Mamiya 7

Review Date
January 25, 2010

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Reviewed by
SPA , Casual

Price Paid
$800.00 at Apertureuk , Ebay an

Photography Experience
2-5 years , People

Summary
Mamiya 7 with its 80mm lens is a truly wonderful medium format camera. Once you know how to take incident light reading and about shutter speed and aperture relationship in regard to exposure - it is a joy to use. The body is comfortable to hold. Quick accurate focusing is easy even in low light (sometimes it can be useful to rotate the camera to vertical or horizontal position, depends what works best, when focusing in very low contrast or visually very “busy” scenes e.g. greenery). The shutter is quiet and does not create camera vibration, therefore very sharp image can be achieved even when shooting handheld at lower shutter speeds, like 1/30th or 1/15th of a second. The light meter, once you know how to interpret it - where to point or how to compensate, helps to easily achieve very accurate exposure. Seeing light meter reading at the bottom of the rangefinder might take a couple of hours to get used to. But I usually wear glasses and have absolutely no problem seeing it.

The camera body is not very sturdy or weather proof therefore it is, I think, a good practice not to bang it or get it soaked in rain. My first Mamiya 7, which I purchased five years ago, had light meter compensation dial stuck as well as after a couple of months of use it developed shutter firing problems - shutter speed would be wrong or sometimes it did not fire at all. I sold it back to the camera shop where I bought it and got another Mamiya 7. This second camera, after some time of use, needed a rangefinder adjustment for perfect focussing (I learned that for Mamiya 7s it should be done once in a while!) as well as it had a film curtain handle stuck and so I couldn’t take the lens off. Thankfully, these problems were quickly and inexpensively fixed by most excellent camera repair specialist in London Graham Playford. The camera has not had any problems since.

Its 80mm lens is very sharp, it has lovely blur in out-of-focus area. The closest focussing distance is one meter, therefore it will not be suitable for very close shooting.

Simon Roberts’ brilliant project “Motherland” was photographed, I think, using Mamiya 7.

Strengths
Not heavy, comfortable to handle, simple controls, wonderful optics, quiet shutter, nice rangefinder - easy to focus even in a dark, spot meter. It is just a very portable, simple, useful camera.

Weaknesses
Not the most sturdy camera body. Quite expensive.

Similar Products Used
Bronica 6x6 SLR, Mamiya 6x7 SLR. 5x4 field camera.

Report this review >>

Review Date
May 16, 2005

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
2.50 of 5, 2 votes

Reviewed by
sweeper , Intermediate

Price Paid
$600.00 at used at Keeble and S

Photography Experience
21+ years , Outdoor

Summary
For street, travel, and most landscape shooting for images destined to print in large sizes, the Mamiya 7 system is unsurpassed.

You buy a medium format mostly for its rollfilm-sized slides and negatives. Having a camera about the same size and weight of a 35mm SLR but yielding a slide 4.5 times larger is a compelling driver and the Mamiya 7 doesn't disappoint. Its bright viewfinder, fast split image focusing nearly negates the advantage of autofocusing and the surprisingly accurate light meter provides the user confidence in catching the shot almost every time.

For daytime street photography and journalism, getting those "right now" shots are easy. Unfortunately, the slow aperture range of all its system lenses make it less than ideal for shots in waning light and flash photography when less than wide apertures will limit range.

A Mamiya 7 body and two or three lenses would make a great kit for travel. Also everything from day hiking to exhibition length treks are easily managed with the light weight of such a kit. Although some users have had problems with camera mechanicals such as that associated with the viewfinder, I've not experienced any.

The Mamiya 7 (and it current production successor the Mamiya 7 II) is THE camera for 35mm outdoor and travel shooters who want to move up to medium format.

Even as digital imaging increases capability, for now, no commercially available electronic imaging system at any price will deliver the image quality you get by shooting with with the Mamiya 7 system.

