Mamiya:
Japanese camera manufacturer. Mamiya specializes in
medium format cameras. All the current mamiya cameras are 6x7cm or 6x4.5cm format and use either
120 or
220 roll film, polaroid 4x5, or in the case of the
Mamiya 7 and 7ii they can also use 35mm with a special adapter for
true panoramic.
Current Mamiya camera bodies are as follows:
- RZ67 Pro II
- RB67
- 645 Series
- 7
- 7ii
- Mamiya 6
In addition to these bodies Mamiya also makes very high quality optics (lenses) for their cameras, as well as the Tamron line of 35mm camera lenses.
Now a brief description of their line up:
RZ67 Pro II:
The Mamiya Flagship. This is a very large, mechanical/electronic hybrid, 6x7cm (or 6x4.5 with optional 645 back) medium format SLR (single lens reflex) body with a waist level viewer (prism finder is a $1000 option) Avail. in black] only, it offers bellows focusing, a rotating film holder and fully electronic operation. With the addition of a winder you can also get automagic film advance. This camera is highly modular and will mount both RB and RZ series lenses.
RB67 Pro SD:
For over 30 years the Mamiya RB line has been considered the Workhorse of the professional photography world. The RB design has changed little in these 30 years. Like the RZ the RB offers bellows focus, rotating back, waist or prism finder, and a HUGE selection of lenses. The diffrence is that the RB is 100% mechanical, it requires no batteries like it's brother the RZ. A lot of people find this nice as there's no batteries to replace, and no electronic parts to fry.
645 series:
I'm not too familiar with the 645 systems Mamiya sells, perhaps someone can write up more about them. What I do know is that they are on the cutting edge of 6x4.5cm format technology. The 645AF offers advanced auto focus and a very high quality, optional, digital back system. They also make among the most affordable entry level systems, actually cheaper than many {nikon|so called "pro" 35mm camera systems]. Deff. worth checking out. p.s. All of mamiya's 645's are SLR style
Mamiya 7/7ii Rangefinder:
This is by far the sexiest of the Mamiya line up. About the size of a large 35mm camera, this rangefinder system is ideal for people who travel a lot, or do candid photography and/or crave or need a bigger, heavier, most costly toy to shoot with. The line up of lenses is not as complete as with the RZ/RB system, but because of the nature of rangefinders, coupled with Mamiya's insanely high quality optics, the lenses that are avial. are better than anything else designed to compete in this class. When I have the money, I will buy a 7ii. Bodies are available in Black or a kinda tan "champaigne" color.
Mamiya 6 Rangefinder:
This is Mamiya's oddball camera, the only 6x6cm camera in their lineup. Even their website lacks much info about this camera. All I can say if that it feels VERY similar to the 7ii but offer fewer lenses, but you get an extra 2 shots per roll of film.
In addition to making cameras, it should be pointed out that Mamiya, like most large japanese companies, makes other
stuff as well :
Cabin light tables
Toyo
large format cameras
Sekonic light meters
Seiko watches
loupes, milling machines, and other stuff
final notes:
Most information came from my head, some came from http://www.mamiya.com/
This writeup is considered to be "in-progess" but is complete enough to post now. I'm an avid fan of Mamiya cameras (I have about $10,000 invested in their stuff) and I would HIGHLY recomend them to pros and students alike. Any questions check out http://www.photo.net or the mamiya website, or email me: greysoul@greymatter.org
-doug