RB67 love....

keithwms · Feb 19, 2010

Sjixxxy said:
17 Grafmatics or 50 double sided holders? Not so much.

Hence quickloads and readyloads. Too bad they are no more; they were perfect for travel.

2F/2F · Feb 19, 2010

One of the best camera systems ever made, IMHO. Enjoy the hell out of them while film still exists (and all the while be saving $$$ for a digital back for when it doesn't).

Ektagraphic · Feb 19, 2010

I use my M645 all the time and I LOVE it!! After seeing an RB67 in person for the first time this weekend I would love to shoot with one but man, that thing really is huge! I never expected it to be so big. I thought it would be slightly beefier than my M645. It is like it bit me. I kind of want one now

2F/2F · Feb 19, 2010

Chazzy said:
The metered prism looks pricey.

...and just as useful (i.e. useless) as any other in-camera reflected meter. IMHO, get a plain prism if you want a prism, and use the light meter you already have.

Sjixxxy · Feb 19, 2010

Ektagraphic said:
After seeing an RB67 in person for the first time this weekend I would love to shoot with one but man, that thing really is huge! I never expected it to be so big.

Size has its place. The one time I've taken my RB67 into the public resulted in me being asked if I was a professional more then I ever have in the past. That also included (there was a url link here which no longer exists).

I plan to wield it again tomorrow at an event. We'll see if it wasn't a one time thing.

2F/2F · Feb 19, 2010

The RB/RZ system does not seem big to me, but everyone says that it is. Perhaps it is because I started shooting 6x7 and 6x9 film in view cameras, press cameras, and Mamiya Press system cameras. If someone were to design a 6x7/6x8 system SLR that is significantly smaller, I'd be impressed. It seems to me that the system is about as small and easy to handle as one with its specifications could be.

manfromh · Feb 20, 2010

I have had my RB67 for several months, and I have only shot a few rolls through it, but its already my favorite camera. It doesn't seem too big to me, but that's probably because it's my first and only MF SLR and have nothing to compare it to (except my Yashicamat). RB67 on a monopod looks and feels like a hammer.

Body, one back, WL finder and a 90mm lens cost me just $300.

keithwms · Feb 20, 2010

The stability of the rb has benefited me many times. In particular, when there is a breeze! Most bellows focusing cameras are a pain in a stiff breeze. The weight of the rb comes to the rescue- you have all the advantages of bellows focusing, but no 'sail' effect. I have done macro with it in very strong wind. And the weight also means that when you do use it handheld, it's easy to stabilize. I recently did some handheld work with an rb and rz and with the MLU cable found that I could operate at 1/15 quite easily. Wouldn't want to do it all day, my arms were quite tired afterwards, but... I got the shots I wanted. (there was a url link here which no longer exists) from the rz. It was such tight quarters I couldn't even use my monopod nor the AE prism, had to hold the camera sideways at arm's length and compose roughly via the WLF.

Again, my *only* issue with it is that a 3-lens kit is to much for me to carry, in addition to the body and backs and film. In terms of travel compactness, the rb system is not a good choice for minimalist travelers and hikers like me! But on the other hand, if you need to get a whole system from point A to point B and don't want to worry about hard knocks along the way, the rb can take damn near anything and work beautifully. It is one of the very most robust cameras on the market, perhaps short only of the aerial cameras. In fact, some years ago, on a whim, I applied for an army photography job and they were using rbs; it was very clear why.

S_Patton · Feb 21, 2010

Keithwms,
I'll admit that sometimes I feel the same about my 3 lens kit when I'm out and about in the Palouse area or up in the Bitterroots. . . but, then I remember what it was like hiking with my wisners and all THAT stuff. . .
I've gotta admit if I had to leave any one of my three lenses behind, I'd be lost. . . I know the 50 sometimes gets a bad rap but I like it and the 180 is my choice for portraits while I use the 90 for most general. . . all in all, I'm just loving the hell out of my RB, weight and all. . . .

philosomatographer · Feb 22, 2010

I certainly also appreciate my RB67, this is a landscape (waterscape?) I recently printed in the darkroom:

(RB67, 140mm Macro at f/11, HP5 at ISO400, printed on Ilford MGIV 8x10in)

If it were not for some fo the incredibly cool lenses available for 35mm (Olympus OM specificaly) I would only print 6x7cn negatives, there's no comparison to 35mm. Makes dragging "the beast" along worth it...

olleorama · Feb 22, 2010

wonderful picture.

