Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/08/07
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Frederic writes: > Although I love my M6's & 2's, I'm looking to get into some magazine > work > (which use primarily 6 x 7 format) & have narrowed my choices to > purchasing a > Pentax 6 x 7 or Mamiya 7. I like the idea of the Mamiya rangefinder > (light, > quiet, etc.) but it does have it's limitations. (close up work) I've > actually > considered one of both Any thoughts? Have any of you used either > camera?Thanks The Mamiya 7 is a glorious camera let down slightly by its meter. The lens range is pretty sparse too, the 65mm and 80mm being sufficiently close that there's little reason to own both. The 43mm is *wonderful*, but the 150mm - while excellent optically - has a serious close focus limitation, it won't focus closer than about 6 feet. For me the obvious compliment to the 7 rangefinder would be an RB or an RZ, both are excellent for close up work, having built in bellows, and more importantly have polaroid backs which can be substituted for the standard back mid-roll. Something you can't do with the Pentax.