NCD: Mamiya Six Folding with Auto Up

[Rob MacKillop]

Very excited about my latest acquisition, the Mamiya Six Automatic folding camera, which has the close-up lens attachment, the "pleasant Auto-Up". I've put a roll of Cinestill 50D into it, but have yet to take a shot. I just want to know that I understand correctly what the lens controls are, as they differ from any manual I've got access to.

Isn't she beautiful?!

Now, I have a few questions. What does MFX refer to? It's a 3-way switch.

I assume the red dot is where I set the aperture? Currently set to f11.

And I assume the red dot here is for the shutter speed? Set here to nearly 250:

I also so assume that, this being the Automatic, I will not have to cock the shutter after every shot.


Also not completely clear of the function of the notch slider below the take-up spool:

I'm told the bellows are in excellent condition - they certainly look it - and the rangefinder seems clear enough. Hopefully this will become a well-used MF camera, much lighter than my Bronica SQAi!

 

[MattKing]

MFX refers to the three available choices for flash synch - use X for electronic flash, F for "focal plane" bulbs and M for M bulbs.
That is a really pretty camera!

 

[Kino]

https://www.butkus.org/chinon/mamiya/mamiya_6_folding/mamiya_6_folding.htm

Please donate a few bucks to the webmasters; they do this for nothing...

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Kino, I already have that pdf, and sent him some money for it, but it's pretty useless, and is not for my model.

Matt - that's clear. Thanks.

 

[removed account4]

hi rob
i didn't have your exact camera ( there were like 6 versions ) but here goes
as matt said the mfx is for the flash, i have no clue what the F is for, but if you use an electronic flash you want
it on X ... i believe you have a 5 leaf shutter so it syncs at all speeds..
the lever under the wind knob is the lock so you don't double expose. you do the lever and wind... and the film advance sync.
the dots are for hyper focal distance, so if you want and have the right lighting you set the shutter speed at 250 and the
fstop at 11ish and just focus and shoot ... and yes you have to cock the shutter every shot.
i never had the close up adapter, but it looked fun
its for portraits and close ups ? its been a while but i put about 200 rolls of film through mine when I was held captive, and i LOVED that camera !

couple of words of friendly advice

1/ if you have the ever ready case, USE IT
my wind knob sheered off i wished i had an ever ready case for mine!
2/ don't lose the film plate!
3/ if you have trouble syncing the frame number on the paper with the frame # on the camera's winder
you click the lever AFTER you get it to the #1 on the paper in the window.
4/ if you need it repaired, don't send it to certo6, he might be skilled with OTHER folders but not this one,
send it to Zacks in RI, he knows this camera well.
5/ have fun !
( i miss mine ! )
john

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Thanks, John.

You mention an important point. I wound the film on until it stopped winding, with the count at 1, but the number on the back of the film is not in the red window. So, I'll try moving the lever, as you mention. (Toddles off to try...) Hey, that worked! Number one now in centre of red window. Thanks for that!

The rest looks straight forward enough. Now, let's see what's out there...

 

[xya]

I had a couple of these, not as beautiful as yours, but they were nice cameras. F flash sync is for fast bulbs (5 msec instead of 20 msec for B bulbs), this is no longer interesting. as already said, you want X in case of. I had no problems with the film advance and counter on mine, as long as the dot is visible in the film counter window (if not, move it to there). mine are visible here http://www.120folder.com/mamiya_six.htm have fun with our camera!

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Cheers, xya. I've now taken nine shots, and so far everything seems to working as it should. Of course, being the first roll through a new (for me) camera, I don't believe anything will work out. We shall see...

 

[removed account4]

I don't believe anything will work out. We shall see...

THAT, Rob, is the key to success set the bar low/have low expectations and be stoked when things work out
I am excited to read how your camera worked, I miss mine, and I always wish I had the "auto up".

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Exactly! My choice of film is unusual for a test roll - Cinestill 50D - but that's all I had in the house. Fingers crossed.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Okay, I got my first roll back from the lab, with mixed results, It's also the first time I've used Cinestill 50D 120 film, which seems quite subdued. I used the "Light Meter" app for exposure calculation, and generally it wasn't too far off - I could have adjusted it in LR, but didn't. All I've done is some dust removal.

Here's my 1870 Spanish guitar - I'm currently recording an album of 19th-century Spanish music with it

A slight pink hue to this bright white fence:

I had problems aligning the images sometimes - I could have sworn this one was straight and centred...but it was my first shot with the camera:

The Cinestill film is very subdued. This red bucket is vibrantly red. I think Velvia would have brought that out.

And finally, a shot with the "Pleasant Auto-Up" close-up attachment - not a success, and this was on a tripod:

Overall, I'm happy with the camera, and my shots will improve once I've become familiar with what it does best. As for the Cinestill, I'm quite liking it, but prefer Portra.

 

[shutterfinger]

MFX refers to the three available choices for flash synch - use X for electronic flash, F for "focal plane" bulbs and M for M bulbs.

Incorrect (partially). M is for type M flash bulbs which require a 15 millisecond delay, F is for type F flash bulbs which are gas filled and require a 5 millisecond delay, and X is for electronic flash which fires when the shutter is wide open. Focal plane flash bulbs are marked FP, require the same delay as type M, and have an extended burn time.
Type M and F burn for about 20 milliseconds, type FP burn for 50 to 60 millisseconds.
Use 1/30 or slower shutter speeds for flash bulbs, any shutter speed for electronic flash.

The slight color shifts are likely caused by the electronic capture medium. The Negafix or equivlent in software can make the diference. If there is no selection for the film you have then choose the one that looks closest to correct. If these are lab scans then disreguard the saturation/color shift as the scans are for proof purposes and are not optimum for any given negative or the roll.

 

[MattKing]

Thanks - I've been living under the misapprehension that "F" bulbs and "FP" bulbs were one and the same.
I've used neither .

 

[shutterfinger]

Flashbulbs: https://graflex.org/flash/ ; https://graflex.org/flash/technical.html
Donsbulbs.com closed but may be available via the archives. It had original flashbulb catalogs from GE and Philips.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Okay. I get it.

 

[Stephen Prunier]

Looks like a nice find Rob.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Cheers, Stephen. Very happy with it.