Which Mamiya RZ67 to buy?

[brandon77]

I am looking to get the Mamiya rz67 as my first medium format camera. (Currently shooting 35mm) though are quite confused

I’ve noticed that many of these cameras, have different parts that can combine to make one, though if am looking to buy one as a whole, Is there anything I should stay away from?

Is there one that will make the transition from 35mm easier. I’m pretty sure there is none with an internal light metre, so I would need to learn that.

If it helps, I’d likely be using a 90 mm lens

Thanks

 

[Macro guy]

I am looking to get the Mamiya rz67 as my first medium format camera. (Currently shooting 35mm) though are quite confused

I’ve noticed that many of these cameras, have different parts that can combine to make one, though if am looking to buy one as a whole, Is there anything I should stay away from?

Is there one that will make the transition from 35mm easier. I’m pretty sure there is none with an internal light metre, so I would need to learn that.

If it helps, I’d likely be using a 90 mm lens

Thanks

35mm cameras come as a single unit, without interchangeable parts except for lenses and flashes. The RZ67 allows you to chnge viewfinders and backs as well as lenses, so you can customize your camer in a way that works best for you.

A waist level finder allows you to work on a tripod at relatively low angles without squatting down. However, the image is reversed from left to right.

Eye level finders have a light meter built in, they don't reverse the image and allow you to work more the way you do with 35mm. However, these viewfinders are darker and it's not as easy to hold a heavy, bulky camera to eye level as it is to hold a 35mm camera.

Interchangeable backs allow you to change film in mid roll. With 35mm cameras, you have to finish the roll before you load another type of film. With interchangeable backs, you insert the dark slide to prevent film from being exposed, pop the back out, put another back with different film in and when you're done, you pop the old back in, take the dark slide out and continue where you left off.

Furthermore, the RZ67 backs revolve, so you don't have to turn the camera when you want to shoot vertically. You just flip the back from horizontal to vertical position.

Hope this helps.

 

[jonby]

You'd be better off posting this in the Film Photography Talk forum I think. This one is aimed at MF digital. I'm sure there will be lots of people in there that would love to talk RZ.

 

[NAwlins Contrarian]

Which Mamiya RZ67 to buy?

You'd be better off posting this in the Film Photography Talk forum I think. This one is aimed at MF digital. I'm sure there will be lots of people in there that would love to talk RZ.

I agree. Basically:

* if you want to shoot with medium format digital, then any RZ67--even the 'digital ready' RZ67 Pro II-D--would probably be a poor choice. These cameras are designed for 6x7 film, with a film gate of around 56x69.5mm, and the largest reasonable digital options have sensors of about 53.7x40.3mm, so there's a 1.33x or more crop factor for lenses, viewfinders, etc. IOW, for shooting digital, a system derived from 645 film, or better yet natively digital, seems like a much better place to start, than does the RZ67 system.

* If you want to shoot film, then the Film Photography Talk forum is likely to get you more responses from users with recent experience buying and using medium format film cameras. The folks here seem to be 80%+ digital.

Also: if you really want to shoot film and aren't thinking about adding digital in the near future, then there might be things to be said for the more mechanical / less electronic RB67, at least if you get a later-production camera (Pro-SD version) in good condition.

 

[Macro guy]

Which Mamiya RZ67 to buy?

You'd be better off posting this in the Film Photography Talk forum I think. This one is aimed at MF digital. I'm sure there will be lots of people in there that would love to talk RZ.

I agree. Basically:

* if you want to shoot with medium format digital, then any RZ67--even the 'digital ready' RZ67 Pro II-D--would probably be a poor choice. These cameras are designed for 6x7 film, with a film gate of around 56x69.5mm, and the largest reasonable digital options have sensors of about 53.7x40.3mm, so there's a 1.33x or more crop factor for lenses, viewfinders, etc. IOW, for shooting digital, a system derived from 645 film, or better yet natively digital, seems like a much better place to start, than does the RZ67 system.

* If you want to shoot film, then the Film Photography Talk forum is likely to get you more responses from users with recent experience buying and using medium format film cameras. The folks here seem to be 80%+ digital.

Also: if you really want to shoot film and aren't thinking about adding digital in the near future, then there might be things to be said for the more mechanical / less electronic RB67, at least if you get a later-production camera (Pro-SD version) in good condition.

The RB67 is more of a studio camera. It's too heavy for field use. Wheras you can hand hold the RZ, you can't really do that with the RB.

 

[NAwlins Contrarian]

Also: if you really want to shoot film and aren't thinking about adding digital in the near future, then there might be things to be said for the more mechanical / less electronic RB67, at least if you get a later-production camera (Pro-SD version) in good condition.

