After owning several Mamiya cameras and using them on a daily basis you quickly come to realize why so many working pros use these cameras. They are designed to work, not be prestigious, just make great images. I've beat the crap out of my 6 and it just keeps working, 2 year old batteries doing long exposures and not skipping a beat. the rb67 could kill and then make a magazine cover image, I mean they are the unsung heroes of modern image media. Keep up the great work!!
Great video as always and exquisite pictures! In these quarantine and secluded days, your video is a delight moment of evasion for me. Cheers from Canada!!!
I have owned the Mamiya 645 Pro for about half a year now and I absolutely love it! It somehow feels like coming home. Everything is where it is supposed to be and the process of shooting the camera is such a joy. I always know what I'm going to get. Never have I owned a camera before that I shot so few bad pictures with.
I've been enjoying your recent videos in these times, Nick! Feels like relaxing with a friend, talking about nerdy photography stuff. I'll happily watch as many as you put out. Godspeed.
'I just wanted something smaller, that I could keep on the passenger seat and just grab when I needed it." Nick Carver: Mamiya 645 Pro TL. Rest of the photography world: Fuji x100V. ;-)
Whatta 'bout my late Father's Kodak 620 Medalist folder??? Not much bigger than an iphone and just about twice as thick closed up. Good Ektar lens too.
Really appreciate all the time and effort you put into these videos, Nick! what seems like small details and maybe unimportant to most, like all the dolly shots, the lighting, the close ups etc, makes a lot of difference to me. Everything looks so darn clean! The production quality makes these videos go from a 9/10 to a 10/10.
Nick, by no means I mean to be negative. Take my comment in the most positive light. I thought a lot of the shots you've posted on this video are of extreme quality, the choice of locations is superb, subjects, composition, light, just about the best I've seen from your work. I honestly think most of those are better than the shots you end up producing on your on location videos. To be more objective, these I thought are among the best I've seen you produce (I mean, ever, not just amazing for a "stay in the car camera"). 9:40 , 10:20 WOOOOWWWW the mood, the light!, 10:25, to select just a few (ALL shots in this video are jaw dropping gorgeous) Please consider revisiting those locations for on location videos. It's incredible that those amazing subjects were left for car-camera shots, and at least in my opinion, are somehow superior to those subjects you've selected for the more serious, planned work. These subjects deserve some super in depth, planned 6 x 17 shots. BTW, I LOVE Mamiya as well. My favorite film format is 645, and I happen to use a Phase One with digital back, which is a system entirely based on the Mamiya 645 camera. So in a sense, I'm also shooting Mamiya :D and love it.
I appreciate the kind words! And I get what you’re saying. Truth be told, though, I’m not sure many of these pictures would have been taken at all if I’d done them for an on location video. Making an on location video requires so much of my time and attention to be sucked up by the video camera that I’m sure I would miss many of the still photos. That’s actually a big dilemma for me. I love making the videos, but I also know that it costs me photos.
I tried the Gimlet for the first time. REALLY enjoyed it. We used Tanquaray Rangpur which is lime infused and a bit smoother then the Saphire. Worked very nicely.
The Gimlet was the first “drink” my father ever bought me, a rare occurrence actually, and that makes it very special for me. I remember the resturant in Monterey. Such a good wholesome memory. Nick I developed my first 8 rolls of color film today. The film passed through my RZ67. Thank you for your great videos! You’re a big inspiration.
Nick, what do you think about the Fuji GX617? I got a mint kit with all the lenses up to 300mm. Once things settle down I want to get out to the Everglades and get some pics.
Nick Carver I get it going I’ll post a few vids to my YT channel. I have some balsa separation on the 300mm lens. It’s in the periphery of the lens so I’ll give it a shot before I try to fix it. Other then that , it’s perfect. I wanted your Shen Hao but I fell hard for this when I found it.
I had a Mamiya 645 Pro TL and sold it about 8 years ago. Of all of the camera gear I have collected, bought and sold over the years it's the one I regret selling the most. I regretted selling it so much I just bought another one even at today's inflated prices haha! This time just the Pro, aint no body shooting TTL flash with these now days haha!
Hi Nick thanks so much for the review I recently purchased this camera. I’m trying to figure out how to use a strobe flash with it. And cannot find any straight forward videos about it. Would really appreciate if you can do a video on this. Thanks so much for this video, huge fan .
I have this Mamiya, amongst others. Bought it when my Pentax 645nII died and they said it was not repairable. Roll on a couple of years and another technician managed to fix my Pentax. Now I have 2 645 systems.
Also...as a studio camera, the option to use the leaf shutter lenses is really nice...the optional ribbon cable allows one to shoot without having to manually reset the leaf shutter after each exposure...
Great video Nick. I was using a Mamiya 1000s in my studio in the late 1970's, had three of them. Used a RB67 prior to that. Great cameras and miss those iconic machines.
I have the Mamiya 645 super with the power winder and AE prism. I have the 45, 80 2.8, 150, 300, 3 tubes, 35, 120 backs. Love the system and use it fairly often. Added bonus, I have a adapter for my GFX50R and the glass is stellar on it.
Went out to Onyx/Welden, CA yesterday to shoot some photos. Your on-location series was an inspiration to do that. I am shooting a DX sensor Nikon with vintage lenses, so I don't have the sharpness that I'd like, but I'm working with what I have at the moment.
Look in to a Zeiss Ikon Signal Nettar 518/16 folding camera Nick. I picked one up last year for £27 and it's so much fun, granted it's a rangefinder but it folds down small enough to take anywhere and the results have a wonderful quality plus it's built well. A little bit challenging to use compared to modern cameras but at 60 years old I can forgive that plus people love the thing and that really helps when I'm out pointing it at strangers. Another great video!
