REPORT ON THE MAMIYA M645 from

Mamiya M645: 15 on 120 in a Compact SLR

JANUARY 1976

BELL &HOWELL/MAMIYA COMPANY Since the "semi-120" format is vantage of this "oddball" size is the M645's most evident distin­ that its negative area is 2.7X guishing feature, let's discuss it a larger than 35mm , providing bet­ git. This format dates back to (at ter picture quality, and, at the modern least) the 20 's, and was arrived at same time, it's smaller than 6 x 7cm by simply halving the original 6 x or 2 'j,, -in. square, resulting in a 9cm (2'j" x 3'j,,-in.) format ob­ smaller, more portable camera. tained with 120 roll film . Perhaps When you consider tha the 2'j" x the most notable camera to es­ 2 '14 format is most often cropped pouse these film dimensions was in printing, 4.5 x 6cm offers a the Dresden-produced Ermanox, comparably large usable nega­ a "candid camera" of the 20's, tive area in a more compact while the format's latest expo­ package, and you have the added nents (prior to the M645) were benefit of more shots per roll (15 newest cameras, lenses & important accessories both folding roll-film cameras instead of 12 per roll of 120 film). with coupled rangefinders, the Among the disadvantages of this Zeiss Super Ikonta A and Konica format: there's presently no slide-

MAMIYA M645: 15 ON 120 IN A COMPACT SLR Mamiya M645: What's New 80mm f/2.8 Mamiya·Sekor C lens MANUFACTURER'S SPECIFI­ At a Glance ~~","""--- has three·lug bayonet mount CATIONS: Mamiya M645 me­ dium-Iormat 120 roll-film single­ lens reflex camera. Body No. J 10715. LENS: Interchangeable 80mm 1/2.8 Mamiya-Sekor C with apertures to 1/22, locusing to 2'/. ft. (0.7m). SHUTTER: Verti­ Auxiliary shutter·release button cal-travel electronically con­ trolled cloth local-plane with Battery·check button speeds 01 8 to 1/500 sec. plus B; X sync at 1/60, FP at all speeds; Film-winding crank advances special speed setting lor cou­ one frame per turn pling through-lens meter prism. VIEWING: Interchangeable prism or waist-level finder with central microprism, line-focus­ ing collar and lull locusing Fres­ nel screen. OTHER FEATURES: Multiple-exposure provIsion, mirror-lockup lever, shutter-re­ lease buttons at Iront bottom and lront top, X-sync hot shoe, film identilication clip, depth-ol-lield preview button, accepts 58 mm accessories, 120 and 220 film holders. PRICE: Camera body, Sh utter·speed dia I incorporates $445; waist-level linder, $65; meter· coupling setting, speeds are prism linder with case, $160; electronically timed 80mm 1/2.8 normal lens with X·sync hot shoe and cover hood, $190; deluxe grip holder, $40; pistol grip, $45. 55mm 1/2.8 Mamiya/Sekor C lens in bayonet mount lor Ma­ miya M645. FEATURES: Aper­ ture to 1/22, locusing to 1 31. ft . (0.55m), accepts 58mm acces­ sories. PRICE: $250 with hood and case. Lens-removal button 150mm 1/ 4 Mamiya/ Sekor C lens in bayonet mount lor Mamiya M645. FEATURES: Aperture to Primary shutter-release f/32, locusing to 5 It. (1.5m), accepts 58mm accessories. button with locking collar PRICE: $240 with case. In introducing the M645, the Mamiya Camera Co. has taken the bold step of reviving the an­ cient 4.5 x 6cm (1 % x 2 '/4 -in.) format and placing it in a very contemporary electronic-shut­ Multiple·exposure knob Mirror-lockup lever tered helicoid-focusing "system" SLR . If you're wondering why they decided to slice the 2'j,, ­ competitive 2'j,, -square SLR mar­ Pearl IV, both last manufactured mounting service available for square format this time, the an­ ket (conSisting of such stalwarts in the late 50 's. this size; and, unlike 2'j,, -square swer is obvious. As capable a as Hasselblad, Rollei, Bronica In Japan this size is known as 6 cameras, you have to hold the machine as the RB67 is , it's a and Kowa) , Mamiya conceived x 4.5cm, and the name M645 has camera vertically or horizontally relatively large, heavy (5 lb. 15 the M645 as a scaled-down been derived from this designa­ depending on the composition of oz.) camera that's more at home but still medium-format field tion. According to Mamiya, the your intended picture. atop a tripod in a studio than camera, a kind of mini-Hassel­ actual picture area measures Let's see how, and if, Mamiya hanging around your neck at a blad to complement the well­ 56mm x 42mm (56.3 x 41.9mm capitalized on the advantages of grab-shooting