Do you shoot 645 and 6x7?

Old-N-Feeble

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I did many years ago when I shot weddings. The Bronica ETR with speed grip was so much more portable and comfortable/speedy that it was almost like shooting 135 format. I relegated the RB67 to ceremonies and portraits. Frankly, the only reason I used the RB was because it was more 'impressive' to the average onlooker. It looked so intimidating on an oversized tripod and made such a wonderfully loud 'ker-PLUNK' at every exposure. In fact, I always made a big show of walking around taking meter readings an hour or two before the start of the ceremony. That always impressed onlookers more than giving me much usable imaging information. But... that was just business... give the customers and their families/guests a good show for their money. I would have been perfectly happy shooting everything on the 645.

RE quality: In my experience (and typically... on average), there's a huge difference in print quality between 135 format and 645 but far less difference between 645 and 6x7cm.

Today, if I were to shoot medium format it would be 645 because I want to begin shooting 4x5 again and, IMO, there's not enough difference between 6x7cm and 4x5 to bother... but 645 with a speed grip is a joy to shoot but there's a significant difference in image quality between 645 and 4x5 with very large prints.
 
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mr rusty

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I shoot 645 quite a bit. I find my mamiya 645J and op/tech strap is a reasonably comfortable walkabout camera - chunky but do-able. I also have 6x6 folders and a TLR, but the mamiya gets used most.
 

darkroommike

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I currently have 645 and 6x6 format cameras and 6x9 backs for various press cameras with Graflok backs and a couple of RH-10's. I owned a Pentax 6x7 and used an RB for about six years at work. Almost all my negatives from years of shooting Black and White are filed in PrintFile pages (or the equivalent) and I never found a satisfactory solution for the darn 10th frame! 16,15,12,9, and 8 frames will file on 8x10 negative pages and 8x10 contact sheets. Color shooters don't have this problem, their film is most often cut and stored in individual envelopes or glassines (glassines NOT good for long term but great for sending out negs for print orders).

Bottom line, love the cameras (I can really rock an RB even though I'm not a big guy, and my 67 with the Rosewood grip and 105 was a great machine), but the filing 6x7 drives me nuts (not a very long drive).
 

bobt99silver

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I shoot both - as well as 6x6 with TLR's. I have Pentax 645N/NII and I think they are the Swiss army knife of film cameras, can do most things pretty well. If I've got a particular landscape shot in mind with a tripod, I like the Pentax 67II, in a studio with a tripod, a Mamiya RZ, and for walking around the TLR's.
 

cooltouch

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I think the reason why Graflex called that system a "Speed Graphic" was because it had a focal plane shutter with shutter speeds. Well, that was the Pacemaker Speed Graphic. There was also the Crown, that didn't have the shutter. And, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it was just called the "Crown Graphic."
 

jgoody

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I stand corrected! I was thinking of the speedy news photographers not the shutter speeds.
 

spiked

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I shoot mostly 645 (ETRS), some 6x6 (SQ), and very occasionally 6x7 (Rapid Omega) and 6x17 (Technorama 617). I generally prefer the ETRS due to its lighter weight, and use it a lot with a panoramic 35mm back.

The systems are so cheap these days, you can have two or three setups for less than the price of one new digital SLR, so the only choice is which one to use on a given day .

The other issue is where to store them all (ask my wife about that, or maybe not...).
 

Soeren

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Roger Cole

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I shoot 645 with my Mamiya 645 Pro handheld. With the winder grip and the reasonably fast lenses and the size of the camera, my RZ 67 Pro II will never replace it.

OTOH, on a tripod my RZ67 gives me nearly twice the image area. For shooting in my little basement studio I'm setting up I doubt the 645 Pro will ever replace the RZ67 either.

And I agree, if you're shopping for an enlarger just shop for a 4x5. I have one (well, two actually, though one is mostly for spare parts for the other, with a bit of work it could be put into service.) That's also because I DO shoot 4x5 and can't imagine ever giving up the view camera, but after working with a 4x5 enlarger smaller ones seem almost toy like. The 4x5 enlarger is NICE, even if you don't go up to shooting 4x5.
 

