Mamiya 6 vs Mamiya 7! Why I made my choice (film photography camera review)

[@michaellouishill]

Nice video. I had both cameras for several months and went back and forth on preference as well. Ultimately I decided to keep the 6 for the reasons you mention. It is the best camera to carry. It feels sculpted to my body and out of the way and at the same time always ready to shoot. I learned to enjoy the square format. The images from both are of course wonderful but the ergonomics and look of the 6 won out. Also 12 shots over 10 helps. Now to add a makina 67 to the bag!

[@PhilKnall]

Thanks for the comment! Ooh, a Makina 67 sounds great too. I've heard horror stories about its durability though :(

[@colinshootsfilm]

Phil Knall ignite the rumors. The Makina is super solid.

[@PhilKnall]

@@colinshootsfilm awesome to hear! I'd love to try one out, unfortunately don't have the cash right now but one day....

[@andretim75]

The weight difference is rather small between these 2 without lenses I would argue ! Just about 6% , 40g is not much at all, and so it is more about the more compact size of the Mamiya 6 for me , especially with the 75mm attached, making it very attractive indeed !

[@PhilKnall]

True! It's more the bulk that makes it feel heavier I think. They're both wonderful cameras but purely from an engineering standpoint the 6 is so amazing. Great great camera.

[@theundefinedphotographer]

I still have yet to try out a Mamiya camera, but thanks so much for the thorough comparison of the two!

[@PhilKnall]

Thank you for the comment! They're both really nice cameras. Great lenses as well. Can't go wrong with either if you can find a good deal!

[@mike747436]

I have both cameras and you can't go wrong with either (macro and head & shoulders portraits aside). The 6 with its retractable lens mount is much better for travel imo, with only 3 small, light lenses to carry and no external viewfinder to complicate things. The 7's main advantage is its 43mm (21mm equiv.) lens if you need really wide, but you must remember to compose thru the external viewfinder and only focus thru the internal viewfinder, something I've forgotten to do a couple times in the heat of the moment! If I had to choose just one it would most likely be the 6 for its simplicity.

[@PhilKnall]

Thanks for the comment! I agree about prefering the simplicity and design of the 6. For me it's really only the image format that swayed me toward the 7... I still feel it's a little too square. I did recently get a wide angle lens for it, and exactly for the reason you mentioned I went for the 50 and not the 43. with the 50 I can pretty much figure out the composition by using the entire built-in viewfinder (including the area outside the framelines).

[@mike747436]

@@PhilKnall I started out with the 7 for a few years, but I’m drawn more and more to the square format these days. After a while even the 6x7 format starts to feel too rectangular!

[@PhilKnall]

@@mike747436 i definitely feel like it's very rectangular these days 😅 i would love if it shot 6x9 or even 6x8. But the 6 is definitely the nicer camera in my eyes!

[@ZoneFocused]

Man I been thinking about pulling my money together for a Mamiya 7! I been watching videos all night looking them up. Thanks for the info Phil!

[@PhilKnall]

It is a sweet camera, I think you'd enjoy it! You can borrow mine if you want to try

[@trueblack6760]

Oh what a gorgeous comparison! Now I learned the size difference. Thank you! I wish someday I could own one of them. But I know price keep on going up....

[@PhilKnall]

Yes, unfortunately they aren't going to get any cheaper.. there's limited supply, and they are amazing cameras!

[@mike747436]

Both great cameras. I find the difference in size and weight to be negligible personally; they have very similar form and handling. Avoid both if you mostly shoot portraits or closeup/macro. Tricky but not impossible to use a polarizer with either. Leaf shutter allows for slower hand held shots than with an SLR.

[@PhilKnall]

All great points. I do give the 6 a definite edge in size, especially because of the collapsible bellows. With the 75mm attached and retracted bellows, it is almost as compact as some of my folder cameras. I did end up re-buying the 6 recently. I still found the 6x7 very square looking, and made almost $1,000 back from the switch. But I would be happy with either of them, as you said.

[@momoxh]

great video dude! I'm about to buy one of these, one thing I noticed that when you rotate the focus ring on the lens, the yellow frame in viewfinder moves, do you need to recompose when the frame moves?

[@PhilKnall]

Assuming you're talking about the frame lines, that would be the parallax correction! Because rangefinder cameras' lenses are offset from the viewfinder, the picture "moves" depending on the distance to the subject. So yes, recompose to match the framelines. Trust the camera :) And thank you!

[@dionalmuena9284]

Currently torn which model I want. I currently own an RB67, but is a pain to carry out. I use it primarily for studio, but idk if it’s redundant to have 2, 6x7 cameras. I do like more aspect ratio to work with but it’s pricey for an “everyday camera” :\

[@PhilKnall]

Yeah they're definitely not cheap... The only comfort I can offer is you can likely make the money back if you sell it!

[@perfectly_boring]

@@PhilKnall if it doesn't break before that. That's the only worry I have about mine.

[@PhilKnall]

Unfortunately that's always a possibility with these old cameras...

[@I-SelfLordAndMaster]

I just don’t understand how these cameras are more expensive than Hasselblads on the second hand market. The Mamiya 7 is a great camera but the price is not reflective of its performance.

[@PhilKnall]

@@I-SelfLordAndMaster totally different cameras in my opinion. Different format, form factor, and automation. Much more customizability with the Hasselblad though, if I did better with square format I'd be very tempted to get one.

[@AshtewanPhotoVideo]

you'd think photographers would be better about framing themselves in these vlogs. I'm uncomfortably close to your face.

[@PhilKnall]

Thanks for the feedback! This is because of a combination of various factors - my digital camera is micro four thirds, I shot this with a 17mm (so 34mm ff), the room doesn't have a lot of depth (maybe 3m?) and I was trying to get a tad of background separation on top of that. I realize that I ended up compromising a bit too much. I did get a 12mm lens later so the more recent videos might be easier to bear.

[@AshtewanPhotoVideo]

You're not the only one who does it, i was commenting more on the trend, didn't really consider your space or anything. Obviously do what you gotta do. Thanks for the reply!

[@mazski12]

A bit rude just appreciate the content

[@PhilKnall]

It's all good, no offense taken.

[@I-SelfLordAndMaster]

Sit back from your screen then bro Gad damn