Webbers Photography

Mamiya 645 Medium Format Camera

Of all the film formats I've used over the years, I tend to enjoy the medium format 645 size the best. It offers me both portrait and landscape orientations as you would find in any 35mm SLR camera. The 645 negative is about 3 times larger than a 35mm negative which works well for me in my darkroom using a Beseler 23C enlarger. There are also many choices of film in the 120 format so I can pretty well photograph with whatever I like. Needless to say, all my film work is done in Black & White.

My current camera choice is a Mamiya 645 first introduced in 1975 and discontinued in 1987. Unlike later models, mine does not have removable film backs. That's ok since I'm not shooting weddings where the demand for film was constant. It's really not that much larger or heavier then some of the 35 mm work-horse cameras of today. With a handle grip attached to the body, it's as comfortable for me as is any other camera. Another benefit is that my camera repair pro says that there are still repair parts available, at least for now anyway.

Some of the features that I enjoy about my Mamiya 645 are:

• Large negative quality
• Compact design
• Bright viewfinder
• Flat film plane
• Available lenses
• Multiple exposure provision
• Mirror lock up switch
• Two shutter release buttons-conveniently placed
• Metered prism
• X sync connection for external Flash

When all is said and done, whatever camera you choose, film or digital, just go have fun and enjoy your type of photography!