Screwdriver · Feb 22, 2010

You will be glad you have the RB67 instead of a puny F4 when you got a pack of zombies running at you.

Seriously...What can kill zombies and take awesome images...other then the RB67?

2F/2F · Feb 22, 2010

Screwdriver said:
You will be glad you have the RB67 instead of a puny F4 when you got a pack of zombies running at you.

Seriously...What can kill zombies and take awesome images...other then the RB67?

...but I'd go for the F4 if I wanted to take awesome pictures of zombies (and live to print them).

Then again, maybe my lack of brains would cause the zombies to pass me up in search of more nutritional prey, and I'd be safe with the Mamiya after all.

picker77 · Feb 25, 2010

Just opened the RB67 carton....wow!

Holy Mazola, Batman... I just received the RB67 Pro S kit tonight, hauled the 25-lb box out to the shop, and opened it. My jaw absolutely hit the floor when I popped open that big grey watertight case and actually saw this thing close up. No question it could kick sand in the face of my puny little Bronica SQ-Am, which I always thought was a fairly large and heavy camera. Everything looks great and appears to work exactly as intended, including the metering prism, which by itself is heavier than several of my other cameras. Tomorrow I'll load up some Plus-X and run a roll or two through it. I think I've found a new love. This is gonna be FUN!!

Reminds me of Crocodile Dundee: "Hell, son, that ain't no camera--now this here's a camera!"

manfromh · Feb 26, 2010

As much as I love my RB67, it kind of failed me a few days ago. I figured I'd use it to take some shots of the Independence Day parade here in Estonia. The actual parade started a little later than I thought, and by the time I was ready to take the first shot, I had held the camera in my hand for about 20-30 minutes in -5 C cold. I composed, I focussed, I pressed the shutter button but it wouldn't go down. A quick check confirmed that the darkslide was out, the shutter was cocked and the film was wound. I turned the collar around the shutter button in all kinds of directions, but nothing helped. I figured something froze inside the camera.
As I got home later, I took the camera out of my bag (it hadn't warmed up yet) and now everything worked just fine.

I know this was built as a studio camera, but I didn't expect such a freeze-up from a mechanical camera, and only in -5C cold. -15C or -20C I understand, but -5 is almost t-shirt weather.

Steve Smith · Feb 26, 2010

Screwdriver said:
You will be glad you have the RB67 instead of a puny F4 when you got a pack of zombies running at you.

I can't speak about any anti-zombie properties of either camera but the first time I saw an F4 I thought it was quite a huge thing to produce just a postage stamp sized negative.

Steve.

Sjixxxy · Feb 26, 2010

manfromh said:
I know this was built as a studio camera, but I didn't expect such a freeze-up from a mechanical camera, and only in -5C cold. -15C or -20C I understand, but -5 is almost t-shirt weather.

The manual for the PRO-S rates the performance down to -5°F/-20°C. Perhaps it is in need of a CLA to handle the cold better?

I've had the 90mm Non-C lens that came with my RB67 flake out at pretty much the same temperature you did. But The 90mm C I purchased later has so far been a solid performer in the cold for me. When I shot this series of photos, I spent three hours shooting in temperatures hovering around 10°F/-12°C and it didn't give me a single problem.

philosomatographer · Feb 26, 2010

manfromh said:
I know this was built as a studio camera, but I didn't expect such a freeze-up from a mechanical camera, and only in -5C cold. -15C or -20C I understand, but -5 is almost t-shirt weather.

Of course, any mechanical device may develop faults, but my experience with the RB67 has told me that it's almost always my fault, and never the camera's. You won't believe the punishment my camera appears to have undergone in its life (I've owned it for 3 years now), and it works smoothly and flawlessly, always.

I have body #96, likely produced in 1970 as part of the first production batch. It's battered, some of the trim is slightly rusted, and looks like it's been though a war. It operates smoothly and reliably every time.

I have had internet discussions with a person who has personally claimed that his RB67 was actually frozen in a block of ice in alaska in the 1980s, yet when he chipped the ice off, it worked flawlessly.

I can see no way in which a bit of cold (or a LOT of cold) could ever prevent an RB67 shutter from going off, the shutter button / linkage is fairly simple and robust. On the other hand, if your shutter is flaky, I could see you pressing the button, but the shutter failing to fire properly because of frozen up lubricant or whatever.

So, I'm sure your camera locked up for some other reason. I see the RB67 as the most dependable, indestructible camera body ever made. Doubly so because, if a lens shutter dies, just fit another lens

RB67 love....

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