A tale of two camera's
For a few hundred pounds investment the Mamiya 645 Super is a great starting point for anyone thinking of trying medium format film photography or film in general, as it is a very capable camera. Medium format for those who have never used the format isn't as scary a proposition as some might think and for those only used to 35mm or DSLR it can return great results.
Unlike the Mamiya 645af which has auto focus and electronic metering through the built-in prism, this is a manual camera with manual focus and my system has the waist level finder. You can buy aditional add-on's of a prism finder which has metering and a power grip, making it act more like the 645af. On first viewing the camera is a very strange box like design which is unlike most 35mm or DSLR cameras and can seem strange to hold at first. One advantage of a system camera is that all the components come apart, which is great for cleaning, but also allows you to buy components to swap out like the ground glass focusing screen.
Looking through the view finder for the first time takes some getting used to, because as the name suggests you hold it at waist level. There is a pop out magnifying glass to help get a more accurate focus, which you hold closer to your eye. The image is bright and clear as the focus glass is very large and highly polished, but if you have never held one before it can be tricky to track your subject as you are loking down as opposed to forward on an SLR. This is where I had some good results and some not so good results.
The first outing with the camera was an auto show in the summer. Using the Mamiya on a tripod it immediately felt more comfortable than it did hand held, it felt like you could be more precise with the framing and horizon line. A great feature of the lens is that you can set it so that when you change the aperture it doesn't effect the brightness through the view finder, which is great to help get the shot better in focus. As can be seen below, I found the camera to yield vibrant colourful images with a rich depth and fantastic bokeh at f/2.8 aperture.
The second outing was a little more hit & miss, this time it was a male model portrait. Not 100% sure, maybe because it was only my second outing with the camera or that it was a very bright day, but this time I did struggle. I thought I had focused correctly on my subject and I was also using a tripod, but when i got my scans back the results were very disapointing and seemed to lack that punch i got when i last shot it, some of that could be down the the film choice.
Verdict: I think I need more practise with this camera, because when you nail focus the results are spectacular as the car image above shows. Maybe this system is more suited to static subjects, especially with the waist level finder. I do think with the prism finder I would have better success at photographing people. All in all a great little camera at a very reasonable price point and whether you are dipping your toes or a seasoned pro you can't go far wrong with the 645 Super.