I'm impressed -- whatever shipping service the Japanese seller uses (from what's described as an outlying island) is apparently very efficient, and USPS was seemingly having a good week, too. I was told to expect delivery by December 14 -- and today, a full three weeks earlier, there was a very solid and well-packed box from Japan with my Mamiya 6 inside.
It's sixty-five to seventy years old, near as I can tell, yet the only things I can find that don't look 100% are the format window selector on the inside of the door is missing its knob (works fine with a pen tip or small screwdriver inserted in the hole it came out of) and one edge of the rubber light control cup around the red windows is cracked. I don't anticipate light leak problems; any light that escapes through that crack will still land on top of the slip-in backing plate. If I don't leave the camera sitting in direct sun with the window cover open, it'll be fine.
And that leads up to: the leatherette is fine, all the glass is clean, shutter appears accurate on 1, 2, 5, and 10 and sounds good on faster speeds (up to 300). The self-timer almost works -- it runs about halfway under its own power, but then needs a little gentle push to finish the trip. I'll avoid using that in favor of cable release. RF patch is bright and clean, and the scale appears accurate (in feet, no less) -- won't know about the image focus until I process the first roll, obviously, but it's a well protected mechanism, inside the body, vs. external moving parts that also have to fold up with the bed.
I'm not sure which version this is -- clearly not an Automat, nor the one with a frame counter, it's red window all the way. No forgetting which one to use, though -- set the inside selector when you load, according to whether you put the flaps in or out, and only the appropriate window will open. The lens is a Sekor T 7.5cm f/3.5 -- not quite as impressive as the f/2.9 Tessar on my Super Ikonta, but this camera wasn't built to be a night shooter (and yet could still be, with modern super-fast films like Delta 3200, T-Max P3200, or even XP2 Super pushed two stops and bleach bypassed), and Sekor lenses aren't junk by any definition.
Once I finished function checking, I loaded up a roll of Portra 400NC (fresh when I bought it in 2004 -- everything else around it has been okay), camera set up for 6x4.5. Shouldn't take too long to go through sixteen frames, and I might even manage to print one or two over my upcoming 4-day weekend.
It's sixty-five to seventy years old, near as I can tell, yet the only things I can find that don't look 100% are the format window selector on the inside of the door is missing its knob (works fine with a pen tip or small screwdriver inserted in the hole it came out of) and one edge of the rubber light control cup around the red windows is cracked. I don't anticipate light leak problems; any light that escapes through that crack will still land on top of the slip-in backing plate. If I don't leave the camera sitting in direct sun with the window cover open, it'll be fine.
And that leads up to: the leatherette is fine, all the glass is clean, shutter appears accurate on 1, 2, 5, and 10 and sounds good on faster speeds (up to 300). The self-timer almost works -- it runs about halfway under its own power, but then needs a little gentle push to finish the trip. I'll avoid using that in favor of cable release. RF patch is bright and clean, and the scale appears accurate (in feet, no less) -- won't know about the image focus until I process the first roll, obviously, but it's a well protected mechanism, inside the body, vs. external moving parts that also have to fold up with the bed.
I'm not sure which version this is -- clearly not an Automat, nor the one with a frame counter, it's red window all the way. No forgetting which one to use, though -- set the inside selector when you load, according to whether you put the flaps in or out, and only the appropriate window will open. The lens is a Sekor T 7.5cm f/3.5 -- not quite as impressive as the f/2.9 Tessar on my Super Ikonta, but this camera wasn't built to be a night shooter (and yet could still be, with modern super-fast films like Delta 3200, T-Max P3200, or even XP2 Super pushed two stops and bleach bypassed), and Sekor lenses aren't junk by any definition.
Once I finished function checking, I loaded up a roll of Portra 400NC (fresh when I bought it in 2004 -- everything else around it has been okay), camera set up for 6x4.5. Shouldn't take too long to go through sixteen frames, and I might even manage to print one or two over my upcoming 4-day weekend.
Came in to work this morning, and found the missing knob/screw sitting on one of the tables in the break room. That's far from what I expected, but I'm very happy it occurred. I left the camera home today, but it'll be back in service a few minutes after I get there. 
