Mamiya RZ IS NOT A PROFESSIONAL camera

[benjiboy]

There's an old saying "there is no photographer as good as the simplest camera."

 

[DBP]

A professional is not judged by it's equipment but by it's ability. A professional can work with just about any equipment if needed to. It's nice to have nice professional looking gear, but that's not important.

By professional looking gear, do you mean cameras with gaffer's tape on the corners, carboard taped to the flash, and stains on the camera bag?

 

[Richard Kelham]

By professional looking gear, do you mean cameras with gaffer's tape on the corners, carboard taped to the flash, and stains on the camera bag?

Yup! And with a beat-up Porsche Carrera parked outside...

 

[RDKirk]

The Mamiya RZ camera and lenses are designed to be overhauled and maintained nearly indefinitely ("nearly" only because Mamiya isn't going to make the parts forever). That is a significant factor making it more "professional" than many more modern "throw away" designs.

 

[Xmas]

With an RB if you pull the slide out by 1/4 and inch you can fire the shutter? I've forgotten, but I always check the slide is out when I change backs.

Noel

 

[epatsellis]

just far enough to expose the little triangle cutout, in fact.

erie

 

[Frank Szabo]

Yeah - I'm late.

I got RZ Pro II. It is said on many places such a camera is professional tool. Well. Is it? I just do not think so, at least by my own standard what is a professional camera.

Professional camera must be fail free and able to take a shoot at very different weather and temperature conditions, and also to free a photographer from technicalities. It just must take a shoot, period.

Amateur wistling going home no matter camera shut or not, same same. Next time he will repeat if camera failed.

I had an important even to shoot, many people in a group. Distributing people, selecting background, thinking about exposure time for waterfall in background, use 50 mm ULD lens, scanning everybody’s face like a snake through a viewfinder, make everybody in good mood and to smile,... puf.

Reposition the group, click, click. Three important shut done, and one more left. Than suddenly I realized technical problem with a camera. That freaken camera shoot with a slide in. I took a slide out and shut. Recolect quickly part of the group and reshut.

I just cannot accept it to think about camera when shooting. It is not a first time that such a camera fails, and I do not consider the slide is photographers fail. It just blames me and my business. Simple, just not acceptable.

Mamiya RZ Pro II is a amateurish camera, in spite of good lenses.

Rather late responding to this, but I believe you've confused 'professional' with 'cranial rectosis'.

We all do stupid stuff from time to time. Three weeks ago, I pulled the wrong slide from an 8x10 film holder - took a second to figure out where that tan color came from when the holder is black.

Get your camera and filmback checked; it shouldn't fire with the dark slide in place.

 

[photomy]

In general, the less automated a camera is, the more reliable it is - IF, the person using it is reliable. In this case, if you would have had a camera where you had to remember to take the slide out, then the mechanical failure would not have been an issue. But, then eventually, you may have forgotten to take the slide out for a whole series of shots. I own an RZ II and have never had a problem with the very few automated aspects.

 

[Christopher D. Keth]

Aldevo
At the very least, a few instances of every mechcanical device ever mass-produced will suffer a failure.

Accepted, but how you explain it to the customer? We are paying thousands of dollars to avoid it.

They're paying the photographer to wade the river of technical problems for them. Not push a button and hope it works right.

 

[David Henderson]

"Normally RZ does not shoot with a slide in. It is camera failure if does."

Yes, and experienced photographers will normally not shoot with the darkslide in.

I can understand a momentary frustration that you have made an error in your photography that usual professional procedures should prevent, and in the heat of the moment its convenient to blame someone/something else for our own omissions. What I can't understand is for that lack of reality lasting long enough for you to get back and write a message here- for most people most of the time an initial anger would be replaced by a sober realisation that the issue was actually their own fault.

I have a Bronica that will take a photograph with the darkslide in unless its pressed fully home. I have a Mamiya 7 that will quite happily take photographs without being focussed or with the lenscap on. If these things happen I might momentarily feel like dropping that camera off the nearest cliff, but commonsense and a correct understanding soon take over.

Incidentally I think you'll find that most manufacturers reserve their most "idiot proof" solutions for consumer, not professional, products.

 

[removed-user-1]

I find this an interesting thread... last night I was photographing a live music show, and I got into a discussion with one of the musicians about equipment (guitars and cameras). He and I agreed that the gear itself had little to do with performance on the job, but it sure is nice to have equipment that you are familiar with and like to use. Just because I am a self-professed Nikon fan doesn't mean I haven't used Canon, Minolta, Pentax... I simply prefer a Nikon. I've made just about every mistake it is possible to make with a camera, including recently opening the back of my F100 with film loaded (Doh!). I *could* blame the design (it opens very easily) and complain that it should have an interlock like most Nikons (you know, push the button, then pull up the rewind lever, etc...) but it was my stupid error - I KNEW it was loaded but somehow I forgot.

The RB/RZ cameras are professional tools, and require a certain amount of concentration and familiarity to use... I remember meeting a professional photographer once in the camera shop I worked at years ago. He came in to the store about an hour before shooting a wedding with a brand-new RB67 he had JUST RECEIVED. He had never used a medium format camera before, and didn't even know how to load the camera back (I did that for him free of charge). He bought it because he had been told that it was the best camera for the job. He had no other camera with him, just that one RB67 and a 90mm. I've often wondered how those wedding photos came out...

 

[paul ron]

I can't believe this thread is still alive.

The first thing a profesional photograper checks is if the dark slide is in. Make that mistake once n you rember it for the rest of your life.

SO the camera is a pro, the photographer wasn't.

 

[eclarke]

A pro knows how to use his or her tools effectively regardless of the quality of the tools...EC

 

[removed-user-1]

I didn't mean to resurrect an old thread... sorry.

 

[2F/2F]

I don't believe I am even responding to such nonsense, but: There is no such thing as a professional camera. Only professional results. Quit blaming your crap and start blaming yourself, and you might actually get the picture next time.

 

[keithwms]

...move along folks, nothing to see here....

 

[JBrunner]

Interestingly, I used an RZ almost daily in a professional capacity for 10-12 years. I guess I was duped.

 

[gerryyaum]

Annie Leibovitz used a RZ67 for decades to make some of the most famous portraits done in the last 40 years. If it is profesional enough for her, I would say it is probably profesional enough for most people.

Gerry

 

[gerryyaum]

I don't believe I am even responding to such nonsense, but: There is no such thing as a professional camera. Only professional results. Quit blaming your crap and start blaming yourself, and you might actually get the picture next time.

yes...cameras are simply tools, buy a good quality tool, learn it and make photos, the fault for bad photographs lies with the creator of the photograph, the photographer.

 

[gerryyaum]

Rather late responding to this, but I believe you've confused 'professional' with 'cranial rectosis'.

We all do stupid stuff from time to time. Three weeks ago, I pulled the wrong slide from an 8x10 film holder - took a second to figure out where that tan color came from when the holder is black.

Get your camera and filmback checked; it shouldn't fire with the dark slide in place.

haha..have not done that yet, but it is a definate possibility in th near future, I have pretty much screwed up everyway you can....my favorite, developing my film in fixer.

Gerrry

 

[MattKing]

Not only does this resurrect an old thread, it resurrects an old user name.

Daniel morphed into a similar, but slightly different user name shortly after this thread.

I wonder if he is still around.

Matt

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

Unfortunately Max, both men and women can get mad cow disease, B.S. E. ( Bovine Spongiform Encephalitis) in it's human form is called C.J.D.(Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease) and ,is a terrible death for which there is no cure.

The correct name is Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy. My sister, a Vet says there is a difference (encephalitis / encephalopathy), but rather than ask her to elaborate and me not understand a word of what she's saying, it's as good as said. :rolleyes: Besides, in this family, we're more concerned with Alzheimers... Dad had it, mum has it... me... I... um.... er.... what's the name of this forum thing again??

 

[Q.G.]

The correct name is Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy. [...]

And now that we are splitting hairs, why not point out also that the form we primates might suffer is called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease?


But somehow somewhere someone missed a point?

 

[keithwms]

Mods: lock it, lock it now!

 

[Toffle]

Mods: lock it, lock it now!

Agreed... please.