I came upon my first M645 while stationed in Germany (1977-80). Found the camera complete with 80mm lens and non-metering prism. The price was out of this world. Got the approval of the wife I paid only $360 for the hold thing. For whatever reason, the price had been miss printed and the seller had to sell it to me for the displayed price. I ended up getting a couple more lenses once I got stateside and I sold the system in 1982. I made up for selling this camera and now I have three other Mamiyas that basically complete systems. I plan on getting another M645 down the road to complete my collection.
Wow, really cool storry. Well if what Nico (from Nicos Photography Show) talked about with Juho from Camera Rescue it seams Mamiya cameras are gaining a lot of interest and people start to realise there value…because they are brilliant cameras and lenses.
I have both the RB67 and the M645J...I called my RB godzilla for the same reason....lol....but they are both beautiful cameras to use and the Mamiya glass produces beautiful images. wonderful review :-)
I’ve had this exact setup as a replacement for 35mm, when 135 became too small for my everyday shooting, but I didn’t want to take out one of my Rollei TLRs. It’s like an uber 135, with all the same features, and excellent results. Yours is one of the better presentations I’ve seen on these cameras, and I look forward to your future vlogs.
Thanks, I’ve just watched quite a few of them. Heard you mention Matt Day in one of your vlogs, I find him too pretentious and “name dropping” with his cameras. You come across much more personable & friendly. I’ve been shooting since 1978, and have shot pretty much everything through the decades, and have settled on a very few cameras for my photography. I think once you try the brilliant Mamiya 7, you’ll probably drop the heavy RB/RZs. Wish I still had my Mamiya 7, put I could say that about a lot of things haha. So far my main lens for the M645Pro is the extremely wide 35mm, but I also have the 55mm, 80mm, and 150mm. I’m able to cover pretty much everything with these, but may look for a 210mm just to round out the choices. I prefer landscape & architectural photos, so wider is better for me. Cheers, Joe
Mamiya M645 Super isn't all mechanical, it depends on a battery, including the AE prism finder. Shutter will only work at 1/60th of a second without a battery. The PRO/PRO TL is completely battery dependent, as far as i know - nothing will work without a battery. The best value, i believe, is exactly M645 Super - goes cheaper than PRO/PRO TL, does the same things, including semi-automatic modes, changing focusing screens, multiple exposure switch etc. plus, it can be used at at least this one speed with an exhausted battery. AE prism spot meters as well. That is why i picked one for myself :) I tried the monster of RZ67 but it wasn't for me, it's the best for studio work. I only liked the leaf shutter inside lenses and i wish it was the same with 645 series. Both J and E are simplified versions without changing magazines ability - pretty significant difference with pro-level models.
Im thinking of picking up a 645 Super myself, have you had any major issues with it thus far? Seems like the best option out of all the models to me as well.
Hey T.B. I'm a Swede in America (family from Haslo) who also loves Nikon film cameras and who just discovered Mamiya with the 645 Pro TL. Love the negative size and aspect ratio of the 645. Thanks for the video. Lots of good info.
Thank you....well it's a lot about cost and quality. Plus the aspect ratio of 645 has been described to me as "35mm on steroids". But... I would recomend you take alook at some of my latest videos (shameless plug) 😆. Thanks for watching!
I got a m645 1000s for 300 something last year. Still haven't developed any photo from it because of the great amount of school work. I didn't even have much time to use my 5d3 at all. But even just looking at this vintage m645, i'm happy.
Well it is still cool that you have a really nice vintage camera. Just use it when you have time and can enjoy it ;-) If you want a tip on a cheap but really good 120film, I would suggest you try Foma and there Fomapan film. It is sort of a “well-hidden-secret”… I think RU-vidr ”EduardoPavezGoye” used it in his "30 rolls of film in 30 days". I use it and I think it is really price worthy.
