I am a big fan of Mamiya 6, but now I would like to move to 6×7 or 645 format to make different type of images. I will be making full length horizontal environmental portraits for which I want shallow dept of field and also urban landscapes for which I will need the opposite. Do you think that Mamiya 7 is the right way forward or would you be able to recommend something else?
Thanks for your help.
Hard to say really, but if you can handle the weight of the camera a Mamiya RZ with the revolving back is certainly handy and the price of s/h good examples is really good on e bay.
Cavyslave
Well, the 7 is obviously a fine camera, with (judging from tests I've seen) some superb lenses. But I'm not sure I'd see a lot of point in going from a 6 to a 7, or yet a 645 camera, just to get a different aspect ratio. Can't you just crop from 6x6?
However, if the goal is to get shallower DoF, I'm also not sure you'll find a really significant difference with any medium format system. Lenses typically get slower as you go up in format, and the shallowest available DoF doesn't actually change all that much. You might even be best off going down to 35mm and choosing a system that has plenty of wide and mid-range f/1.4 primes. And that pretty much means either Canon or the Leica M system.
One final thing - and I know this probably isn't a practical suggestion, but just for interest's sake - if you really want shallow DoF, the best option I can think of would be to go up to 10x8 large format, and get hold of one of the many vintage potrait-type lenses, which sometimes went to f/4, f/5, or thereabouts. Shooting wide open, you'd get a ton of fall-off, more spherical aberation than you could shake a stick at, and no end of trouble getting the exposures right (because you probably would be working without a conventional shutter). But you'd get shallow DoF to die for.
As stated above you can crop from the square format, but envisaging the final result may not be easy. Used and reasonably priced MF equipment is now abundant, but certain lenses may be difficult to obtain once you go outside the slight wide to slight or medium telephoto range. My own pick would be a Mamiya or Pentax 645, depending on what degree of inbuilt automation you prefer. The other point about 35mm is valid, but not perehaps the road you wish to go down, I would add Contax to the list of 35mm systems, the 50mm f1.4 is a particular gem.
Thanks for the advice guys...
I don't crop frames when I shoot, and Mamiya 6 has a very limited range of lenses hence the need to try another format and set of gear.
I would love to shoot large format, and have been thinking of 4x5, and its still in the running but as it would be a completely new way or working, its something I need to consider very carefully before spending more cash or giving it time...
35mm is a good idea too, however I think that 6x7 frame would be what I need right now for the ideas I want to explore...
That's for sure - and it would take some real commitment to do something like environmental portraiture with it too. I do think it could be very rewarding in such a role, but it's not everyone's cup of tea. You're right not to pursue it without being really sure about it.I would love to shoot large format, and have been thinking of 4x5, and its still in the running but as it would be a completely new way or working...
To come back to the original question, then, whilst there are a few credible options, I doubt if there's anything that would be much better than your preferred Mamiya 7 route. That's the one I'd probably pick in the same circumstances. I shot landscape for many years with an RB67, and was very happy with it, but there's no way I'd choose it for environmental portraiture - formal portraiture, sure, but not environmental. It would be the rangefinder for me every time. Possibly the big Pentax might make me think for a moment or two, given the need to double up on landscape duty, but I think I'd still be swayed by the 7.
Trent Parke does urban street stuff on a Mamiya 7. There was a piece in AP on him a while back.
It's perhaps not the route I would go down for these uses. Assuming you're not using flash, you'll get wider apertures with SLRs with focal plane shutters, and thus more control of DOF - I would look at the Mamiya 645 system (there's an 80mm f1.9, for example) or a Pentax 67. I like both of these systems a lot, but the Pentax is big and heavy.
If you like the rangefinder of the 6, then just go for a 7.
However shallow Dof and soft bokeh aren't exactly the best in these cameras (perfect focusing with shallower Dof would be easier with an SLR like an RB/RZ). Also, i would say that the bokeh in the mamiya rangefinders isn't the softest, the lenses tend to render the OOF areas quite contrasty and hard in comparison to the lenses of the RB/RZ which tend to render these areas beautifully soft and milky, looking more like the results one expects from a 5x4 with a longer lens..
In my experience going large format was the best decision I ever made - maybe give it a go!
I also have a mamiya 6, it is a beautiful camera, in many ways superior to the mamiya 7 - however when the opportunity arises I will trade the 6 for a 7 as i'm no longer happy shooting square format...
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote