The Mamiya 7 was unsatisfying ergonomically as compared to my Hasselblad stuff. The Contax takes up much more space than a Mamiya 7. It depends on how big you're wanting to print and what your needs are. The Contax is AF and has that f2 80mm lens to make all sorts of fantastic shallow DOF photos with. The lenses are better than my Hasselblad ones. I have a 4x5' print from one shot out of a Mamiya 7. :)Įither of those rigs is top shelf stuff. next to a converted Polaroid 110 4x5 - i feel this makes for the sweetest >35mm RF option available. The Mamiya 7 also has a pano kit for 35mm. I always want a mamiya 7, but i don't have the money. The point I'd like to make is that a 120 rangefinder is an excellent camera for landscape and it's easily portable. His primary camera was a Fuji 6圆 rangefinder. I've forgotten the name but some of the finest slides of the Pacific South West that I've seen came from a French guy who's settled here to photograph the deserts. Only reason I can imagine you shouldn't get one is that then there is one less for me. i got the pentax but still crave the mamiya for portability.Īs a long time fan of rangefinder cameras, I always wanted a Mamiya 7. have you considered the pentax 67? cheaper than both cameras no big batteries required, and excellent glass available for low prices. mamiya lens are not the fastest generally f/4, so no sweet bokeh. i just got back first roll of 6x7 negs and im blown away by the quality and detail. If its a toss up strictly between the two then id choose mamiya. A bit rarer MF rangefinder with a fixed lens, but it's a sweet gadget also. The sheer size/weight is the only downer, but the 80mm f/2 is absolutely stunning. Ken Rockwell likes both but prefers the MamiyaĬontax 645. The 7! Sometimes 645 just seems a bit small

definitely one of my favourite cameras ever. Your evil twin edited this topic ages ago. Originally posted at 9:33PM, 31 March 2010 PST

Contax 645 medium format slr