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Mamiya® RB-67 Review

©Darrell Young
This review is incomplete. Check back again soon!

When I was a mere youth of eighteen, I decided that I needed a new car. All my friends were driving small, fast, cars like Datsun 240Zs, or Camaros and Firebirds. I tried a few of those out, and while exciting, something was missing. I went to the car dealer and looked over the cars, only to find that I was drawn not to the fast hot-rod types, but instead to the big, long, dark, luxury cars.

The dealer allowed me to sit in a 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, and I was hooked! Later, I bought a 1975 Lincoln Continental, one of the largest production cars ever made, and I loved it even more.

Ah…the leather, power seats, deluxe stereo sound, quiet engine, floating ride. I bought those cars, and since then, have loved the big, black, long, wide, luxury rides.

Big is Better

You may be thinking that I'm a little nutty for writing about big cars, when you wanted to read about RB67 cameras. But, I am trying to make a point…big is better! If a person drives a teeny Toyota, I bet they use a little "point and shoot" 35mm. Not me! I like big cars, big lenses, big negatives, and big cameras. (No…my wife is normal size) Something about that bigness transmits a feeling of quality that few little things in life can. I do have a soft spot for my Nikon cameras, but I bet you can't guess that I use a Nikon F5, a BIG, heavy 35mm professional camera. The RB67 is a big camera. Some say it is a studio only camera, but I have not found that to be the case. I use my RB in the Great Smoky Mountains for nature and landscape work. While not as convenient as a little 35mm, the big, deep, sharp images it makes possible are worth the extra effort.

When it comes to medium format, there are few cameras like the Mamiya RB67! There are a plethora of quality medium format cameras out there. From the venerable Hassleblad, to the Rolliflex, Pentax, and Bronica. Quality is not generally a problem with any medium format camera, except for maybe the cheap Russian imports. The expense for these larger cameras is just too high for buyers to put up with shoddy equipment. When you talk about camera brands, it becomes almost a religious discussion with some. Hassleblad users will claim that their Zeiss lenses are the sharpest on earth, and Bronica users will claim that their 6x7 camera is one of the smallest medium format 6x7 SLRs. The rhetoric is endless. It is all a matter of personal choice. Any quality medium format will make images far superior to 35mm. In fact, with today's film choices, medium format is doing what only large format used to do. If you think the sharpness, contrast, and resolving power is great on 35mm, you ought to look into medium format with its much larger negative size. Well…since you're reading this article, I guess you are!

Unique Features

The RB67 is a somewhat unique camera in comparison to the others. The "Rotating Back," which is what "RB" stands for, and the 6x7cm format (get it, RB "67"), puts the RB in a class by itself. With most cameras, to switch between horizontal and vertical images, you must rotate the camera, but not the RB with its rotating back. You simply grasp the film back, and rotate to the right to go from horizontal to vertical. There are lines on the viewfinder to help you keep the image within the film frame as the back rotates. We will look at that later in the article.

The "bellows" focusing, like on large format cameras, gives you the ability to use almost any lens as a macro. While the RB has a specific 140mm Macro lens, a person can close focus any normal lens on the RB. It also makes the lens simpler to build. Since the bellows rack moves the lens in-and-out from the camera body to focus, there is no need for focusing by moving elements inside the lens. So, instead of a very complex lens with helicoid focusing inside the lens barrel, a much simpler design is used. It is easier to make a high-quality lens when the lens elements stay put. (There are RB several lenses that have a floating element that must be set according to the bellows focus. This will be discussed later in the article)

RB67 History

In 1970 Mamiya first introduced the RB67 Professional (Pro). Then in 1974 the RB67 Professional S (Pro S), was introduced, and finally the Professional SD (Pro SD) in 1990. At the time of this article's being written in early 2002, the Pro SD is the current RB camera. So the RB67 is a 32+ year old design that is still in production and shows no sign of abating.

