Mamiya Six Folding | The camera I love and hate
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- čas přidán 21. 07. 2024
- Joe reviews the Mamiya Six Folding. It's a camera from the 1950s and how he loves using it but hates the photos.
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0:00 | Intro
0:54 | What I like
3:15 | What I don't like
5:00 | Trip to North Carolina
11:20 | Ending thoughts
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#mamiyasix #filmphotography #photographytips #mamiya
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See more work:
JTobiason.com
/ jtobiason - Zábava
😂 I also just bought one after seeing Ed's video. He's a dangerous man. I'm looking forward to seeing how it is
It's a fun camera. I really loved it.
Awesome video man! Looking forward to see more content from you.
Thanks. Hopefully this winter I'll have the bandwidth to make more.
For those wondering about why Mamiya adopted the funky film plane focusing rather than the front lens focusing that others use, in the Mamiya Six it achieves two goals. First, It allows a much more rigid front lens standard (or holder) than in other MF folders. Failure of the front standard to erect the lens exactly square to the film plane is the primary killer of sharpness in folders. Second, the rangefinder linkage to the film plane is mechanically direct and fully protected, unlike systems which have to link to the lens. However, these choices make the Mamiya Six one of the heaviest cameras of its type.
Thanks for the detailed explanation! It's so brilliant. Opposite to how we think about focusing now, but it really makes sense and is easy to use in execution. Cheers!
I have often wondered why modern cameras with in camera stabilization have not adopted film plane focusing. Seem like it would be easy and Mamiya patents should be long expired. It would make lenses smaller and lighter.
Try to get another for parts and replace front lens. As someone said, this is probably due to removing coating while cleaning. That lens is supposed to be sharp and it's supposed to render highlights better.
I really don't think the issue is the front lens. I kinda think it's the back lens. It's so hard to clean inside the open leaf shutter. That's a good call and honestly there may be a day when I just get a new one of these because they aren't that expensive, but I've upgraded to the Mamiya 6 MF, so that'll be my square format work horse for a while.
@@JTobiason I've invested in a Mamiya 645 system now. We'll see. I have a Rolleiflex Automat that's a joy to use but a closing element is missing so light leaks pop up all the time.
@@JTobiason it could possibly be some lens separation on the back lens. Had a similar issue with some LTM lenses.
It's not uncommon for the coating on the Olympus lens to degrade over time, which could very well be the reason for the flare exhibited in your pictures. I have heard from a couple of sources that there are some slip-on U/V filters available that may provide you with a reasonable solution for this issue. If everything else on the camera is sound, a simple solution may help you enjoy this wonderful camera for years to come.
Yea makes sense. I kinda wish I hadn't sold this camera. oh well.
Wow, there are some incredible photos in this video from the yashica and the mamiya, you are a great photographer imo
Thank you so much 🙂
A lens hood might help. I relate this to my Yashica-Mat 124. It's perfect with it, but I don't use it ever without it. I think it's a must with the old single-coated lenses.
It's a good idea, but would be a huge pain to use with a folding lens like this. You'd have to attach/un-attach it each time you fold/unfold the camera. Thanks though!
@@JTobiason I agree with you really. It'd be sweet to hack a swap for another lens, like a Mamiya Sekor 75mm Universal Press lens. I don't even know if that would be great in this case, definitely not practical. It'd be sweet to fit modern lenses on these old cameras, a Schneider would be sweet. Really, you look at things like the Voigtlander Bessa III, Fujifilm GW670, or Plaubel Makina 67 and know they are really the bees knees with their optics. I really wish these old folder's could be more like them. I personally desire a Bessa III, but they're very rare.
@@AwakenedAnhedonic Oh yea. The Plaubel has been my absolute dream camera for years. It's completely impractical and there is no reason that I should ever get it, but it's just so beautiful.
The Mamiya Six/6 folder is notorious for lenses that develop so much haze that they become unusable. The Olympus lenses are especially prone to haze and fungus. The fungus can usually be removed carefully, but haze cannot be removed. They made some of these Mamiya 6 folders with Sekor lenses, which have held up much better. I just received a Mamiya 6 Model V in the mail today, with a very clean and clear Olympus Zuiko lens, after searching for a couple of years. I'm replacing the light seals tonight and trying it out this weekend. BTW, did you replace the light seals before using it? Maybe there is a light leak causing your issues. In any event, try using a different 1950s folder, the Super Fujica 6. It is a fabulous folder and more modern , with a much larger viewfinder/rangefinder. The lenses are NOT prone to haze. Cheers.
Awesome. Enjoy! It's a great camera and you'll have a blast. It's funny because I hated that haze and sold that camera, but now I find myself putting a diffusion filter on photos sometimes and adding haze. So, it's a fun creative element if you want to use it. But, good shout on the Fujica. That would definitely be a fun one to look into.
The Super
Fujica 6 is an outstanding 6x6 cm folder. Unhappily, outside Japan it is as rare as hens teeth. Whether in or outside Japan, is a prized collectible, so it costs a fortune in good condition. Unless you are fanatic for 120 film folders and use it all of the time, IMO it would be hard to justify the camera cost compared to something like a modern Mamiya 6 (non-foloder).
