This camera is the Mamiya RB67 Professional-S, I purchased this particular camera in New York city at B&H Photo after careful consideration and has proven invaluable, it’s my ‘go to’ camera when time is on my side and I’m wanting to shoot film. It’s a beast of a camera, it’s not my largest but it’s one of the heaviest that’s for sure! Even thought it’s heavy it’s one of my most favorite cameras to work with. Everything is loud with this particular camera, when the mirror is swung up it slaps the top of the camera with a loud ‘Clunk’ and the ratcheting of the mirror return and lens cocking is all loud. It certainly makes a presents among others, I remember being in a room full of photographers at an Orchid show and when I released the mirror everyone turned to see where that sound came from.
The Mamiya RB-67 Pro-S was introduced in 1974 and ran all the way to 1990 a long running model for the Mamiya RB line. The RB67 Pro S is the second model of the RB family and is a modular medium format SLR camera using mainly 120 and 220 film producing a native frame size of roughly 6 x 7 cm.
Being a modular the camera, it’s a basic box with mirror, mirror return/ lens cocking leaver, and focusing rail that all other parts could be attached onto the camera. These separate items were focusing screens that could be swapped out, several view finders, lenses and film backs could all be interchanged.
Although quite heavy, roughly 2 kg for just the body alone it made working without a tripod difficult and so it was mainly used in studio and was the “go to” camera in the 70’s because of all the attachments it could take. The reason for the RB in it’s name sake refers to it’s Rotating Back that means the camera stays upright at all times and you rotate the back of the camera containing the film into either the landscape or portrait orientation.
The film backs could be interchanged at any time meaning as the light changed you could pop off one film back containing a low ISO film and put on another with a higher ISO film or if you want to shoot black and white or colour those film backs will be ready to use, the use of a dark slide (a thin piece of metal) is what seals the back from light, the dark slide has to be removed before taking an image.
One notable feature is that it uses bellows for focusing, the advantage with it’s use of bellows allows for close focusing of subjects which would be out of range for a lens with a self containing focusing lens. Another feature is it’s use of leaf shutters in the lenses themselves, by having a leaf shutter you can use flash at any given shutter speed and are far more quiet then curtain shutters (the shutter on an RB is pretty much the only thing that’s quiet about the camera). The one major down fall of leaf shutters is that they are slower than curtain shutters in that the maximum speed of exposure is usually 1/500 of a second.
Primarily used as a studio portrait camera because of its bulk it was also used by many landscape photographers as well. The most viewed landscape image ever is titled ‘Bliss’ and was the default image for Windows XP the photograph was taken by Charles O’Rear who used not the Mamiya RB but the more modern brother the RZ, back in 1996. The RZ is basically an electronic version of the RB to control the shutter.
The Specs:
Type of camera: Manual medium format single lens reflex (SLR)
Film/picture format: 120/220 film producing a 6x7cm image giving a close 4×5 aspect ratio, with adapters and film backs 6x8cm images and 6×4.5cm images were also used. Polaroid backs were also available that took peel apart film, sadly as of Feb of 2016 those films have been discontinued.
Lens Mount: Mamiya Bayonet ring
Lenses: Manual focusing prime lenses
Shutter: Lens housed diaphragm leaf mechanical shutter, shutter speeds varied depending on lens.
Exposure metering: provided with through the lens metered prisms
Viewfinder: stock waist level viewing hood or with metered and non-metered prisms and waist level focusing hoods.
Focusing screen: Split image, interchangeable with several others
Reflex mirror: Automatic instant-return with lock up capability
Depth-of-field preview: Yes, with use of lever on lens
Frame counter: additive type, frame number count depended on removable film back
Power source: body no, motorized film back power pack uses AA batteries (for Powered film backs), metered prisms also required batteries
Camera Back: detachable film holders (backs) film backs 6×7 and 6×4.5, also available are 6×8 (with required adapter) all roll film backs came in either manual film advance or powered film advance. Also available Polaroid Land Pack model 2 holder.
Body Finish: Black