Using the RB67

The RB is a fairly simple camera to use. The basic RB67 camera has a waist-level finder, a 90mm f3.8 lens, and a 120 Film Back. Here is a photo of a standard RB67 Pro SD in that configuration.

To take an image, you will need the camera and a good light meter. The RB67 has no meter, or anything electronic in the entire camera. You can purchase a prism finder that has a light meter in it, and a power drive film back that automatically winds the film, but that's about it for electronics on the RB67.

Then remove the "dark slide" from the rear of the RB67. This slide is there to allow you to change film backs in mid-roll. Yes, that means that you can carry multiple film backs with you, and switch between them at will. Imagine being able to shoot a few images on color reversal film, then switch to color negative, then to black & white, and then back to color reversal. The RB's having removable backs allows this type of film change at will.

Focus…

To focus on the image you will remove the lens cap, flip the waist-level finder cover up by lifting the rear of the finder cover, and look down into the finder light gate where you'll see the image on the ground glass. You grasp the focus knob with either the left or right hand (there's one on either side), and rack the bellows in or out until the image appears sharp on the ground glass. If you want to focus on a specific area of the image, or just want a closer view of the image on the ground glass, there is a small built-in magnifier available that can be flipped up between your eye and the ground glass. This magnifies the image by several times to allow you to carefully focus. Once you have focused to your satisfaction, you may flip the magnifier back down, and then recompose the image on the ground glass.

This is, of course, a bit slower than using a 35mm, but it helps you think more about your composition, and generally makes for a better photograph. It is really nice to see an image on the ground glass that is 2 ½ x 2 ¾ inches in size. (6x7cm). This is about half the size of a normal 35mm print, so you can see your image and compose much better than with smaller cameras.

Later in the article stuff

A few Mamiya lenses have a "floating element" that you must set according to the focus range. This is especially the case on the wide angle to normal lenses, such as the 50mm, 75mm, and 90mm. Since there is no focusing done with the lens itself, there could be a degradation of image quality at wide-open apertures if certain elements within the lens are not moved. So Mamiya provides a scale on the side of the camera .

To Be Continued...


Mamiya® RB-67 Review
©Darrell Young	This review is incomplete. Check back again soon!

When I was a mere youth of eighteen, I decided that I needed a new car. All my friends were driving small, fast, cars like Datsun 240Zs, or Camaros and Firebirds. I tried a few of those out, and while exciting, something was missing. I went to the car dealer and looked over the cars, only to find that I was drawn not to the fast hot-rod types, but instead to the big, long, dark, luxury cars. The dealer allowed me to sit in a 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, and I was hooked! Later, I bought a 1975 Lincoln Continental, one of the largest production cars ever made, and I loved it even more.

