Mamiya RB67 Pro SD handheld?

Alan Klein said:

Frankly I'm skeptical anyone can get pictures that consistently show no movement at 1/15 of a second. Are any of these on the web where you can provide a link? Also, what size do you enlarge too? Movement gets worse the larger you blow up so what you think is OK on a light box quickly shows movement as you enlarge.

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A I said I can shoot 1/30 no problems. 1/15 too if I brace myself a bit and breath easy with the WLF, resting the camera against my body. Obviously if the subject is moving (ie people) then that is no good but for static shots it is ok. Low shutter speeds are subjective, I have seen 1/8 shots from a friend's RZ67 which he handheld and they were sharp but I can't do it reliably. Other people need minimum 1/focal length or more as we all have different body types, technique and caffeine intake.

I get my film scanned by a lab and get 7000px on the wide end. I view files on a 27'' iMac and I printed a few to A4 size. I don't see camera shake at these conditions but then again I don't judge photos on absolute sharpness with a microscope. So it depends on your definition of usable/acceptable. I'll accept that if I blow it up to 40x30 it probably won't be critically sharp but I don't intend to. I don't post full resolution images online and have no intention to so I'm afraid web sized stuff won't tell you what you are looking for. Feel free to browse my site, panosvoudouris.com, the City shots are panf and acros at 1/15-1/60, last shot (arcade) was I think 1/4 (and it shows).

I'd be glad if I get no blurred images at 1/30th and up. Never going below that.

Never say never.

Blur is a very useful tool.

Panning is a really fun handheld technique, it benefits from relatively slow shutter speeds.

I remember seeing a shot in a National Geographic issue of a dancer in full on ball gown in an article about something in Texas. Let's just say it wasn't exactly the sharpest photo in the issue, it was obviously done with a slow shutter and handheld; but it made the cut and was a fun shot.

If I remember correctly NG normally only uses about 30-40 shots in an article, those are regularly picked from a pool of thousands.

Got the RB67, kinda big for my hands though. Will try it out but seems like I will switch it for a Hasselblad 500C.

I've got big hands and it's still big.

Roll the focus all the way out and go find a flower or two. Prepare to be amazed.

Move the camera closer and further from the subject until you find focus instead of adjusting the camera.

This is one of the advantages of the RB, bellows focussing allows for very close focusing with your 90mm lens and is great fun with flowers and similarly sized stuff.

Be sure to note the exposure correction needed on the chart on the right side. With the 90 it is showing you that you will want to add a full stop of extra exposure when focused like this and using an external/handheld meter or the sunny 16 rule.

Jesse - whatever works for you. Nothing like personal experience to figure what works and doesn't.

I dont know if hassy's also have the floating lens elements, or if your RB lens has it - that would be a feature to try with what Mark's suggested above.

Maybe just me but so far only found the Large Format camera as big / unwieldy.

Clearly, ymmv


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Jessestr said:

Got the RB67, kinda big for my hands though. Will try it out but seems like I will switch it for a Hasselblad 500C.

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Well, try it out first. You can do great work with a 67.


There is no such thing as a small, light medium format camera. Even the Mamiya 7 is quite hefty.


But, as I mentioned earlier, you really should consider a Mamiya 645 if you want something nimbler. The 6 x 4.5 format is more versatile than the Hasselblad 6x6 and you will get a lot more lenses, prisms and accessories for your money with Mamiya. I really couldn't say that image quality is inferior either. The main difference apart from cost is that the Hasselblad camera has "The Look" according to some people. Plus you probably will be shooting Hasselblad without a prism, which means looking at an mirror image and doing hand-held metering. This is so much slower than just shooting with a Mamiya metered prism.


But if it is a Hasselblad that you crave, then you should go for it straight away, or you'll waste time and money in the upgrade cycle. But this seems like an open question to me.

Jaf-Photo said:

There is no such thing as a small, light medium format camera. Even the Mamiya 7 is quite hefty.

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The folder that I routinely carry in my back pocket would disagree with you on that!

Of course, sorry. MF folding cameras are a bit of a blank spot in my mind.

The RB67 is my main medium format camera but I don't shoot below 1/125 unless I have to, and never below 1/60 without a tripod. It is possible to get a decent image but my experience is that it is somewhat softer. I prefer heavier cameras for hand-held. I am sure there are folks out there who can shoot at lower speeds with an RB.