session. And so, established RB67 without com­ according to our measurements this format and how they got cleverly sidestepping the fiercely peting with it directly. in MODERN 'S laboratory). The ad- around its inherent disadvan- tages. Body for body, the M645 is the difference is so slight, most zontal position. However, when finder distortion (for a large-for­ just a tad smaller than the Hassel­ people probably won 't notice it. you hold the camera vertically mat camera) is partially due to a blad. The basic body, without the Shutter noise and shock are your gripping arm is unavoidably relatively low finder magnifica­ winding knob or other protruding also present in moderate bent into a somewhat uncomfort­ tion, which we measured to be parts, measures 3 Y2 in . (9cm) amounts-about average for a able position , and inevitably, approximately 0.B2X life-size high, 4 Y2 in. (11.5cm) long and 3% camera of this type. As you press steadiness suffers if you hold it with the BOmm lens focused at in. (9.5 cm) wide. It's slightly the shutter release you hear a that way for long. Then, there's infinity. The percentage of the on­ shorter than the Hasselblad but fairly high-pitched metallic noise; the pistol grip, which is worse. film image observable in the otherwide almost identical. Its then, as the mirror comes back finder was measured at about 94 shape is also boxy, but the Ma­ after the exposure, you hear a percent vertically and 93 percent miya's rear section is hinged; so low-pitched " clunk. " Obviously, horizontally, which is certainly there are no interchangeable film the former sound originates adequate but not quite as good as magazines, just two types of re­ mostly from the shutter mecha­ the M645's predecessor, the movable film inserts. nism, while the low sound is RB67 , which shows 97 percent of In our judgment, the chunky produced by the mirror. You can the recorded image in both di­ size and shape are not partic­ prove this to your satisfaction by mensions. Nevertheless, when ularly good for shooting fast­ locking up the mirror with a 90 ° compared with most 35mm moving subjects hand-held. In counterclockwise turn of the mir­ SLR 's, the M645's performance fact, when we tried the camera ror-lockup lever (on the right­ is quite good, especially consid­ hand side of the camera body). If ering that it's a medium-format your fire the camera with the camera. Of course, one unavoid­ mirror locked up, both the able difficulty with rectangular­ "clunk" and its resulting shock format roll-film SLR's like the are absent. It is also evident that M645 arises when you fit the most of the shock comes when waist-level finder hood and then the mirror returns to the viewing Shooting verticals isn't Deluxe attempt to take vertical pictures. position after the exposure has Grip Holder's forte, but it oilers The focusing image will then be already been made. The best very good horizontal stability. upside-down. Our conclusion is proof of this were the uniformly that, unless you have a pressing sharp pictures we were able to need to use a waist-level finder, shoot hand-held at shutter you're better off " permanently" speeds as low as 1/ 30 sec. mounting the prism finder. Holding M645 requires a bit of We judge these shooting char­ To interchange lenses on the practice. Tripping shutter with acteristics to be essential in an M645, you push inward on a right index finger is easiest for " action camera" and , on the small , squarish chrome-plated those used to 35's. whole, we conclude that the ba­ button on the left side of the sic design of the M645 is quite camera's front plate. You then for the first time, some editors acceptably executed and very turn the lens barrel counterclock­ didn't feel too comfortable with it. well-conceived. But we've got to wise approximately 60 ° and lift Fortunately, once we got used to admit that some of our editors still out the lens. Three large lugs it, we found the camera's shape demanded some sort of auxiliary retain the lens in its 68mm-diame­ to be rather well-thought-out. grip to simplify hand-holding. ter mount. With the lens removed The M645 has two shutter­ As luck would have it, two grips you can observe the action of the release buttons, and you can use were available at test time. First, mirror, which swings back either for horizontal shoeting; there's a