{"id":46555,"date":"2021-03-04T14:57:30","date_gmt":"2021-03-04T19:57:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/keh.com\/expert-advice\/?p=46555"},"modified":"2022-05-27T18:29:45","modified_gmt":"2022-05-27T22:29:45","slug":"which-mamiya-medium-format-system-is-right-for-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.keh.com\/expert-advice\/camera-gear\/buying-guides\/which-mamiya-medium-format-system-is-right-for-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Which Mamiya Medium Format System Is Right For You?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you’re looking to get into a medium format film<\/a><\/strong> <\/a>system, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve come across the Mamiya<\/a><\/strong> brand name. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sure, the Japanese company has its history with 35mm as well, but it made its name on pro-level medium format cameras and lenses. Mamiya has been used the world over by portrait and wedding photographers, as well as documentarians, landscape enthusiasts, and photojournalists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The high-quality construction and photographer-friendly features have kept Mamiya on top of its game for decades. That tradition of excellence lives on through Phase One<\/a><\/strong>, which bought a majority stake in Mamiya and merged the two brands about a decade ago, ushering the shift from film to digital medium format. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As great as Phase One is at making digital products, to us, the Mamiya brand will always be synonymous with medium format film photography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being that Mamiya served a wide variety of photographers with different needs, there are a number of distinct systems available for those who want to shoot medium format film. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mostly, the differences can be broken down by which features, aspect ratio, and form factors are important to you. Let’s go through your options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mamiya 6×4.5<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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For those that want to squeeze out the most shots out of every roll of 120 film, Mamiya has a few options for 6×4.5. You’ll get 15-16 shots per roll of 120 film with these systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The M645<\/a><\/strong>, released in 1975, was in production for more than a decade. It’s an interchangeable-lens<\/a><\/strong>, manual focus and manual exposure system. It uses removable film backs, however, they cannot be changed mid-roll, as there is no dark slide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are options, however, for switching out the M645’s non-metered waist-level finder to three different TTL metered prism finders. That makes this camera more versatile, and able to suit specific shooting needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The M645 was followed by the M645 1000S<\/a><\/strong> in 1976, which increased the maximum shutter speed to 1\/1000s and added a few features like a self-timer and depth-of-field preview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The M645J<\/a><\/strong>, which came out in 1979, was a stripped down version of the M645, lacking the second shutter button and mirror lock-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The second generation of 645 Mamiya cameras came in 1985 with the 645 Super<\/a><\/strong>, a lighter system which featured a molded plastic shell instead of the all-metal construction of the previous generation. This made the bodies a lot lighter, but it sacrificed some durability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this generation, Mamiya took modularity to the next level, offering options for different viewfinders, backs, focusing screens and automatic winders. This made them ideal for photographers who wanted to customize their kit to their specifics, and still have a portable and powerful setup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 645 Pro<\/a><\/strong> followed in 1992, with the distinction of having an electronic shutter instead of the Super’s mechanical shutter. This is a slight disadvantage, as you won’t be able to shoot the camera at all shutter speeds if the battery runs out. The 645 Pro TL<\/a><\/strong> was released in 1998, adding through-the-lens, off-the-film metering for flash. There was even a small production run in different colors, if black isn’t your thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 645E<\/a> <\/strong>came out in 2000\u2014a simplified system, with less modularity options and more fixed components.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image from Wikipedia Commons<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 1999, Mamiya introduced the first autofocus SLR, the 645AF<\/a><\/strong>. The grips and viewfinders were no longer switchable on these, but it kept the same lens mount, making older lenses compatible. The new autofocus lenses<\/a><\/strong> lost the aperture ring, as exposure could be controlled using dials on the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were several updates on this series through the last two decades, starting in 2001 with the 645AFD<\/a><\/strong>, which added compatibility with digital backs. The 645AFD II<\/a><\/strong> offered incremental improvements in 2005. By 2008, Phase One came into the picture, and the 645AFD III<\/a><\/strong> was the last camera to wear the Mamiya branding. The Mamiya\/Phase One DF<\/a><\/strong> and DF+<\/a><\/strong> followed in 2009 and 2013 respectively, only supporting the digital backs and ending the medium format film legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mamiya 6×6<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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If you’re into the classic 1:1 square aspect ratio, there a few options in the Mamiya universe, and the form factor varies quite a bit. You’ll get about 12 shots per 120 roll with these cameras.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s start by looking way back. There were several models of Mamiyaflex<\/a><\/strong> twin-lens reflex 6×6 cameras in the 1950s, but the company had a major hit with the arrival of the C2 Professional<\/strong> in 1958, and its successor, the C3 Professional<\/a><\/strong> in 1962. These were interchangeable lens<\/a><\/strong> TLRs, which made them more versatile than contemporary competitors, Rollei<\/a><\/strong> and Yashica<\/a><\/strong>, which had fixed lenses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later, Mamiya introduced the C22<\/strong> and C33<\/a><\/strong> series of cameras\u2014the latter aimed at professionals, and the former, a lighter-on-features version aimed at prosumers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two lines evolved into the C220<\/a><\/strong> and the C330<\/a><\/strong> by the late sixties, and the C220f<\/a><\/strong> and C330f<\/a><\/strong> by the seventies and eighties. The last model release in the C line of TLRs was the C330s<\/a><\/strong> in 1983. Differences between all these models are minimal, they mostly differ in types of winder and shutter cocking mechanisms, and all have their own quirks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The C330s is the most refined out of the bunch, but you shouldn’t let previous models scare you off, as, again, the differences are minute. The early models tend to be heavier, and that could be an important factor if you’re going to be taking these out of the studio and into your camera bag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

C-series Mamiya cameras are all manual focus and manual exposure, and require an external light meter, although some later models have options for updating the viewfinder to have a built-in meter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These cameras are ideal for portrait and wedding photographers who mostly specialize in photographing people. Since these TLRs all have waist-level viewfinders, they’re perfect for shooting shy subjects who won’t feel as intimidated by a photographer’s gaze\u2014looking down at the camera instead of directly ahead goes a long way at making subjects more comfortable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We recently gave film shooter Corey Wolfenbarger a Mamiya C330s to test, and he made this video with it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n