The viewfinder shutter is actually great for when you are metering for long exposures or in general for a darker scene. The light coming from the eyepiece can throw your meter off quite a bit.
I have no intention of getting (back) into film photography, but I still love watching your videos and listening to you talk about it. Keep up the good work!
Stunning set of photographs. I have always liked Mamiya cameras. Having a grab and go medium format camera is great. I have gone super simple, lightweight and lofi with my grab n go and use an Agfa Isola 1, it cost me £3.
The Olympus XA has a switch on the bottom with an off/blank setting; backlit (+1.5 exposure); self timer; then a battery check, where it just shrieks at you. If you hear shrieking, the battery is good, if not then there's no power. THAT makes me laugh.
@@nickcarverphoto It's not the last setting - it's off, backlight, shriek, and then timer. So if you want a group photo it shrieks and then you sit there waiting awkwardly for 12s before the shutter actually goes. Fun little thing though, fits in a back jeans pocket just fine.
Thank you Nick for the frequent uploads these days! It really does take the edge off. Certainly can't see a decrease in production quality so far as you mentioned in your last video. I have two Mamiya M645s. I really like those older ones but I definitely see now how many more options the newer line gives you. Maybe I'll upgrade some day. Good thing they did not change the lens mount. Cheers!
Great review of a great camera. I picked mine up from B&H in 2016 and also like the ease of use to grab and go. My local Darkroom club had a Garage Sale two years ago where I picked up a 500mm prime lens for it at a very cheap price. With that on the camera it's not so easy to "grab and go".
That Mamiya is a beautiful Camera, I have a Bronica ETRS, love it but not so advanced as your Mamiya but that slows me down. Oh I wish I had more time to go take Photographs. I'll bring over some drinks and, we can sip some felavours ;-) sipping Scotch in locked down England.
For your information Nick The Auto A-S system not only switches between average and spot. It switches between 3 modes : Average Mean value of average and spot measurements spot The system is in mean value mode when both A and S indications light up in the viewfinder.
I had the AFDmk2 and once the novelty wore off I honestly hated that camera, I guess for me it felt like the camera had absolutely no soul to it, and also the native af lenses (the original mamiya af ones not the Schneider LS or the Schneider blue ring ones) felt so incredibly cheaply made that I was scared to take them outside, like honestly the Canon 50mm f1.8 has better build quality and the mamiya ones started like $2-3000 when they came out. but hey don't let my dislikes influence any one, it just wasn't the camera for me, I now have a Hasselblad H2 and couldn't be happier.
The awkward hand crank, film inserts and nonstandard cable release were dealbreakers for me so I went with the Bronica but glad to year you found a small format camera you like!
Nice video. Now I think even more about a Pro TL 😅 So without the prism viewfinder you can not use Aperture Priority and let the camera choose the right shutter speed?
I used to have one of these but I sold it to get a Mamiya RZ67ii...the 645 was just a bit too heavy for me to use handheld without camera shake and if I was going to have to whip out the tripod I wanted to go BIG.
For the metric people: 4cl Gin (dry Gin is preferred) - 2cl pure sirup (or thickened sugar water) and 2cl Lime Juice, shaken or well stired in ice. Delicious 🍸🥴
Awesome Nick. I have the uttermost respect for the Mamiya, and even as a photographer using the system of Hasselblad and loving it, you sir are making some great clear points of why the system is not only just as good, but maybe even better. Obviously its a matter of taste, just as the drinks your pouring yourself. Invite me for a Mint Julep, and i'll fly across the sea from Denmark when the pandemic is over! Keep up the videos. Cheers.
Brilliant sir. Spent a few days considering what MF to get, was thinking the RZ but I know its too much of a chore to carry all the time. The 6 has a bad f distance for ports and the Contax is too expensive / unreliable. I'm going to grab one of these. Bottoms up, cheers!
Thanks for this video Nick. I'm hesitant between this camera and the Fuji GS645s. Want something that shoots medium format but is not a beast to haul around. The Nikon F3hp also has a red curtain in the viewfinder. Another proven camera. Cheers
The 645E is really reasonably priced and has a nice easy to use diopter adjustment. Also one less place to worry about seals (the viewfinder is molded in). If you don't need auto-exposure the "E" is very much worth looking at. It's basically their studio-use model.
The eyepiece shutter thingies are light gray on Nikons..... At least the two I could lay my hands on instantly. When you said that I did a double take. "I don't remember those being black". Nikon vs Canon thing, I guess.
Tip if you use the mirror lock up lever: always let the mirror down gently or let it fall down on its own. There is a small plastic arm that catches the mirror and can easily snap off if the mirror is forced. Without the arm, the plane of focus in the finder is incorrect. Happened to me and had to get a new body.
Thanks Nick..I've been thinking of getting one since my RB67 is a beast to lug around especially with all my lenses..Damn thing is a bear to take into the woods on a hike. 10+lbs of shoulder ripping hell. (But I still do it from time to time because, well, we do that shit)
Interesting comment there about range finders, Nick. I'm wondering why wouldn't you want to get with a smaller rangefinder package? I've always been interested with the Mamiya 645 Pro but hesitant on it because I own a Hassleblad 500cm film with waist and prism viewfinders. The problem is that my focus is too slow with it and often wrong that I just hate my Hasselblad. That reason is why I never decided to get a Mamiya and stuck to rangefinders. Is the Mamiya focusing somehow better than what I'm used to on Hasselblad film cameras?
I'm not Nick, but I've owned 'Blads and the 645s get about three or four times the light to the focusing screen and really "snap" in and out of focus. Reasons: Shorter back-focus on the lens, bigger mirror, lens designs, shorter distance from lens to focusing screen. You can't fight physics. The Zeiss lenses on the 'Blad (or other camera like the Phase One digital) don't have the contrast the Sekor-S lenses do. That eases focusing too.You'll also love the instant return mirror on 645's.