side-mounted grip slightly as it flips up to allow more you press the bottom button with which looks exactly like the Ma­ Too much wrist twisting's re­ room for deep-set rear lens ele­ your left index finger and the top miya grip for the RB67. This quired with pistol grip, and it's ments. There will consequentiy one with your right index finger. popular configuration is great uncomfortable in either mode. be very little mirror cutoff even Focusing is accomplished with when the camera's in the hori- when you mount a 500mm lens on your left hand and film winding is Even if you keep it in the horizon­ the camera. done with your right hand. To tal position, it twists your wrist so make a vertical shot, in most badly that holding the camera cases, you must change to a left­ isn't comfortable at all We handed grip, supporting the cam­ judged, therefore, that unless era from the bottom with the left Mamiya comes up with some­ hand while you press the shutter­ thing better, actually grabbing release button with your right the M645 with your digits is the index finger. best way of using the camera. Without a crank, film winding Turning to the viewfinder, we with the knob alone would have found that it provided bright and been extremely inconvenient. very comfortable viewing. Even Fortunately, the knob incorpo­ eyeglass wearers were able to rates a well-designed fold-out see the entire finder screen and crank which stops at the same Surprisingly, vertical shooting is its surrounding area. This finder With lens removal button on position each time you wind the visibility is quite important, be­ more comfortable than horizon­ right, and large three-lug lens film to the next exposure. The cause planned accessories for tal. Winding film by holding crank mount and crank-shaped auto proper film-winding technique is the M645 (not tested) include a between your fingers is best. diaphragm inside left side of to cradle the handle between finder prism with a built-in expo­ your fingers or against the middle sure meter featuring match­ mount, the M645 looks like a of your palm and simply turn the needle-type operation and LED scaled-up Nikon but surely isn't. crank 360 °. It automatically stops light-level readouts. For photog­ exactly where it started. While the raphers with vision problems, Let 's now take a look at the winding force required is not eyepiece correction lenses are shutter. Mamiya developed a new appreciably less than similar also available, covering a -3 to electronically .timed , vertically cameras, its action is definitely + 3 diopter range. traveling, cloth focal-plane shut­ smoother than most. Of course, According to our measure­ ter for this new camera. Unlike positioning a large mirror and ments, the non-meterized prism most electronically controlled tensioning a medium-sized focal­ finder provides a virtual image at shutters, this one doesn't retain plane shutter mechanism re­ an apparent distance of about 4 the second shutter curtain by quires a bit of force, particularly ft. Finder distortion caused by the means of an electromagnet. In­ towards the end of the winding eyepiece con'figuration is re­ stead , the second curtain, which sequence, and as a result, the markably low and you can ob­ determines the actual exposure 645's film-advance crank has a You can also trip shutter with left serve straight lines as unbowed time, is held back (until the timing slightly heavier feeling toward the index finger. Camera body con­ straight lines even toward the mechanism triggers it) by normal very end of each wind. However, tour helps you hold camera firmly. edges of the finder field . This low mechanical means. Only after the

2 shutter performed in almost pre­ had se lected a " T" setting) until mUlti-exposure knob remains in cisely the same manner as it did you push the battery-check but­ the position set even after you 're when it was brand-new. In fact, ton. The shutter also closes if you through using it, so you must the largest error recorded in our turJl the shutter-speed dial to remember to return the knob to second test was 15 percent at anoth er setting. But this method the normal mode. Incidentally, teSts 1 / 500 sec. Remarkable. is not recommended. During our the self-zeroing frame counter timing interval has elapsed does Th e synchronization speed lengthy field test period, this