Strengths
A relatively small, lightweight package producing a large image size. The meter is amazingly accurate even when shooting slides in tricky light. All lenses produce top notch image quality on par with the best in medium format. With no slapping reflex mirror or focal plane shutter, competent users can handhold at very slow shutter speeds. Editing 6X7 images is far faster and easier than with 35mm.

Weaknesses
The weaknesses are inherent with any rangefinder such as minimum focus distance, dealing with parallax, and slightly slower lens changing period. Slow speed lenses limit DOF effects and might need steadying devices. Viewfinder mechanics are subject to being knocked out of calibration.

Similar Products Used
Only previous experience shooting medium format has been with a TLR.

Customer Service
None required so far.

Report this review >>

Review Date
December 25, 2004

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Reviewed by
fotocraze , Intermediate

Price Paid
$1500.00 at Calumet

Photography Experience
2-5 years , Fine Art

Summary
My 7II has become my "go everywhere" camera of choice. I got mine pretty cheap after trading in my RZ for it (YES, it was worth it!!), The rangefinder is easy to focus even in dim light, and the optics are absolutely outstanding! The camera is the lightest 6x7 in existence, and is still very well made (don't let the exterior fool you; it has a metal chassis underneath), and the simplistic finish helps to deter would-be thiefs (they'd never beleive that it is a $3000 camera!) I love how it is extremely simple to use, and yet produces very high quality images. And the shutter....almost silent!!!

I only have one lens for it, the 80mm (They are super expensive, but you get what you pay for), but I like to keep it simple, so that's all I need. It has a max aperture of f4, but I've gotten very good shots handheld at 1/15" and even at 1/8"!!

Strengths
very easy to determine critical focus in rangfinder, beautiful ergonomics, near silent shutter, battery lasts forever, extremely reliable

Weaknesses
can't really think of any!!

Similar Products Used
RZ 67II, Rollieflex, Pentax 67, Hassy 501, SQA

Customer Service
Have never had to use them other than for the complimentary yearly checkup (free), otherwise very friendly and fast

Report this review >>

Review Date
August 8, 2004

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Reviewed by
jeffsphoto , Expert

Price Paid
$1800.00 at Pro Camera Shop in N

Photography Experience
21+ years , Outdoor

Summary
The Mamiya 7 is a great solid pro camera. It is simple to use so it won't get in the way of your art; Everthing feels right. The lenses are super high quality and the film format is so much bigger than 35mm. I hope they make a digital back for it.

Strengths
It's the smallest 6x7 format camera. Light weight, easy to take anywhere. The best optics I've seen.

Weaknesses
Can't close focus without adapter and Price.

Similar Products Used
Hasselblad, Mamiya RB67 & C330, Rolleiflex TLR, Canon & Nikon SLR's.

Customer Service
Very easy to contact and friendly.

Report this review >>

Review Date
December 31, 2003

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Reviewed by
d2f , Expert , from los angeles CA

Price Paid
$0.00

Photography Experience
21+ years , Fine Art

Summary
I purchased this camera in order to use the 43mm dream lens and I have had no regrets since. The M7 rangefinder provides excellent focusing under most lighting conditions that one will encounter both indoors and outdoors. The light metering is "good enough" for all film types. Have had no problems with this camera. In brief highly recommended.

Strengths
accurate focusing,
Supports 43mm wide angle lens perfectly,
very light weight compared to other medium format cameras, excellent battery life,
for me a perfect fine art and travel camera

Weaknesses
metering difficult to see for those of us wearing glasses,
body does not come in black,
near useless 35mm adapter (don't buy it),
limited focal lenght selection (but I don't mind),
some difficultly using 220 rolls if not started correctly (recommend 120 use only),
43mm viewing adapter does not have metering indicator (just a wish not a show stopper)

Similar Products Used
Leica M6
Mamiya RZ67
Mamiya 645 super
various 35 mm SLR cameras

Customer Service
excellent, free checkup once a year at local dealerships, also had M7 rangefinder optics upgraded to M7II level and had quick turn around, a matter of days.

Report this review >>