@@Walkercolt1 thanks for that insight! yeah the focus ring on the my blad is just insane that's for sure. and more light is super good. i wish i can try one now.
I wish I had a neighbor like Nick Carver....we could hang out and waste some time bullshiting about camera gear and film...there would be day drinking....would be low productivity... but good times. Love the videos...thanks for sharing! Cheers, Benjamin
Nice video, 1 question, does it fire in manual mode without the little battery that goes in the bottom of the Body? Thanks! Apparently, it does not...?
If you don't have regular syrup you can add HC-110. P.S. You should try Botanist gin if you want to try new things. Feels more fine than Bombay. Cheers
Since it seems like you enjoyed the gimlet, you should try a southside next. 2oz gin / juice of half a lime / 1/2oz sugar syrup / a few fresh mint leaves. Put it all in a shaker with some ice, shake real good and double strain into a coupe.
Really enjoyed your video comparing scanning methods, this video too was great entertainment. I don’t do much photography these days. Used to be as meticulous with my color (analog) color darkroom as you are with your printing from scans. I’m talking the 1980’s and 1990’s. Still have all my stuff. (In a different country than where I live today) Will probably never part with it, Durst Super Laborator 5X7”with dichroic color head and lots of film holders, top of the line Image Maker Machine from Minnesota for E6 C41 in formats up to 5X7” and paper print developing and all the rest of it. Went to visit the Image Maker factory in Minnesota. Dream of setting up my color darkroom again in some not so distant future, but am a bit terrified by all the toxic chemicals I used to inhale in the darkroom an all the toxic waste that was produced . Never got too involved with scanners although I did try a bit, bought myself a top of the line UMAX with Silverfast toward the end of the analog era. Made some pretty nice scans but not at all on your very high level. I congratulate you. You convinced me about the Epson Scanner and wet mounting with the Variable Height Mounting Station. Sending stuff to professional laboratories always left me with an empty feeling. (An empty pocket too) As for photography enjoyed you getting pissed off with yourself for silly mistakes.(Polaroid Type 55 Video) Made me remember a book I bought with my first large format camera. It stated "The 13 steps of taking a large format photo" in strict order, learnt it by hart. Also made me remember so many field adventures, like when I went to Bali with the Wista and it was so hot and humid the ground glass fogged up immediately, that pissed me off. My other memorable photo stuff: Deardorff 5X7, Wista rosewood 4X5, Mamiya 6X7. Manfrottos, Gitsos , lots of Schinder lenses including guess what? A Rodenstock Imagon on a Linhof board with all the soft diaphragms. Some really long Nikors and Fujinons, Gossen profi six with Sinar Probe. When the repro firms started to shut down because of the then brand new revolutionary Photoshop software, I bought a few repro lenses to adapt to large format photography, never got around to using them, I had a friend in NY that specialized in food photography on his 8X10 Deardorff and used a real bowler hat as a shutter, bowler hat on one hand big mechanical stopwatch on the other. Since the repro lenses don’t have shutters I wanted to use a bowler hat on them too but never got around to it. For Indoors Linhof 4X5 Kardan Master GTL with 5X7 additional back standard. Norman 4000 and 2000, and so on. I remember a joke I heard once. What is the difference between photographers and painters? That painters can hold an intelligent conversation about painting without discussing brushes. So true. But analog photo gear is so beautiful and the chemistry of film so magical. Hard not to get excited about it. I’ve also visited the Linhoff factory near Munchen and the Ebony Camera factory on my trip to Tokyo. Like you I am also more into colour than sharpness. Sharpness goes only one way and colour a million directions. All though B&W is not my thing I admire Ansell Adams enough to have briefly learnt the zone system, did only a few prints with the zone system but it taught me a lot. The prints of Polaroid’s where never much to look at, everyone discarded them, the negs had always great character. What didn’t I do? Dye transfer prints, wish I had, still the most beautiful prints I’ve seen. But enough rambling and reminiscing. I’m going to follow you on your superb photo adventure. Great for me to see people like you still exist. PS the range finder is useful for looking without a lens, deciding your composition and then choosing your lens.
You can get smaller chemical kits nowadays that develop RA-4 papers (for color printing), C-41 and E-6 films. About 2-5 liter kits, and I think it's easier to process in drums, which use a very small amount of chemicals. As you might guess, they're nowhere near as toxic as they used to be, quite safe for doing at home, and the smaller amounts are easier to handle/dispose of. Printing in the darkroom is something so mesmorizing, go back to it. It's not all about the ease of scanning, you can get very similar results with scanning, but it will never have the magic of a wet darkroom, even though it's not as easy to make a good print.
Love shooting with this camera. What strap do you have? Every Mamiya 645 strap I’ve found always notes that it doesn’t work with the lugs on the pro/pro TL.
There's a white 645 Pro TL on ebay at the moment for $51,600. How much were they when they came out? The same seller has wine red one for the same money. They claim only 15 of them were actually ever sold and the 185 that didn't sell used for spare parts for the regular models.
Hola. Gracias por tus vídeos. Me gusta cómo transmites la información. Un saludo desde España. Quisiera preguntarte por algún trípode para este tipo de cámaras (Mamiya 645 Pro Tl). Quiero comprarme uno. Un saludo y muchas gracias. Me tomaré ese Gimlet. Hello. Thanks for your videos. I like how you convey the information. A greeting from Spain. I would like to ask you about a tripod for this type of camera (Mamiya 645 Pro Tl). I want to buy one. Regards, and thank you very much. I'll take that Gimlet.
