Yes but not in a dramatic way.
I held an RB67 today...
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Yes but not in a dramatic way.
Way too much money. You should be able to get an RB with 2 or 3 "C" lenses and multiple backs, all with a recent CLA, for that. A recent CLA is a game changer in my book cause it's spendy, and necessary. I paid more for a CLA for my "C" series 127mm than another used one would cost...but I know it's probably good for 10 years. (per the tech)
When a model is being paid $100/hr it's nice to feel confident the flashes won't suddenly stop firing, that there won't be a recently developed light leak, etc. It's also nice to know that if I go out shooting landscapes all day (walking 15 miles with a heavy tripod) with my 65mm "C" that I won't, say, discover that not a single image was captured. Ask me how I know.
*knocks on wood anyway*
When a model is being paid $100/hr it's nice to feel confident the flashes won't suddenly stop firing, that there won't be a recently developed light leak, etc. It's also nice to know that if I go out shooting landscapes all day (walking 15 miles with a heavy tripod) with my 65mm "C" that I won't, say, discover that not a single image was captured. Ask me how I know.
*knocks on wood anyway*
Btw, resistance is futile. 
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why would it need to be dramatic? Mamiya designed the RZ as the replacement for the RB. It's better in all ways that matter: lighter, smaller, newer, more lens choices (which are generally cheaper also), more features and functionality. Still fires w/o battery if need be.
However, long after Mamiya released the RZ67 (1982), they also designed and released the RB67 pro-SD (1990).
So can't be a complete replacement if for some reason there was still a demand for brand-new RB67 cameras eight years after the introduction of the RZ.
I don't say it needs to be a dramatic improvement. What I mean is that the improvement is not so strong as to leave the RB67 as an option that should not be considered.
110mm 2.8.
For that kind of money you can buy a much lighter Hasselblad. Then you would have to wait a little longer between buying lenses. On the other hand think of the money you will save from not buying a truss and having hernia operations, not to mention the pain.
OP
OP
The price is excessive. I pretty much knew that. But it was good to see one in person. So now I'm scouring eBay...
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Mamiya themselves were surprised by the longevity/demand for the RB, so they continued to serve that market and make those cameras, (hell, take the money, why not?), even though they themselves considered the RZ the more modern and up-to-date replacement. And yes, 110/2.8, 50ULD and possibly other lenses are specific to the RZ only.
Whereas I mostly use Hasselblad on a tripod (pre-released), I mostly walk around with my RB67's - no logic there, that's just how things happened.
After many years walking 7 miles home from UCLA with a few pounds of textbooks under my arm, the RB67 doesn't seem heavy or awkward.
I much prefer the 6x7 format, though I think 6x8 would be ideal for me. Another highly subjective preference I have.
Perhaps my fondness for the RB over the RZ is that I just like the fact that the operator has to do everything manually, including the separate film wind and shutter cocking.
RZ lenses do look hot, however.
After many years walking 7 miles home from UCLA with a few pounds of textbooks under my arm, the RB67 doesn't seem heavy or awkward.
I much prefer the 6x7 format, though I think 6x8 would be ideal for me. Another highly subjective preference I have.
Perhaps my fondness for the RB over the RZ is that I just like the fact that the operator has to do everything manually, including the separate film wind and shutter cocking.
RZ lenses do look hot, however.
When they introduced the RZ (1982) they created a new line of improved lenses.
However when they introduced the RB67 pro-SD (1990), they created the "K/L" and "L" line lenses, that were state of the art and more advanced compared to what came before. Of course, these designs were as well used on the RZ line of lenses, but my point is that 'modern' lenses were also available for the RB line as well.
+1 to the idea of getting the Fuji GX680. I like it much better than the Mamiya offerings. Yes it is a tank, but if it's on a tripod you don't really care too much anyway.
The 680 is absolutely enormous.
I thought (and said here) that the RB and RZ were too big for practical hand holding, but after buying an RZ and some lenses I can certainly hand hold it. I still wouldn't call it a "walking around camera" in the sense of putting it on a sling around my neck and going out to shoot, but it could certainly go in a bag that I carry afield, just like my 4x5 kit. I can, oddly enough though, carry my Technika with three lenses, a few film holders, a dark cloth, loupe and meter in a kit smaller and way lighter than a comparable RZ kit. That's mostly because the RZ lenses are much bigger, which in turn is largely because they are both much faster.
My preference of the RB is the full manual function. While they're certainly different I won't go so far as to say one is better than the other. What is "better" for one photographer may not be for another. As far as being a walk around camera goes that is also subjective. I've had mine out scrambling around on the fore deck of a sailboat while underway.
It's not fair to compare a 6x6 camera to a 6x7 camera with a rotating back (and thus the size of a 7x7 camera, if such a thing actually existed.) And not everyone likes square negatives (I do, sometimes, though I probably crop my 6x6 TLR negatives to rectangles at least 60-70% of the time.) And if you end up cropping them you might as well go 6x4.5. I shoot 6x6s that I end up cropping simply because I love shooting with my TLR.
There are other choices in 6x6 SLRs that it would be much more fair to compare with the Hasselblad. Hasselblad to RB/RZ is apples to oranges.
I have to mostly agree with Roger. The Hasselblad and the Mamiya have some obvious similarities--they're both MF system cameras that in their heyday were primarily used in studios. There is some overlap of function there. I don't use my cameras in a studio, so I recently sold off my Mamiya stuff to get a much smaller Hasselblad kit, which is indeed easier to walk around with. But the format difference does affect how you shoot with it. And I would say that the Mamiya K/L lenses, at least, were not inferior to the Hasselblad.
Funnily enough there was a thread over on photo.net where a guy did a load of hand holding shutter speed comparisons for himself between an RB and the blad system, he found he got more consistent hand held results with the RB.
A 13 year old girl is TRAINING to become a woman who carries around a 20 lb. purse!
Or she training to be able to whack you upside the head with a six-pound steel camera if you give her this condescending crap.
True!!A 13 year old girl is TRAINING to become a woman who carries around a 20 lb. purse!
Me too.I'll put my money on this one.
Btw the RB/RZ is no worse than lugging around a pro slr with 70-200 2.8 People do that all the time.
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