Tag: Mamiya 645 Pro TL

Light on the Border

I recently bought a Mamiya 645 Pro TL with a lens, grip, viewfinder, and film back. It’s a medium format camera. To test out that all parts were working as advertised, I put a roll of film in it and went to work. I tested the auto-exposure and manual exposure. The film advance in the grip, too. Everything worked. Focus was on the little lamp, leaving the flowers outside the field of focus. In post, I used Negative Lab Pro to process the images, but turned them to black and white in LR. Altogether, I am happy with my purchase. And I managed to get a few pictures that were decent out of all that play!

Modular Medium Format: Mamiya 645 Pro TL, Part II

I am gonna keep the beast! 

The image above has the waist level viewfinder, which I would like to have.  I have the eye-level viewer complete with automatic exposure and a hand grip with film advance.

There is a really good review of this critter over at Emulsive, which is a great website for reviews on older cameras.

Everything worked out really well, auto-exposures and ones from reading of the Sekonic light meter, as well as my own guestimates!  Totally happy!  And what I like even better is the distinctive look of the 80mm f2.8 C lens that came with the beast.  Add to that, the Negative Lab Pro has been a real worthwhile investment for post-processing.

In order to check out the camera, I loaded a roll of Fuji Pro 400H, a film which has great color and latitude.  Its color is not as intense as Ektar, but it comes close with the brilliance of the colors.  I just shot around the house and neighborhood.  There is absolutely nothing outstanding about these images except to prove the camera works, and works well.  The whole point was to learn about the various aspects of the camera, both automatic and manual.

I handheld the camera for all these images. Friday I am expecting some of the proprietary Mamiya lugs to attach to a camera strap so that I won’t be as likely to drop it. The hand grip is a great handle, but I have read of people almost losing the camera from depending on the hand grip – somehow, the grip got disconnected from the body. At some point, I will get the waist level finder as I enjoy using so much on my Yashica D that I know it will be a good accessory. Because it is such a large camera, if I do get any other lenses, I am likely to limit myself to a macro lens. Other than that, at this point I don’t plan to accessorize it too much. I like the way it currently is, but if I want to go hiking, a lighter set-up would be good.

Altogether, I am happy with my decision to go with a modular medium format camera.  However!  G.A.S. is setting in . . . 6×7?  4×5?  Oh, dear me!

Modular Medium Format: Mamiya 645 Pro TL, Part I

I have a number of medium format cameras, all but one being a German folder, and that one is the Yashica D TLR.  What I like about the folders is their compact size when folded up, their vintage qualities (not so vintage in the 1930s through 1950s I expect), and in particular their beautiful lenses.  The ones I have range in size from 6×4.5 with and without a mask, to 6×6, to 6×9.  All take 120 film.  The Yashica D takes 6×6 images and uses 120 film as well.  However, the drawback to all of these cameras is the limitations of their lenses in length and focusing capabilities – fixed and immutable as they say.  Yes, there are attachments, such as magnifying filters, but none of them can produce the variations available in a system allowing interchangeable lenses.

As a consequence, I have long been contemplating a modular medium format system, and ended up by chance or luck coming across a Mamiya 645 Pro TL with all the parts present in one package.  Numerous YouTubers have really excellent videos, from short to long, from cursory to extensive detail.  The video below shows the bits and pieces I have – it’s long, it’s detailed, but if you are really curious, follow along.  I learned the most about this camera from it, and have watched a number of times.

Truthfully, I just dove into the purchase.  I figured it would be best to get one all put together rather than trying to figure out what I needed.  Searching around online, I found a Mamiya from a reputable dealer with all the parts that I knew a modular system needed for a reasonable price:  A body, a lens, a film back, and a viewfinder.  It has a grip, too, instead of a crank to advance the film.  It’s big and heavy with everything attached – nearly 4 lbs to take a 6×4.5 image.  Is it worth it?  I’ll find out when my first roll of film comes back from the lab next week.

I spent about 3 days reading about each part and watching YouTube videos.  I gathered PDF manuals from around the net.  I fiddled and putzed.  I got frustrated and annoyed, too, as well as learned so much . . .

The fact is, there are a lot of parts available for the Mamiya 645 Pro TL.  It can be simple, it can be complex.  It can be small, it can be big.  Truthfully, I rather like small and light myself, and if I keep the critter (30 day return policy), I most likely will look for a waist-level finder and a crank to advance the film.  I read about the body, the viewfinder with its auto-exposure, the film cartridge, the grip, the lenses.  Everything has to be coordinated to work.

And when it doesn’t work?  Pull out that dark slide!

When I take it out, I have to keep it safe in a camera bag as I have no camera strap is available that works with it with the grip in place.  The Mamiya has proprietary lugs, and that is a nuisance.  With a crank to advance the film, Op-Tech (my favorite camera strap) Style B attachments work, but when the grip is attached, they do not.

So, what do I think about it so far?  I rather like it.  The grip has that wonderful noise only a grip or automatic film advance in a camera can achieve – a click, a whir – just like an exhaust in a classic sports car!  That aside, I really like medium format film photography the more I do it.  Those negatives are beautiful.  Scanning and editing them is not too big of a deal, and the addition of Negative Lab Pro makes them even better.  I hope at some point to develop them using the Lab-Box, both black and white and color.

There are definite aesthetics in the images produced from this camera.  You can find them on Flickr.  You can also learn a bit about people’s reactions to the camera itself.  I always like Max’s commentaries on various cameras found on his channel Analog Insights.  He doesn’t go into how to use a camera, but the experience of using a camera.  See what you think.

So there we are. Once I get the film back from the lab, I will have a better idea if the camera is worth keeping as I will know if the bits and pieces all work. It has automatic exposure with aperture priority using the viewfinder. I can switch to totally manual techniques. The film back advance works well from the sound of it. The lens is bright and clear, as is the viewfinder. The shutter curtain is not wrinkled. All seems fine mechanically and electronically – but the film will have the final say.

Yeah, another roll or two will be worth running through the Mamiya.