Mamiya RB67 Pro SD

Review Date
January 29, 2009

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
3.75 of 5, 4 votes

Reviewed by
hudi82 , Intermediate

Price Paid
$600.00

Photography Experience
6-10 years , People

Summary
I bought this camera out of curiosity because I was kinda bored with 6x6 and heard wonders about 6x7 and out of Bronica and Mamiya I went with Mamiya because there were simply more of it on the market.

This is a seriously BIG camera, 2x bigger and heavier than my Kiev. I was totally surprised by this. I'm a quite strong person but I have problems holding it still with the metering prism thats why I don't use it :-)

The best think I like about this camera is the rotating back, its so easy to use and is very handy something I'd never give up for. The film backs are kinda delicate, the 2 that I own have old seals that I need to replace and have some platic parts broken off and the winding isn't perfect etc, but the biggest problme with them (at least 1) is that the film counter doesn't trigger after exposure and I often inadvertantly get double exposures which are horrible considering there are only 10 exposures per roll.

The lenses are pretty big and heavy, optically are very good (my 50mm and 127mm are quite dirty inside and one has even water mark after some dude badly cleaned it). I can see quite a lot of details on my slides. The only problem that I see is that the lenses are quite dark 3.5 the brightest. Compared to my Carl Zeiss Lenses for Pentacon, Mamiya lenses are much darker (2 stops) but optically are at least comparable. They have built in Seiko leaf shutters that can sync with flash at any speed and are the reasons I bought them. Also they all have the same filter size of 77mm (except 50 and 65mm lenses I think) which is great.

The focusing needs getting use to as its a knob like in TLRs and focusing is done through a bellow. Its quite precise and can be focused by both hands. The down part is that the bellow looses light if extended too long and needs to be compensated.

The view finder is bright and large with lines for both verticle and horizontal positions. However the standard ground glass doesn't have a split prism for focusing and it might take some time to get a perfect focus with the dark lenses. The waist level finder is what I use and it has a large lens that makes the focusing a lot easier. The Prism is VERY heavy and I think its rather dark and the metering is rather cumbersome so a external meter is required.

All in all, its a very nice system with many lenses and possibilities.

Strengths
- good format
- rotatable back
- complete system
- good lenses
- high sync speed

Weaknesses
- big and heavy
- hard to use in the field
- dark lenses
- not very well balanced in the hand
- no 6x6 back, no 35mm panoramic back

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Review Date
December 22, 2005

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5, 6 votes

Reviewed by
magoo , Intermediate

Price Paid
$0.00 at ebay

Photography Experience
2-5 years , People

Summary
Love this camera. It is much bigger than most mf cameras but it is solid. Once you get everything down pat it becomes second nature. cock the shutter, then advance the film then push the shutter and repeat. The pictures I take are tack sharp depending on the lens. You hear all the time, I have a hasselblad, the hasselblad takes the best pictures, but you know what? Try and tell the difference between plus accessories and lenses won't break the bank. Also if you have the opportunity to get the 150mm sf lens, get it. I love that lens, some beautiful shots were made with that lens.

Strengths
Cheap, durable, reliable, and it has never let me down

Weaknesses
Heavy

Similar Products Used
mamiya c33

Customer Service
never needed it.

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Review Date
April 18, 2005

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.50 of 5, 2 votes

Reviewed by
DaveKasdan , Expert

Price Paid
$400.00 at eBay

Photography Experience
6-10 years , Fine Art

Summary
From the second I looked through the pop-up view finder...in love with this camera! It took me about 2 rolls to work out the mechanical processes and be comfortable with the controls. I feel like a macho adventure photographer using this tank out in the field. The image quality is outstanding--the straight contact prints are gorgeous. If you want to think about your shots and really practice "previsualization" and Zone work, then this is the kit to use.
Was fortunate enough to get the 90mm and 180mm lenses for free from a retired pro and friend, then filled out the kit with a second body and accessories. Now I have one whole RB67 with the 90mm lens and a speed grip, the other body sports the 180mm lens and is worn with the neck strap. Carry it all with 3 different film backs, filters, etc. in a big bag and nobody stands in my way.

Strengths
Presence--absolute, imposing presence of a real photography rig. Crystal clear images and no limits to creating great photographs.

Weaknesses
Parts and accessories are getting rare. Forget having it fixed--just look for replacements save the costly repair expense.

Similar Products Used
No other MF cameras.
Plenty of 35mm, from full manual to P&S.

Customer Service
Emailed a question to corporate and had a response in 24 hours! Excellent!

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Review Date
September 15, 2003

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
1.73 of 5, 11 votes

Reviewed by
peguin , Expert

Price Paid
$1700.00 at jacobs photographic

Photography Experience
6-10 years , People

Summary
the rb67 pro sd is amazing i was told to definatly get another rz pro2 after mine was stolen but i didnt and am so glad. i am only young (17) but i have had alot of experiance with possibly every current pro camera and have grown around fashion shoots and had a play with any camera i have ever come into contact with and this is the best nothing comes close except an rz. but this will last longer than a rz ever could the quality of the images it has always produced for me are inceadible and it stands up to any abuse thrown at it. buy it if you can

Strengths
every thing looks amazing too
the rotating back is its greatest asset

Weaknesses
the cocking levers (only a tiny thing)

Similar Products Used
mamiya rz67 pro , mamiya rz67 pro2 , hassenbald 500

Customer Service
never needed

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Review Date
April 18, 2003

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
2.33 of 5, 3 votes

Reviewed by
Todd Walker , Professional , from Semmes, AL, USA

Price Paid
$1050.00 at KEH (used)

Photography Experience
2-5 years , People

Summary
This review is actually for the Pro-s which I purchased used. Great camera! Produces awesome results when big enlargments are needed from prints. I also love the rotating back, never have to turn camera sideways for vertical shots. Bellows mounted lens allows for close focusing. Lots of accessories available for this camera. Very quick and easy to change focusing screen.

Big camera that produces excellent results when used for it's intended purpose. Don't try using for fast action style shooting (use a smaller lighter camera for that).

Strengths
Big negatives!, sharp lenses, very affordable to buy it and accessories on the used market. Rotating back. No batteries or electronics to worry about.
Fairly quite operation. Good solid construction and very reliable.

Weaknesses
One of the most heavy cameras made (when prism is attached), but not bad with a monopod for support. No problem when using tripod. Much light in weight if using waist level finder instead of prism.
Top shutter speed of only 1/400 sec.

Similar Products Used
Mamiya 645 Pro-tl, 6451000s, Pentax 6x7, Bronica GS-1, Bronica ETRS, Hasselblad 500C

Customer Service
not needed, but excellent user forum on website.

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