Medium Format Workout with the RB67

[benjiboy]

I would only buy an RB/RZ67 to use as a studio camera, for which I know it would be wonderful, but I don't need a hernia from lugging one around.

 

[pthornto]

Yes, i think this is the main problem with 6x7 medium format... DOF is very narrow.

Try using HP5 pushed to 1600. In 6x7 it looks really, really good (even in 6x6), especially if developed with Microphen.
Resulting grain is smaller than using a ISO 400 HP5 on 35mm camera, sharpness and definition better.
Shadow detail is still good enough, believe it or not.

HP5 @ 1600 with the Mamiya RB67 opens up a lot of possibilities.

I always use that camera handheld, by the way.

Thanks for the tip! I last shot hp5 in the summer and it looked great at box speed....I've been using TMY-2 for most of my medium format and haven't tried pushing it yet but that will be my next experiment for using the rb indoors.

 

[Soeren]

I would only buy an RB/RZ67 to use as a studio camera, for which I know it would be wonderful, but I don't need a hernia from lugging one around.

That need not be the result of lugging it around. RZ with 2 lenses, film back, film and meter fits in a F-stop Small pro ICU in a Guru back pack and doesn't put that much weight on your shoulders. Add a carbon fiber tripod and youre good to go.

 

[benjiboy]

That need not be the result of lugging it around. RZ with 2 lenses, film back, film and meter fits in a F-stop Small pro ICU in a Guru back pack and doesn't put that much weight on your shoulders. Add a carbon fiber tripod and youre good to go.

Soeren I'm not far off 78 years old although I'm in good health I don't want to push my luck, anyway I think I'm the Worlds worst landscape photographer, and I gave up carrying heavy backpacks over rough terrain when I left the Royal Marines more than fifty years ago.

 

[Soeren]

Soeren I'm not far off 78 years old although I'm in good health I don't want to push my luck, anyway I think I'm the Worlds worst landscape photographer, and I gave up carrying heavy backpacks over rough terrain when I left the Royal Marines more than fifty years ago.

Ok so that apply to your personal situation but overall 7kg total can hardly be considered a heavy backpack.

 

[benjiboy]

Ok so that apply to your personal situation but overall 7kg total can hardly be considered a heavy backpack.

That's true Soeren but I can only see equipment in relation to my circumstances I know it isn't heavy for a young fit man I used to be able to carry an 18.4 kg backpack and a rifle weighing 9lb 30 miles over Dartmoor in 20 hours as part of my military training, but I was in my 20's then and I certainly couldn't do it now. I'm a keen portrait photographer and would like a RB or RZ to use in the studio or to use outdoors to shoot portraits on a tripod where I know these cameras are gentle giants, but not too far from my car.

 

[flavio81]

Thanks for the tip! I last shot hp5 in the summer and it looked great at box speed....I've been using TMY-2 for most of my medium format and haven't tried pushing it yet but that will be my next experiment for using the rb indoors.

HP5 works so good at ISO 1600 that I think they could sell that film as "HP5 1600" and still get customer satisfaction.

I think TMY-2 has greater contrast so it's not so suitable for pushing. Of course it can be pushed and many people do it, but you want a low contrast film for pushing.

 

[MattKing]

I think TMY-2 has greater contrast so it's not so suitable for pushing. Of course it can be pushed and many people do it, but you want a low contrast film for pushing.

TMY-2 has the capacity to present such a long straight section of its characteristic curve that it is ideal for circumstances that call for under-exposure with an accompanying compensation of an increase in contrast through increased development ("pushing"). But you probably don't need to increase development as much as for other films.
Kodak itself recommends normal development if the film is exposed at 800 EI. For other ISO 400 films, increased development is usually recommended for films exposed at 800 EI.

 

[Soeren]

That's true Soeren but I can only see equipment in relation to my circumstances I know it isn't heavy for a young fit man I used to be able to carry an 18.4 kg backpack and a rifle weighing 9kg 30 miles over Dartmoor in 20 hours as part of my military training, but I was in my 20's then and I certainly couldn't do it now. I'm a keen portrait photographer and would like a RB or RZ to use in the studio or to use outdoors to shoot portraits on a tripod where I know these cameras are gentle giants, but not too far from my car.

Wauv 9kg rifle!! We travelled light with the H&K G3A3 (M66 and M75) only putting 4 kg on the weight though the LMG (The Buzzsaw) was 11,5 kg

 

[Alan Gales]

That's true Soeren but I can only see equipment in relation to my circumstances I know it isn't heavy for a young fit man I used to be able to carry an 18.4 kg backpack and a rifle weighing 9lb 30 miles over Dartmoor in 20 hours as part of my military training, but I was in my 20's then and I certainly couldn't do it now. I'm a keen portrait photographer and would like a RB or RZ to use in the studio or to use outdoors to shoot portraits on a tripod where I know these cameras are gentle giants, but not too far from my car.

That's what I used an RZ for. They are really nice for portraiture with their revolving backs and large focussing screens. If you get the RZ then get the 110mm and the 180mm. Great lenses! With the "L" grip and 110 lens it is manageable hand held. I mostly shot with a tripod and studio strobes. I turn 55 this month so I'm younger than you but I have had my back fused together so I have trouble with heavy cameras too.

 

[dpurdy]

You can always make yourself stronger. When I first got my Pentax 67 to shoot some weddings I realized I was going to have a problem with stamina in my arm. So I got some weights and when working in the darkroom, which was most every day, I would exercise my arm with camera lifting motion and by holding the weight out at head level until I couldn't hold it anymore. Very quickly that Pentax 67 started to feel light to me. Even so putting it in a bag with 3 lenses and carrying it over my shoulder is tiring. Whereas with my Rolleiflex in a bag I can walk all day.