The RB67 is more of a studio camera. It's too heavy for field use. Wheras you can hand hold the RZ, you can't really do that with the RB.

That's not what Mamiya says. I just looked at the manuals for the RB67 Pro SD (http://www.mamiyaleaf.com/assets/files/documentation/RB67_Pro_SD_v7.pdf) and the RZ67 Pro II D (http://www.mamiyaleaf.com/assets/files/documentation/RZ67PROIID_Instr.pdf), and they say the RB67 is actually lighter:

RZ67 Pro II D body with waist-level finder plus back 1350g + 530g = 1900g

RB67 Pro SD body plus waist-level finder plus back 1050g + 185g + 475g = 1710g

Obviously depending on lenses and other accessories, one or the other could be a little heavier ready-to-use. But there does not appear to be a basis in fact for the suggestion that the RB67 is too heavy for field use but the RZ67 is not (really, they're both beasts). Am I missing something?

 

[Rob de Loe]

The RB67 is more of a studio camera. It's too heavy for field use. Wheras you can hand hold the RZ, you can't really do that with the RB.

It's a beast, that's for sure, but I used it in the field. What I'm carrying around now is heavier.

 

[Macro guy]

Also: if you really want to shoot film and aren't thinking about adding digital in the near future, then there might be things to be said for the more mechanical / less electronic RB67, at least if you get a later-production camera (Pro-SD version) in good condition.

The RB67 is more of a studio camera. It's too heavy for field use. Wheras you can hand hold the RZ, you can't really do that with the RB.

That's not what Mamiya says. I just looked at the manuals for the RB67 Pro SD (http://www.mamiyaleaf.com/assets/files/documentation/RB67_Pro_SD_v7.pdf) and the RZ67 Pro II D (http://www.mamiyaleaf.com/assets/files/documentation/RZ67PROIID_Instr.pdf), and they say the RB67 is actually lighter:

RZ67 Pro II D body with waist-level finder plus back 1350g + 530g = 1900g

RB67 Pro SD body plus waist-level finder plus back 1050g + 185g + 475g = 1710g

Obviously depending on lenses and other accessories, one or the other could be a little heavier ready-to-use. But there does not appear to be a basis in fact for the suggestion that the RB67 is too heavy for field use but the RZ67 is not (really, they're both beasts). Am I missing something?

RB isn't just heavy, it's unwieldy. It's impossible to hand hold. If I'm not mistaken, the RZ has a grip that can be used with it and that makes it a bit more portable. I wouldn't hand hold either one of them, but I think that the RZ with a grip and an eye level finder can be hand held in an emergency.

 

[NAwlins Contrarian]

Also: if you really want to shoot film and aren't thinking about adding digital in the near future, then there might be things to be said for the more mechanical / less electronic RB67, at least if you get a later-production camera (Pro-SD version) in good condition.

The RB67 is more of a studio camera. It's too heavy for field use. Wheras you can hand hold the RZ, you can't really do that with the RB.

That's not what Mamiya says. I just looked at the manuals for the RB67 Pro SD (http://www.mamiyaleaf.com/assets/files/documentation/RB67_Pro_SD_v7.pdf) and the RZ67 Pro II D (http://www.mamiyaleaf.com/assets/files/documentation/RZ67PROIID_Instr.pdf), and they say the RB67 is actually lighter:

RZ67 Pro II D body with waist-level finder plus back 1350g + 530g = 1900g

RB67 Pro SD body plus waist-level finder plus back 1050g + 185g + 475g = 1710g

Obviously depending on lenses and other accessories, one or the other could be a little heavier ready-to-use. But there does not appear to be a basis in fact for the suggestion that the RB67 is too heavy for field use but the RZ67 is not (really, they're both beasts). Am I missing something?

RB isn't just heavy, it's unwieldy. It's impossible to hand hold. If I'm not mistaken, the RZ has a grip that can be used with it and that makes it a bit more portable. I wouldn't hand hold either one of them, but I think that the RZ with a grip and an eye level finder can be hand held in an emergency.

My memory may be failing me, but I don't remember Mamiya making for either the RZ or the RB a really ergonomic and integrating grip comparable to the ones it made for the M645 Super / Pro / Pro TL. OTOH, there are grips you can get for almost any camera; the one I have for my M645 1000s is okay--far better for hand-holding than the camera without a grip--but far from perfect.

 

[Macro guy]

Also: if you really want to shoot film and aren't thinking about adding digital in the near future, then there might be things to be said for the more mechanical / less electronic RB67, at least if you get a later-production camera (Pro-SD version) in good condition.