acci­ stays at the same fram,e position a moving coil system or re versed with electronic flash is given as dental " T" exposure occurred a during the multiple-exposure se­ solenoid (an electric coil that 1 / 60 sec., a relatively fast speed couple of times. We suggest that quence, so you don't have to moves lo'ngitudinally along a cen­ for a medium-format camera. The Mamiya build a safety lock-out wonder how many unexposed trally placed magnetic bar when FP sync is also rather fast at 8 into the body shutter-speed dial frames remain on the roll. the electric current is turned on) millisec. (normall y it's around 11 at this setting , so it can't be To lock up the mirror, you activate the holding mechanism. millisec). Therefore, if you'd like selected until a button is pressed. simply turn the lever located This type of electronic timing to use M-type bulbs with this Incidentally, if you 're th inking directly in front of the film-wind­ system is quite simple in concept. camera, you 'd better stick to 11 of using the meter-coupling in­ ing knob counterclockwise. If but so far hasn 't proven too popu­ 30 sec. to make sure you get the dex mark as an auxiliary " T" you don't push the le ver fully until lar. Among the system's advan­ full flastl output. setting , don't. When we tried it it clicks, the mirror sometimes tages is its low power consump­ The shutter-speed dial on this and kept the shutter open for a stops halfway up the mirror box. tion, since no electri c power is camera turns continuously in ei­ prolonged period of tim e (more required to hold the second shut­ ther direction-there's no "stop" than a couple of hours), the shut­ ter curtain. In fact, electric power at the lowest or highest marked ter refused to close afterwards. speed. Also , all speed-setting de­ Since the battery was not ex­ tents are spaced equally apart. hausted after this post-test tor­ Th erefore, when you take pic­ ture, we assumed that some me­ tures in very low light, you 'd chanical shutter component better be carefu l not to select a couldn't cope wi th such extreme non-hand-holdable speed. While usage. Since few camera users all numbers are relatively large shoot extremely long exposures and c learly visible under normal even at the obvious settings, we lightin g conditions, you might don't anticipate much trouble wi ll have some trouble reading the result from our findings, but Ma­ numbers in very dim light. miya's engineers should ob­ The "B" setting on the M645's vio usl y investigate thi s problem. Mallory PX-28 or equivalent bat­ shutter dial is positioned next to Long lever at front locks up mir­ tery is loaded into bottom-front­ the slowest (8-sec.) setting. Be­ ror when you push it counter­ mounted receptacle. It lasts over tween B and the fastest ( 1 / 500- clockwise until it clicks. This a year with normal usage. sec.) speed is a red circle with a prevents mirror from hanging up red dot in the middle. Th is setting midway inside mirror box. is employed only to release the is used in conjunction with the second shutter curtain, an in­ coupled match-needle meter While it looks precarious in this stantaneous operation consum­ finder, as you'l l see. position, you needn't worry about ing little power. We frankly didn't it. Even if you fire the shutter have enough time to evaluate while it's in this position, the Mamiya's claim that the M645's mirror moves out of the light path battery lasts for about 100,000 without affecting the picture. Sti ll , shutter operations, but, ob­ Have you seen this aperture­ we recommend that you lock the viously, even professional pho­ keying tab somewhere before? mirror completely by turning the tographers don't have much to Yep, but Nikon-style prong has lever fully, since incomplete lock· worry about in terms of ex­ reversed indexing direction. ing of the mirror could conceiv­ hausted batteries, and most ama­ ably cause mechanical trouble if teurs have even less cause for As with the Nikon F and F2 , done repeatedly. concern. As long as you change coupling the meter to the camera One more significant point be­ the battery once a year (which is is only half the battle; you have to fore we delve into a discussion of normally understood to be the key the lens aperture into the the M64S 's opti cal capabil ities. average shelf life for a Mallory metering system as we