Mamiya first series M645, M645J and M645 1000S cameras. I walkthrough the main features, differences and highlight essential checks to make when buying secondhand.
The most common problem I've had with early Mamiya 645 cameras is erratic frame spacing on film and a black bar in the prism where the adhesive has eaten through the silver coating on the mirror. One of my cameras also had a problem with shutter bounce. That's why it's important to have a return policy if you buy one of these cameras since you won't know what you have until you've put a roll of film through it.
Thanks for commenting. Yes, frame spacing can be an issue with Mamiya M645s. I’ve only seen it on more heavily used cameras. It’s always best to buy mint or near mint equipment.
100%. I was just commenting to Jonathan that I returned a Mamiya that had the spacing issue, and just had to return again the new one with a shutter issue to keh. On top of that my prism (bought refurbished) suddenly has that line across the prism. I Don’t know what to expect when my second exchanged Mamiya comes in. Lol
I love my Mamiya 645 1000s, I’ve gotten some of my very best photos using that lovely camera. What is also lovely is that “kit” 80mm 2.8 tac-sharp lens. Glad you did a video on the 645!
Such a comprehensive video, had no idea about some of these checks. Thanks! Funnily enough I've had mine for about three years now and have been using it consistently. I just opened up the film insert when a tiny threaded screw with a fat head fell out. Now I'm looking around inside trying to see where it fell from.
Jonathan, thank you for your informative videos that anyone buying a film camera should study. You gave me the knowledge to make my purchases of over a dozen film cameras from 35 to 645 to 67 and dozens of lenses confidently. Best videos on youtube for this.
That is a handy bit of advice.Many thanks. I will now give mine a shutter check as you described as it is a 645 circa late 70's with waist level. The 80 mm lens is sharp and the whole camera oozes quality.
One of these came up for sale (for a good price) at my local camera shop and I was so tempted but with cameras of this vintage there’s a certain hesitancy without getting a hands on. Sadly it went before I had the chance to go in and give it a try. Here’s hoping for the next one…
A few Mamiya's 645 Sekor lenses are leaf shutter type, so they enable to flash sync with any shutter speed they have build in. Thank you for another interesting video. BTW how do you assess reliability of theses older 645' cameras? Are they more prone to failure than other MF cameras produced at that time?
Yes, there are a few lenses with leaf shutter but I wouldn’t recommend. They’re slow to use and it’s easy to miss shots if you forget to cock before firing the shutter. Okay for occasional use but if you use flash, Bronica or Hasselblad is the best option. I find them as reliable as others of a similar age but probably not as good as the later models.
To all of you who have a Mamiya 645 without issues are very fortunate. I just received an exchange from Keh because the last one had overlapped exposures, now this one has a shutter that won’t fire. Waisted a fresh new roll of portra 400.
Mamiya is relatively reliable but they are 30-40 years old. You can’t expect it to be as reliable as modern equipment. It’s so important to find a decent supplier who knows the equipment, will test thoroughly and offer a return option.
Don’t forget to check the foam rubber light seals. They will always disintegrate after 20-30 years so need to be replaced (Mamiya and all other cameras).
Hey Jonathan thank you for the great video and breakdown. I recently purchased and 645 1000s and the WLVF had some fungus on the circular magnifier piece, I managed to clean it off and let it cook a little in the sun, do I need to be concerned? Also the camera came with a regular Viewfinder prism, I don’t see anywhere to set the ASA on the camera am I missing something? Cheers
Thanks for your comment. No need to worry if you’ve cleaned it thoroughly but make sure you store it properly. The non-metered Mamiya prisms don’t have an ASA dial as they are non-metered.
@@coach_yo you’re not going mad! The metering functionality is within the prisms and so film speed is set on the prism. It’s the same with Hasselblad and other medium format cameras.
Great video, very helpful..have you any experience of a lens called an 80mm N/L ? I have one on my Mamiya and has so many switches on it Ive no idea how to use it!
Thank you for such an informative video! Much appreciated. Wondering if you could help answer a question I have… I just shot with my Mamiya 645 Super for the first time, and when I inserted the film I rolled it to the start line, however when the lab sent back the scans I only received 12/15 shots. I heard this is a common issue with Mamiyas. What do you think the issue could be? Would it be an easy fix?
Prices have skyrocketed 😂 why'd you make this video bro. Could have bought one for cheap before everyone caught on. Just hoping prices come down a bit omg.
Prices on Mamiya and other decent film cameras have stabilised over the past year. So, hopefully, they won’t get too much more expensive than they are now!