 

[benjiboy]

That's what I used an RZ for. They are really nice for portraiture with their revolving backs and large focussing screens. If you get the RZ then get the 110mm and the 180mm. Great lenses! With the "L" grip and 110 lens it is manageable hand held. I mostly shot with a tripod and studio strobes. I turn 55 this month so I'm younger than you but I have had my back fused together so I have trouble with heavy cameras too.

I have the L grip with trigger release Allan, it's the same one as the one for my C330F.

 

[Alan Gales]

I have the L grip with trigger release Allan, it's the same one as the one for my C330F.

Yeah, that works with the RB. The RZ takes an L grip with electronic trigger release which works off the camera battery.

I just bought a C220 F. So far I like it. It weighs the same as a Hasselblad. The lenses are lighter. My only complaint is that I should have bought one years ago!

 

[benjiboy]

The accessory that they should have brought out for the Mamiya RB /RZ system is a truss for your'e hernia

 

[Theo Sulphate]

Carrying an RB67 around is less taxing and awkward than carrying around a well fed hedgehog.

 

[dugrant153]

You can always make yourself stronger. When I first got my Pentax 67 to shoot some weddings I realized I was going to have a problem with stamina in my arm. So I got some weights and when working in the darkroom, which was most every day, I would exercise my arm with camera lifting motion and by holding the weight out at head level until I couldn't hold it anymore. Very quickly that Pentax 67 started to feel light to me. Even so putting it in a bag with 3 lenses and carrying it over my shoulder is tiring. Whereas with my Rolleiflex in a bag I can walk all day.

I've actually been doing that. A combination of running as well as pushups and arm workouts has become absolutely necessary for my wedding photography work... and especially if I need to crouch, go prone, fly down the aisle while staying balanced (I've done all these things at a wedding...). The RB67 would be a challenge as it's definitely a lot bulkier and heavier than even my heavy Canon cameras so.... I guess protein bars all day??

Carrying an RB67 around is less taxing and awkward than carrying around a well fed hedgehog.

I like to think of it as trying to straddle a cat in my hands

I did end up getting a sort of old flash bracket grip to use (Prisma brand). It's a little rattley but does the job. I saw a Mamiya grip but it had a really thick bottom and a thick grip portion as well as a sort of winder mechanism that attaches to the side of the camera body.... I think that's not an RB67 grip.

 

[MattKing]

I saw a Mamiya grip but it had a really thick bottom and a thick grip portion as well as a sort of winder mechanism that attaches to the side of the camera body.... I think that's not an RB67 grip.

That's a winder grip for the 645E.
You need either the "Grip Holder" or the "Multi-Angle Grip" as illustrated at the bottom centre of the Mamiya Pro-S system brochure (courtesy of Mike Butkus): http://www.cameramanuals.org/mamiya_pdf/mamiya_rb67_pro-s_system.pdf
The shutter release trigger on the grip is very useful.
The Multi-angle grip has a tripod socket on its base, which is also useful (in combination with a tripod quick release).

 

[Alan Gales]

Carrying an RB67 around is less taxing and awkward than carrying around a well fed hedgehog.

Yeah, but if you are bald you can put the hedgehog on your head and pretend you have hair.

 

[benjiboy]

Wauv 9kg rifle!! We travelled light with the H&K G3A3 (M66 and M75) only putting 4 kg on the weight though the LMG (The Buzzsaw) was 11,5 kg

Sorry Soeren, I meant 9lb not 9kg. but when you had lugged it 30 miles it felt like 9kg.

 

[mhcfires]

I have the L grip with trigger release Allan, it's the same one as the one for my C330F.

I have that same grip, it's a lifesaver for me. I have to agree, when I was younger I could carry all that heavy gear with no problem, but at 73 with moderate arthritis I rally can't carry it all around. I find myself using the Leica M2 a lot more, even though I prefer the larger negatives from the RB 67 and the Medalist II. I'm not sure what I'm going to do when I get old.

m

 

[dugrant153]

So right now I'm debating on a few things:
1) Keeping the prism on. The collapsible hood is really cool and really light but sometimes the left/right thing throws me off compositionally...
2) Keeping the handgrip on. I try to keep the body cradled close to my body when I shoot to add some stability. I do like putting on a grip too as I can then hold up the camera with my "bicep curl" muscles... but it does add bulk to an already bulky and big system.

Keeping things light while I'm doing handheld work (non-studio stuff... i.e. street photography) would be really great for me and my back. Protein bars a plenty...

 

[obviouslygene]

Lugging around a hassy 503CW with 80mm and 150mm in the bag, it's definitely not as heavy as your RB. I have a prism but I find myself using the WLF more and more. Much much lighter too. Wasn't used to it in the beginning, missed a lot of shots. 10 rolls in and I'm getting used to it. Give the WLF some time, it's pretty good. I use the prism finder for portraits tho...

 

[Simon Benton]

Does anyone use the Fuji GX680 hand held? Amazing camera with an amazing array of lenses and accessories. I have carried mine all over Canada and it is heavy but the results are worth it.

 

[flavio81]

So right now I'm debating on a few things:
1) Keeping the prism on. The collapsible hood is really cool and really light but sometimes the left/right thing throws me off compositionally...

Persist, my friend! You will succeed eventually.

 

[flavio81]

Does anyone use the Fuji GX680 hand held? Amazing camera with an amazing array of lenses and accessories. I have carried mine all over Canada and it is heavy but the results are worth it.

You deserve my highest respect.

I have wet dreams over the GX680; i would love to have one.