Mamiya 645/1000s info needed
Dale Puumala
buying my first MF camera and am looking for the best camera I can get
for my money, hence, I need info on these cameras.
Anyway, I'm looking at a Mamiya 645/1000s. How old of a camera is this?
Like, what years was it made, roughly. What's the flash sync? I was
told that it's a focal plane, but you can get lenses for it that are leaf
shutter, and therefore sync to 1/500th with that lens. Any truth to
that? What pros or cons are there to this camera? Can this camera use
the new lenses for the 645 Pro or other Mamiya 645 models?
Once again, thank you all for all of the help you have been providing.
It's MUCH appreciated.
Dale
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Dale Puumala
Academic Computing Technician
Cornell College
Mt. Vernon, Iowa
da...@cornell-iowa.edu
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Adam
I have one of these, it was the first MF camera I ever used. Great
camera!
The only thing I would say is that you need to get an angled, in-line,
finder. If you simply have the waist-level finder, you end up having to
go through a lot of hassle for verticle shots. The used finders are
avaialable for between $200 - $300.
I always used 1/60 for my flash sync speed, but I have the orignal lens,
an 80mm F/2.8 Sekkor (?) I have never tried a faster sync. speed.
I do not know which, if any, of the newer lenses can be used with the
1000s, call a dealer that also handles used equip.
Sorry I couldn't be of much help,
-A.
Edward A Davis
Agree with all--you do need an eye-level finder, and the regular lenses
sync at 1/60 (fp shutter). There are shuttered lenses available.
Additionally, the Mamiya lenses work with any of the Mamiya 645s, as
far as I know.
Ed
Øystein Christiansen
note: How to hold the camera. With a waist-level finder you can use the
camera as it is. No additional grips are needed. But if you intend to use
some sort of prism-finder (there are several types), I would recommend a
motordrive. The camera gets heavier, no doubt about that, but it also
provides you with a *very* steady grip, which you don't have without the
motor. Believe me, I've tried both.
Øystein.
Steve Gundersen
>Anyway, I'm looking at a Mamiya 645/1000s. How old of a camera is this?
>Like, what years was it made, roughly. What's the flash sync? I was
>told that it's a focal plane, but you can get lenses for it that are leaf
>shutter, and therefore sync to 1/500th with that lens. Any truth to
>that? What pros or cons are there to this camera? Can this camera use
>the new lenses for the 645 Pro or other Mamiya 645 models?
I don't know for certain, but mid-to-late seventies is roughly when
production of the M645 began. The M645 1000s followed shortly after
that and there was also a stripped down J model. The early bodies all
required a silver-oxide battery. At some time later in the 80's they
were made to also accept an alkaline battery. Production stopped when
the M645 Super was released. I'd guess that was around 89-90.
Yes it has a focal plane shutter with a 1/60s synch speed. The lens
mount has never changed, so any M645 lens can be used on any version
of the camera. An early leaf shutter lens, no longer in production,
was the 70/2.8. The current leaf shutter lenses are available in
55/2.8, 80/2.8 and 150/3.8 versions, have top speeds of 1/500s and are
expensive.
The finders are not interchangeable with the later M645 Super and M645
Pro bodies. In addition to the waist level finder the M645 1000s had a
choice of 4 prism finders:
1-The standard prism finder has no meter.
2-The CDs finder has a meter but it does no couple to the camera body.
If you change the shutter speed on the meter you must remember to
transfer the setting to the cameras shutter dial.
3-The PDS finder has a match diode meter and couples to the camera
body, meaning the bodies shutter speed is controlled by the shutter
dial on the prism. (A similar PD prism does not have the 1/1000s
setting and was meant only for the M645. You would need the PDS
version.)
4-The AE prism finder which adds aperture priority automation.
You'll want one of these for vertical compositions.
The M645's can shoot both 120 and 220 film and is selected by the
choice of film insert you use. For quick changes it's nice to have a
few preloaded. For casual use you only need one and you should check
that the one in the camera body is for 120. It's clearly marked. If
you want to run the shutter through it's paces without film in the
camera, place the take up spool on the bottom of the film insert. This
will allow you to cock and fire the shutter until the counter reaches
15 (for 120).
The only quirk I've observed with the camera is with the counter
return spring getting weak with age and not always returning the
counter to the "S" start position. If you run the above shutter test,
follow up by opening the back and removing the insert and noting where
the counter spins back to. If it doesn't make it all the way back to
"S" you can manually turn it back by rotating the gear in the film
chamber. It's not as bad as it sounds. Maybe you can use it to
negotiate the price. :)
The M645 is a solid camera that I've used quite a lot over the years.
It's main advantage is being reasonably small and light. It's
dangerous to generalize, but my feeling is to select the largest
format possible that weight and speed requirements will allow and the
645 format has often fit that bill for me.
What do plan to shoot with it?
Steve
ste...@computer.net
Eric Linger
says...
>
>Dale Puumala <da...@cornell-iowa.edu> wrote:
>>Sorry I keep posting asking for info on cameras, but I'm looking at
>>buying my first MF camera and am looking for the best camera I can
get
>>for my money, hence, I need info on these cameras.
>>
this?
>>Like, what years was it made, roughly. What's the flash sync? I was
>>told that it's a focal plane, but you can get lenses for it that are
leaf
>>shutter, and therefore sync to 1/500th with that lens. Any truth to
>>that? What pros or cons are there to this camera? Can this camera
use
>>the new lenses for the 645 Pro or other Mamiya 645 models?
>>
I have two of the M1000s and use them with no problems. Get the prism
finder for ease of viewing. It is focal plane shutter with 1/60 sec
sync.
Eric