ll. Unlike Th e M645 doesn't have an inter­ PX-28 battery or its equivalent), the shutter-speed coupling, changeable magazine. Since the Set body shutter dial to dot-in­ you should have no problems. wh ich is accomplished through camera is otherwise in the Has­ circle mark and mount meter But Mamiya's new electronic­ electric connectors, the M645's selblad class, perhaps a non­ finder; now meter's shutter dial all y controll ed shutter is good aperture coupling is effected interchangeable magazine news for photographers only if it takes over via terminals at right­ through a mechanical prong and strikes you as a serious omission. works satisfactorily. In this re­ hand top corner. Bottom right pin a la Nikon. The prong on the But, when you consider that the gard, th e results obtained on our terminals provide sync. lens looks exactly the same as the M645 is prim arily an action cam­ Kyoritsu shutter tester were really one on Nikkor lenses. We assume era rather than a studio camera, amazing. We recorded no more At test time the PD metering that this coupling system also it's quite understandable. Fur­ than 4 percent shutter-speed er­ prism wasn't avai lable, but this requires a back-and-forth in dex­ thermore, the 2,;\ x 1 %-in. format ror throughout the entire range accessory will definitely incorpo­ ing turn of the lens aperture ring offers you an inherently greater from 8 to 1 / 250 sec. Even at the rate si licon photo diodes and to key in the lens's maximum number of pictures per roll than 1 / 500 sec. setting, the maximum have its own shutter-speed and aperture when you mount it. error went up to only 13 percent ASA-settin g dials. It will also read Before we discuss lens per­ slower (toward overexposure). out the light level by means of formance, let's take a look at the That means a maximum error of light-emitting diodes (LED 's) vis­ camera's multiple-exposure less than 1 16 stop, which will be ible in the finder. knob and mirror-lockup lever. By absolutely undetectable in your To couple the meter head, you turning the mUlti-exposure knob color transparencies. The Ma­ set the body shutter-speed dial to (located below and behind the miya M645's shutter-speed accu­ the red-dot-in-the-circle mark. film-winding knob) clockwise, racy is, therefore, far better than Then the meter's separate shut­ you can cock the shutter wi th out that obtainable with most 35mm ter-speed dial is activated for the winding film to the next frame, SLR's. Nevertheless, we wouldn't match-needle (actually "match­ and you can select this multi­ be quite as impressed with the diode" ) metering. One complaint exposure mode either before or Mamiya's shutter if we had taken we have about th is coupling sys­ after you cock the shutter. A readings only at the start of our tem is that, if you mistakenly set slight amount of 'play remains in tests. We did, however, operate the "body dial " to this meter­ the film-winding gear inside the Multiple-exposure knob can be the camera at least a thousand coupling index without mounting film chamber, but you don't have set before or after film winding. It times, and at the end of this the meter prism, and you fire the to worry about film shift or over­ has to be returned manually to extensive use, the Mamiya's shutter, it remains open (as if you lapping images. However, the advance film to next frame.

3 the more common 2'/4 x 2'/' for­ fied Gauss formula (which is very ti ons we re almost entirely elimi­ mat, and interchangeable maga­ similar to th e normal len s on nated at 115 .6 or smaller aper­ WoulJ \'llU like to te.,t \\,ur zines are thus less important. Yet, many 35mm cameras). The angle tures. On our transparencies, llwn lens" G et M()IJ~RS;~ Lens there rema ins one peculiar char­ of coverage is also ve ry close to - streaks caused by these aberra­ Test Kit, $4.50. Write to Lens acter of the M645 that's less that of a 35mm camera's normal tions we re virtuall y absent. Test Kit, MOIJl-RS PH(}T()(, ' readil y explainable - it takes only lens. In fact, the equivalent focal Across the entire form at, the im­ RAPHY. 