I nearly bought one as well after watching Ed's video, but I have too many already :) Some really nice images, even with the fog. Thanks for sharing, I might go buy one now ha ha.
Yea. It's a cool little one and like I said, I love using it. Hopefully the one you end up with won't hate highlights as much as mine. ;)
The lens probably needs a proper cleaning. Check the rear of the lens. Professional photographers clean the rear of the lens, amateurs clean the front.
Thanks for sharing this. I have one too that I did not use much. My lens flared too, though not nearly as bad as yours. I narrowed mine down to early 50s with a Zuiko lens which impressed me at the time because I was an Olympus shooter then. Back then lens coatings were poor and usually only on the front element. So there was a lot of light scatter. Sadly the focus mechanism locked and am debating whether to spend for a repair worth more than the camera.
That's a tough one. Honestly, if I used this camera more, I'd just crack it open and have a go at fixing it myself. Buying a new one would cost less than a repair. So see if you can do it, but then know you have that backup. Good luck!
Thanks for the insight! Been thinking of getting a mamiya six...not going to be my main camera but I love the portability. Those highlights are disappointing ...hopefully they are not all like that
Yea. Judging by all the other comments I've received, it seems like mine is the anomaly. It's a great little camera for an awesome price.
I don’t know if you’ve sold it by now but I’m thinking there’s possibly some old oil that made it’s way onto the glass. Old oil is very thick and often tough to fully clear from the len surface. My suggestion is to try using a soft cloth with a high percentage rubbing alcohol.
Unfortunately, it's long gone by now. I cleaned as well as possible. Oh well. I hope the new owner loves it forever and if another one finds its way into my hands, I'll keep it. ;)
@@JTobiason Maybe the new owner will like the glow lol. I'm actually thinking about purchasing one since they're pretty affordable and the results looked amazing. Thanks for sharing your experience with us!
I actually love the highlight glow.
Well, then I have the camera for you ;)
Those first shots are insane
where did you buy the camera ?? i'm thinking of buying one and the only place i see is ebay but they come from japan
Thanks so much! That trip to Portugal with this camera will always have a special place in my heart.
And yea. I got it on eBay from Japan too. If you can find a good one, it's worth it!
Hi, I should have seen your video before. Just bought one like yours. How was it to travel with film at the airport control? Did they accept to check it by hand? Cheers mate
Almost never been a problem. I think in all my travels, only been told twice I couldn't get a hand check. Just have all the film in a Ziploc and make it as easy on the agent as possible.
@@JTobiason I have the Mamiya 6 MF with the 35mm original kit, a Hasselblad 500 CM and a Mamiya 645 pro 1000 and a Rolleiflex 3.5F, I have G.A.S. All taking wonderful pictures. But my love for folding cameras is big, I have a few in 6x6, 6x9 folding and 35mm folding. I bought the Mamiya 6 IV today, never find the Automat. Cheers mate
maybe there is some balsam separation problem with this lens，I just got mine today，the previous owner modified it's lens to a Voigtlander Color skopar 75/3.5. Can't wait to try it out！
That's fun! Good luck. The camera is a blast to use!
The Color Skopar is an outstanding lens from a company which made its reputation building great lenses. Odds are that it is visibly better than the mamiya lens used on most of these Six folders, although they both use similar Tessar derived formulas.; Changing the lens here must be a labor of love, because to have a competent shop do this job would cost far more than the camera would be worth. Apart from the different mechanical fittings, even though both lenses may be labelled a 75mm focal length, all such lenses vary a bit. This requires that the lens be fitted to the particular camera and then its spacing micro-adjusted with shims to match the infinity focus point and the rangefinder - very labor intensive.
The Zuiko lens is known for having such haze,you should try and get yourself the sekkor version.Try it out with maybe two rolls,I believe you'll get what you want out of it.
Good to know. Thanks!
I just bought one and had the same problem. There is a haze in the center of the rear element so any picture with highlights has that fog. Does anyone know a place that can clean it? It is in the center so I can't get to it.
Yea. That's the worst. You can unscrew the front part of the lens, to clean both sides. Then put the rest in Bulb mode and take a photo to open the shutter. You then can try to clean a bit more. But I don't know if you can really get it back to perfection. Good luck. Let me know if you figure something out!
@@JTobiason I used a thin metal ruler to unscrew the rear element. It looks as if there was fungus that was cleaned off but it affected the coating. It really is a fun camera. The shots taken in the shade came out great.
Jay Coronado interesting. But I think those results make sense. As long as you know it's just a camera for shade, it's still usable and you can leverage it in the right situation.
Joe Tobias what a beautiful and sunny city Lisbon is to take photos isn't it?
It's the best. I can't wait to come back someday!!
@@JTobiason there's a few typical things in Lisbon. A couple of years ago I took some photos inside of a barber shop. The owner told me that he was working there at almost 70 years as he started to learn the trade just after finished primary school!!!
Luís Conde wow. That is so cool. I made some similar ones of a guy in Western Spain who was a 3rd generation basket weaver. It's beautiful to see and so foreign for an American where everything is so new.
