8.1.6 From Heart Of Darkness
Marcelene Vasconez
The Pro II is the clear winner for me. It has the fine focusing knob and 0.5-stop steps for shutter speeds for only a fraction of more money than the first generation Pro. These additions make the Pro II the best option in my opinion.
The Mamiya RZ67 is a versatile camera, with a lot of options and accessories. You can shoot in manual, using the waist viewfinder or in Automatic Exposure (AE) with the prism FE701. You also have a large range of lenses to choose from, all of excellent quality.
Point at and frame your subject. Focus by looking through the viewfinder, using the big knobs on each side of the RZ. Note: you can use a magnifying lens to help. To learn more, please read the chapter Mamiya RZ67 viewfinders.
No lit LEDs in the viewfinder? Perfect! You can take your shot. Press the shutter release button all the way. You will hear a click (the mirror and the shutter) and you have just made your first exposure. Congratulations!
Always be mindful of putting the collar in its lock position when you are not using your camera. In a bag, for example, if the release shutter button is a little depressed by something, that can quickly discharge the battery.
That works, I have already shot at 1/30 with this lens with no blur on my image. But it does not work every time (It depends on me, not the camera). You should make tests. For further warranty, use a release cable.
The RZ is a reflex camera, which means that there is a mirror inside which allows you to see your composition in the viewfinder. The mirror moves up and out of the way when you push the shutter button to expose the film.
On the left of the diagram, you have the focusing distances in meters (white) and feet (yellow). On the right, you have a list of lenses ranging from 50mm to 360mm (not the complete system). In between these, there is a diagram for each lens, for the corresponding focusing distance.
Fully collapsed bellows will give you infinite focus for all lenses. Fully extended, it depends on the lens, but you can focus as close as 0.2 meters. The distances on the camera go from infinity to 0.9m (3ft).
The top scale is the extension of the bellows in mm, depending on the lens used and the distance of your subject, but you can read it immediately. It will also be necessary to set the floating lens elements (if you use a lens with floating elements) depending on the lens you are using. There is more on that in part three.
RZ lenses have Depth of Field scale accompanied by a blue rotating lens distance scale (in meter and feet) used to inspect the depth of field for particular aperture. After checking the depth of field, it is wise to set focusing for lens and distance by rotating the bellows focusing knob (on the camera).
This blue rotating ring is purely informative, it is only a calculator, it really does nothing to the lens. To perfectly manage your depth of field with these two elements, you first need to determine the distance of your subject by using the scale on the right of the camera, which depends on the lens used and the deployment of the bellows to calculate the DOF. A detailed explanation will guide you in the lens chapter.
I think that the focusing knob of the RB and first-generation RZ has too fast development, meaning a very small change on the knob can radically alter the focus point. The RZ Pro II and Pro IID also have a fine focusing knob that helps a lot for precise focusing (on the right side only).
Same as Type A, but with a central split-image rangefinder wedge, surrounded by a microprism collar. Highly versatile 3-way focusing (rangefinder, micro prisms, matte screen). Ideal for general purpose photography.
Mamiya made a lot of different versions of viewfinders. And you can also use older ones from the RB (with a little accessory). Some are fully manual, and some are semi-automatic (providing AE). Some reverse the image right to left, and some show you the exact image you see with your eyes. This is a presentation of the main viewfinder types you can use with an RZ camera.
If you need better correction (or to help your eyes) you can change the default magnifier with others you can find online. With an example on hand, you can also commission your local optician to make a replacement lens for you.
In automatic (AE) mode, at the left side of the view in the viewfinder, you can see the shutter speed, that the RZ automatically adjusts according to your choice of diaphragm and ISO values, and if your image will be over or underexposed.
Note: AEL on the prism speed dial is for memorizing the exposure, all others are manual exposures. RBL on the camera speed dial (RZ Pro II & Pro II D only) is when you use an RB lens with an RZ camera: in this case, there is no mechanical transmission, and you need to set speed and aperture directly on the lens, in manual mode (no AE).
With the FE701, you can still shoot in manual anyway: For this, use the speed dial on top of the FE701, instead of the one at the left side of the RZ (that must be set on AEF then). In this case, there is a help in the viewfinder (LEDs at the right side of the viewfinder view) that tells you if your exposition is OK (green dot) or not, with orange arrows for over or under exposures.
When you use the FE701 in AE mode, you have three metering modes: Average (AV), spot (SP), and an automatic selection according to the lighting conditions (Auto A-S). Besides, you can set the prism on AEL (using the speed dial above the prism) when you use the Spot mode, to memorize the lighting conditions of a particular zone.
As I have tested, this automatic exposition system is rather good, much more than one might think. And I love seeing my image in the camera the same way I see it with my eyes! So I love this AE prism finder, although it adds weight (+940g), it allows me to shoot using my hands just about anywhere, especially outdoors.
Because of this, I always uninstall the prism from the camera during transport, or every time I am not using the camera. I install the waist level finder in its place and put the prism in the Mamiya pouch (or in a safe and secure place).
The RZ has many accessories for all situations, some helps me a lot to resolve my little viewing problems. If you take a look on Youtube about the RZ, you probably found a lot of videos made by Julio Ryuuzaki, a big fan of the RZ system. He has made a tremendous number of video manuals for the Mamiya RZ67, and his camera is entirely DIY, especially on the side of the viewfinder.
Mamiya has made other models of viewfinders, less technical and more straightforward, I do not know them much, so I prefer not to talk too much about them because many were made in the early days of RZ version I.
You can also use an RB67 PD prism with the RZ, but in this case, you need the Electrical Contact Cover accessory to protect the electrical contacts on the top of your RZ and avoid electric short circuits which can damage the electronics of the RZ.
The main advantage of this system is obviously the quality of the lenses. Maybe not as good as the latest Hasselblad lenses, or some known German lenses, but incredibly fantastic anyway. Add to this that you shoot in 67, and the results are really awesome.
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Hello
In 2020, I acquired the trade marks Mamiya, Mamiya RB67 and Mamiya RZ as well the S-M logo on the earlier RB67 prisms. You can fact check with the Trade Mark IPO office in the UK
Phase One were defeated emphatically and have nothing to do with my brand.
I suggest you make the corrections to you articles and acknowledge my trade mark and brand ownership
Pierre-Giles, my hat is off to you for the most thorough, accurate and deep review of a camera I have ever seen. I have owned an RB67 since it was new and an RZ67 for about a decade yet you revealed new information to me.
I am nauseated by most of the YouTube film/camera reviews; just viewed one by 20 year old with tens of thousands of followers who was reviewing a camera he had only owned for two weeks. Yet his young & naive audience was awed judging from the comments. So sad they are so easily swayed and impressed by such shallow and ofter erroneous information; style over substance.
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