Ah…the leather, power seats, deluxe stereo sound, quiet engine, floating ride. I bought those cars, and since then, have loved the big, black, long, wide, luxury rides. Big is Better You may be thinking that I'm a little nutty for writing about big cars, when you wanted to read about RB67 cameras. But, I am trying to make a point…big is better! If a person drives a teeny Toyota, I bet they use a little "point and shoot" 35mm. Not me! I like big cars, big lenses, big negatives, and big cameras. (No…my wife is normal size) Something about that bigness transmits a feeling of quality that few little things in life can. I do have a soft spot for my Nikon cameras, but I bet you can't guess that I use a Nikon F5, a BIG, heavy 35mm professional camera. The RB67 is a big camera. Some say it is a studio only camera, but I have not found that to be the case. I use my RB in the Great Smoky Mountains for nature and landscape work. While not as convenient as a little 35mm, the big, deep, sharp images it makes possible are worth the extra effort. When it comes to medium format, there are few cameras like the Mamiya RB67! There are a plethora of quality medium format cameras out there. From the venerable Hassleblad, to the Rolliflex, Pentax, and Bronica. Quality is not generally a problem with any medium format camera, except for maybe the cheap Russian imports. The expense for these larger cameras is just too high for buyers to put up with shoddy equipment. When you talk about camera brands, it becomes almost a religious discussion with some. Hassleblad users will claim that their Zeiss lenses are the sharpest on earth, and Bronica users will claim that their 6x7 camera is one of the smallest medium format 6x7 SLRs. The rhetoric is endless. It is all a matter of personal choice. Any quality medium format will make images far superior to 35mm. In fact, with today's film choices, medium format is doing what only large format used to do. If you think the sharpness, contrast, and resolving power is great on 35mm, you ought to look into medium format with its much larger negative size. Well…since you're reading this article, I guess you are! Unique Features The RB67 is a somewhat unique camera in comparison to the others. The "Rotating Back," which is what "RB" stands for, and the 6x7cm format (get it, RB "67"), puts the RB in a class by itself. With most cameras, to switch between horizontal and vertical images, you must rotate the camera, but not the RB with its rotating back. You simply grasp the film back, and rotate to the right to go from horizontal to vertical. There are lines on the viewfinder to help you keep the image within the film frame as the back rotates. We will look at that later in the article. The "bellows" focusing, like on large format cameras, gives you the ability to use almost any lens as a macro. While the RB has a specific 140mm Macro lens, a person can close focus any normal lens on the RB. It also makes the lens simpler to build. Since the bellows rack moves the lens in-and-out from the camera body to focus, there is no need for focusing by moving elements inside the lens. So, instead of a very complex lens with helicoid focusing inside the lens barrel, a much simpler design is used. It is easier to make a high-quality lens when the lens elements stay put. (There are RB several lenses that have a floating element that must be set according to the bellows focus. This will be discussed later in the article) RB67 History In 1970 Mamiya first introduced the RB67 Professional (Pro). Then in 1974 the RB67 Professional S (Pro S), was introduced, and finally the Professional SD (Pro SD) in 1990. At the time of this article's being written in early 2002, the Pro SD is the current RB camera. So the RB67 is a 32+ year old design that is still in production and shows no sign of abating. Using the RB67 The RB is a fairly simple camera to use. The basic RB67 camera has a waist-level finder, a 90mm f3.8 lens, and a 120 Film Back. Here is a photo of a standard RB67 Pro SD in that configuration. To take an image, you will need the camera and a good light meter. The RB67 has no meter, or anything electronic in the entire camera. You can purchase a prism finder that has a light meter in it, and a power drive film back that automatically winds the film, but that's about it for electronics on the RB67. Then remove the "dark slide" from the rear of the RB67. This slide is there to allow you to change film backs in mid-roll. Yes, that means that you can carry multiple film backs with you, and switch between them at will. Imagine being able to shoot a few images on color reversal film, then switch to color negative, then to black & white, and then back to color reversal. The RB's having removable backs allows this type of film change at will. Focus… To focus on the image you will remove the lens cap, flip the waist-level finder cover up by lifting the rear of the finder cover, and look down into the finder light gate where you'll see the image on the ground glass. You grasp the focus knob with either the left or right hand (there's one on either side), and rack the bellows in or out until the image appears sharp on the ground glass. If you want to focus on a specific area of the image, or just want a closer view of the image on the ground glass, there is a small built-in magnifier available that can be flipped up between your eye and the ground glass. This magnifies the image by several times to allow you to carefully focus. Once you have focused to your satisfaction, you may flip the magnifier back down, and then recompose the image on the ground glass. This is, of course, a bit slower than using a 35mm, but it helps you think more about your composition, and generally makes for a better photograph. It is really nice to see an image on the ground glass that is 2 ½ x 2 ¾ inches in size. (6x7cm). This is about half the size of a normal 35mm print, so you can see your image and compose much better than with smaller cameras. Later in the article stuff A few Mamiya lenses have a "floating element" that you must set according to the focus range. This is especially the case on the wide angle to normal lenses, such as the 50mm, 75mm, and 90mm. Since there is no focusing done with the lens itself, there could be a degradation of image quality at wide-open apertures if certain elements within the lens are not moved. So Mamiya provides a scale on the side of the camera . To Be Continued...