Easy to transition from 35mm, controls well laid out, reasonably fast for MF, superb (but limited number of) lenses, works well in low light, exposure imprinting a plus. Takes great pictures.

Has taken forever to deliver full range of lenses. I have 45mm and 80mm, awaiting two zooms promised this summer. Slower focusing and consecutive shooting than my Nikon F100 takes some getting used to.

This camera and the other AF 645 will attract more to medium format. When the zoom lenses are available this will be a great camera for travel photography and portraits, where I do a lot of my work.

Customer Service

Excellent

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I evaluated Pentax. Already owned Mamiya 7ii (rangefinder).

Its really easy to use, and finally brings AF thats practical to medium format. Faster focusing than any other MF AF on the market.

not as light as other 645 cameras, but lighter than the Contax

A great camera! Mamiya has done it again.

Customer Service

Everyone knows Mamiya service is the best.

Similar Products Used:

Contax and Pentax AF

It's about time someone made a good autofocus camera in medium format. It is faster focusing than the others and it works in low light - the others don't!

It is still a little bigger than I'd like, but I still carry a Minox too.

If you've ever been unsure of your focusing, especially in darkened places, this is the one! Best camera I've eber used.

Customer Service

Mamiya has the best service in the whole US camera business. Ask any pro.

Similar Products Used:

Contax & Fiji

The date and exposure imprinting backs, the autobracketing, 1/125 second sync, sturdy body which is nice to handhold. Most dials and buttons are easy to reach.

The AF isn't very quick if you compare to the Pentax 645N. Believe me - I measured the time with a device custommade for measuring timelag and autofocus. The autofocus is also noisy (some high, sharp sound I don´t like too much) and it's also not the most reliable system on the market. It even had problems finding the focus on something as easy as a straight, vertical black line against a white background. The rear dial is a bit hard to reach for the thumb and is not too well placed on the right edge of the camera's grip. It is likely to be exposed to rough handling there, since a professional photographer's is likely to haul it up and down from a camerabag a quite repectable number of times. Wasn't too happy about the colour of the viewfinder either - too cold to my taste. The biggest problem though, is if you allready own a Mamiya 645 Pro or TL and want buy a 645 AF as well. the new AF-lenses won't fit on the non-autofocus cameras and the manual-focus lenses are a bit difficult to use on the AF-body since they have to be used with the aparture stopped down.

A nice camera if it's the first Mamiya you buy. A bit too slow AF compared to Pentax 645N and also not reliable enough. Has some really good features as bracketing, exposure-imprinting and so on but I think it's too expensive.

Customer Service

Don't know about the US-market.

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All out there. Hasselblad, Pentax 645N, Mamiya 645 TL, Contax 645,and so on...
Working as the technical editor of Sca

It has imprinting of settings used, the Af is quick! The back can be either 120 or 220 with a turn of the plate in back. It syncs at 125. It has a preview button for stop down viewing. It is affordable, and takes great pictures, and you can manual focus if you want to with out a problem.

Did give me a error message, but turned it off and the camera came right back up.

I really like it..and I think I am buying one today.

Similar Products Used:

hassy, pentax 645

Solid, with all of the features of high-end 35mm cameras; improved flash sync to 1/125;quick & surprisingly quiet AF.

A wait(for-2000)for the 150/2.8 lens; MF lenses must be stopped down for metering.

Has a great, solid feel, with everything I need in a camera. AF works well for my "aging eyes".

Customer Service

Always helpful with general questions.

Similar Products Used:

Mamiya 645 ProTL, Contax 645

-interchangeable backs
-choice of 120 or 220 film on one back
-data imprint on neg
-auto bracketing

-the viewfinder has a bluish cast to it-made me want to automatically put a warming filter on
-the polaroid back was a nuisance to put on
-it wouldn't focus for me for some reason in a low light situation (I am not talking dark here it was about 15 minutes after sunset)I had to switch to manual
- also I had a hard time focusing in my studio with it, maybe because the backdrop was black - can't figure it out
-on top of that the battery flipped out near the end of my studio shoot . I had to turn it off and on about 4 times to finish the shoot. I figured that the place where I rented it from didn't put fresh batteries in it. So I immediately went to buy some more. Before I put them in I thought I just test it again to see if they were okay and they were. I didn't replace them at all.

For $5000 I expected more. I am going to rent a couple more brands of medium format to see which suits me better before I buy.

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

none yet

Small size. Auto focus is fine with me. Good lenses.

I have had problems with exposure. Bilt-in-meter was off inconsistantly. Not depentable at all. I had it sent back to Mamiya. They said everything is fine and sent me back. The problem is still there.
I cannot use it without a Polaroid back, which is hard to put on. I wanted to use it for "action shots", but I cannot do that.

I cannot use it for what I wanted to use it. When I use a light meter and a Polaroid back, it is fine. But if I do that, I rather use other cameras. Check the built-in-meter before you buy it.

Customer Service

I was disappointed.

Similar Products Used:

For medium format, I own
Pentax 6x7, Hassel., Fuji 680, Mamiya RB and RZ.

Great camera, fast auto-focus. Great in low-light conditions. It is light and easy to use. Feels and works like a 35mm. Controls are well placed and easy to use. It has too many features to list. 160 rolls of 120 with regular batteries, 300 with lithium.

None to report

This is a great camera, I fell in love with it the first time I saw it. It takes great photos, and it will be even better when the zooms come out. I would highly recommend it to anyone, from beginner to pro. Mamiya really did a great job.

Customer Service

None needed...But are very helpful on the phone with other information.

Similar Products Used:

pentax 645n

Handles like a 35mm. Unlike 35 systems, everything is built in, nothing extra to buy. Data imprint function is very handy as is the auto bracketing feature.Backs are easy to interchange and have a fool proof safe slide system with storage facility. 3 metering modes allow the owner to be creative. Others have mention lack of "high tech" meter system. I think once you reach the medium format stage you should be prepared to experiment and learn to be creative on your own, with out electronic help. Easy to hand hold at higher shutter speeds. Works beautifully with the Metz MZ-3i flash. All the features of my Nikons and more!!

Auto focus IS slower than 35mm cameras but I really don't feel this is an "action" camera or format for that matter. This camera can be hand held but is really designed to do its best work on a tripod.

If you have ever thought about getting into medium format, DO IT NOW!!!!! You won't believe the difference between a 35mm transparency and a 6x4.5. This camera is obviously patterned after the top of the line 35's and is extremely easy to use if you own a modern 35mm SLR. Take the plunge, you won't be sorry!!

Customer Service

Tops.

Similar Products Used:

None