TenSpeed

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ac12 said:
It DID

Although by buying used, it was actually cheaper than my Nikon D70.
Click to expand...

Ahh, justifying expensive film cameras by comparing them to digital cameras


(i do this all the time )
 

Sirius Glass

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Not me, I just enjoy the film camera prices in the digital world.
 

flavio81

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I shoot 6x4.5 and 6x7 both by using the Mamiya RB67 with the appropiate film back (and viewfinder mask).

The RB67 is excellent as a 6x4.5 camera. Of course, this is true once you grow the appropiate muscles...
 

Roger Cole

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flavio81 said:
I shoot 6x4.5 and 6x7 both by using the Mamiya RB67 with the appropiate film back (and viewfinder mask).

The RB67 is excellent as a 6x4.5 camera. Of course, this is true once you grow the appropiate muscles...
Click to expand...

I'm not sure why one would do this. Are you using the RB handheld and doing it to get more shots without reloading?

I dismissed the RB and RZ as handheld cameras even though I knew some people did it, until I got one. Now that I have an RZ with a prism I realize it's a bit more workable than I thought - but I still think y'all are kind of nuts. (Just not "plumb crazy" as we say in the south.)
 

MattKing

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I use the RB67 for 645 as well.
Sometimes just because of being able to shoot more shots per roll, but also because my slide projectors handle 6x4.5 but cannot handle 6x7.
The chimney finder, bellows focusing and rotating back are great for close-up work.
I like having leaf shutters when I'm doing fill flash - I don't have leaf shutter lenses for my Mamiya 645 Pro.
I can even put all my negatives or transparencies into a single Print-file sheet when I shoot 6x4.5.
 

flavio81

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Roger Cole said:
I'm not sure why one would do this. Are you using the RB handheld and doing it to get more shots without reloading?

I dismissed the RB and RZ as handheld cameras even though I knew some people did it, until I got one.
Click to expand...

I only use my RB handheld!!

As Mattking said, the RB is great in 6x4.5 over a standard 6x4.5 SLR (like, for example, Mamiya M645) because:
- the rotating back makes vertical shots really comfortable (or horizontal shots when comparing to a 6x4.5 rangefinder)
- all your lenses are leaf-shutter lenses
- RB system focal lengths work perfectly good with 6x4.5:
--- 50mm is like a 30mm wideangle (in 35mm terms)
--- 65mm is like a 40mm general purpose lens, like the lenses on many fixed length rangefinders
--- 90mm is like a 55mm general purpose normal lens
--- 127mm falls exactly in the 80mm focal length equivalence
--- 180mm like a 110mm lens; also an useful portrait FL
- almost no mirror shake/bounce
- interchangeable film backs

Of course a M645 or similar machine is far smaller and lighter.
 

MattKing

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You forgot the 140mm macro lens - way cheaper than the 120mm macro for the Mamiya 645 and just about as advantageous.
 

Roger Cole

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Well I guess if you already have the 67 and not a 645...I still don't get it. Why not just go ahead and shoot the bigger negative? You can always crop it to 645 later if you want. The only advantage of "in camera cropping" by using the smaller back is more shots per roll. I admit that's significant sometimes with 645 vs 6x7 though.

It's just that a 6x7 camera is the biggest, heaviest 6x4.5 you coul...well, no, they made some 6x4.6 roll film backs for 4x5 cameras. I suppose either is good for shooting super slides.

My 645 Pro has interchangeable backs. And mirror lock up, though maybe you are saying the 67 without the mirror locked up still has less bounce than a 645? It does SOUND better damped, and doesn't have the flop of auto-return, but OTOH it's a lot bigger too.

I like my RZ but as frequently said it's really the size of a 7x7 camera to accommodate the rotating back. It's a beast though.
 

MattKing

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Roger Cole said:
The only advantage of "in camera cropping" by using the smaller back is more shots per roll.
Click to expand...
I guess you don't shoot 6x4.5 slides for projection, while enjoying either your existing leaf shutters or a with waist level finder that works well with close focus and a subject with a portrait orientation.
Something like this:

(I think I shot this one using the 6x4.5 back)
 
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