Ah, Bombay saphire, they only gin I'll buy. I've been wanting a RB67 over an RZ because of the lack of electronics, but I am starting to lean toward the 645 because of size. I like the 1000s but it doesn't have a removable back 🤨.
I have an RB (dreadnaught!) an original 645 a 645 1000s and a 645 Super (the model before the Pro). I much prefer the 645s to the Hasselblad I had (Hasseys are notorious for mechanical problems, especially the lens cocking mechanism "locking up") and I much prefer the look of the Sekor lenses to Zeiss lenses. The Sekors have better contrast and MTF because of the shorter "back focus" of the horizontal format. I also have the 70mm leaf-shutter lens if I need it for outdoor fill-flash, but I use the 80mm f2.8 much more. I've never run across the 80mm F1.9 at a price I could justify. I go from 35mm, 45mm, 55mm, 80mm, 150mm, and 210mm. I'd like a 110mm but only if I get a "steal" on one, and I'd love an excuse to buy the 500mm f4.5 APO (it's MUCH sharper than the 500mm f8). I don't NEED the 500mm, but I want one. The zooms are too much like kissing your sister thru a screen door. They are pedestrianly slow, (f4.5) very heavy, and all only a 2X range, and optically while not bad, they are sorta MEH to me. The 35mm ultra-wide made some photos that won national awards and made several annual report covers for me. Good chunk of glass. Try and find the Britescreen brand of focusing screen. It looks to be a stop brighter than stock and doesn't mess with the metering. Please DON'T buy a Beattie Intenscreen. With any lens, your eye has to be exactly centered and up against the prism (no eye relief) or the corners blacken, and with telephotos it always blackens. Ask me the $200 question how I know. The 1000S with the PD prism finder is much better than the AE prism. The AE is much larger and heavier, it's darker to look thru, and doesn't have a great metering area. The PD finder will give many more good exposure readings than an AE. Yeah I owned one of those too. One issue with the RB/RZ is to get any kind of telephoto lens takes a huge, heavy chunk of glass. 90mm is a widish normal, I have the 150mm soft focus which is a heck-of-a-portrait lens in the Imagon fashion, (I have the adapter to use it on the 645!) a 180mm is just a "typical" portrait lens, and the big Bertha 500mm is at best a 5x telephoto or 250mm on a 35mm and takes a crane and semi to carry it. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to write a book. The interchangeable back is why I bought the Super. B&W in one back, color neg in another, and transparency in the other. If you can live without interchangeable backs, the 645 1000S is available for less than half (with PD prism and normal lens) than a Super or Pro with the AE prism (you want it), one back and lens. I used to carry the 1000s and regular 645 for B&W and color negs. Gets a bit heavy. Hey, hit me back if I can confuse you more... I'll either tell you what I know, or make-up a convincing lie.
After owning several Mamiya cameras and using them on a daily basis you quickly come to realize why so many working pros use these cameras. They are designed to work, not be prestigious, just make great images. I've beat the crap out of my 6 and it just keeps working, 2 year old batteries doing long exposures and not skipping a beat. the rb67 could kill and then make a magazine cover image, I mean they are the unsung heroes of modern image media.
Keep up the great work!!
You should try a Quarantini. It is like a regular Martini but you drink it home by yourself ;)
bahahah gold
Quentin Tarantino's favorite drink?
Quentin Tarantino's favorite drink?
Excellent.
lol so hard - broke ma neck, shat ma pants
Loved the info and the examples you shot with the camera definitely inspired me!
My absolute favorite photography VLOG!! Thanks Nick for the positivity in this negative situation!!
Great video as always and exquisite pictures! In these quarantine and secluded days, your video is a delight moment of evasion for me. Cheers from Canada!!!
I have owned the Mamiya 645 Pro for about half a year now and I absolutely love it! It somehow feels like coming home. Everything is where it is supposed to be and the process of shooting the camera is such a joy. I always know what I'm going to get. Never have I owned a camera before that I shot so few bad pictures with.
you're basically my pops Nick. Cocktails and cameras, my role model
I can see a whole new TH-cam channel evolving here and I must say I like it!!
I've been enjoying your recent videos in these times, Nick! Feels like relaxing with a friend, talking about nerdy photography stuff. I'll happily watch as many as you put out. Godspeed.
'I just wanted something smaller, that I could keep on the passenger seat and just grab when I needed it." Nick Carver: Mamiya 645 Pro TL. Rest of the photography world: Fuji x100V. ;-)
Not true. I keep a 500 c/m available to grab whenever I want.
Haha! My definition of “compact” is different than most.
Whatta 'bout my late Father's Kodak 620 Medalist folder??? Not much bigger than an iphone and just about twice as thick closed up. Good Ektar lens too.
Really appreciate all the time and effort you put into these videos, Nick! what seems like small details and maybe unimportant to most, like all the dolly shots, the lighting, the close ups etc, makes a lot of difference to me. Everything looks so darn clean! The production quality makes these videos go from a 9/10 to a 10/10.
Made the drink after you identified the ingredients and before watching the rest of the video. Great drink and enjoyable video! Cheers!
Nick- love your stuff, SOH, and the smash-up concept of a cocktail and a camera. Finally!
Great review Nick, thanks for sharing
Nick, by no means I mean to be negative. Take my comment in the most positive light. I thought a lot of the shots you've posted on this video are of extreme quality, the choice of locations is superb, subjects, composition, light, just about the best I've seen from your work. I honestly think most of those are better than the shots you end up producing on your on location videos.
To be more objective, these I thought are among the best I've seen you produce (I mean, ever, not just amazing for a "stay in the car camera"). 9:40 , 10:20 WOOOOWWWW the mood, the light!, 10:25, to select just a few (ALL shots in this video are jaw dropping gorgeous)
Please consider revisiting those locations for on location videos. It's incredible that those amazing subjects were left for car-camera shots, and at least in my opinion, are somehow superior to those subjects you've selected for the more serious, planned work.