Foma has been around for nearly 100 years, and is quite well know in both Western & Eastern Europe. Also, here in U.S. When Agfa disbanded, the Fomapan 400 was nearest to the classic Agfa tones, but now they are back (under Rollei name). I use Foma papers in my darkroom, and prefer them over the more common Ilford. If you havent yet, you may want to pair your M645Pro with Rollei Ortho 25 for amazing results, and I would recommend Ilford HP5+ for portraits. Gives the skin a nice glow, and seems to help hide blemishes etc.
nice video. Couldn´t agree more. I bought a second hand 645 PRO TL amonth ago and I am very excited with all the possibilities. Nothing to envy the Hasselblad. Thanks for sharing your experience
Thank you, glad you enjoyed the video! All the best of luck with the Pro Tl, it is a grate camera. Yeah I was dead set on a Hassie, I wasn’t aware about Mamiya until I saw Tony Northrups channel. And I am happy to say I don´t regret the decision one bit. By the way, what film/films are you using?
Hi, I tried Portra 160 and Portra 400 so far, very nice and crispy pictures. I don´t develop film by myself but going to attend a workshop of hybrid photography (film + digital scanner) and in that one we are going to use B/W negatives. Do you have any opinion on teleconverters? or prefer a longer lens, despite the price? I read that using a teleconverter reduces 2 stops the aperture, I have a 80mm and a 150mm. Thank you
Well I develop B&W in the laundry room. I honestly haven’t tried colour film yet because I wanted to really wanted to “get my feet wet” developing at home. I use Ilford HP5 Plus (which apparently can be pushed over 2 stops), SFX extended IR film and Delta 400… But then I found Fomapan, cheap and really cool film. When it comes to tele converters, granted it is a mixed bag of opinions out there. I see it as my secret weapon (pun intended). I have a Vivitar 2x tele converter and it is good. I think it might help any photographer deciding what focus lengths might be useful/important for his or her style. Before they commit to spend a lot of money on a dedicated lens. As for it changing the aperture, again it is personal choice. It depends on how important Bokeh is, or the amount of light you got to work with. I have a old “original” 300mm lens, and if I want to photo a bird in broad daylight it can be a bit fun playing around with a “in essence” 600mm lens. All in all, the tele converter is a tool in the toolbox. If you want to travel light with few lenses… it might be a handy gadget to have.
Hasselblad is definitely not expensive because of it's features :D:D:D SO MANY cameras like Hass has it's features. It's in the lenses. And the story, history and etc.
Hello, you said this 645 pro model can be fitted with a digital back, please be more explicit ( in illustration on the corner it is not so clear) about model & company & distributor. Thanks.
Ok, well it is what I have been able to gather about the Mamiya 645 system. There was some PhaseOne (who now owns Mamiya) backs among others but it is hard to find reliable info about what backs work with a specific camerabody. Also this video is about 3 yares old now.... but who knows what might come in the future.
I don’t have any personal experience with the CONTAX 645. But after what I have read on Wikipedia etc. it sounded like an innovative camera. Though the CONTAX is AF while the Mamiya is MF, the CONTAX has leaf shutters and thereby flash-sync at any shutterspeed while the Mamiya´s flash-sync maxes out at 1/60 of a second. But the Mamiya seams more modular… it´s a bit like comparing a Fender Stratocaster with a Gibson Les Paul. No doubt they are bout grate cameras in their own right, it is just a question of what features/functions that are relevant for you.
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Not to detract from his remarks about the Mamiya 645 line, but his comments about the Pentax offerings are remarkably poor. The Pentax 67 does have a loud rapid return mirror, but that happens after the photo has been taken and has no effect on photo quality. The initial up swing of the mirror may or may not introduce some vibration, depending on how you use the camera. What's going on here is that he's repeating one of the oldest and largely untrue urban legends about the Pentax 67. Of more significance is his failure to mention that the Pentax 645 system had been around for more than 35 years in direct competition with the Mamiya 645 system, and the Pentax lenses are notably superior.
Thank you for clarifying, my remarks on the Pentax 67 was from a friend who use that system, also I say in video that the camera and lenses in the 67 system are: Beautiful. I simply made the statement based on the information available to me at the time. The reason I don’t mention the Pentax 645 system was because of the fact that I simply wasn’t aware of its existence at the time of filming this video…almost three years ago (how time fly). So if the Pentax lenses are subjectively/objectively better than the Mamiya equivalent, I guess that´s my loss. So if you are a Pentax user and enjoy that system all the more power to you! I like to subscribe to Matt Granger´s saying of: “Get your gear out”. Again thanks for clarifying a urban legend/myth.