2160 Patterson St reet, 15 pictures per roll of 120 film length of the M645's 80mm lens­ age retained a ve ry sharp core Clncinnati, Ohlo4:i2 14 . instead of 16 shots, long the translated into 35mm terms­ (visible as a highly concentrated standard for this format. Not sur­ would be 49mm , on ly 1mm shy of dot of light on the bench), indicat­ Resolution Power prisingly, the M645 also takes 30 th e standard 50mm lens. Ma­ ing a high overall sharpness frames on 220 instead of 32. miya's new multicoating is char­ level. This optical bench obser­ 80mm f / 2.8 Mamiya/ Sekor C Our guess is th at the film holders' acterized by low-intensity dark vation was borne out in our re­ No. 11011 w inding mechanism simply magenta and dark green reflec­ solving power tests and field test At 1 :33 Magnification doesn't allow 16 or 32 pictures ti ons. Spectral transmission transparencies. Center Corner f i no . per roll of 120 or 220 respectively, measurements of this lens Residual ghosts and flare: The Lines/ mm Lines/ mm and it's a c haracteri stic that you'll showed that ve ry good perform­ lens manifested little flare and a 2.8 Exc. 52 Exc. 37 simply have to learn to live with. ance levels have been attained. be low-a verage level of ghost im­ 4 Ex c. 52 Exc. 37 Doubtless, thi s somewhat con­ To focus the 80mm Mamiyal ages, even when th e lens was 5.6 VI Good 52 Exc. 41 tradicts the basic concept of this Sekor, you turn a rubberized , aimed directly at the sun from a 8 V I Good 52 Exc. 46 camera, whose design goal was diamond-pattern focusing ring shaded camera position. Appar­ 11 Exc. 58 Exc. 46 clearly a larger-format camera 180 0 to obtain the minimum dis­ en t linear distortion was meas­ 16 V I Good 52 Exc. 46 wi th capabi lities as close as pos­ tance of 2'/4 ft . Distance scales ured at about one percent (of the 22 Good 46 Exc. 46 sible to a modern 35mm . are large and very clearly marked pi ncushion type), whi ch is about Of course, loading a roll of film in orange (ft .) and white (m). All average for a normal lens. All in Actual Focal Length: 80.5mm into the M645's holders is rather aperture nu mbers from 112.8 to all, we concluded that the 80mm simple. It 's very similar to the 1122 are marked in white-on­ f / 2.8 Mamiya/ Sekor C is a very 55mm f / 2.8 Mamiya/ Sekor loading procedure used with a black and have detents at each fine performer as a normal lens in No. 10020 Hasselblad or Bronica. Once a fu ll stop. The automatic dia­ this format. At 1 :33 Magnification film holder is set to the starting phragm can be switched to man­ Center Corner fi no arrow on the film 's paper backing ual mode (to preview depth-of­ Lines / mm Lines/ mm or leader and is inserted into the field) by pushing up a slightly ~ camera back, th e first frame auto­ protruding leve r which emerges ~ Exc. 74 Exc 37 74 Exc. 37 matically stops and the frame from the left side of th e lens 4 Exc. 5. 6 Exc. 74 Exc. 42 counter automaticall y indicates barrel. When the lens is attached 8 Exc. 83 Ex c. 42 " 1." As we mentioned, the to the camera body, it isn 't ve ry 11 Ex c. 74 Exc 46 counter automaticall y zeroes as easy to operate this lever, but 16 V / Good 66 Exc. 46 you open the camera back. since the M645 is designed to be 22 V I Good 52 V / Good 37 The new Mamiya/ Sekor C a hand-held action camera, 80mm 112.8 lens consists of six depth-of-field checking is not Actual Focal Length: 55 .1 mm elements in five groups in a modi- quite as important as it is with the Mamiya RB67 or similar stu­ Film-advance crank stops in 150mm f / 4 Mamiya / Sekor dio cameras. Consequently we No. 10076 same forward position at end of judged this to be only a slight At 1 :37 Magnification inconvenience. each 360 0 film wind. Center Co rner The following are the re sults of f i no Lmes / mrn Lines / mm our lab and field tests conducted Here are the te st results of the on the 80mm 112 .8. 55mm f / 2.8 wide-angle le ns. 4 Exc. 52 Good 29 Central image quality: Central Since it is a reversed-tele­ 5. 6 V / Good 46 Good 29 color fringing was noticeable on photo-type opti c, the lens barrel 8 V I Good 52 Good 33 the optical bench , and a red tends to be longer th an the 11 V / Good 52 V / Good 37 ' 16 V / Good 52 V / Good 37 fringe persisted until f / 5.6. Since marked focal length. As a result, 22 Good 46 V I Good 37 it was relatively small in size, the it's about twice as long as the 32 Accept. 