These subjects deserve some super in depth, planned 6 x 17 shots.
BTW, I LOVE Mamiya as well. My favorite film format is 645, and I happen to use a Phase One with digital back, which is a system entirely based on the Mamiya 645 camera. So in a sense, I'm also shooting Mamiya :D and love it.
I appreciate the kind words! And I get what you’re saying. Truth be told, though, I’m not sure many of these pictures would have been taken at all if I’d done them for an on location video. Making an on location video requires so much of my time and attention to be sucked up by the video camera that I’m sure I would miss many of the still photos. That’s actually a big dilemma for me. I love making the videos, but I also know that it costs me photos.
Nick, I can't even tell you how thankful I am. I ad the same issue for months. Glad to see I'm not insane. :D
I tried the Gimlet for the first time. REALLY enjoyed it. We used Tanquaray Rangpur which is lime infused and a bit smoother then the Saphire. Worked very nicely.
I also love the Rangpur for my gin and sodas, just it's difficult to find in bars and restaurants.
Your videos are like a good cocktail: chilled and crisp.
what the world needs right now - a new #bgwg :-)
The Gimlet was the first “drink” my father ever bought me, a rare occurrence actually, and that makes it very special for me. I remember the resturant in Monterey. Such a good wholesome memory. Nick I developed my first 8 rolls of color film today. The film passed through my RZ67. Thank you for your great videos! You’re a big inspiration.
I love this camera! its a great addition to anyones arsenal!
Fun to watch. I’ve had two Mamiyas and completely agree about its engineers’ attention to detail.
19:20 the one on the Nikon F3 is also red :) nice talk
Hey Nick, thanks for the content. Keep em coming buddy!
Thank you! Will do.
Ah Gimlet...the first cocktail I've had alone, in my warm college bar. Refreshing memory. Thanks Nick, for once again producing a great video.
Just made myself a Gimlet. Best drink ever! Thanks for your great videos!
I settled on this camera about 6 years ago. Love it. Thanks
Nick, what do you think about the Fuji GX617? I got a mint kit with all the lenses up to 300mm. Once things settle down I want to get out to the Everglades and get some pics.
That’s one of my dream cameras. Such a cool system.
Nick Carver I get it going I’ll post a few vids to my YT channel. I have some balsa separation on the 300mm lens. It’s in the periphery of the lens so I’ll give it a shot before I try to fix it. Other then that , it’s perfect. I wanted your Shen Hao but I fell hard for this when I found it.
I had a Mamiya 645 Pro TL and sold it about 8 years ago. Of all of the camera gear I have collected, bought and sold over the years it's the one I regret selling the most. I regretted selling it so much I just bought another one even at today's inflated prices haha! This time just the Pro, aint no body shooting TTL flash with these now days haha!
Hi Nick thanks so much for the review I recently purchased this camera. I’m trying to figure out how to use a strobe flash with it. And cannot find any straight forward videos about it. Would really appreciate if you can do a video on this. Thanks so much for this video, huge fan .
Great walkthrough!
The photos at at the 10:20 mark - is that Barker Ranch?
Beautiful camera!
Hey Nick, thanks for the video. What a slick little camera!
Best show on TH-cam ! Thanks
Nice video! Really nice to listen and watch :) keep it up.
Carver, Nick Carver and shaken , not stirred !
Another great review of a cool camera. I like the attention to details they put, like the red shield for the viewfinder.
I have this Mamiya, amongst others. Bought it when my Pentax 645nII died and they said it was not repairable. Roll on a couple of years and another technician managed to fix my Pentax. Now I have 2 645 systems.
I love my 645 Pro TL! I use it more than any other camera!
Also...as a studio camera, the option to use the leaf shutter lenses is really nice...the optional ribbon cable allows one to shoot without having to manually reset the leaf shutter after each exposure...
Great video Nick. I was using a Mamiya 1000s in my studio in the late 1970's, had three of them. Used a RB67 prior to that. Great cameras and miss those iconic machines.
Yay! Another BGWG! But bc of the time difference I'm watching it Monday morning (incl. a Gimlet ofc!) Cheers!
I have the Mamiya 645 super with the power winder and AE prism. I have the 45, 80 2.8, 150, 300, 3 tubes, 35, 120 backs. Love the system and use it fairly often. Added bonus, I have a adapter for my GFX50R and the glass is stellar on it.
Oh yeah that would be cool on the GFX.
I appreciate your videos. Your passion shines through.
Went out to Onyx/Welden, CA yesterday to shoot some photos. Your on-location series was an inspiration to do that. I am shooting a DX sensor Nikon with vintage lenses, so I don't have the sharpness that I'd like, but I'm working with what I have at the moment.
Look in to a Zeiss Ikon Signal Nettar 518/16 folding camera Nick. I picked one up last year for £27 and it's so much fun, granted it's a rangefinder but it folds down small enough to take anywhere and the results have a wonderful quality plus it's built well. A little bit challenging to use compared to modern cameras but at 60 years old I can forgive that plus people love the thing and that really helps when I'm out pointing it at strangers. Another great video!
Thanks for the tip. Looks like a cool camera. Reminds of the old Mamiya Six.
I can feel that edge coming right off. Right on, brother
The viewfinder shutter is actually great for when you are metering for long exposures or in general for a darker scene. The light coming from the eyepiece can throw your meter off quite a bit.
Bombay Sapphire helps take that edge off. Thanks for the info on Mamiya 645.
