#MAMIYA 6 REVIEW PATCH#
#MAMIYA 6 REVIEW FULL#

Personally, I wouldn’t shoot anything above 80mm on these rangefinder systems as framing/focussing becomes extremely difficult, but they are available if required.

This is compared to 6 lenses available for the Mamiya 7 range.

Lens Selection - This is not a huge issue for me as I tend to only use focal lengths around the 35mm to 50mm equivalent range, but there are only 3 lenses available for the Mamiya 6 - 50mm (25mm equiv), 75mm (38mm equiv) and 150mm (76mm equiv).

All in all, if you are thinking about acquiring a Mamiya 6, I would recommend using a handheld meter for consistent results. When shooting the 50mm then it will be heavily centre weighted, but when using the 150mm lens it essentially becomes an average meter. Also with it being centre weight, the area being metered in the frame also depends on the lens you are using. There are workarounds such as pointing the camera down when metering and then recomposing, or shading the top of the camera with your hand, but these really aren’t ideal. I have read on some forums that the meter was designed for transparency film and they were cautious to prevent blowing out skys etc… But this is not ideal for shooting C41 and my first roll of film was underexposed by a good couple of stops when I used the internal meter.

Well, the meter in the Mamiya 6 tends to underexpose scenes, especially when there is sky present in the frame. Unlike the spot meter on the Mamiya 7 (which I often used when shooting C41 as you could easily meter for the shadows), the Mamiya 6 has a centre weighted meter, “What’s the problem with that?”, I hear you ask.

The Internal Meter - I mostly use an external meter so this has not been a major issue for me but if you like to utilise an internal meter when offered, there are some issues to be aware of.

I am yet to try the 50mm but am tempted to make the jump, if any glasses wearers could tell me their experience of using this lens it would be much appreciated. The 75mm frame lines sit nicely in the middle of the VF and even with my glasses on I can get a good view outside of the frame lines which is one of my favourite aspects of the rangefinder experience.

#MAMIYA 6 REVIEW PATCH#

I do think that the rangefinder patch in my Mamiya 7ii was a little brighter but there really isn’t much in it. The viewfinder in the Mamiya 6 is huge with a big bright rangefinder patch, which is perfect for a glasses wearer like myself. It’s a rangefinder - It is definitely a love / hate topic of the camera world, but I am a big fan of rangefinders.I have seen some comments online from people struggling to get sharp results from the Mamiya 6 but I can only assume that this is down to a poorly calibrated rangefinder.

I would say the Mamiya 6’s 75mm lens is very close if not on par with the quality of the Mamiya 7 lenses and on a standard print size you will not be able to tell the difference. Image Quality - The Mamiya 7 is held up as a beacon for image quality and for good reason, the detail from the 65mm and 80mm lenses I have used in the past is astounding.Yes it is not as modular as some of it’s 6圆 SLR cousins such as the Hasselblads or Bronicas, but for travel you struggle to find better. Size - The portability of this 6圆 MF camera cannot be underestimated, the collapsible lenses (Mamiya 7 lenses are not collapsible) make for an extremely compact system and it is also a very light build which makes it easy to carry out all day.

#MAMIYA 6 REVIEW FULL#

This is not going to be a full review as there are quite a few comprehensive reviews out there which I will link at the end of this, so I thought I would do a pros and cons list of the Mamiya 6:

Mamiya 6 review