41 Good 33 Press in film identification clip as fringe was barely visible on our normal80mm lens, extending 2 3/, you slide arrow-shaped prong, field test transparencies, how­ in. (70mm) at infinity and weigh­ Actual Focal Length: 154.0mm and camera back swings open, ever. Flare caused by spherical ing almost 14 oz . Surprisingly, all aberration was mi nuscule, and the control rings and knobs are in However, we judged this defect to the consequent focus shift was almost exactl y the same relation­ be better corrected than in most also gratifyingly small. Too, de­ shi p, with respect to th e camera wide-angle lenses of sim ila r cov­ centering of the lens elements body, as they are with the 80. So, erage. Inward-type coma flare was extremely minute, a much despite its substantial length , was observable in the zonal area, better than average overall per­ handling th e 55 on camera isn't and weak skew-ray flare was also formance. significantly different from shoot­ seen in th e corners of the field . Edge image quality: Lateral color ing with the normal lens. Both these aberrations are very was observabl e in the red , yet Central image quality: Fairly common in lenses of this type, was small enough to be almost strong-intensity orange fringing and they disappeared at 115.6 insignificant in our trans­ was observable on the opti cal and smaller apertures. M645 lacks Hasselblad-type parencies. Astigmatism was we ll bench, but since the size of th is Residual ghosts and flare: A nor­ magazines, but loading film in­ controlled and skew-ray flare aberration was sma ll , no fri nges mal amount of flare and ghosting serts is a breeze. was low throughout. Both aberra- were seen in the picture even at were discernible when we shot maximum apertu re . Spherical against a strong light so urce. fl are was also noticeable wide Th is is about par for the course open, but was gone by 115 .6 . for a medium-format wide angle. MODERN PHOTOGRAPHY 'S un biased tes t reports are based on ac tu al fi eld wo rk Some decentering of the lens And now let's examine the and meas urements ca rri ed out In our own la boratories. On ly production equip· ment and ma teria ls simi la r to th ose available to the reader are tested. Reade rs elements was noted and , con­ longest of the three lenses we are warn ed. howeve r, that ou r tests. pa rticularly of lenses and cameras. are often sequently, a sli ghtly irregular tested on the M645. This 150mm fa r more critical and specific than those published elsew here an d can not there· flare pattern of moderate size was f 14 lens isn't significantly larger fo re be compa red wi th them. In all lens tests. un less specifically noted. some of observed at 11 2.8. Fortunately, it or heavier than the normal 80m m the sharpness falloff at the edges can be traced to curva tu re of field. most noti ce· lens. In fact, it's on ly 3 V, in . able at close focusi ng dis tance s: at distant se ttin gs , th iS effec t wou ld be mini ' was mostly gone by f / 5.6. Images mized. Note too that the standard s for center sharpness are hig her than for edge at the center of the picture area (90mm) long and 2% in . (69mm) sharp ness, so that no com parison shou ld be made between cen ter and edge retained their sharpness well de­ in diameter. The latter dim ension ra tings. NO MODERN TE ST MAY BE RE PRODUCED IN WHOLE OR IN PAR T FO R spite the dece'nteri ng. is the same as that of the normal AN Y PUR POS E IN ANY FORM WI THO UT WRITTEN PE RMISS ION. Shou ld you have Edge image quality: A significant lens and , as a re sult, the 150 difficu lty loca ting sou rces for any product. write to the Readers' Se rvice Dep t. of Modern Ph otography. WARN ING : Sin ce optics and preci sion mecha nis ms ma y amount of lateral color fri nging accepts th e same filters. Hand­ va ry from un it to unit. we st rongly suggest th at ou r read ers ca rry out the ir own tes ts was visible on the bench and also held, there's almost no difference on eq uipment they buy. in ou r field tests transparencies. in " feel " shooting with this lens or