@@JTobiason old Europe!
The comments about foggy highlights from the lens are unique to his camera. The lens may still be dirty inside, or he may have polished off lens coatings when trying to clean the lens. In any event, he is getting excessive flare, and that is a flaw in his camera, not a problem with the camera generally. There are about 6 versions over the decade run of the camera. The newer the version, the better the camera. Some of the versions used a very nice Olympus lens; the rest used a Mamiya lens. All are 4 element Tessar copies, very common style of lenses for this mid-century MF folders.
Thanks for your thoughts. I appreciate it. I can only talk about the experience I've had, but it really is good to hear others thoughts! :)
have you tried lens shade
You could put on a shade, but it would have to screw into the front element of the lens (like a lens filter). And you'd have to take it off every time you closed the camera. That is just too much work for me. And honestly, I only really had problems with direct back-lit subjects, something that a lens hood would only help a little bit. I'm pretty sure it's just a feature of the old, uncoated lens and was something I learned to work around (until I sold the camera).
Looks like you need a lens hood to me. Probably has no coatings so a hood will help. If it has filter threads it's easy. But if it's a push on hood it can be expensive.
But then you'd have to unscrew every time you close the camera. I just know myself and that extra work would drive me crazy.
It's not just your 6. I have the same issue. Back on the shelf it goes.
Glad I'm not alone but in the right moment, the look can be cool. Just a matter of using it correctly. 🤷♂️
The "standard" lens on this model is uncoated so it isn't surprising that it doesn't perform well in strongly backlit compositions, and especially with color films.
Yea. Makes total sense. Hope it helps others make good decisions about how to use this camera.
That's what I was thinking too! Older uncoated lenses are notorious for haze or flare in backlit situations. I wonder if a uv filter can be applied to these lenses.
The issues you bring up are definitely from the coating being removed from the lens when it was cleaned by someone.
Good to know
Did you try using a lens hood?
That's an interesting idea. I hadn't. It'd be a little annoying to put it on and take it off every time you fold the camera, but it's worth a shot. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I’ve just bought a Mamiya-6 folder and it came with a 36mm push-on hood. I’ve run my first roll of film through it, with most exposures made with the lens hood. I’ll let you know whether I have the same highlight issue with mine.
Antonio Iacovelli yea! I'd love to see them! 👍
Joe Tobiason, I was not able to replicate your issue with the highlights. I purposely shot a few exposures without a hood in situations where I had bright highlights to contend with (snow on the ground in the foreground) and the lens handled these perfectly.
I suspect that in cleaning the excessively dirty lens element, you may have removed whatever flare control coatings had been applied. Did you have the hazy highlight issues on the initial roll that you exposed when the lens was dirty?
Huh, it looks like you got some thin greasy/smudgy layer on one of the elements, it really looks like that because you get that glow with almost any light, even an uncoated lens wouldn't do that; Id just reopen the lens and clean each element up with patience.
Yea. I did that, but it continued to be a problem. I hope that the new owner of the camera has figured out how to make it work or has embraced the camera for what it is. :)
@@JTobiason I hope so, 99% it's oil/dirt somewhere that diffuses light, the halos you got are what I call 'paradise shots' and they always happen when some kid puts his hand on my glass😂. Loss of the coating usually results in reduced contrast and flaring but not glow.
All the lens elements need to be polished and cleaned. Easy as that. Nothing to complain about.
I hope the new owner of the camera is doing that.
Ummm, personally I think the hazy look is dreamy - I'd leverage it for situations where it would be an asset, rather than fighting with it.
Otherwise, honestly, you're expecting a lot from a 50+-year-old camera that hasn't been professionally serviced-and then comparing it to cameras (the Yashica and the new Mamiya 6) that are relatively modern cameras with clean, modern coatings. It's not even fair.
Yea. Probably. There are parts of me that wish I still had it. It's a unique little piece of machinery!
You can try as demonstrated in this video. czcams.com/video/PvuWmXuiHMw/video.html. It is the haze on the lens that is causing the flare. Good luck. Cheers
I appreciate it. Thanks!
I bet it's just hazy, if you shine a flashlight through the lens it's gonna look cloudy.
Yea. It was a little hazy. It happens to old lenses. I laugh because when I made this, I hated that look and now I look back on those images and find the soft highlight pleasing. So it's also a personal taste thing. 🤷♂️
if only the haze is half as strong
Haha. Yea. Just a little less and I'd probably still own that camera. Oh well. You live and learn.
As others have said, I think you got a bad copy, man. My highlights are sharp and clear, and I have an older version...
That's good to know. Thanks man :)
Many of these old folders have haze issues. These old lenses were not coated like modern optics. That is the drawback to these old folders. I never like the old Japanese folders, I prefer the optics from the Germans.
All makes sense.
Yeah man your lens is messed up
agreed. Someday I'll get around to trying to get it fixed.
@@JTobiason I just ordered a mamiya 6 from one of those japanese markets on ebay.
Hoping to adapt a UV Haze filter to it.
good luck!
muticoating erosion maybe?
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
That's a good idea though.