The battery check button is part of the reason I want this camera lol
I have no intention of getting (back) into film photography, but I still love watching your videos and listening to you talk about it. Keep up the good work!
Always my favorite comment to get. Love knowing my videos can appeal to more folks than just film hipsters. Thank you!
The yellow variant is one of the nicest looking medium format cameras I’ve ever seen, damn I want it!
I enjoyed watching the video as always and joined you with a quarantini!
Stunning set of photographs. I have always liked Mamiya cameras. Having a grab and go medium format camera is great. I have gone super simple, lightweight and lofi with my grab n go and use an Agfa Isola 1, it cost me £3.
The Olympus XA has a switch on the bottom with an off/blank setting; backlit (+1.5 exposure); self timer; then a battery check, where it just shrieks at you. If you hear shrieking, the battery is good, if not then there's no power. THAT makes me laugh.
Hahaha. That’s a great design. “If I’m screaming, we’re good.”
@@nickcarverphoto It's not the last setting - it's off, backlight, shriek, and then timer. So if you want a group photo it shrieks and then you sit there waiting awkwardly for 12s before the shutter actually goes.
Fun little thing though, fits in a back jeans pocket just fine.
Fantastic shots bruh
Thank you Nick for the frequent uploads these days! It really does take the edge off. Certainly can't see a decrease in production quality so far as you mentioned in your last video. I have two Mamiya M645s. I really like those older ones but I definitely see now how many more options the newer line gives you. Maybe I'll upgrade some day. Good thing they did not change the lens mount. Cheers!
Thanks to you, I tried my first Gimlet 👍👍! Enjoy the channel!!
Great review of a great camera. I picked mine up from B&H in 2016 and also like the ease of use to grab and go. My local Darkroom club had a Garage Sale two years ago where I picked up a 500mm prime lens for it at a very cheap price. With that on the camera it's not so easy to "grab and go".
So crazy to me they had a 500mm for this system. And a 300mm f/2.8, I believe.
That Mamiya is a beautiful Camera, I have a Bronica ETRS, love it but not so advanced as your Mamiya but that slows me down. Oh I wish I had more time to go take Photographs. I'll bring over some drinks and, we can sip some felavours ;-) sipping Scotch in locked down England.
Looking at my Bronica ETRsi sitting on the desk while watching this video. Had to lean over to it..."I still love ya".
Haha. “Ear muffs little buddy”
The viewfinder curtain on the Nikon F3 is also red.
Alot of good information here, and stuff about a camera. Thanks
For your information Nick
The Auto A-S system not only switches between average and spot.
It switches between 3 modes :
Average
Mean value of average and spot measurements
spot
The system is in mean value mode when both A and S indications light up in the viewfinder.
Great video. I love my 645AF. This quarantine is killing lots of things, but hopefully keeping us all safe. Also is your site down? It won't load!
Thanks! Should be working (I hope). I just checked and it’s working for me.
@@nickcarverphoto It's working now. Don't know what the issue was
I went for an AFDmk2, not as modular as yours but it takes the older Manual lenses too.
I had the AFDmk2 and once the novelty wore off I honestly hated that camera, I guess for me it felt like the camera had absolutely no soul to it, and also the native af lenses (the original mamiya af ones not the Schneider LS or the Schneider blue ring ones) felt so incredibly cheaply made that I was scared to take them outside, like honestly the Canon 50mm f1.8 has better build quality and the mamiya ones started like $2-3000 when they came out.
but hey don't let my dislikes influence any one, it just wasn't the camera for me, I now have a Hasselblad H2 and couldn't be happier.
@@milesmetcalfe94 I dont hate the Camera to be honest, I agree the Lenses are nothing to write home about but they are affordable and do the job.
"My Mamiya, here I go again..." Sorry, couldn't help it ;)
Haha! Were you expecting me to break out in song at any moment?
The awkward hand crank, film inserts and nonstandard cable release were dealbreakers for me so I went with the Bronica but glad to year you found a small format camera you like!
Nice video.
Now I think even more about a Pro TL 😅
So without the prism viewfinder you can not use Aperture Priority and let the camera choose the right shutter speed?
I used to have one of these but I sold it to get a Mamiya RZ67ii...the 645 was just a bit too heavy for me to use handheld without camera shake and if I was going to have to whip out the tripod I wanted to go BIG.
Yeah that makes sense. The RZ on a tripod is a formidable camera.
Do you need a different viewfinder for the 35mm panoramic back if you want to see the pano aspect ratio whilst composing on location?
Can someone answer this ↑↑ dude's question?
Fav person I never met :D Thanks for this
For the metric people:
4cl Gin (dry Gin is preferred) -
2cl pure sirup (or thickened sugar water) and
2cl Lime Juice,
shaken or well stired in ice. Delicious 🍸🥴
nowadays, the manual crank is more expensive than the auto winder
Mine came with it on the box. Along with the electric winder.
Awesome Nick. I have the uttermost respect for the Mamiya, and even as a photographer using the system of Hasselblad and loving it, you sir are making some great clear points of why the system is not only just as good, but maybe even better. Obviously its a matter of taste, just as the drinks your pouring yourself. Invite me for a Mint Julep, and i'll fly across the sea from Denmark when the pandemic is over!
Keep up the videos. Cheers.
Brilliant sir. Spent a few days considering what MF to get, was thinking the RZ but I know its too much of a chore to carry all the time. The 6 has a bad f distance for ports and the Contax is too expensive / unreliable. I'm going to grab one of these. Bottoms up, cheers!
Thanks for this video Nick. I'm hesitant between this camera and the Fuji GS645s. Want something that shoots medium format but is not a beast to haul around. The Nikon F3hp also has a red curtain in the viewfinder. Another proven camera. Cheers
The 645E is really reasonably priced and has a nice easy to use diopter adjustment. Also one less place to worry about seals (the viewfinder is molded in). If you don't need auto-exposure the "E" is very much worth looking at. It's basically their studio-use model.
