Mamiya M645 1000s power drive???

[stradibarrius]

Have you had experience with the power drive for the M645? Do they work well?
I am not concerned about the speed only the functionality and dependability.
It seems that this attachment would make the camera handle more like a 35mm.
Hold and fire with the right hand and focus with the left????

 

[Ian Grant]

Was there a power drive for the 1000s ? I don't think so I've never seen one. I have the 100s and plan 645, I thought the powerwinder only came with the 645 Pro etc.

The Grip bracket makes the cameras much easier to use, and has a shutter release button on the handle.

Ian

 

[Q.G.]

No, there was.

Long time ago for me, but i remember it as something that works.

Will it make a 1000s more like a 35 mm camera? No.
It will make it like a big 1000s even bigger, yet not requiring you to wind the crank. You can indeed Hold and fire with the right hand and focus with the left.

But why would you want it to be more like 35 mm cameras?

 

[CGW]

They did exist. Here's a slightly busted one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Mamiya-M645-Pow...645-1000S-/310244580758?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

On the later Super/Pro/ ProTL, the drive grip makes a huge difference simply by making the things handholdable.

 

[Ian Grant]

Well you live & learn

Ian

 

[stradibarrius]

I know the exist. KEH has them. I have also seen some on ebay.
I LOVE my M645! It has great glass and just enough features to make me happy but...to ME it is awkward to hold and use. I have a left hand grip but everything seems backwards. Personally I like the way a 35mm handles.

 

[Q.G.]

Left hand grips are evil things.
They are sold with the promise that they make life easier, while they do just the opposite. You do not want to hold a heavy camera on the end of an arm, on the end of a lever, constantly opposing gravity by twisting your wrist. The only way to use such a grip and stil be able to actually hold your camera (as opposed to have it dangle unusably) is to use your other hand to support it.
Absolutely terrible. They ought to hang the person who invented that such that he can save his life using a left hand grip...

MF cameras are best held in your hand.
Best MF cameras are those that are designed around that, i.e. only need the other, free, hand to operate the important bits. Most do: one hand required to hold the thing and operates the release, the other free to do anything else. Some don't: they have the controls on both sides of the camera, requiring changing your grip to operate them all.

Your Mamiya is one of the better designed cameras.
A motor grip will, in my opinion, not do much to improve holdability.

 

[NJS]

I don't how good those are in practical terms (weight, speed, battery life, handling, etc..) but I can only guess how loud they can get.

 

[MattKing]

They are very loud, and quite large. If you look for one, make sure you get it with the connector that goes between the winder and the camera. They can be hard to find, and without the connector, the winder is useless. (as the eBay listing indicates).

By the way, it is rumoured that you can use one of these winders on the 645e as well. Mamiya never advertised that.

I don't know whether the thumb operated rapid winder for the 645e will work on the 1000s.

By the way, Q.G., don't you mean that the left-handed grips are "sinister"?

Personally I really, really like left-handed grips. I am, however, very left-handed.

 

[CGW]

Left hand grips are evil things.
They are sold with the promise that they make life easier, while they do just the opposite. You do not want to hold a heavy camera on the end of an arm, on the end of a lever, constantly opposing gravity by twisting your wrist. The only way to use such a grip and stil be able to actually hold your camera (as opposed to have it dangle unusably) is to use your other hand to support it.
Absolutely terrible. They ought to hang the person who invented that such that he can save his life using a left hand grip...

MF cameras are best held in your hand.
Best MF cameras are those that are designed around that, i.e. only need the other, free, hand to operate the important bits. Most do: one hand required to hold the thing and operates the release, the other free to do anything else. Some don't: they have the controls on both sides of the camera, requiring changing your grip to operate them all.

Your Mamiya is one of the better designed cameras.
A motor grip will, in my opinion, not do much to improve holdability.

Save it for photo.net...Motor grips on the later Mamiya 645s are enormously useful for model shoots, whether in the studio or outdoors. The ergonomics of these cameras shot handheld suck without a motor grip. Motor drives for most MF cameras are noisy--it's a baked-in problem. My MD-12 and MD-4 Nikon drives make nearly as much racket.

 

[stradibarrius]

I was really just interested in the mechanical dependability of the winder. How it feels is an individual thing. It is all about what feels normal to you. I have an RB67 as well and the left hand grip for that camera feels better to me than the left hand grip for the M645???

 

[CGW]

Mechanically, the motor drive for the old 645 bodies is a borderline relic(with the attendant parts+repair headaches). I shoot my RB mostly anchored to a tripod but wish the lefty grips would allow the use of a QR plate for tripod use--the handle would make positioning faster. I believe the only RB grip with a threaded 1/4 hole is the semi-rare Multi-angle grip.

 

[MattKing]

When I bought my RB67/C330 grip many, many years ago, the previous owner had replaced the screw that threads into the tripod socket with a welded contraption that has a female tripod socket thread on the bottom, inset into the tightening knob. I am therefore able to use QR plates.

 

[CGW]

I've been tempted to hack a TLR/RB lefty grip(they're often quite cheap on the big auction site)to work like that with a spare Manfrotto hex plate bolted onto the bottom surface. Another project...

 

[agfarapid]

I was really just interested in the mechanical dependability of the winder. How it feels is an individual thing. It is all about what feels normal to you. I have an RB67 as well and the left hand grip for that camera feels better to me than the left hand grip for the M645???

I purchased the motor winder for my 645 used some years ago. It has been very reliable but kind of loud. It takes a bunch of AA cells and replaces the manual winder. It's good when mated with one of the metering prisms and allows a faster shooting experience. I have no complaints.

 

[Lanline]

I had the power drive. I would skip it. Easy to bump the MULTIPLE EXPOSURE Switch.

 

[r1ma]

It's big, noisy, IIRC takes 8 AAs (heavy), but it works. It's also quite strong, you can feel the torque through the grip