Koni-Omega vs. Mamiya Press

[Paul Howell]

At one time there were templates to cut for different focusing arms to match different lens for the 4X5 top mounted rangefinder, what about the baby speeds?

 

[Chuck1]

It's on my to do list

 

[btaylor]

I don’t have and have never used a Koni Omega, but I’ve always been a bit interested in them since they were new. They are so different looking, have very good lenses and convenient interlocks. I have had and use Mamiya Press and Graflex XL’s. The focusing helical is an issue in the XL. I’ve had 3 bodies and they’ve all had the stiff helical. Great lenses though. I found them awkward to use even though they look like they would not be. Everyone’s different, right? I have a couple of Mamiya Press bodies, only shot test rolls so far. The lenses (50, 100, 150mm) are very sharp. The lack of interlocks and form makes it a lot more difficult to use than something like an RZ67 which has become my preferred MF camera.

 

[Paul Howell]

For shooting events, wedding, street fairs, concerts and the like the Konica is very fast, just not quite, the ratchet advance is someone on the noisy side. As I shoot landscapes on a tripod the Mamiya works well. The Horseman would provide additional movement, not as much as a view camera, still enough to be useful. 6X9 Tmax 100 would resolve for very large prints.

 

[Dan Fromm]

At one time there were templates to cut for different focusing arms to match different lens for the 4X5 top mounted rangefinder, what about the baby speeds?

Not focusing arms, cams. The 2x3ers had Kalart or Hugo Meyer RFs. The Kalarts could be adjusted for a range of focal lengths but doing the adjustment in the field after changing lenses is impractical. The HM RFs are, IIRC, good for a single focal length.

 

[ags2mikon]

I started out with a RB 67 in 1978 and found them to be a handful but I loved the image quality. I started with just one lens a 127mm and a few months later I picked up a 2x converter that didn’t work to bad. A year or so later I saw an ad in the local paper for a “120mm press camera” so I went to see it. It was a pair of Koni rapid omegas an extra roll holder and a complete lens set. 58, 90 and 180. The owner and a friend of his had been doing aerial photography and the men had a falling out. He told me they need the shutters serviced, but every thing else was good to go. So I bought them and had the shutters serviced and the first rolls shot were as good as my Mamiya. The ergonomics were really funky to say the least. About 2 months later the paper had another press camera for sale $75.00 with film. It to went home with me. It was a pacemaker with out the focal plane and 3 grafmatic holders loaded with Tri X. When I started using it, it became apparent immediately where the funky ergonomics came from. I made some decent extra money doing weddings and aerials with those Rapid omega’s. I used the extra money to buy the rest of my RB 67 lenses. But, alas, It still didn’t satisfy a bad case of GAS, and I was at a camera show and saw a Horseman VH-R with the 90mm, 65mm and 180mm. It went home with me. It was wonderful. My RB 67 backs worked on it, it gave me a wide lens I could shift and it fit in a small bag. Whats not to like. I still have it and it has been joined with other lenses and other Horseman cameras and most of my images on the wall have been done with the horseman cameras. The Horseman VH-R is a good complement to an RB 67 set and it can do things an RB 67 can’t. Fast forward to today and I still shoot with RB 67’s, Koni Omega 200’s and Mamiya press with graflok backs and the Horseman VH-R’s. Why The 50mm on the Mamiya press is about as good as you can get foe a wide. The 75mm is just as good. The Koni’s make a nice point and shoot with interchangeable lenses. The VH-R’s make nice landscape cameras, and the RB-67 is nice for close up photography, portraits and landscapes with longer lenses. Horses for courses. Let your GAS go wild, you only live once.I started out with a RB 67 in 1978 and found them to be a handful but I loved the image quality. I started with just one lens a 127mm and a few months later I picked up a 2x converter that didn’t work to bad. A year or so later I saw an ad in the local paper for a “120mm press camera” so I went to see it. It was a pair of Koni rapid omegas an extra roll holder and a complete lens set. 58, 90 and 180. The owner and a friend of his had been doing aerial photography and the men had a falling out. He told me they need the shutters serviced, but every thing else was good to go. So I bought them and had the shutters serviced and the first rolls shot were as good as my Mamiya. The ergonomics were really funky to say the least. About 2 months later the paper had another press camera for sale $75.00 with film. It to went home with me. It was a pacemaker with out the focal plane and 3 grafmatic holders loaded with Tri X. When I started using it, it became apparent immediately where the funky ergonomics came from. I made some decent extra money doing weddings and aerials with those Rapid omega’s. I used the extra money to buy the rest of my RB 67 lenses. But, alas, It still didn’t satisfy a bad case of GAS, and I was at a camera show and saw a Horseman VH-R with the 90mm, 65mm and 180mm. It went home with me. It was wonderful. My RB 67 backs worked on it, it gave me a wide lens I could shift and it fit in a small bag. Whats not to like. I still have it and it has been joined with other lenses and other Horseman cameras and most of my images on the wall have been done with the horseman cameras. The Horseman VH-R is a good complement to an RB 67 set and it can do things an RB 67 can’t. Fast forward to today and I still shoot with RB 67’s, Koni Omega 200’s and Mamiya press with graflok backs and the Horseman VH-R’s. Why The 50mm on the Mamiya press is about as good as you can get foe a wide. The 75mm is just as good. The Koni’s make a nice point and shoot with interchangeable lenses. The VH-R’s make nice landscape cameras, and the RB-67 is nice for close up photography, portraits and landscapes with longer lenses. Horses for courses. Let your GAS go wild, you only live once.