4 Image Contrast best results if you use fast shutter angle finders and, of course, the speeds and relatively large lel1s aforementioned meter prism . 80mm 1/ 2.8 Mamiya/Sekor C openings. This is especially true While the list is still not quite as No. 11011 - with this lens since it exhibited extensive as those for today' s At 30 lines/ mm smooth out-of-focus image qual­ leading 35mm SLR 's, it's more tests Center Corner ity that was free of double-line than adequate for a medium­ f i no with the other two (normal and Percentage Percentage effects. However, if you need format camera. Furthermore, the wide-angle) lenses. However, 2.8 High 51 High 34 maximum depth of field , don't M645 offers more than a conven­ with the tele, there's obvi ously 4 High 62 High 44 hesitate to stop down the 150. Its tional , well-thought-out camera more weight hanging farther out 5.6 High 64 High 60 good optical centering will as­ system . for this camera has the from the camera body than with 8 High 64 High 62 sure your getting sharp pictures potential of blossoming into an the BO . So. extra care in holding 11 High 66 High 60 at all apertures. aperture-preferred (you set the the camera is required to prevent 16 High 58 High 51 lens, the camera selects the shut­ camera shake. 22 High 48 High 44 ter speed), fully auto-exposure Following are the performance camera. By merely changing the results obtained with this lens in finder prism for a fully automatic our lab and field examinations: 55mm f / 2.8 Mamiya / Sekor meter finder (not yet listed), all Central image quality: A relatively No. 10020 the camera body mechanisms At 30 Lines/ mm large amount of purple spheroch­ are capable of being automated Cen ter Corner romatic flare was observed at fi no . or keyed into the meter system. maxiumum aperture on the Percentage Percentage We very much doubt if we 're bench and in the pictures as well . 2.8 High 48 High 34 mistaken about this future devel­ It disappeared almost entirely at 4 High 60 High 36 opment of the M645. f l B. Focus shift was quite small, 5.6 High 64 High 48 Frankly, it's too soon to judge 8 High 64 High 49 whether this "new ideal " format while decentering of the lens To remove prism head, turn 11 Hig h 62 High 48 will prove to be suitable for pro­ elements was virtually absent. knurled button clockwise; then Edge image quality An intense 16 High 56 High 43 fessional photographer's re­ Medium 44 High 40 push it in and lilt prism off. To but very small red color fringe 22 quirements. Indeed, the capabili­ was noticeable in the pictures put the finder back on, just align ties of today ' s 35 ' s are so two pins and push it into position. advanced. in many cases, that taken at fl4. This lateral color 150mm 1/4 Mamiy.a/ Sekor fringe was sufficiently small , No. 10076 larger-format cameras are less of however, so that images at the At 30 Linesl mm As of this writing, Mamiya is a necessity. But still , in many corners of the field maintained initially planning to offer seven applications, larger-format nega­ Cent er Corner their sharpness at all apertures. fi no lenses for the M645 These tives offer discernible adva n­ Percen tage Percen tage Coma flare was large in size but include a 45mm f / 2.B, 110mm tages over smaller ones, and the very low in intensity, while as­ 4 High 62 Hig h 38 f / 2.B , 210mm f / 4 , 500mm fl5.6, M645's relatively moderate price tigmatic streaks at the corners 5.6 High 64 High 38 plus the three lenses we tested . (compared to its competitors) is were moderate, both in the pic­ 8 High 62 Medium 33 All of these optics have automatic sure to tempt some amateurs as 11 High tures and on the bench. 55 Medium 32 diaphragms and are multicoated. well - especially those sh ooting 16 Medium 46 Low Residual ghosts and flare: 30 Their equivalent focal lengths in with color negative material. 22 Low 38 Low 26 Thanks to efficient multicoating, the 35mm camera format range 32 V Low 34 Low 28 After all is said and done, we flare was low, even in pictures from 2Bmm to 300mm. In addi­ find the M645 to be an exciting tion, Mamiya plans to offer a camera wi th great potential, pro­ which were shot against the sun comprehensive group of acces­ viding it's properly used for the at the most critical angles. sories for the M645, including right type of photography. While such good performance grtpS, focusing screens, focusing at wide apertures is unusual , as levers, extension rings, 120 and you can clearly see in th e resolu­ 220 film inserts flash brackets, tion and contrast charts, it sug­ gests that the 150 will provide the

The art icle " Mamiya M645: 15 on 120 in a compact SLR. " is reprinted through the courtesy of Modern Photography Magazine, 130 East 59th St, New York, New York 10022.

ISHmcl BELL & HOWELL/MAMIYA COMPANY

27924-1275 Printed in U.S.A. MODER N PHOTOGRAPHY