The eyepiece shutter thingies are light gray on Nikons..... At least the two I could lay my hands on instantly. When you said that I did a double take. "I don't remember those being black". Nikon vs Canon thing, I guess.
i freaking lover your gear reviews. I almost bought the shenhao 617! I knew I don't need it, but I just wanna have it after watching your review!
i recommend Prohibition Gin's small batch 'bathtub cut' from Adelaide Australia. not too many 69% spirits you can drink neat
I’ll add it to the list 👍🏼
I don’t in anyway drink alcohol but I absolutely love this lol I’m hooked
Tip if you use the mirror lock up lever: always let the mirror down gently or let it fall down on its own. There is a small plastic arm that catches the mirror and can easily snap off if the mirror is forced. Without the arm, the plane of focus in the finder is incorrect. Happened to me and had to get a new body.
Very good to know. Thank you.
Hell yeah,other than on location videos these are my next fave videos on TH-cam.
Thanks Nick..I've been thinking of getting one since my RB67 is a beast to lug around especially with all my lenses..Damn thing is a bear to take into the woods on a hike. 10+lbs of shoulder ripping hell. (But I still do it from time to time because, well, we do that shit)
Just about every time I’ve brought my RZ on a hike, I regret it halfway in. Haha
@@nickcarverphoto I regret the RB in the Rocky Mountains above 10,000 ft half-way BACK with the camera, lenses and Bogen 4630 17 lb tripod!
reminds me a lot of my Canon EOS 600, there's also a proprietary shutter release...
I'll take one of each please. Thanks for all the info!
👍🏼🍸
Interesting comment there about range finders, Nick. I'm wondering why wouldn't you want to get with a smaller rangefinder package? I've always been interested with the Mamiya 645 Pro but hesitant on it because I own a Hassleblad 500cm film with waist and prism viewfinders. The problem is that my focus is too slow with it and often wrong that I just hate my Hasselblad. That reason is why I never decided to get a Mamiya and stuck to rangefinders. Is the Mamiya focusing somehow better than what I'm used to on Hasselblad film cameras?
I'm not Nick, but I've owned 'Blads and the 645s get about three or four times the light to the focusing screen and really "snap" in and out of focus. Reasons: Shorter back-focus on the lens, bigger mirror, lens designs, shorter distance from lens to focusing screen. You can't fight physics. The Zeiss lenses on the 'Blad (or other camera like the Phase One digital) don't have the contrast the Sekor-S lenses do. That eases focusing too.You'll also love the instant return mirror on 645's.
@@Walkercolt1 thanks for that insight! yeah the focus ring on the my blad is just insane that's for sure. and more light is super good. i wish i can try one now.
Great video thanks! Is the focus screen as bright as the mamiya rz? Cheers
I wish I had a neighbor like Nick Carver....we could hang out and waste some time bullshiting about camera gear and film...there would be day drinking....would be low productivity... but good times. Love the videos...thanks for sharing! Cheers, Benjamin
Nice video, 1 question, does it fire in manual mode without the little battery that goes in the bottom of the Body? Thanks! Apparently, it does not...?
If you don't have regular syrup you can add HC-110.
P.S. You should try Botanist gin if you want to try new things. Feels more fine than Bombay.
Cheers
Since it seems like you enjoyed the gimlet, you should try a southside next. 2oz gin / juice of half a lime / 1/2oz sugar syrup / a few fresh mint leaves. Put it all in a shaker with some ice, shake real good and double strain into a coupe.
Adding some mint...that does sound good.
Really enjoyed
your video comparing scanning methods, this video too was great entertainment. I
don’t do much photography these days. Used to be as meticulous with my
color (analog) color darkroom as you are with your printing from scans.
I’m talking the 1980’s and 1990’s. Still have all my stuff. (In a
different country than where I live today) Will probably never part with it,
Durst Super Laborator 5X7”with dichroic color head and lots of film holders,
top of the line Image Maker Machine from Minnesota for E6 C41 in
formats up to 5X7” and paper print developing and all the rest of it. Went to
visit the Image Maker factory in Minnesota. Dream of setting up my
color darkroom again in some not so distant future, but am a bit terrified
by all the toxic chemicals I used to inhale in the darkroom an all the toxic
waste that was produced . Never got too involved with scanners although I did
try a bit, bought myself a top of the line UMAX with Silverfast toward the end
of the analog era. Made some pretty nice scans but not at all on your very high
level. I congratulate you. You convinced me about the Epson Scanner and
wet mounting with the Variable
Height Mounting Station. Sending stuff to professional laboratories always
left me with an empty feeling. (An empty pocket too) As for photography enjoyed
you getting pissed off with yourself for silly mistakes.(Polaroid Type 55 Video) Made me remember a
book I bought with my first large format camera. It stated "The 13 steps of
taking a large format photo" in strict order, learnt it by hart. Also made me
remember so many field adventures, like when I went to Bali with the Wista and
it was so hot and humid the ground glass fogged up immediately, that pissed me
off. My other memorable photo stuff: Deardorff 5X7, Wista rosewood
4X5, Mamiya 6X7. Manfrottos, Gitsos , lots of Schinder lenses
including guess what? A Rodenstock Imagon on a Linhof board with all the
soft diaphragms. Some really long Nikors and Fujinons, Gossen profi
six with Sinar Probe. When the repro firms started to shut down because of the
then brand new revolutionary Photoshop software, I bought a few repro lenses to
adapt to large format photography, never got around to using them, I had a
friend in NY that specialized in food photography on his 8X10 Deardorff and
used a real bowler hat as a shutter, bowler hat on one hand big mechanical
stopwatch on the other. Since the repro lenses don’t have shutters I
wanted to use a bowler hat on them too but never got around to it. For
Indoors
Linhof 4X5 Kardan Master GTL with 5X7 additional back standard. Norman 4000 and 2000, and so on. I
remember a joke I heard once. What is the difference between photographers and
painters? That painters can hold an intelligent conversation about painting
without discussing brushes. So true. But analog photo gear is so beautiful and
the chemistry of film so magical. Hard not to get excited about it. I’ve also
visited the Linhoff factory near Munchen and the Ebony Camera factory on my
trip to Tokyo. Like you I am also more into colour than sharpness. Sharpness
goes only one way and colour a million directions. All though B&W is not my
thing I admire Ansell Adams enough to have briefly learnt the zone system, did
only a few prints with the zone system but it taught me a lot. The prints
of Polaroid’s where never much to look at, everyone discarded them, the negs
had always great character. What didn’t I do? Dye transfer prints, wish I
had, still the most beautiful prints I’ve seen. But enough rambling and
reminiscing. I’m going to follow you on your superb photo adventure.
