrain stops it.

 

[chuckroast]

Lets discuss camera aethestics!!

While the late-model rangefinders and 645s having a bit of a 1990s camcorder vibe to it, the utilitarian charme of the C3, C33 and C330, the early 645a and of course the chunky RZ is reminding me of a 1970s Ford Bronco, "hardware stores", plaid shirts and some cold Long Island winds. Melville's "Gold Coast" springs to mind.

Owners and collectors, please post your treasures!

Right there with you.

I have owned the original 645 500J and almost all the Cs with a variety of lenses.

They are a study in understated elegance, reliability, and utility.

They are now all long gone, replaced by something newer, but if I ever bought another one, it would be the C2 which is the best bang for the buck TLR ever made IMHO, especially when fitted with the more modern glass.

 

[k.hendrik]

aesthetic; you mean as in

 

[Don_ih]

The lot of them are chunky and not very pretty.

Is that good enough?

There are extra capabilities of the Mamiya TLRs that I don't use, so I don't appreciate the extra size. In fact, mine has been unused for about 5 years.

The RB67 is about as handsome as an excavator. So, if you like excavators...

Mamiya 35mm cameras range from brutally ugly to banal.

The Mamiya Press is second only to the Koni Omega in terms of unwieldiness.

By all means, buy every one of them. They take average to good photos.

 

[flavio81]

The lot of them are chunky and not very pretty.

Is that good enough?

There are extra capabilities of the Mamiya TLRs that I don't use, so I don't appreciate the extra size. In fact, mine has been unused for about 5 years.

The RB67 is about as handsome as an excavator. So, if you like excavators...

Mamiya 35mm cameras range from brutally ugly to banal.

The Mamiya Press is second only to the Koni Omega in terms of unwieldiness.

By all means, buy every one of them. They take average to good photos.

IMO, in terms of ugliness from most pretty to YUCK:

1. Mamiya RZ67
2. Mamiya NC1000 (in black)
3. Mamiyaflex C2
4. Mamiya C330S and C330F
5. Mamiya C220F
6. Mamiya RB67
7. Mamiya C220
8. Mamiya Press original model
9. Mamiya Universal (black)
10. Mamiya Super 23

However no Mamiya is as ugly as a Koni-Omega Rapid.

 

[MattKing]

Beauty is as Beauty does.
Results from my Koni-Omega, before I reluctantly accepted the fact that its ergonomics were just not meant for mostly one-handed, left handed me, and I sold it on.

I actually like/liked the way they look though.

 

[Don_ih]

I like that, if I get bored, I can release the bellows catches on my Mamiya 23 and pretend it's an accordion.

Mamiya NC1000

I actually really like that camera. But the lenses, while they are great for photos, tend to easily stop working. Summer heat caused two of mine to liquefy lubricants and gum up the aperture.

 

[Donald Qualls]

RB67 is heavy and, as others have noted, looks like a truck, but it does good work.

35 mm Gold 200 in a 220 back. 90 mm f/3.9 Sekor-C.

 

[RezaLoghme]

If I were banned from owning Leica products, and HAD to choose a Mamiya, it would be...hm...an early 645 because of its size, or a C330.

 

[Chuck1]

No more leica for you
Hand em over(smiley face emoji)

 

[chuckroast]

No more leica for you
Hand em over(smiley face emoji)

Men used to have a midlife crisis and buy a Corvette.

Now I think we buy Leicas.

(And guilty as charged.)

A used Corvette would have been cheaper.

 

[Donald Qualls]

Nah, that's the point where I bought my RB67. And more recently (late-life crisis?) a Minox B. But both were cameras I'd wanted since my teens...

 

[John Wiegerink]

Beauty is as Beauty does.
Results from my Koni-Omega, before I reluctantly accepted the fact that its ergonomics were just not meant for mostly one-handed, left handed me, and I sold it on.
View attachment 409532

I actually like/liked the way they look though.

I used a Koni for weddings before I went to a Hasselblad and it worked very well for that. Even some scenery shots I used it for came out extremely sharp with the 90mm Hex lens. I had the 58mm and 180mm also and could not fault them in anyway whatsoever. Matt, your shot above has that signature.