 

[Marcelo Paniagua]

I don’t have and have never used a Koni Omega, but I’ve always been a bit interested in them since they were new. They are so different looking, have very good lenses and convenient interlocks. I have had and use Mamiya Press and Graflex XL’s. The focusing helical is an issue in the XL. I’ve had 3 bodies and they’ve all had the stiff helical. Great lenses though. I found them awkward to use even though they look like they would not be. Everyone’s different, right? I have a couple of Mamiya Press bodies, only shot test rolls so far. The lenses (50, 100, 150mm) are very sharp. The lack of interlocks and form makes it a lot more difficult to use than something like an RZ67 which has become my preferred MF camera.

By the way, I found the Mamiya press easier to handle that the XL, with or without the Mamiya handle. Film back shape really helps hold the camera better than the XL. I did once compare the lens and for what it is worth, found the XL lens just tiny bit better that Mamiya, but not by much IMHO.

Marcelo

 

[btaylor]

I’ve had 3 Mamiyas, a C330f, Press and RZ. I’ve never been disappointed in the lenses.

 

[MattKing]

The owner and a friend of his had been doing aerial photography and the men had a falling out.

A picture forms and the mind boggles!

 

[ruilourosa]

Mamiya press 100mm 2.8 is One of my prefered lenses...

50mm and 75mm are also very very good...,

 

[mgb74]

I used both in the 80s. Left hand grip on the Koni never bothered me - and I'm right handed.

But all of these cameras are getting pretty old now. I'd favor the simpler Mamiya over the Koni.

 

[Randy Stewart]

In the 1980s, a buddy of mine and I were drifting from 35mm SLR to medium format. He went Mamiya Super 23 (?), and I went Koni-Omega. We sampled each other's equipment a few times. I'm satisfied that I made the better choice. If you choose the right Koni [M, Rapid M, 200 (by Mamiya)] you have a fully integrated package with mid-roll interchangeable film magazines. Mamiya has the same potential, but it's not integrated. This means that with the Koni, you advance the film a frame, the shutter cocks, and a variety of interlocks either engage or disengage to keep you from wasting a shot or an accidental double exposure, all in one motion. With the Mamiya, you advance the film and cock the shutter separately, and there is nothing to keep you from skipping a frame or shooting as many images on to one frame of film as you like. The viewfinder on the Koni has more accurate framing (in fact, better than modern MF rangefinders). The rangefinder base is much greater on the Koni, so focusing is more accurate as well. One con to buying a Koni is that as a class, they were very heavily used in commercial photography, so you have to be careful buying that used (up?) equipment now. The lens range of the Mamiya is a bit wider. The lenses for the Koni are perhaps a bit better, but nothing to make a difference in real world use. There are five lenses for the Koni, 58, 60, 90, 135, and 180mm. All interchange easily and automatically couple and cam to the rangefinder with no manual adjustments. The only things that fail on the Konis are the film back, and only those having two lifetimes of use and no maintenance. The Mamiya backs are simpler but more fussy at film loading. I think you can adapt the Graflex roll film back to the Mamiya if needed. The Koni is so tightly integrated that the only generic accessories for it are a filter or a flash. There were a list of accessory bits for the Koni, but they are mostly hard to finds now, and none are critical to its operation.