The RB67 is more of a studio camera. It's too heavy for field use. Wheras you can hand hold the RZ, you can't really do that with the RB.

That's not what Mamiya says. I just looked at the manuals for the RB67 Pro SD (http://www.mamiyaleaf.com/assets/files/documentation/RB67_Pro_SD_v7.pdf) and the RZ67 Pro II D (http://www.mamiyaleaf.com/assets/files/documentation/RZ67PROIID_Instr.pdf), and they say the RB67 is actually lighter:

RZ67 Pro II D body with waist-level finder plus back 1350g + 530g = 1900g

RB67 Pro SD body plus waist-level finder plus back 1050g + 185g + 475g = 1710g

Obviously depending on lenses and other accessories, one or the other could be a little heavier ready-to-use. But there does not appear to be a basis in fact for the suggestion that the RB67 is too heavy for field use but the RZ67 is not (really, they're both beasts). Am I missing something?

RB isn't just heavy, it's unwieldy. It's impossible to hand hold. If I'm not mistaken, the RZ has a grip that can be used with it and that makes it a bit more portable. I wouldn't hand hold either one of them, but I think that the RZ with a grip and an eye level finder can be hand held in an emergency.

My memory may be failing me, but I don't remember Mamiya making for either the RZ or the RB a really ergonomic and integrating grip comparable to the ones it made for the M645 Super / Pro / Pro TL. OTOH, there are grips you can get for almost any camera; the one I have for my M645 1000s is okay--far better for hand-holding than the camera without a grip--but far from perfect.

The only grip that I'm aware of that was made for the RB67 was this one:






Left handed mechanical grip with a shutter trigger and a cold shoe.

The RZ had the electromechanical trigger also on the left side. This is a pic of the Pro II version. I don't think either one is great for hand holding. I wouldn't do it unless I absolutely had to, but in an emergency, the RZ is a bit better.

 

[Rob de Loe]

Also: if you really want to shoot film and aren't thinking about adding digital in the near future, then there might be things to be said for the more mechanical / less electronic RB67, at least if you get a later-production camera (Pro-SD version) in good condition.

The RB67 is more of a studio camera. It's too heavy for field use. Wheras you can hand hold the RZ, you can't really do that with the RB.

That's not what Mamiya says. I just looked at the manuals for the RB67 Pro SD (http://www.mamiyaleaf.com/assets/files/documentation/RB67_Pro_SD_v7.pdf) and the RZ67 Pro II D (http://www.mamiyaleaf.com/assets/files/documentation/RZ67PROIID_Instr.pdf), and they say the RB67 is actually lighter:

RZ67 Pro II D body with waist-level finder plus back 1350g + 530g = 1900g

RB67 Pro SD body plus waist-level finder plus back 1050g + 185g + 475g = 1710g

Obviously depending on lenses and other accessories, one or the other could be a little heavier ready-to-use. But there does not appear to be a basis in fact for the suggestion that the RB67 is too heavy for field use but the RZ67 is not (really, they're both beasts). Am I missing something?

RB isn't just heavy, it's unwieldy. It's impossible to hand hold. If I'm not mistaken, the RZ has a grip that can be used with it and that makes it a bit more portable. I wouldn't hand hold either one of them, but I think that the RZ with a grip and an eye level finder can be hand held in an emergency.

My memory may be failing me, but I don't remember Mamiya making for either the RZ or the RB a really ergonomic and integrating grip comparable to the ones it made for the M645 Super / Pro / Pro TL. OTOH, there are grips you can get for almost any camera; the one I have for my M645 1000s is okay--far better for hand-holding than the camera without a grip--but far from perfect.

The only grip that I'm aware of that was made for the RB67 was this one:


Left handed mechanical grip with a shutter trigger and a cold shoe.

The RZ had the electromechanical trigger also on the left side. This is a pic of the Pro II version. I don't think either one is great for hand holding. I wouldn't do it unless I absolutely had to, but in an emergency, the RZ is a bit better.

That's a street shooter's dream camera right there!

Thanks for the memories. I never hand held mine. That's for sure. It was always on a tripod.

 

[hypercore360]

Brandon

Thought I would share this since I just watched it yesterday...

Cheers

I am looking to get the Mamiya rz67 as my first medium format camera. (Currently shooting 35mm) though are quite confused

I’ve noticed that many of these cameras, have different parts that can combine to make one, though if am looking to buy one as a whole, Is there anything I should stay away from?

Is there one that will make the transition from 35mm easier. I’m pretty sure there is none with an internal light metre, so I would need to learn that.

If it helps, I’d likely be using a 90 mm lens

Thanks