Great for me to see people like you still exist.
PS the range finder is useful for looking without a lens, deciding your composition and then choosing your lens.
You can get smaller chemical kits nowadays that develop RA-4 papers (for color printing), C-41 and E-6 films.
About 2-5 liter kits, and I think it's easier to process in drums, which use a very small amount of chemicals.
As you might guess, they're nowhere near as toxic as they used to be, quite safe for doing at home, and the smaller amounts are easier to handle/dispose of.
Printing in the darkroom is something so mesmorizing, go back to it.
It's not all about the ease of scanning, you can get very similar results with scanning, but it will never have the magic of a wet darkroom, even though it's not as easy to make a good print.
Love shooting with this camera. What strap do you have? Every Mamiya 645 strap I’ve found always notes that it doesn’t work with the lugs on the pro/pro TL.
Great video!!
Thank you!
There's a white 645 Pro TL on ebay at the moment for $51,600. How much were they when they came out? The same seller has wine red one for the same money. They claim only 15 of them were actually ever sold and the 185 that didn't sell used for spare parts for the regular models.
Talking viewfinder curtains, Giugiaro designed a red one for the Nikon F3! Not MF, but also a versatile and modular tank of a camera.
Yeah many of those Nikon SLRs had really cool modular designs.
Hola. Gracias por tus vídeos. Me gusta cómo transmites la información. Un saludo desde España. Quisiera preguntarte por algún trípode para este tipo de cámaras (Mamiya 645 Pro Tl). Quiero comprarme uno. Un saludo y muchas gracias. Me tomaré ese Gimlet.
Hello. Thanks for your videos. I like how you convey the information. A greeting from Spain. I would like to ask you about a tripod for this type of camera (Mamiya 645 Pro Tl). I want to buy one. Regards, and thank you very much.
I'll take that Gimlet.
Ah, Bombay saphire, they only gin I'll buy. I've been wanting a RB67 over an RZ because of the lack of electronics, but I am starting to lean toward the 645 because of size. I like the 1000s but it doesn't have a removable back 🤨.
I have an RB (dreadnaught!) an original 645 a 645 1000s and a 645 Super (the model before the Pro). I much prefer the 645s to the Hasselblad I had (Hasseys are notorious for mechanical problems, especially the lens cocking mechanism "locking up") and I much prefer the look of the Sekor lenses to Zeiss lenses. The Sekors have better contrast and MTF because of the shorter "back focus" of the horizontal format. I also have the 70mm leaf-shutter lens if I need it for outdoor fill-flash, but I use the 80mm f2.8 much more. I've never run across the 80mm F1.9 at a price I could justify. I go from 35mm, 45mm, 55mm, 80mm, 150mm, and 210mm. I'd like a 110mm but only if I get a "steal" on one, and I'd love an excuse to buy the 500mm f4.5 APO (it's MUCH sharper than the 500mm f8). I don't NEED the 500mm, but I want one. The zooms are too much like kissing your sister thru a screen door. They are pedestrianly slow, (f4.5) very heavy, and all only a 2X range, and optically while not bad, they are sorta MEH to me. The 35mm ultra-wide made some photos that won national awards and made several annual report covers for me. Good chunk of glass. Try and find the Britescreen brand of focusing screen. It looks to be a stop brighter than stock and doesn't mess with the metering. Please DON'T buy a Beattie Intenscreen. With any lens, your eye has to be exactly centered and up against the prism (no eye relief) or the corners blacken, and with telephotos it always blackens. Ask me the $200 question how I know. The 1000S with the PD prism finder is much better than the AE prism. The AE is much larger and heavier, it's darker to look thru, and doesn't have a great metering area. The PD finder will give many more good exposure readings than an AE. Yeah I owned one of those too. One issue with the RB/RZ is to get any kind of telephoto lens takes a huge, heavy chunk of glass. 90mm is a widish normal, I have the 150mm soft focus which is a heck-of-a-portrait lens in the Imagon fashion, (I have the adapter to use it on the 645!) a 180mm is just a "typical" portrait lens, and the big Bertha 500mm is at best a 5x telephoto or 250mm on a 35mm and takes a crane and semi to carry it. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to write a book. The interchangeable back is why I bought the Super. B&W in one back, color neg in another, and transparency in the other. If you can live without interchangeable backs, the 645 1000S is available for less than half (with PD prism and normal lens) than a Super or Pro with the AE prism (you want it), one back and lens. I used to carry the 1000s and regular 645 for B&W and color negs. Gets a bit heavy. Hey, hit me back if I can confuse you more... I'll either tell you what I know, or make-up a convincing lie.